Monat: August 2022

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Ex-BitMEX CEO says short ETH before Merge, but should you?

  • BitMEX’s former CEO says an unsuccessful ETH merge will cause a price crash.

  • The Merge, expected in mid-September, will see Ethereum transition to a Proof-of-Stake.

  • Ethereum has been gaining ahead of the merged platform.

Former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes says Ethereum ETH/USD could crash if the anticipated merge flops. According to Hayes, the best time to short the cryptocurrency is on the cusp of the PoS shift. He expects Ethereum to revisit $1,000 if the Merge becomes unsuccessful. The Ex-BitMEX CEO recommends using put options to hedge against the bearish scenario.

In the eventful scenario that the Merge becomes a success, Hayes says Ethereum could hit $5,000. He also expects the Fed’s monetary stance to have a major impact on the price. A bull case will be reinforced by a less aggressive move by the US central bank. Hayes says he will still not sell his ETH stake right into the Merge.

The comments by Hayes come when Ethereum is claiming new highs. At press time, the token was trading at $1,875, after sliding from a high of above $2,000. ETH’s price is up by 10.72% in the past one week. The gains reflect optimism around the PoS shift. Developers have already completed the final PoS merge on Goerli Testnet ahead of the Merge.

Ethereum meets resistance after the latest gains

Source – TradingView

From the technical outlook, Ethereum has hit resistance at the $1,950 level. The weekly chart still shows that the MACD line crossed above the moving average. That suggests a potential continuation of the bullish momentum. ETH is also about to clear above the 21-day MA on the weekly chart.

Concluding thoughts

Despite ETH hitting resistance at $1,950, it is bullish. Investors should watch for a breakout at $1,950 in the next few days. A retracement is also possible. The upcoming Merge will be a bull price trigger. Investors should also be cautious of potential merge-induced volatilities. The coin is a good buy on a breakout.

The post Ex-BitMEX CEO says short ETH before Merge, but should you? appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Canadian pension fund CDPQ writes off $150 million investment in Celsius

Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) has revealed that it wrote off its investment in Celsius. The Quebec-based pension fund had made an investment of $150 million (CAD$200 million) in the embattled crypto lender.

CDPQ manages approximately $303 billion (CAD$392 billion) in assets. It made the revelation of writing off the Celsius investment while giving its six-month (first half of the year) returns report, where the pension fund revealed that it made an average return of -7.9%.

Why did CDPQ write off its Celsius investment?

CDPQ CEO, Charles Emond said that the decision to write off the investment followed quite an extensive due diligence that involved experts and consultants. He also added that the decision was out of prudence saying that the fund had “arrived too soon” while the cryptocurrency sector was in transition.

CDPQ made the Celsius investment last October during a $400 million investment round that was led by the pension fund and WestCap Group.

But in recent developments since the Terra Luna crisis that plunged Celsius into a financial crisis, Celsius has been battling to remain afloat. It even filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in July after halting withdrawals due to worsening market conditions and arising liquidity problems. And in a petition filed by the Law firm Kirkland & Ellis on Sunday shows that the crypto lender (Celsius) could become bankrupt by October.

Celsius currently owes depositors about $2.8 billion in crypto that it is currently holding since halting withdrawals. However, Celsius is currently implementing a restructuring plan that includes setting up another Bitcoin mining plant to ensure it returns to financial stability.

The post Canadian pension fund CDPQ writes off $150 million investment in Celsius appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Colombia planning to launch Digital Currency to curb tax evasion

The government of Colombia has revealed that it is planning to launch a digital currency to curb tax evasion and enhance the traceability of citizens’ transactions

The plan for the digital currency was revealed through a statement given by Luis Carlos Reyes, who is the head of the Colombian tax authority DIAN. The move comes amid a move by many countries towards digitizing their economies to better understand and control the flow of money.

According to Reyes, this would be one of the proposals of the newly inaugurated president Gustavo Petro to curb tax evasion which is currently estimated to be between 6% and 8% of Colombian GDP. In essence, the digital currency will enhance the traceability of merchants’’ transactions to ensure that they do not evade taxes.

Cash payments restrictions

Among the other measures expected to follow the introduction of the digital currency is the restriction of cash payments over $2,400 (10 million Colombian pesos).

While the government is focused on curbing tax evasion, the changes might disrupt the payment channels of a majority of Colombians, especially after the cash crunch caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Colombians are also currently dependent on cash transactions and shifting to digital payments could be difficult.

According to data from the Financial Superintendency, Colombians prefer cash as their main means of payment method for groceries and transportation.

But the Central Bank of Colombia has shown that the circulation of bills has shot to the heist level in the past seventeen months.

The post Colombia planning to launch Digital Currency to curb tax evasion appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Unizen appoints Michael Healy as Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Healy has been in the crypto space since 2010 and is a co-founder of crypto platform Unit Network.

Unizen, a leading hybrid crypto exchange enabled for centralised and decentralised finance (CeDeFi), has appointed crypto veteran Michael Healy as its Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).

Sean Noga, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Unizen announced Healy’s appointment on Wednesday, lauding the former WikiLeaks developer as an experienced hand in the crypto space.

“Michael has been in the crypto space since 2010, and he originally worked for WikiLeaks and built their android application in 2010. He brought BTC into WikiLeaks after Visa/ MasterCard donations were shut off,” Noga wrote in a release shared with CoinJournal.

The Unizen CEO had hinted at the C-level appointment earlier this month.

CSO’s role includes advancing adoption strategies

Other than his role at WikiLeaks, especially with his work on bringing Bitcoin to the non-profit organisation, Healy also co-founded tokenisation DAO platform Unit Network and has previously held positions at London-based venture capital firm Wellington Partners, investing in top firms that include Spotify.

BNB Chain-built Unizen secured a $200 million funding commitment from investment firm Global Emerging Markets (GEM) in June this year. According to the platform, the milestone-based capital injection was aimed at helping boost ecosystem development even as the market battled crypto turbulence.

Unizen’s new CSO has the task of shaping and advancing the crypto exchange platform’s growth plans, CEO Noga noted. Healy’s work will also involve charting the company’s strategic direction and adoption.

The post Unizen appoints Michael Healy as Chief Strategy Officer appeared first on CoinJournal.