Ellis Open Letter

• ARB token derivative markets are popping up on centralized and decentralized exchanges ahead of Thursday’s airdrop.
• Clober is offering traders put options with strike prices of 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, $8 and $16.
• The put options have an expiry date of March 24, allowing traders to bet on the first-day price action of ARB when trading goes live.

Arbitrum Put Options Let Traders Bet on First Day Price Action

A new wave of derivatives contracts has emerged in the run-up to Arbitrum (ARB)’s airdrop scheduled for Thursday 23rd March. Options marketplace Clober is offering traders the opportunity to purchase put options with strike prices of 50 cents, $1, $2, $4, $8 and $16. These have cumulatively seen over $50,000 in trading volumes in the past 24 hours since they were issued.

What Are Put Options?

Put options are a type of option that increases in value as the price of the underlying asset – such as a token or equity – falls. This allows investors to gain exposure to assets without buying them outright; rather than purchasing the underlying asset itself, traders can buy into puts which will increase in value if their prediction that the price will fall is correct.

ARBitrum Put Option Details

The ARB put options available from Clober have an expiry date of March 24th – one day after the claim event. This effectively means that traders can make bets on how ARB tokens will perform after they start being traded on exchanges following the airdrop event. As such it provides an easy way for investors to take advantage of potential gains should there be significant volatility when trading begins.

Why Are People Betting On The Airdrop?

Given that this is ARB’s first foray into public markets speculation has been rife regarding how it might be traded when it goes live later this week. Many believe that its initial trading session could be highly volatile due to both hype around its upcoming launch and uncertainty surrounding its long-term prospects given its brand new status as a decentralized asset class offering lucrative staking rewards for holders who stake their tokens through Arbitrum smart contracts on Ethereum mainnet..

Conclusion

The availability of put option contracts from Clober gives investors an opportunity to hedge against potential losses by betting against an increase in ARB’s market cap during its first day trading session; however it should not be forgotten that these are still speculative investments and carry a degree risk attached no matter what outcome may occur following Thursday’s launch event

• Bitcoin is experiencing a double-digit rally, possibly in response to the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank.
• Tatiana Koffman, investor and author, believes this could be the beginning of the “Great Reset” which Bitcoin was created to address.
• Alex Thorn will discuss “Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023.

The Great Reset

Investor and author Tatiana Koffman is just one among many who have turned to bitcoin amid a plague of bank runs – possibly the beginning of what she has described as the “Great Reset.” The Bitcoin network was created as a direct response to the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, during a period when many hardworking people felt both the government and the financial system were working against them.

Bank Runs

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank continue to ripple through the markets, causing U.S. bank stocks to plummet. Most recently, Charles Schwab’s stock was halted in trading Monday morning. Meanwhile, bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market are experiencing a double-digit rally, which may be the first time that bitcoin is rallying in a risk-off environment.

Built for This Moment

Perhaps this is exactly the moment bitcoin was built for. The very first block of Bitcoin had an inscription in its code: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” Now that regulators are gearing up to backstop another centralized financial system collapse, value is flowing into bitcoin — leading some investors like Koffman to believe this could be it —the start of what she has described as The Great Reset — where people take control over their own finances away from centralized systems and toward decentralized currencies like bitcoin that cannot be manipulated or controlled by governments or corporations alike.

Alex Thorn at Consensus 2023

Alex Thorn will speak on “Bitcoin and Inflation: It’s Complicated” at Consensus 2023. He serves as Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital Capital Management LLC., offering his expertise on bitcoin with deep understanding on its implications globally across markets and finance infrastructure as well as its potential impact on inflationary pressures worldwide.

Conclusion

Bitcoin appears to have been built for moments like these – when trust in traditional banking institutions fails – making it an attractive option for those who want more autonomy over their finances without having to rely on third party entities such as banks or governments. Amidst this banking crisis there is hope that we can all benefit from decentralization technologies such as cryptocurrency – giving us more freedom than ever before!

• Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) discount to net asset value has fallen to its lowest level in a month.
• The closed-end fund’s discount had widened to 47% in mid-February but is now at 42%.
• Investors are hopeful that the discount will continue its recent narrowing should the courts be receptive to Grayscale’s ETF arguments.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) Discount

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) discount to net asset value has fallen to its lowest level in a month, currently sitting at 42%. In mid-February, the closed-end fund’s discount had widened to 47%, but investors are hopeful that the discount will continue its recent narrowing should the courts be receptive to Grayscale’s ETF arguments.

Oral Arguments Tuesday

Grayscale is appealing the SEC’s decision to deny the conversion of their trust into an exchange-traded fund, and oral arguments for their case are set for Tuesday. The company is preparing to argue that they were treated inappropriately compared with earlier decisions allowing bitcoin futures-based ETFs.

Investors Buying GBTC

Some investors have been buying GBTC ahead of Tuesday’s hearing, hoping for a positive outcome from Grayscale’s lawsuit against the SEC. GenTwo analyst Pablo Jodar said this buying can be seen as equivalent “to buying bitcoin at a discount” – though it comes with risk attached.

Laurent Kssis’ Views

Crypto trading adviser Laurent Kssis of CEC Capital said he believes “the market will react positively if regulators approve GBTC as an ETF,” adding that he expects more institutional money entering crypto markets if this occurs. He also noted that even without approval, there could still potentially be a strong inflow of capital into BTC as long as cryptocurrencies remain attractive relative to traditional assets like stocks and bonds.

Conclusion

Regardless of what happens during today’s hearing, investor interest in BTC remains high – and any outcome from this week’s court proceedings could shape sentiment either way in the weeks or months ahead.

• Chainalysis released a report indicating crypto crime hit an all-time high of $20.6 billion in 2022.
• The report attributed this increase to sanctioned activity and hacking.
• Kim Grauer, head of research at Chainalysis, stated that the bear market brought on certain types of crimes.

Crypto Crime Soars to All-Time High

Chainalysis, a blockchain sleuthing firm, recently revealed that crypto crime reached an all-time high of $20.6 billion worth of blockchain transactions in 2022. This was according to their findings which were presented by Kim Grauer, the firm’s head of research, who stated that the bear market brought on certain types of crimes.

Sanctioned Activity and Hacking Drive Increase

The Chainalysis report further indicated that criminal activity accounted for 0.24% of all blockchain transactions last year; an increase from the year before (0.12%). In particular, sanctioned activity and hacking were identified as the driving forces behind the rise in illicit transaction volumes last year; with roughly $3.8 billion stolen from crypto businesses alone.

OFAC Crackdown on Crypto Platforms

In 2021, the U.S Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) began to crack down on crypto platforms rather than singling out individual bad actors through their addresses – leading to increased scrutiny across these platforms for any suspicious activities taking place on them. This resulted in better enforcement measures which have led to a decrease in other forms of illicit activity while sanctioned activity and hacking saw a significant spike instead.

Crypto Crime is Still Small Share

Despite hitting an all-time high last year, it is important to note that crypto crime still accounts for only a small portion (less than 1%) of total volume when it comes to blockchain transactions globally – making it far less prevalent than incidents involving traditional currency or banking services related crimes such as money laundering or fraud schemes targeting individuals or businesses alike online or offline..

Conclusion

Overall, Chainalysis’ findings from their latest report reveals just how much potential there is for cryptocurrencies when it comes to global commerce but also highlights its drawbacks if left unchecked – making it clear why regulations and enforcement measures are needed for these digital assets in order to ensure safety and security across exchanges worldwide going forward into the future..

• Bitcoin opened the week testing $25,000.
• Hong Kong has unveiled its crypto licensing framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers in June.
• This new regulation will not allow retail investors to trade digital, contrary to what a recent tweet suggests.

Bitcoin Opens Week Testing $25K

Bitcoin opened the week with prices testing the USD 25,000 mark. Ethereum is also down by 0.7% and other Layer 1 protocols including Solana, Polkadot, and Polygon have made double-digit gains of 20%, 19%, and 18.5%, respectively. Joe DiPasquale, CEO of crypto fund manager BitBull Capital says that it is critical for bitcoin to reclaim USD 23,000 if we were to see more upside action.

Hong Kong Crypto Licensing Framework

Hong Kong has unveiled its crypto licensing framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers in June 2021 which focuses on accredited professional investors only and does not allow retail investors to trade digital assets, contrary to what a recent tweet suggested.

Elon Musk’s Tweet Impact

Elon Musk’s recent tweet had an impact on Dogecoin (DOGE) as it rose by 5% in the last week while Shiba Inu (SHIB) was up 4%. However Floki token named after Musk’s dog was down 7% on-day but still up 108% for the week overall.

Bitcoin Needs Bullish Monthly Close

Joe DiPasquale believes that another bullish monthly close may be what the market needs for bitcoin to test USD 30,000 mark; however he thinks that the market may just consolidate instead of going up if not this month then next month in March 2021.

Austin Conversation in Crypto & Web3

Join the most important conversation in crypto and Web3 taking place in Austin from April 26th – 28th 2021 at Secure Your Seat event where experts discuss topics such as blockchain technology, token economics and decentralized finance (DeFi).

• Wirex and Visa have expanded their partnership to 40 countries including the U.K. and APAC.
• This expansion allows Wirex to directly issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards in those countries.
• Matt Wood, Head of Digital Partnerships at Visa, said they want to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with their network of banks and merchants.

Wirex and Visa Expand Partnership

FinanceCrypto payments firm Wirex and Visa have announced an extended global partnership that will expand its footprint in Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the U.K., according to a Monday announcement. With this expansion, Wirex, which has over 5 million customers, will now be able to directly issue crypto-enabled debit and prepaid cards in over 40 countries.

Existing Relationship between Wirex and Visa

In 2015, according to Wirex, it became the first company in the world to develop a crypto-enabled card that allowed users to buy or sell multiple traditional and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the two companies’ existing relationship includes a crypto-linked visa debit card in the U.S., as well as Wirex holding principal membership status with Visa in Europe.

Visa’s Intentions for Crypto Payment Options

Matt Wood, Head of Digital Partnerships at Visa’s Asia Pacific division noted that “Visa wants to bring more payment options to consumers by connecting digital currencies with our network of banks and merchants.”

Wirex’s UK Disengagement

The London-based firm had previously withdrawn from the U.K Financial Conduct Authority’s temporary registration regime ahead of a deadline requiring full registration which meant it would serve U.K customers through a subsidiary licensed in Croatia instead..

Conclusion

This partnership between Wirex ansd Visa is an important step towards providing more payment options for cryptocurrency users around the world by expanding access across 40 countries globally including APAC and UK regions

• Lyra, an automated market maker for crypto traders to buy and sell options, has successfully launched its Newport upgrade.
• The upgrade includes integration with GMX perpetuals, a derivative trading product without an expiration date, and expansion to Arbitrum, another layer 2 platform.
• This will allow users to benefit from improved capital efficiency and user experience.

Lyra Automated Market Maker Deploys to Arbitrum Network

Lyra, an automated market maker for crypto traders to buy and sell options, has successfully launched its Newport upgrade earlier this week. The upgrade includes integration with GMX perpetuals, a derivative trading product without an expiration date, as well as expansion to the Arbitrum network – another layer 2 platform. This will enable users to benefit from improved capital efficiency and user experience.

Benefits of the Upgrade

Before the upgrade was completed, Lyra’s market maker vaults (MMV) paid swapping fees for every collateralization and hedging trade that took place. Now that it is integrated with GMX perpetuals there are no longer any fees associated with these trades which leads to more efficient capital usage by traders. Additionally, this new setup allows users access both Optimism and Arbitrum networks which increases their options when looking for a suitable platform on which they can conduct their trades.

Increasing Crypto Options Trading Volume

The share of crypto options trading volume settled through OTC platform Paradigm has increased significantly recently due to hedge funds, family offices and high-net worth individuals sitting on the fence in regards to cryptocurrencies. It appears that this situation may persist for some time yet as these investors wait for further developments before making their decision about entering the space or not.

Securing Seat at Most Important Conversation in Crypto & Web3

CoinDesk is hosting “the most important conversation in crypto and Web3” taking place in Austin Texas from April 26th-28th this year. Anyone interested in participating should secure their seat now if they wish to take part in this conversation about emerging technologies and where the industry is heading next.

Sage D Young: Tech Protocol Reporter at CoinDesk

Sage D Young is a tech protocol reporter at CoinDesk who owns NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens), gold & silver as well as BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), LINK (Chainlink), AAVE (Aave), PEOPLE (PeopleCoin), DOGE (Dogecoin), OS (OmiseGo) & HTR (Helios Protocol). Follow @httpsageyd on Twitter if you are interested in staying up-to-date with his work!

• Web3 offers an alternative to traditional wet code in the form of computer code, or “dry code” which can protect investors and users by encoding rules in verifiable, permissionless and self-custodial protocols.
• Regulations are important because they can promote orderly and efficient markets and protect investors from those who may take advantage of them.
• Leverage involves borrowing money that must be paid back, and without proper regulations the risk of the losses can be significantly higher than the potential gains.

The world of decentralized finance, or DeFi, has opened up new possibilities for creating and implementing financial policies. While traditional laws and regulations set the parameters for how financial activity should be conducted, they can often be cumbersome and slow to update. In the world of Web3, code has the potential to be a better policy tool than law.

Computer code, or “dry code”, can be used to encode rules in verifiable, permissionless and self-custodial protocols, providing an alternative to traditional “wet code”. This approach relies on incentives and the transparency of the technology itself.

Regulations are important because they can promote orderly and efficient markets and protect investors from those who may take advantage of them. One example is the problem of leverage, i.e., when people trade on margin, or borrow money they have to pay back. Without going into detail, the math behind leverage is such that gains and losses increase linearly while risk increases quadratically. In other words, if you have 5x leverage you only gain or lose five times the amount of money, but the risk is twenty-five times higher.

Dry code can be used to create incentives for prudent lending, for example, by limiting the amount of leverage that can be used in a given transaction. This can help protect investors from taking on more risk than they can afford to lose. By taking advantage of code, DeFi protocols could also make sure that users are aware of the risks associated with their investments, and provide them with the tools they need to make informed decisions.

In addition to limiting leverage, DeFi policies could also be used to create a more equitable market by requiring participants to disclose their positions and ensuring that the market is open to all parties. This could help to prevent insider trading and market manipulation.

Ultimately, the best tool for designing effective DeFi policies is Web3 itself. By leveraging the power of code, DeFi projects can ensure that their policies are transparent, verifiable, and enforceable. This will help to ensure that investors are protected and that the markets remain efficient and orderly.

Bulletpoints:
– Crypto lending firm Genesis held $5.1 billion in liabilities in the weeks following its freeze on withdrawals in November.
– The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York provided a breakdown of Genesis’ financial state heading into its restructuring.
– Genesis became the latest crypto firm caught up in the immediate fallout of FTX’s implosion, with three of its entities filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Crypto markets were abuzz today as Bitcoin rose 6% to trade at $22,300, while Ether was also trading up 5% to $1,640. Equities closed up, indicating a continued bullish trend in the market. However, one crypto firm has been feeling the heat of the market’s volatility.

Genesis, a crypto lending firm, has been struggling recently, with $5.1 billion in liabilities in the weeks following its freeze on withdrawals in November. In a first-day motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, interim CEO Derar Islim provided a breakdown of Genesis’ financial state heading into its restructuring.

The company has become the latest crypto firm caught up in the immediate fallout of FTX’s implosion, with three of its entities – Genesis HoldCo, Genesis Global Capital LLC and Genesis Asia Pacific PTE. LTD – filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Thursday. Islim said that the collapse of FTX and sister company Alameda sparked a “run on the bank”, with customers demanding Genesis repay $827 million in loans, forcing its lending units to freeze withdrawals.

The filing outlines $2.9 billion of Genesis’ liabilities, including $1.6 billion in receivables, $820 million in liabilities to customers, $190 million in liabilities to creditors and $100 million in liabilities to shareholders. Islim also noted that Genesis’ total liabilities may be higher than the amount detailed in the filing.

The filing is the latest in a string of bankruptcies in the crypto space. It remains to be seen how the firm will fare in the coming months, but it is clear that the company is struggling to stay afloat. As the crypto markets continue to be volatile, it is important for companies to take steps to mitigate the risk associated with the industry.

• The Stellar Development Foundation was revealed to be among the bankrupt crypto lending desk’s largest creditors with a claim for $13 million.
• The foundation has confirmed it loaned around $13 million to Genesis in 2022, but described the sum as “immaterial” in relation to the rest of its treasury.
• The Stellar Development Foundation currently holds 30 billion XLM to be used for promoting and enhancing Stellar, with the paper value of its treasury estimated to be above $200 million.

The Stellar Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization set up to promote growth on the Stellar blockchain, has been revealed to be among the largest creditors of the bankrupt crypto lending giant Genesis. According to bankruptcy filings, the foundation has a claim for $13 million against Genesis.

The foundation has confirmed the loan, saying that the loaned amount of $13 million to the lending desk in 2022 is immaterial when compared to the rest of its treasury. The Stellar Development Foundation currently holds around 30 billion XLM tokens, which gives it a paper value of over $200 million.

The entanglement between the Stellar Development Foundation and Genesis is the latest fallout from the crypto lending desk’s bankruptcy filing. Genesis had been operating since 2018, offering crypto-backed loans to customers in a variety of currencies.

However, due to a variety of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, Genesis was unable to keep up with its loan obligations and had to file for bankruptcy in January 2021.

In addition to the loan to the Stellar Development Foundation, Genesis has also received numerous other creditors who are seeking repayment. Among the larger creditors are Block.one, the company behind the EOS blockchain, and overseas exchanges FTX and OKEx.

In response to the bankruptcy filing, the Stellar Development Foundation has stated that it is working with Genesis and its creditors to ensure that the process is handled as fairly and efficiently as possible.

The Stellar Development Foundation is committed to ensuring that its loan to Genesis is repaid in full, and that its own interests are taken into account. The foundation is also continuing to actively support the Stellar blockchain, and its mission to promote growth on the platform.

Ultimately, the Stellar Development Foundation’s involvement in the Genesis bankruptcy serves as a reminder of the risks associated with crypto investments. While the foundation expects to be repaid in full, it is important to note that these types of investments can be highly volatile and unpredictable. Any investor considering such investments should be aware of the potential risks.