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The Crypto Titans’ $160 Million War Chest Threatens Senate Democrats

BlockChainBulletin Staff

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The Crypto Titans' $160 Million War Chest Threatens Senate Democrats

(Bloomberg) — Cryptocurrency billionaires and their allies have amassed a $160 million war chest to protect their fortunes, backing U.S. candidates who favor light regulation of the troubled industry.

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The staggering sum makes the cryptocurrency industry one of the most influential players in federal campaign finance. It’s the kind of money that has already proven it can ruin California’s Senate race. In November it could be crucial to handing over the Senate majority to the Republicans.

Democratic control of the Senate hinges on the re-election of Banking Chairman Sherrod Brown of Ohio Jon Tester of Montana, both cryptocurrency skeptics and with enormous influence on the fate of the crypto titans’ key legislative goals. They are also the only two Democrats in office this year in states won by Donald Trump in the last election, making them prime targets for Republicans.

Fairshake, the cryptocurrency industry’s political action committee, and allied groups have nearly doubled their funding in recent weeks after receiving $25 million each from Ripple Labs, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Global Inc. I billionaire twins Cameron Winklevoss AND Tyler Winklevosswho co-founded cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, contributed $4.9 million earlier this year.

CEO of Coinbase Brian Armstrong, whose estimated net worth has surged 50% this year as the cryptocurrency market rebounds to $10.8 billion on Thursday, urged his followers last week to vote for lawmakers of both parties that do not support digital assets. Armstrong traveled to Capitol Hill this week to meet with more than a dozen senators from both parties. Tester was on the list, and he later said he wanted to talk to other senators about a cryptocurrency regulation bill.

Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said the company does not control Fairshake and has tasked the PAC with pushing the industry’s agenda in elections.

“We have learned as an industry that you need to show up politically to be heard,” he said. “We are very, very committed to making it happen. We are very busy in this cycle and beyond. This is just the beginning of a long journey.”

Regulatory objectives

Cryptocurrency giants want to reduce oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has sued many major crypto operators and imposed heavy fines. Gary Gensler, the agency’s president, said the industry is riddled with fraud and that exchanges do not adequately safeguard their customers’ assets and often mix them with their own funds.

Platforms like Coinbase, which the SEC sued last year for allegedly violating securities laws, have a lot to lose if the regulator’s position holds. The SEC alleges that Coinbase made billions of dollars by illegally promoting the sale of securities and also failed to register as required as an exchange, broker, and clearing house.

Fairshake spokesman Josh Vlasto said this week that the super PAC is keeping an eye on both Brown and Tester’s reelection races, although it has not committed to spending on either race. Earlier this year, Kristin Smith, CEO of the trade group Blockchain Association, said the industry would watch how Brown handles the cryptocurrency legislative agenda.

The Democratic-led Senate has so far failed to follow up on the package of industry-friendly regulations, which the Republican-controlled House passed in May.

Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who met with Armstrong this week, said she is working with senators on legislation to address the regulation of cryptocurrencies by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, the preferred cryptocurrency regulator.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer supports this effort, calling it “sensible regulation.”

Heavy expenses

Fairshake spent $10 million ahead of California’s open March Senate primary to pummel progressive Rep. Katie Porter, a crypto-skeptic Democrat, with negative ads before her defeat. A TV ad called the congresswoman a fake and a skilled actress as words about her being a bully, a liar and unfit flashed across the screen. The ads did not mention cryptocurrencies.

The high-visibility election influence campaign represents a notable evolution from a year ago, when the cryptocurrency industry was reeling from a barrage of scandals and corporate failures, including the implosion of trading giant FTX in late 2022.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried built significant political influence in Washington with tens of millions of dollars in donations during the 2022 elections. He was found guilty of a series of crimes related to his management of FTX and sentenced in March to 25 years in prison.

The consequences of his political donations continue. Just last month, a federal judge sentenced one of his top deputies to more than seven years in prison for making millions in political donations while at FTX, drawing on loans from Alameda Research and acting as a straw donor for Bankman-Fried .

The cryptocurrency market has rebounded this year thanks largely to U.S. regulators’ approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in January, attracting more investors to the most popular cryptocurrency.

Choose sides

Armstrong recently touted a cryptocurrency advocacy website, which gave Brown an “F” grade and recommended Brown’s Republican opponent, Bernie Moreno, a longtime cryptocurrency advocate who founded a securities firm based on blockchain. The website gives Tester a mediocre “C”.

Brown and Tester are feeling the pressure. Both senators bristled last week when asked about the issue, with Brown repeatedly saying he has spoken to reporters enough about cryptocurrencies and that he won’t negotiate with the press.

Tester, a frequent ally of the banking industry, said he remained fairly neutral on cryptocurrencies. “When I fully understand it, then we will deal with it,” he said.

Moreno, meanwhile, has courted the industry with his cryptocurrency expertise. “I’m facing the most anti-crypto guy in America,” he said at a recent CoinDesk conference in Austin, Texas.

Tester’s Republican opponent, Tim Sheehy, criticized the Montana senator in posts on X, accusing Tester of trying to kill cryptocurrencies. Sheehy called Bitcoin and Cash “FREEDOM money.”

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Cryptocurrency Price August 1: Bitcoin Dips Below $65K; Solana, XRP Down Up To 8%

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Major cryptocurrencies fell in Thursday trading following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at 5.25-5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while also signaling the possibility of a rate cut at its next meeting in September. The unanimous decision by the Federal Open Market Committee reflects a continued wait-and-see approach as it monitors inflation trends.

CoinSwitch Markets Desk said: “Bitcoin has fallen below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts at the next Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened.”

Meanwhile, CoinDCX research team said: “The crypto market has plunged after the Fed decision. Tomorrow’s US unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with the ‘actual’ figure coming in higher than the ‘expected’ one, which is positive for cryptocurrencies.”

At 12:21 pm IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was down 3.2% at $64,285, while Ethereum was down nearly 4.5% at $3,313. Meanwhile, the global market cryptocurrency The market capitalization fell 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.

“Bitcoin needs to clear its 200-day EMA at $64,510 to consolidate further. Otherwise, a retest of $62,000 could be in the cards,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.

Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also saw declines.

The volume of all stablecoins is now $71.64 billion, which is 92.19% of the total cryptocurrency market volume in 24 hours, according to data available on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 54.99%. BTC volume in the last 24 hours increased by 23.3% to $35.7 billion.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views provided by experts are personal. They do not represent the views of the Economic Times)

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Altcoins WIF, BONK, RUNE, JUP Down 10% While Bitcoin Drops 4%

BlockChainBulletin Staff

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Altcoins WIF, BONK, RUNE and JUP drop 10% as Bitcoin recedes 4%

Altcoins dogwifhat, Bonk, THORChain, and Jupiter have suffered losses of more than 10%, while Bitcoin is down 4% in the last 24 hours.

After a period of relative calm yesterday, July 31, Bitcoin (BTC) price action has seen a drastic change as the cryptocurrency dropped by more than $3,500, bringing its value to $63,300. At the same time, altcoins mirrored this trend, with the total value of liquidated positions rising to nearly $225 million over the course of the day.

Initially, the week started on a positive note for Bitcoin, which reached its highest point since early June, hitting $70,000. However, this peak was short-lived, as it was quickly rejected, leading to a substantial decline, with Bitcoin falling below $65,500.

The cryptocurrency managed to regain some stability, trading comfortably at around $66,800. However, following a Press conference According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the value of Bitcoin has fallen again to $64,300, down more than 3% in 24 hours.

BTC Price Chart 24 Hours | Source: crypto.news

The recession coincided with a relationship from the New York Times stating that Iran had called for retaliatory measures against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, increasing the risk of further conflict in the region.

Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark interest rates in place, offering little information on a planned September rate cut. Powell also hinted that while no concrete decisions have been made on the September adjustment, there is growing consensus that a rate cut is likely.

Amid Bitcoin’s decline, altcoins have suffered even more significant losses. For example, dogwifhat (Wife) saw a 12.4% drop and (DISGUST) has suffered a 10% drop. Other altcoins such as THORChain (RUNE) also fell by 10%, while Jupiter (JUPITER) and the Ethereum naming service (ENS) decreased by 8% and 9% respectively.

Among the largest-cap cryptocurrencies, the biggest losers are Solana (SOL) with a decrease of 8%, (Exchange rate risk) down 6%, Cardano (ADA) down 4%, and both Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) recording a decrease of 4.4%.

Data from CoinGlass indicates that approximately 67,000 traders have been negatively impacted by this increased volatility. BTC positions have seen $61.85 million in liquidations, while ETH positions have faced $61 million. In total, the value of liquidated positions stands at $225.4 million at the time of writing.

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Riot Platforms Sees 52% Drop in Bitcoin Production in Q2

BlockChainBulletin Staff

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Riot Platforms posts 52% decrease in Bitcoin production for Q2

Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has released its second-quarter financial results, highlighting a decline in cryptocurrency mined due to the recent halving.

Colorado-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot platforms revealed its second quarter financial results, highlighting a significant reduction in mined cryptocurrencies attributed to the recent halving event that took place in early April.

The company reported total revenue of $70 million for the quarter ended July 31, a decline of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Riot Platforms attributed the revenue decline primarily to a $9.7 million decrease in engineering revenue, which was partially mitigated by a $6 million increase in Bitcoin extraction income.

During the quarter, the company mined 844 BTC, representing a decline of over 50% from Q2 2023, citing the halving event and increasing network difficulty as major factors behind the decline. Riot Platforms reported a net loss of $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share, missing Zacks Research forecast a loss of $0.16 per share.

Halving increases competitive pressure

The Colorado-based firm said the average cost of mining one BTC in the second quarter, including energy credits, rose to $25,327, a remarkable 341% increase from $5,734 per BTC in the same quarter of 2023. Despite this significant increase in production costs, the firm remains optimistic about maintaining competitiveness through recent deals.

For example, following the Recent acquisition Cryptocurrency firm Block Mining, Riot has increased its distributed hash rate forecast from 31 EH/s to 36 EH/s by the end of 2024, while also increasing its 2025 forecast from 40 EH/s to 56 EH/s.

Riot Platforms Hashrate Growth Projections by 2027 | Source: Riot Platforms

Commenting on the company’s financials, Riot CEO Jason Les said that despite the halving, the mining company still managed to achieve “significant operational growth and execution of our long-term strategy.”

“Despite this reduction in production available to all Bitcoin miners, Riot reported $70 million in revenue for the quarter and maintained strong gross margins in our core Bitcoin mining business.”

Jason Les

Following its Q2 financial report, Riot Platforms shares fell 1.74% to $10.19, according to Google Finance data. Meanwhile, the American miner continues to chase Canadian rival Bitfarms, recently acquiring an additional 10.2 million BITF shares, increasing its stake in Bitfarms to 15.9%.

As previously reported by crypto.news, Riot was the first announced a $950 million takeover bid for Bitfarms in late May, arguing that Bitfarms’ founders were not acting in the best interests of all shareholders. They said their proposal was rejected by Bitfarms’ board without substantive engagement.

In response, Bitfarms She said that Riot’s offer “significantly understates” its growth prospects. Bitfarms subsequently implemented a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” to protect its strategic review process from hostile takeover attempts.

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Aave Price Increases Following Whales Accumulation and V3.1 Launch

BlockChainBulletin Staff

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Aave price surges amid whale accumulation and V3.1 launch

Decentralized finance protocol Aave is seeing a significant spike in whale activity as the market looks to recover from the recent crash that pushed most altcoins into key support areas earlier this week.

July 31, Lookonchain shared details indicating that the whales had aggressively accumulated Aave (AAVE) over the past two days. According to the data, whales have withdrawn over 58,848 AAVE worth $6.47 million from exchanges during this period.

In one instance, whale address 0x9af4 withdrew 11,185 AAVE worth $1.23 million from Binance. Meanwhile, another address moved 21,619 AAVE worth over $2.38 million from the exchange and deposited the tokens into Aave.

These withdrawals follow a previous transfer of 26,044 AAVE from whale address 0xd7c5, amounting to over $2.83 million withdrawn from Binance.

AAVE price has surged over 7% in the past 24 hours amid buy-side pressure from these whales. The DeFi token is currently trading around $111 after jumping over 18% in the past week.

Recently, the price of AAVE increased by over 8% after Aave founder Marc Zeller announced a proposed fee change aimed at adopting a buyback program for AAVE tokens.

Aave v3.1 is available

The total value locked in the Aave protocol currently stands at around $22 billion. According to DeFiLlamaApproximately $19.9 billion is on Aave V3, while the V2 chain still holds approximately $1.9 billion in TVL and V1 approximately $14.6 million.

Aave Labs announced Previously, Aave V3.1 was made available on all networks with active Aave V3 instances.

V3.1 features improvements that are intended to improve the overall security of the DeFi protocol. The Aave DAO governance has approved the v3.1 improvements, which also include operational efficiency and usability for the network.

Meanwhile, Aave Labs recently outlined a ambitious roadmap for the projectwith a 2030 vision for Aave V4, among other developments.

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