Monat: März 2023

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Bybit suspends USD payments via bank transfer

  • USD payments suspension impacts both national and international bank transfers.
  • Bybit will also pause USD withdrawals as from 10 March 2023.
  • Customers can however continue to buy crypto with credit or debit cards.

Bybit, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, will be suspending the US dollar (USD) payment option “until further notice,” a notice issued to customers on Saturday detailed.

The move follows a similar one taken earlier this year by Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. CoinJournal highlighted Binance’s announcement in early February, and recently reported on how crypto-friendly bank Silvergate has increasingly found itself in trouble amid concerns about its solvency.

Bybit suspends USD deposits and withdrawals

According to the crypto platform, the suspension of USD deposits is down to service outages involving a partner. The exchange will also be halting USD withdrawals beginning 10 March 2023.

“We have temporarily suspended USD deposits via Wire Transfer (including SWIFT) due to service outages from our end-point processing partner until further notice,” the crypto exchange notified its customers.

While users can still withdraw USD via WireTransfer up to 10 March, that option will be temporarily disabled on the noted dates. Instead, customers will be able to buy crypto with credit card or withdraw cryptocurrencies to their wallet.

Bybit has also announced that it is delisting several cryptocurrency trading pairs. The spot trading pairs whose support ends as of 10 March include NXD/USDT, POSI/USDT, GAS/USDT, and DRIV/USDT among others. 

The delisted tokens have failed to meet listing requirements, the exchange noted.

The post Bybit suspends USD payments via bank transfer appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Indien testet Offline-Funktion der CBDC

Neben den Offline-Funktionen untersucht die RBI das Potenzial der CBDC im Hinblick auf grenzüberschreitende Transaktionen und die Verbindung mit traditionellen Systemen in anderen Ländern.

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Bitcoin price prediction: BTC outlook after Silvergate and Tether news

  • Bitcoin price outlook after this week’s Silvergate and Tether news.
  • BTC is hovering around $22,400 with key resistance near $23k amid a potential technical breakout to YTD highs.
  • The $20k zone is a critical and psychological level for bulls.

Bitcoin price remains constrained below $22,500 after posting a sharp decline on Friday following a combination of broader market weakness and negative crypto-related news.

However, with price above $22,000, the technical outlook suggests bulls might still have a chance to push for new year-to-date highs in March or April.

Bitcoin price prediction: BTC declined amid Silvergate Bank and Tether news

On Wednesday, crypto-friendly bank Silvergate (SI) revealed it was a little deeper in trouble with a SEC filing that it would delay its financial report. The crypto bank then announced a halt to its payments network the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN), triggering further uncertainty around its operations following the previously revealed $1 billion loss.

Indeed, selling pressure for BTC increased as major crypto firms including Coinbase and Paxos announced a switch from Silvergate to alternative banking partners.

But the price of bitcoin went on to touch lows of $22,000 as more negative news emerged – the Wall Street Journal published an article related to Tether, the company that issues the world’s largest stablecoin USDT. Allegedly, Tether and Bitfinex used “falsified documents” to acquire banks accounts amid questions over the stablecoin’s reserves.

Crypto trader and investor Scott Melker heighted the WSJ’s report in a Twitter thread on Friday.

Bitcoin price outlook: What next for BTC/USD?

The RSI on the 4-hour chart remains largely flattened near the lower band as price action consists mainly of doji prints. While Bitcoin is holding above a support base formed in early January, there’s indecision as signaled by the doji candlesticks.

Bitcoin price movement on the 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

If bears take charge further, BTC/USD will likely retest the aforementioned support line and potentially break past $22k to another key level near $21,600. Below that we could see a retest of the vastly important $20k level.

On the upside, the immediate hurdle is the $22.5k zone, with robust supply areas expected at the price levels currently signaled by the 50 and 200 moving averages.

The outlook on the daily chart shows the RSI sloping to suggest bears might have an upper hand. 

However, there’s potential formation of an inverse head & shoulders pattern. The neckline of this likely inverse H&S pattern could be in the $25k zone. In any case, the immediate key price levels to watch as signaled by the 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $22,900 on the upside and $19,712 on the downside.

Bitcoin price prediction levels on daily chart.Source: TradingView

 

The post Bitcoin price prediction: BTC outlook after Silvergate and Tether news appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Circle moves its USDC reserve deposits out of troubled Silvergate Bank

  • Silvergate bank in a filing on Wednesday said losses might leave it with less capital than it needs.
  • The bank recently closed its SEN Platform which institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges.
  • Coinbase, Galaxy, and Paxos have stopped accepting transfers via Silvergate Network.

USDC stablecoin issuer Circle has today announced that it has moved its USDC reserve deposits out of Silvergate Bank to other banks as the bank’s woes deepen.

In the press statement, Circle said that it had made the decision to move the small percentage of USDC it held in Silvergate because of the ongoing uncertainty at the bank. On Wednesday, Silvergate set off alarms with a filing that said losses might leave the bank with less capital than it needs, and that it was evaluating its ability to continue.  The bank also suspended preferred stock dividends.

The bank’s shares immediately started to plummet following the turn of events and key partners including Paxos Trust Co., Coinbase Global Inc., and Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. Cut off ties with the bank. Other crypto firms also decided to stop accepting of making payments through Silvergate.

The huge exodus of partners threatens the bank’s key source of deposits seeing that it was a major cryptocurrency player in the US.

Protecting reserve funds

In the press statement, Circle noted that its top priority is protecting the reserve funds backing USDC even if it meant cutting off ties with Silvergate Bank.

Interestingly, Circle started withdrawing its USDC deposits from Silvergate last year as signs of trouble and broader crypto asset risk exposure became increasingly visible on Silvergatee’s end.

Circle has maintained that its USDC reserves are held in the Circle Reserve Fund and several well-capitalized US banks. The Circle Reserve Fund holds 80% of the USDC reserves. The reserves are reviewed on a monthly basis by Deloitte, a leading audit firm.

The post Circle moves its USDC reserve deposits out of troubled Silvergate Bank appeared first on CoinJournal.