Alpaca Finance Institutional Newsletter #17
Nearly 6 months after filing for bankruptcy, we are seeing the initial signs of movement in the Celsius case in the form of business unit acquisitions and court-ordered asset liquidations. Publicly traded institutions such as Galaxy Digital and Goldman Sachs are rumored to be cueing up to purchase firms and assets tied to Celsius and FTX. Though the offers would be at a heavy discount to the market, this is an overall positive sign of the retained value of the crypto market.
This is important because centralized bankruptcies seen over ’22 give cause for concern considering the number of assets that have been frozen and at some point will hit the market. Many eyes remain on these deals because what ultimately happens in the unwinding of Celsius, FTX, Blockfi and Voyager will be one of the biggest factors in setting the trend of the overall sentiment and industry direction going into 2023.
A potential net positive out of the FTX collapse was the call to centralized exchanges to provide transparent proof of reserves, something not seen in traditional financial systems. A bill has been introduced in US congress to formalize such requirements into law. Although the intention is good, what is ultimately required is clear and fair regulation to bring crypto companies such as FTX completely onshore. Otherwise, history is likely to repeat itself with the attractiveness of more lenient offshore jurisdictions, as it has over the past several cycles.
News
- SEBA Bank partners with HashKey for institutional crypto adoption
- Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital to acquire Celsius’ GK8 in bankruptcy garage sale
- Goldman Sachs reportedly looking to buy crypto firms after FTX collapse
- Bankruptcy judge orders $44M in crypto to be returned to Celsius customers
Regulation
- Crypto consumer protection, proof-of-reserves bills introduced into US Congress
- Ripple files final submission against SEC as landmark case nears end
- Hong Kong to subject crypto exchanges to the same laws governing TradFi
- UK crypto bill to restrict services from abroad
Products
- Fintech Company ZELF launches anonymous Visa debit card with crypto recharge
- Zodia Custody launches service to protect users’ crypto from exchange insolvency
- ‘Father of the iPod’ helps Ledger create new cold crypto wallet
- Spain’s central bank to experiment with wholesale CBDCs
Funding
- Slowing crypto startup funding may still surpass 2021 record
- DeFi Protocol Perennial Launches, Announces $12M in Funding
- Jack Dorsey-Backed East African Bitcoin Miner Gridless Raises $2M
