BitDigest - Friday June 11, 2021
Crypto prices finding resistance with only BTC showing a weekly up-tick among the top digital currencies by marketcap
France and Switzerland are initiating a CBDC pilot to test the wholesale lending market
Binance appears to be under attack by regulators and banks
The Headlines
France and Switzerland Piloting CBDC
The central banks of Switzerland and France will pilot Europe’s first cross-border CBDC to test the bank-to-bank wholesale lending market.
Basel Committee Recommends Severe Capital Requirements for Crypto
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is taking a “new conservative prudent treatment” on traditional cryptocurrencies like bitcoin (non stablecoins) and is recommending a 1,250% risk weighting by banks offering both long and short exposure to the digital assets.
SEC Identifies Investor Risks with Bitcoin Futures
The US Securities and Exchange Commission issued an Investor Bulletin warning investors “with exposure to the Bitcoin futures market to weigh carefully the potential risks and benefits of the investment.”
IMF Questioning El Salvador's Bitcoin Plans
A spokesman for the International Monetary Fund said El Salvador’s “adoption of bitcoin as legal tender raises a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis" and could impact ongoing negotiations over new financial assistance packages.
Nigeria Planning to Launch CBDC Pilot in 2021
Central Bank of Nigeria officials announced that “before the end of the year, the Central Bank will be making a special announcement and possibly launching a [CBDC] pilot scheme in order to be able to provide this kind of currency to the populace.”
India Investigating Binance's Domestic Exchange for FX Violations
India’s federal Enforcement Directorate is investigating Binance’s whole-owned trading subsidiary WazirX for suspected violation of foreign exchange regulations involving transactions worth 27.90 billion rupees ($381.93 million).
Iran Enforcing Summer Mining Ban
Iranian authorities have confiscated 3,000 crypto mining rigs in the period of a week as the Islamic Republic moves to enforce its summer ban on mining. Over the past year Iranian officials have shut over 180 crypto mining farms in the capital province of Tehran alone.
Texas Allows Crypto Custody at State-Chartered Banks
The Texas Department of Baking announced that state-chartered banks can now provide customers with virtual currency custody services, as long as the bank has adequate protocols in place to effectively manage the risks and comply with applicable law.
BITF Receiving New Rigs and Heading to NASDAQ
BitFarms (TSXV: BITF) plans to increase the Quebec-based crypto miner’s installed hashrate by 120 PH/s (100% powered by hydroelectricity) to a total of 1.54 EH/s based on the receipt of new MicroBT miners this month with a similar in July. The company announced that its shares will also begin to trade on NASDAQ.
RIOT Increases May BTC Production by 219%
Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) announced May production of 227 bitcoin brining its year-to-date total to 924 BTC, an increase of more than 100% of its pre-halving 2020 totals.
BTBT Adding 400 Phash in Mining Capacity
Digihost Technologies has entered into a strategic co-mining agreement with Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT) to provide and operate a 20MW bitcoin mining system for the publicly traded crypto miner. The new operation is expected to increase BTBT’s hashrate by 400 Phash/s.
DraftKings Prohibited from Adding Crypto by State Regulators
The CEO of DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) said that regulators have prevented the online betting company from adding digital currencies to the platform in any of the 12 states DKNG operates in explaining that their system is regulated on a state-by-state basis and “as of now, crypto is not an approved payment type in any of the states where we’re live.”
1GW Renewable Power Data Center Coming to Texas
Manhattan Solar Partners, a joint venture between BIT5IVE and GMine has announced plans to break ground on crypto data centers utilizing over a gigawatt of renewable energy in Texas by Q3’21.
Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) will provide crypto services to ForUsAll Alt 401(k) investment platform which will allow plan-employees to transfer up to 5% of their balances into a secure account that will allow them to buy, hold, and sell over 50 different cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin Mining Council Formally Established
Following the recent announcement by Elon Musk and Michael Saylor The Bitcoin Mining Council, a voluntary and open forum for bitcoin miners committed to the network and shared practices, transparency, and educating the public on the benefits of bitcoin and bitcoin mining has been formally established.
It is being reported on multiple sources that Musk will not have a formal role in the organization.
CryptpPunk 7235 Sells for $11.7 Million
Sotheby’s auction house announced another major sale selling a rare Lava Labs created NFT “CryptoPunk #7523,” a pixelated facial image of a green-blue alien wearing a medical mask for $11.75 million.
Exchange, Custody and Product News
Silvergate Cuts Binance's SWIFT Access
The Block is reporting that Silvergate Bank (NYSE: SI) has stopped providing SWIFT services to Binance and will no longer support USD deposits and withdrawals using the interbank messaging system.
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BitDigest is a weekday news update on digital currencies and blockchain technology for friends and partners of Parsons & Whittemore, a single family office based in Rye Brook, New York. Receipt of BitDigest is by approval of the Author. The commentary, analysis, opinions and recommendations in this newsletter represent the personal and subjective views of the Author, and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in this newsletter is obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. Neither the Author nor any of the Author's affiliates make any guarantee or other promise as to any results that may be obtained from reading this newsletter. While past performance may be analyzed in this newsletter, past performance should not be considered indicative of future performance. No reader should make any investment decision without first consulting his or her own financial advisor and conducting his or her own research and due diligence. The Author is not making a solicitation or offer to buy or sell any securities of any kind.