Crypto News: ETH, Tezos, SEC, USDC Taking Over & More!

Foreign Bureau Weekly News Roundup here are the Top stories in crypto this week Crypto crash continues coins and tokens See their largest losses in weeks as Inflation comes in hotter than expected And Regulators reiterate their desire to Crack down what's next for the crypto Market Everything is a security comments by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler confirmed that the Regulator is targeting every single coin And token besides BTC why some are Concerned eth could be on the sec's Radar Bullish altcoin announcements ethereum Moves one step closer to unstaking Anchor partners with Microsoft and Google becomes a tezos validator Everything you need to know Crypto and geopolitics Western countries Push for strict Global crypto Regulations while Eastern regions reveal Surprisingly pro-crypto rules which Countries will benefit the most from Crypto adoption Circle taking over the second largest Stablecoin issuer announces plans to Increase its Workforce by 25 following Mastercard's usdc web 3 payment Integration how will this impact Crypto's decentralization And the one and only Benjamin Karen Tells us what's been on his mind over

The last few days all this and More in Just a moment Good morning afternoon or evening thank You for tuning in my name is guy this Isn't financial advice and here is the News Last week the crypto Market took a nasty Tumble the cause of the crash was Twofold uncertainty around inflation and Uncertainty around crypto regulation as A cherry on top data from the Block Suggests that the liquidations of Leveraged long positions further Contributed to the cell pressure now the Uncertainty around inflation initially Began the week before last when the Consumer Price Index or CPI and the Producer price index or PPI for January Both came in higher than investors were Expecting This is a problem because investors were Convinced that inflation would continue Its rapid decline in case you missed the Memo the FED has been raising interest Rates to fight inflation this raising of Interest rates has basically been Sucking money out of asset markets as Everyone pays down more expensive debts And investors price in lower corporate Profits because of the money shortage The good news is that the CPI and PPI Are still coming down albeit much slower Than before the bad news is that the Fed's favorite inflation index actually

Went back into positive territory in January the personal consumption Expenditures or pce Rose by 0.1 percent From 5.3 percent to 5.4 percent this is A bigger deal than you think because it Suggests that inflation in the U.S won't Be coming down anytime soon if anything It suggests that the US could be on the Brink of a second wave of inflation Despite all the rate hikes logically This means the FED will have to raise Rates even higher in response and that's Just the macro side of the story The Crypto side of the story is somehow Looking even worse if you're subscribed To My Weekly Newsletter you'll know that I talked quite a bit about the recent Announcement by the fed the FDIC and the OCC about volatility in the crypto Market if you watched our video about Operation choke point 2 you'll know that The fed the FDIC and the OCC all put out Eerily similar warnings in early January In the weeks that followed we saw U.S Banks distance themselves from the Crypto industry and Regulators like the SEC started to crack down on crypto the Difference is that the recent Announcement by these three U.S agencies Explicitly talks about what could happen If there was a run on stable coins now For context most stable coins are backed By U.S government debt most of which is Held by regulated financial institutions

In the United States when you redeem Stable coins for US Dollars stablecoin Issuers sell some of this U.S government Debt to give you US dollars Now the announcement explicitly says Quote such deposits can be susceptible To large and Rapid outflows stemming From for example unanticipated Stablecoin redemptions Now call me crazy but this sounds like These U.S agencies are warning about Some kind of upcoming event that could Lead to mass stablecoin redemptions Ironically enough the only event that Could achieve this outcome is a Crackdown on stable coins by U.S Regulators and it's possible this is What's coming next To be fair the recent Announcement by The U.S agencies could just as easily be A reference to the billions of dollars Of redemptions we've seen of binance's Busd stablecoin after U.S Regulators Ordered paxos to stop issuing busd in Two weeks busd's market cap has fallen By 5 billion dollars and Counting The thing is that busd isn't out of the Woods just yet nor are other stable Coins that's because it was Simultaneously revealed that the SEC Intends to sue paxos arguing that the Busd stablecoin is a security for Reference a security is an asset like Corporate debt or a stock in a company

Which busd clearly isn't given that it's Also been about two weeks since the SEC Announced its intention to sue paxos the Actual lawsuit should be announced Within the next two weeks as per the 30-day period of the process it's Possible that the sec's reasoning in its Suit against busd could be applied to Other stable coins if this turns out to Be the case then it could lead to the Kind of run on stablecoin reserves that The three U.S agencies warned about in Their most recent announcement this Seems likely because SEC chairman Gary Gensler recent confirmed in an interview That everything is a security aside from Bitcoin's BTC quote Everything other than Bitcoin Gensler Said you can find a website you can find A group of entrepreneurs they might set Up their legal entities in a tax Haven Offshore they might have a foundation They might lower it up to try to Arbitrage and make it hard Jurisdictionally or so forth now the Point about crypto foundations is Extremely important because most major Altcoins have non-profit foundations Which coordinate their development Including ethereum Some in the crypto Community have taken This as a second hint from Gary that he Thinks eth is a security the first hint Gary gave was back in September when he

Said that proof of stake Cryptocurrencies could be Securities he Made this comment on the same day that Ethereum transitioned from proof of work To proof of stake eth's price Subsequently collapsed by 11 but Gary's Comments were quickly forgotten Concerns that Gary could be targeting Proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies Re-emerged after the SEC began cracking Down on centralized staking Services Earlier this month Kraken was the first Crypto company to settle with the SEC For offering staking services and it's Thought it won't be the last that the SEC targets the catch is that the sec's Crackdown has so far focused on the Centralized components of the crypto Industry be they staking services or Otherwise although this means that Centralized stable coins are at risk it Should mean that decentralized crypto Projects like ethereum will be safe from Undue scrutiny The caveat is that this could change When ethereum validators are allowed to Unstake and claim staking rewards take a Second to consider that eth's profile as An asset could radically change after The Shanghai upgrade at least in the Eyes of the SEC until then eth is still Technically a proof of work asset You can find out what the Shanghai Upgrade could mean for eth using the

Link in the description Speaking of Shanghai ethereum developers Recently announced the penultimate Unstaking test net prior to the mainnet Upgrade the chapelia test net will be Going live early tomorrow morning Specifically just after 4 AM UTC Unfortunately the date for the Shanghai Upgrade has yet to be announced now Aside from the possibility that the SEC Will see eth in a different light after Shanghai the upgrade is otherwise very Bullish for ethereum a successful Upgrade will prove to institutional Investors that it's safe to stake and Unstake eth on the beacon chain which Will increase confidence in the project It appears that eth has yet to price in The outcome of a successful Shanghai Upgrade this could be due to all the Regulatory uncertainty around everything Besides Bitcoin it could also be due to The uncertainty around the possibility That ethereum validators will sell lots Of eth when they unstake regardless it's Clear that institutions haven't Completely taken their eyes off crypto This was made clear by Microsoft's Recent partnership with anchor a Decentralized blockchain node hosting Service for cryptocurrency the Partnership will see anchor provide Crypto node services for Enterprise Solutions the price of the anchor token

Almost doubled following the Announcement what's interesting is that Its long-term price history looks almost Identical to most other altcoins it's Too soon to say whether this short-term Reversal is the beginning of a new Bullish Trend but the crypto and macro Factors suggest it's not Note that as impressive as Anchor's Partnership is it's important to Remember that relying on centralized Servers such as Microsoft Azure for node Hosting arguably negates a Cryptocurrency's decentralization If you watched our video about crypto Decentralization you'll know what Decentralization really means as it so Happens tezos recently announced a Similar partnership with Google Cloud The partnership will make it possible For Google Cloud customers to deploy Tezos nodes and build tezos daps Google Has reportedly been interested in crypto Partnerships since January 2022 via its Digital assets team like anchor Xtz saw a speculative pump after the Announcement unlike anchor xtz's longer Term price action doesn't suggest that The coin is about to enter a new bull Cycle this is unfortunate as tezos is Quite a promising project but I guess It's time to shine won't come around Until the next bull market make no Mistake however it's important to take

Note of these altcoin announcements During the bear Market they are the Fundamentals that will take these coins And tokens to new all-time highs when The bull market inevitably comes back Just be aware of any regulatory risks And any selling by Insiders on that note Don't forget that the world is much Bigger than the USA if your favorite Altcoin is declared a security by the SEC it doesn't mean that it's dead it Just means that it will be indefinitely Out Of Reach to retail investors in the US while it's true that the US is the Largest crypto Market this seems to be Changing If you've watched any of our videos About unelected and unaccountable International organizations such as the Financial action task force or fat F You'll know their regulatory Recommendations for countries around the World tend to be aligned with and in the Geopolitical interests of the United States not surprisingly most of these International organizations have been About as anti-crypto as the SEC the one That's been making the headlines lately Is the financial stability board or FSB And that's because it's in the process Of putting together recommendations for Global crypto regulations over the Weekend Indian officials revealed that The fsb's global crypto regulation

Recommendations will be the precursor to A so-called synthesis paper it will be Published in partnership with another American-affiliated international Organization called the international Monetary fund or IMF this upcoming Synthesis paper seems to have its roots In the imf's recent realization that Crypto's purpose is to compete with and Eventually conquer the traditional Financial system this is code for Displacing the US dollar as the world's Reserve currency which of course the USA Does not want now when the fatf FSB IMF Or any other International organizations Announced that some kind of global Regulations are in the works then Countries around the world typically Wait and see what they are before Implementing regulations in their Regions however this doesn't seem to be The case with crypto last year the EU Announced its finalized crypto Recommendations and the final text Should be released sometime next month Earlier this year the UK released its Own upcoming crypto regulations in both Cases the crypto regulations are Abnormally pro-crypto in stark contrast To the United States more recently Hong Kong Kong announced that it will be Allowing institutional investors to get Exposure to crypto sometime in the Summer and may allow retail investors to

Follow suit according to Bloomberg this Pro-crypto stance was not so subtly Approved by officials in mainland China This announcement LED Gemini exchange Co-founder Cameron Winklevoss to Speculate that the next crypto Bull Run Will begin because of East Asian Investors other crypto analysts pointed Out that pro-crypto regulations in Asia Will also attract lots of crypto Companies and crypto projects taken Together these announcements suggest That countries aren't nearly as Keen to Follow the United States as lead on Crypto regulation the fact that this List includes countries that are Generally considered to be close allies Of the United States underscores the Extent to which geopolitical Rifts are Forming it also highlights the fact that Any country that decides to defy the U.S On crypto regulation staff plans to reap Massive rewards and any country that Complies with the US's crypto Regulations will quickly be left behind Including of course the US itself in Other words the global competition for Crypto adoption has begun The United States is hyper aware of this New geopolitical tug of war and it Happens to have a secret weapon up its Sleeve that's been hidden in plain sight This weapon is a crypto company with Close ties to the fed and the largest

Financial institutions on Wall Street This weapon is circle internet Financial If you watched our video about the Company taking over crypto you'll know That Circle has been making Mad Money During the bear Market recall that most Stable coins in circulation are backed By U.S government debt well the interest Rates on this debt have gone up as the FED has been raising rates This means that Circle has been making Billions in passive income from its usdc Reserves while every other crypto Company and project has been getting Wrecked by these higher rates and while These companies and projects have been Cutting their headcounts Circle wants to Increase its own by 25 percent At the same time usdc's use within the Crypto ecosystem has been increasing This is thanks to the Integrations that The stablecoin issuer has been able to Secure with Legacy payment institutions Such as MasterCard which recently made It possible to settle payments at Merchants Online using usdc Circle's exponential growth has even LED Ethereum Creator vitalik buterin to Voice his concerns that usdc could Decide future ethereum Forks this is Simply because centralized stable coins Like usdc are of Paramount importance to Ethereum's ecosystem especially in Decentralized finance protocols so what

Happens if U.S Regulators crack down on All the other stablecoin issuers and Leave circles usdc as the last man Standing well in short it would mean That the U.S government would Essentially have total control over the Crypto ecosystems which Leverage usdc Which is all of them the scariest part Of this possibility is that ensuring Usdc is the only stable coin standing is In the Strategic interest of the US Given the supposedly pro-crypto stance Of many of its geopolitical opponents And allies the only way the U.S could Retain control of the crypto industry in These circumstances is through usdc but Again that would require getting rid of Every other stable coin that's out there Or rather getting rid of every Stablecoin issuer that can't be Adequately controlled by U.S authorities There will still be other stable coins For other Fiat currencies but the US Would probably want all of them to be Issued by circle now I'll reiterate that This all assumes that crypto is becoming A part of the geopolitical game it Certainly looks like it is but some Would say this evidence is Circumstantial well since I'm already Speculating I'll give you one more Possibility to ponder when it comes to Stable coins and geopolitics coinbase Recently listed circle's eurostable coin

On its exchange like usdc Euro C is Presumably backed primarily by European Government debt the difference is that There are many different countries in The Eurozone and that means each Government has its own debt so to speak Anyone familiar with the Eurozone will Know that the European Central Bank must Be very careful when it raises interest Rates because some countries in the Eurozone can't handle these rate hikes Euro C could make it possible to subtly Support these weaker countries by buying Their government debt If the Fed is Raising interest rates to squeeze its Geopolitical Rivals having Circle create Stable coins for friendly countries Would make it possible for them to raise Interest rates to without defaulting BlackRock could buy up their stable Coins with borrowed money from the FED To prevent this outcome that really Would be something And with that it's time for Ben Cowan's Peerless crypto analysis take it away Ben Hey guy thanks for having me pleasure to Be here as always today I wanted to show An interesting way to look at the price Of Bitcoin and that's of course via the Extension from its 20-week moving Average I call this uh the short term Bubble risk and the point of measuring Bitcoin's price in this manner is it can

Help us identify when the asset is very Hot and likely due for a pullback or Very cold and due for a bounce back up To the upside now what you'll see here Are color-coded regions that go from Dark blue to dark red of course the Colder the color so your light dot the Light blues and the dark Blues mean We're generally below the 20 week Estimate during that time and when it's In the the hotter colors like yellow Orange and red it means we're getting Further and further extended from from The 20 week SMA and what you'll notice Is that our bear markets that we Experience we spend a generally long Amount of time Below this 20 week estimate you can see That occurred over here in 2014 it also Occurred in 2015 as well or sorry in 2018 as well and then more more recently In 2022 another way to visualize this is To just isolate certain certain levels So you could isolate anything below zero And show where that is on the chart and When you look at it like that you can Clearly see the bear markets of Bitcoin But one of the ways that I like to look At this is to only visualize when it's Greater than a hundred percent extended From its 20-week moving average one of The things you'll notice with Bitcoin Anytime it gets to being above a hundred Percent extended from the 20-week moving

Average it is normally meant a sizable Pullback is coming in the not so distant Future and you can see we reached that Point during the first peak of 2021 but Of course not the second one a lot of The metrics had time to adjust and That's why the first Peak Still Remains I think a lot of people's mind the main Peak sort of measure against when Thinking about Um you know when when was the actual Mania phase of this last cycle and of Course the extension from the 20 week SMA is something else the sort of Cements that this was a more Manic phase and what occurred later on In 2021 you can also of course add the 75 to 100 extension from the 20-week Moving average and see how sometimes we Sort of slowly build into the Mania Phase and then other times we just go Straight into it spend a few months up There and then and then we just go back Into a a bear Market which is what You'll often see following these major Extensions from the 20-week moving Average another asset that we can look At this for is ethereum and I mean I Know a lot of people are very interested In ethereum and you can see a very Similar type of pattern here whenever You see these large extensions from the 20-week moving average say of a hundred Percent or so it certainly means the

Asset is getting relatively heated and You are likely going to see some fairly Substantial pullbacks in the not so Distant future you can also look at this Too as we did with Bitcoin when you look At it and it's in in when it's below its 20-week moving average and then better Identify where where all the the bear Markets are occurring of course for this Asset the last thing I want to take a Look at is just the total market cap Because rather than you know isolate any Individual cryptocurrency we might as Well just look at the whole Market or Look at the market as a whole once again The bear markets are pretty easy to Identify but what you'll also notice is That when you come out of bear markets You can still spend some time in Relatively dull phases for often a year Or so before getting into a true Mania Phase and and that's generally why I Think a lot of us are expecting this Time around as well not not for it to be That drastically different from what We've seen before but in general Just a a long recovery year for Bitcoin Where it's likely going to chop uh Portfolios up both to the upside and the Downside for the next year but hopefully By the next having uh we can turn things Around which might coincidentally core Also correspond to a timely pivot by the Federal Reserve and a pivot hopefully

Back to quantitative easing hopefully This was insightful thanks for having me Again pleasure to be here as always I'll See you again next week Thanks Ben This Thursday Ben Rob from digital asset News and myself will be going live on Coin Bureau Clips at 9 00 a.m eastern Time that's 2 p.m GMT you'd be mad to Miss it and that is all for today's coin Bureau weekly crypto review if you Enjoyed it you know what to do hit that Like button subscribe button and Bell Icon too If you're looking to maximize your gains During the bear Market the coin Bureau Deals page is where you should go you Can find the link to that resource and Many others in the description below Thank you so much for watching and I Will see you all in next week's episode Thank you

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