The S&P 500 index has declined about 5% this week while the Nasdaq Composite is down more than 5.5%. Investors fear that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes could cause an economic downturn. The yield curve between the two-year and 10-year Treasury notes, which is watched closely by analysts for predicting a recession, has inverted the most since the year 2000. Among all the mayhem, it is encouraging to see that Bitcoin (BTC) has outperformed both the major indices and has fallen less than 4% in the week. Could this be a sign that Bitcoin’s bottom may be close by? …

Canada’s crypto exchange landscape appears to be consolidating after Coinsquare, one of the largest digital asset trading platforms in the country, acquired CoinSmart for an undisclosed amount. On Thursday, Coinsquare announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase all issued and outstanding shares of CoinSmart’s wholly-owned subsidiary Simply Digital. Once the deal becomes final, CoinSmart will hold a roughly 12% ownership stake in Coinsquare on a pro-forma basis. Shares of the CoinSmart crypto exchange, which trade on the NEO Exchange, were up 67% on Friday, largely in response to the news. The acquisition makes Coinsquare one of …

Israeli-based crypto exchange Bits of Gold became the first crypto firm in the country to receive a license from the Capital Markets Authority according to social media posts from the company on Sept. 18. As a result of attaining the license, Bits of Gold will be able to store digital currencies through secured custody in a “Bits of Gold Wallet” they have been working on for some time. It will also start providing a service that enables banks and other financial institutions to connect to its digital asset services. In a public statement, Bits of Gold said that the license …

Crypto markets are flashing a bit of green on Sept. 22 as Bitcoin (BTC) price tacked on a 4.7% gain to trade above $19,300 and Ether (ETH) surged 6.5% to recapture the $1,300 level. RSR and and Astar Network (ASTAR) also surged by 23% and 17% respectively, but the more notable mover of the day was XRP. Currently, XRP price reflects a near 25% gain and the asset is up 41% in the past month. According to defense lawyer, James K. Filan, on Sept. 18 Ripple Labs filed a motion for summary judgement - a legal process which involves the …

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinFlex announced a structuring proposal in response to user feedback following the platform experiencing liquidity issues. In a Wednesday blog post, CoinFlex said under the proposal — which will be subject to a vote and court approval— creditors will own 65% of the company, while its team members will be allocated 15% of shares as part of an employee share option plan. According to the platform, Series B investors would remain shareholders in the restructured company should the plan be approved. “As with any reorganization, unfortunately, most shareholders get wiped out,” said CoinFlex CEO Mark Lamb and CRO …

Cryptocurrencies have been in a bear trend since mid-August after they failed to break above the $1.2 trillion market capitalization resistance. Even with the current bear trend and a brutal 25% correction, it has not been enough to break the 3-month-long ascending trend. The crypto markets' aggregate capitalization declined 7.2% to $920 billion in the 7 days leading to Sept. 21. Investors wanted to play it safe ahead of the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting, which decided to increase the interest rate by 0.75%. By increasing the cost of borrowing cash, the monetary authority aims to curb inflationary pressure while …

As the crypto community grows, issues within the crypto community become more complex. Regulatory, political and social issues often get in the way of crypto adoption, slowing the advancements within the space. In response to these issues, crypto exchange Binance formed a task force called the Global Advisory Board (GAB). The board consists of individuals expected to tackle any issues that may arise as the exchange continues its initiatives to advance crypto, blockchain and Web3 adoption. The group will be led by a former United States Senator, Max Baucus. Members include various figures like Ibukun Awosika, HyungRin Bang, Bruno Bezard, …

The Federal Reserve hiked rates by 75 basis points on Sept. 21 and Fed chair Jerome Powell projected another 125 basis points increase before the end of the year. If that happens, it will take the benchmark rate to 4.4% by the end of the year, which is sharply higher than the June estimates of 3.8%. The Fed also intimated that it only expects rate cuts to be considered in 2024. The expectation of higher rates pushed the 2-year Treasury to 4.1%, its highest level since 2007. This could attract several investors who are looking for safety in this uncertain …

Crypto exchange Binance received a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai's Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), enabling the crypto exchange to offer a range of virtual asset services to qualified retail and institutional investors, the company disclosed on Tuesday. The development follows the issuance of the provisional license granted in March, that permitted the company to set up an office in the United Arab Emirates and provide digital asset exchange services to pre-qualified investors and financial firms. With the new permission, Binance will be able to offer a range of virtual asset-related services to qualified retail and institutional investors …

Jesse Powell, the co-founder and chief executive officer of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has reportedly stepped down after more than 11 years at the platform. According to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg, Powell will be succeeded as CEO by chief operating officer Dave Ripley, who has been with Kraken since 2016. The former CEO will stay with the crypto exchange as the chair of the board, while the company searches for a new COO over the next few months. Powell reportedly said his decision to step back was due to Kraken growing in size: “It’s just gotten to be more draining …

Jerry Sambuaga, the deputy ministry with Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, has proposed a rule which would require leadership at the country’s crypto exchanges to have more representation from its citizens. In a Tuesday parliamentary meeting which included Indonesian regulatory officials, a letter submitted by Sambuaga suggested several policy changes in response to the “interesting year for the development of physical trading of crypto assets” in the country. Among the proposed rules included a requirement for two-thirds of directors and commissioners at crypto firms to be “Indonesian citizens and domiciled in Indonesia.” A Wednesday report from Bloomberg suggested that the proposed …

Despite the current struggle in the global economy, the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and crypto seems to be closing with each passing day. For example, earlier this month, Vienna-based fintech unicorn Bitpanda announced that it was adding commodities to its list of investment options, thus allowing investors to rake in profits from short-term price fluctuations related to traditional instruments such as oil, natural gas and wheat. In a recent interview with Cointelegraph, the company’s CEO, Eric Demuth, noted that the bear market had had no major impact on investor demand. He claims that more people are now looking for …