US lawmakers Warren and AOC demand answers from US crypto firms with SVB ties
US Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sent letters to BlockFi and Circle demanding information about the crypto companies’ dealings with collapsed Silicon Valley Bank.
The lawmakers highlighted what they called “white glove” relationships between the lender and the two companies, which they allege entailed private trips and dinners to woo the clients into keeping large reserves at the bank, prior to its failure in March.
Circle and BlockFi held an estimated total $3.5 billion in assets at Silicon Valley Bank, with Circle handling the majority at $3.3 billion.
BlockFi filed for bankruptcy in November, following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.
Bitcoin appears to be terrified of Elizabeth Warren’s army.
— mattytay (@mattytay) April 11, 2023
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Microstrategy’s $4bn Bitcoin bet pays off
MicroStrategy’s $4 billion Bitcoin bet is out of the red for the first time in 30 months, as the cryptocurrency’s rally continues.
Co-founder and chair Michael Saylor has made accumulating Bitcoin a key strategy at the company, which is now the asset’s largest single private holder.
Commentators have pointed out, however, that low liquidity conditions following the bear market of 2022 mean that if MicroStrategy sold its BTC, it would crash the price and cause major losses to the company.
After being down close to $2bln at the bear market low, @saylor is now in profit on his #BTC exposure. pic.twitter.com/Q4WX4YdRy9
— ted (@tedtalksmacro) April 11, 2023
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El Salvador grants first digital asset licence to Bitfinex
Crypto-friendly El Salvador granted its first digital asset licence to company Bitfinex on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in crypto regulation in the country.
The licence allows Bitfinex to “issue a broad range of assets including equities, bonds and other financial instruments” under a newly created regulatory framework within the country.
Bitfinex touted the event as an example of its “Bitfinex Freedom Manifesto” initiative in action.
Bitcoin was made legal tender in El Salvador in 2021 under President Nayib Bukele, who remains in power.
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France pushes for in-house metaverse framework in EU
France’s Economy Ministry has thrown down the gauntlet against Meta by launching a consultation on Tuesday that outlines the need to “propose an alternative to the virtual online worlds today put forward by international giants.”
The move reflects statements made during French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 election campaign, when he expressed the need for a uniquely European framework for introducing virtual online worlds in response to market dominance by large — primarily American — metaverse companies.
NOW READ: BIS sees tokenisation benefits in trillion-dollar bond market ‘even if gains per trade are small’
Wyoming fights to assert ‘statutory framework’ following Custodia Bank rejection
Wyoming state’s attorney general Bridget Hill filed a motion Monday to intervene in a lawsuit between state-based Custodia Bank and the Federal Reserve Board.
The filing comes after the central bank published an 86-page report outlining its January rejection of Custodia’s application for Federal Reserve membership.
The Fed was critical of both Custodia’s dependence on crypto for its reserves and, according to Hill, of Wyoming’s crypto-friendly laws and regulations.
Hill stated that Wyoming’s primary reason for intervention was not necessarily to support Custodia, but to legally affirm the “viability of the state’s statutory framework.”
More web3 news from around the web…
More Bitcoin than ever is now ‘dormant’ — here’s what that means — Decrypt
Users choose Tron and BNB Chain over Ethereum despite falling fees — The Defiant
Bankman-Fried wants FTX insurance payout for legal defense. He may get paid long before his bilked customers — The Block
