Nearly five months ago, the Ethereum blockchain successfully completed what was — at the time — a very complicated and years-in-the-making update. Called The Merge , it allowed the blockchain to move from validating transactions using computers, that took a lot of energy to run, to a proof-of-stake model. The switch cut Etherium’s power consumption by more than 99 percent. After The Merge, the price of Eth rallied a bit, but has since fallen about 15 percent. Now, software developers who work on...
Feb 06, 2023•13 min
Surprising to some, it turned out to be a decent month for crypto. Bitcoin rose almost 40% and some smaller coins did much better. Speaking of risk taking: Wall Street firms are still keen on crypto, despite all of last year’s calamities. And a failed crypto lender known for its risk appetite, Celsius , just got some harsh criticism from its bankruptcy examiner. Bloomberg senior editor Anna Irrera and Bloomberg reporter Emily Nicolle join senior editor Philip Lagerkranser to discuss the latest d...
Feb 03, 2023•18 min
The digital-asset industry is reeling from challenges many blame on a handful of so-called crypto bad actors and wayward CEOs. Of course we’re talking about the Do Kwon’s, the Alex Mashinsky’s, the Su Zhu’s… oh, yes and the Sam Bankman-Fried. But while some industry leaders say they are upset by the allegedly illegal actions of some of their peers, they still have hope that the digital asset industry will thrive and the crypto market will recover. Mike Novogratz is a prime example. He’s the CEO ...
Feb 02, 2023•20 min
One of the biggest shocks to the crypto market in the past couple of years came in 2021 - when China issued its most significant crackdown yet on all things digital assets. Fast forward to 2023, and there are signs that the country might be softening that stance ever so slightly. Just to set the scene a little bit - this is all related to broader signs and speculation that China is quote unquote “reopening”. To discuss China’s potentially softening stance on crypto, Bloomberg reporter Muyao Shen...
Feb 01, 2023•14 min
The bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX and the arrest of its former CEO San Bankman-Fried has had a lasting effect on the digital asset sector, for sure. But it’s also made an indelible impact on the politicians and policy makers who are supposed to regulate the industry. There was already a fire lit under some lawmakers when it comes to imposing regulations on crypto - Last year, President Biden issued an executive order asking agencies to take coordinated action on digital assets. And in the su...
Jan 31, 2023•20 min
Long time Fidelity customers have been getting some interesting offers in their inbox from the financial services company over the past several months: a new crypto trading platform for retail investors. Last November, the brokerage firm launched a wait list for those interested in the services which include custody and zero-commission trading for Bitcoin and Ether. Fidelity Investments is one of the largest investment managers in the industry and is one of the first financial services firms to ...
Jan 30, 2023•19 min
As we reported this week, Binance acknowledged that it had been mistakenly mixing the collateral it holds for some of its tokens…. in the same digital wallet as other types of funds. This kind of operational issue is a challenge for these exchanges, especially now, at a point when both regulators and customers are paying super close attention to how this industry is managing its transparency. Also, layoffs continue to happen in crypto - and that’s impacting other industries, with numerous compan...
Jan 27, 2023•18 min
Crypto lender Genesis has filed for bankruptcy . For many observers in crypto, this wasn't entirely unexpected, not least because the company itself had been warning that it was staring down a liquidity crisis and trying to raise money. Over the past couple of weeks, Barry Silbert, who is the CEO of the Genesis parent company known as Digital Currency Group, has been in a very public and kind of increasingly nasty online dispute with some fellow billionaires, the co-founders of the Gemini Crypto...
Jan 26, 2023•20 min
The end of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire created a contagion effect especially felt by crypto exchanges, like publicly-traded Coinbase. In early January, the exchange settled with New York regulators who accused it of “significant” compliance program failings. Coinbase agreed to pay a $50 million dollar fine and set aside $50 million more to improve its compliance practices. Ahead of its earnings report, CEO Brian Armstrong says Coinbase revenue will likely drop by half or more this year. And the p...
Jan 25, 2023•17 min
It’s 2023 and the crypto community is hoping to pull out of its funk this year and put the blowups, bankruptcies and price slumps of the last year in the rear-view mirror. While some remain hopeful - churning out ideas for a more fruitful, and perhaps community-driven, crypto future, others are still smarting from last year’s carnage. But now, both groups have a place where they can toast a revival – or drown their sorrows – at a new Bitcoin-themed bar in New York. It’s called PubKey . Pubkey re...
Jan 24, 2023•17 min
Like most crypto-adjacent firms, fiat banks that diversified into crypto have struggled during the crypto winter. And this was likely the case even BEFORE crypto exchange FTX declared bankruptcy in November 2022. We’ll find out exactly how many of them are doing in the coming weeks, as earnings reports trickle out. But generally, banks that got into crypto benefited during digital currency’s rise, and have struggled since last spring, when the digital asset sector took a downward plunge. In this...
Jan 23, 2023•15 min
Is crypto back? That’s one question Bloomberg editors and reporters discuss in another This Week in Crypto episode. Already, the year is packed with digital asset action. Bitcoin is up 30 percent so far in 2023. Lots of smaller tokens are even more than that. Suddenly, crypto enthusiasts are uttering words like FOMO — Fear of Missing Out - again. Then there are some crypto comebacks happening. Or, at least, some crypto comeback attempts. The guys behind 3AC, Three Arrows Capital, the cryptocurre...
Jan 20, 2023•17 min
You’ve probably heard financial regulators refer to crypto as the "Wild West." But, instead of shoot-outs and sheriffs - in crypto, you can get financial experimentation, hackers and pretty extreme risk-taking (in hopes of yielding extreme returns) - in some cases with people investing their hard-earned savings. People allegedly wronged by crypto are increasingly turning to the law for redress. The only problem is, how do you fit something so new into laws that are often centuries old? That’s th...
Jan 19, 2023•19 min
Western Massachusetts is a very different place from the Bahamas, where the FTX crypto exchange had its headquarters. But the small town of Lenox there is feeling the effects of the FTX bankruptcy nonetheless. The reason is Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets who was also a major player in the economy of Lenox. Salame grew up in Berkshire County, of which Lenox is a part. The town has fewer than 10,000 residents - closer to 5000 actually, according to the most recent census. In...
Jan 18, 2023•16 min
It was an unwelcome ruling for about 600,000 Celsius account holders, who are probably wishing they’d read the fine print more closely before investing. Or put more stock in the crypto mantra “not your keys, not your coins.” Earlier this month, federal Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn found that when people deposited assets with the now bankrupt crypto lender Celsius - and in exchange received interest on those deposits - those assets became the property of Celsius. This makes customers of the so-c...
Jan 17, 2023•17 min
Today, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is observed in the U.S. So the crypto team wanted to present an episode connected to the idea of service. The episode, first published last December, focuses on Sam Bankman-Fried's efforts to advance Effective Altruism. SBF used to say he was a man on a mission: to give away more than a billion dollars. It was part of his connection to the Effective Altruism movement. Through personal giving, and through a philanthropic unit called the FTX Foundation, Bankman-F...
Jan 16, 2023•17 min
Something we say often on the Bloomberg Crypto team is that a week in this asset class can feel like a year. And as we wrap up the second week of 2023, it’s starting to feel maybe more like a decade. On the proverbial docket this week: a public and ugly fight emerging between Gemini, a crypto exchange that's owned by the Winklevoss twins, and a company called Genesis, which was one of the biggest crypto lenders in the world. Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen and Patriots owner Bob Kraft popped up in a ...
Jan 13, 2023•13 min
It’s been a tough winter for Bitcoin miners. As prices of the largest token have fallen from their record highs, there have been bankruptcies and warnings of potential bankruptcy. Billions of dollars in losses. Forced sales of equipment. Regulatory uncertainty in states like New York. Increased criticism of the energy consumption associated with the sector…the list goes on. One miner even changed its name to try to minimize its association with the sector. The company formerly known as Riot Bloc...
Jan 12, 2023•18 min
The United Arab Emirates has spent quite a lot of time — and considerable resources — positioning itself as a crypto-friendly hub. Its efforts have attracted some of the top names in crypto to the region: the CEO of the world’s largest crypto exchange - Binance’s Changpeng 'Zhao - known as CZ -has a residence in Dubai. It’s where Su Zhu and Kyle Davies fled to after the collapse of their crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital. Sam Bankman-Fried travelled to Dubai for meetings with investors jus...
Jan 11, 2023•15 min
The bankruptcy of crypto exchange FTX and the indictment of its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who’s pleaded not guilty to 8 criminal counts - is shining a light on the world’s largest crypto exchange - Binance - and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao - known as CZ. The exchange is estimated to be worth around $300 billion and holds nearly 60 percent of the crypto derivatives market. Binance has managed to eclipse its rivals when it comes to market share and CZ appears confident that the company will succes...
Jan 10, 2023•20 min
Hosted by Bloomberg Opinion senior executive editor Tim O'Brien, Crash Course will bring listeners directly into the arenas where epic business and social upheavals occur. Every week, Crash Course will explore the lessons to be learned when creativity and ambition collide with competition and power -- on Wall Street and Main Street, and in Hollywood and Washington. Listen to Crash Course on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-crash-course-10...
Jan 09, 2023•2 min
Crypto exchange FTX’s November 2022 collapse was one of the most spectacular and swift downfalls in the history of crypto. Now, as the bankruptcy dust begins to settle, investors and others wonder what will happen to crypto startups closely tied to the former exchange. Solana is an example. FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankmam-Fried was a champion of the blockchain network. He publicly appeared with one of its co-founders at various conferences and industry talks. And FTX and Alameda bought nearly $580 ...
Jan 09, 2023•18 min
Welcome to the first This Week in Crypto episode of 2023. We’re kicking off the year with - can you guess? Sam Bankman-Fried. The former FTX CEO had quite the wild holiday season. His companies filed for bankruptcy in November and he was arrested in the Bahamas in December. Bankman-Fried faces multiple criminal charges - and at least two of his closest colleagues and confidants are providing evidence against him. SBF, as he’s commonly known, flew back to New York this week after spending the hol...
Jan 06, 2023•19 min
In the days leading up to the staggering collapse of FTX, a series of tweets from a top crypto executive signaled that the exchange was likely in deep financial trouble. Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao - or “CZ” as he’s commonly called - are known rivals. But when CZ tweeted that he was pulling his investments out of FTX - it sparked a run on the exchange that ultimately led to its insolvency. The idea that a once flush crypto exchange worth billions of dollars co...
Jan 05, 2023•18 min
Miami has always been famous for its beaches, beautiful people and glamorous nightlife. More recently, the city grabbed attention for trying to establish itself as a crypto hub, and witnessed an influx of crypto startups as entrepreneurs flocked to its palm tree-lined streets. They were attracted by both Miami’s charismatic, crypto-friendly mayor Frances Suarez and the promise of lower taxes. And then of course… there’s FTX. The now-bankrupt crypto exchange had the naming rights to the basketbal...
Jan 04, 2023•20 min
The relationship between crypto and gaming is not always straightforward. Some gamers, and some games companies, have outright rejected all things blockchain and crypto. They say the environmental considerations haven’t been fully addressed, and that turning games into speculative investment opportunities ruins the fun. Others are cautiously optimistic, and are experimenting with in-game NFTs. A smaller number, and a relatively vocal minority, are absolutely committed to making blockchain-based ...
Jan 03, 2023•19 min
Picture this: you’re the FBI, trying to track down the digital keys that will give you access to illicit or stolen crypto. In 2021 alone, cops in the U.S. and U.K, seized billions of dollars in Crypto-assets from various different criminal busts. With so much money on the line, enforcement agencies around the world have had to learn quickly how to spot these digital assets and seize them from accused criminals. In this episode, Bloomberg reporters Ellen MiIligan and David Voreacos join to discus...
Jan 02, 2023•21 min
Think way back: all the way back to October, 2021. Crypto prices are rocketing. Celebrities can’t stop talking about NFTs. There’s packed conferences in glitzy venues attended by people wearing t-shirts with cartoon monkeys on them. If you’re an executive at a big gaming studio, you might be forgiven - maybe - for sending one of those emails with the subject line: "NFT strategy?" And several executives at these gaming companies did indeed send those emails. Some of their companies even announced...
Dec 30, 2022•20 min
In late July of 2022, allegations surfaced that some North Koreans were plagiarizing online resumes and tricking companies, including crypto companies, into hiring them. It's part of a broader effort to raise money for North Korea’s government weapons program. It could also help the authoritarian nation evade global sanctions. How did North Korea get so good at tricking crypto employers? And what does all of this mean for the security of crypto companies? Bloomberg reporter Jeff Stone joins this...
Dec 29, 2022•19 min
For years, many crypto investors have been consumed by a single, persistent question as they’ve watched the prices of coins rise and fall, especially as of late: Wen Lambo? Bloomberg reporter Hannah Miller and crypto VC Peter Saddington join this episode to discuss all your burning questions about one of the most visible status-symbols of crypto. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Crypto Newsletter at https://bloom.bg/cryptonewsletter [This episode originally published in August, 2022] See omnystudio.co...
Dec 28, 2022•18 min
