Hut 8 Mining swings to adjusted EBITDA loss in its fiscal Q4

  • Hut 8 Mining reports disappointing results for its fiscal Q4.
  • Digital assets mined this quarter was also down year-on-year.
  • Wall Street currently has a consensus overweight rating on HUT.

Hut 8 Mining Corp (TSE: HUT) is trading down this morning after reporting disappointing results for its fourth financial quarter.

Digital assets mined was also down year-on-year

Digital assets the Toronto-headquartered firm produced in Q4 were 698 versus a much higher 789 in the same quarter last year. In the earnings press release, CFO Shenif Visram said:

We continued to fastidiously manage our finances through the fourth quarter, which allowed us to navigate sustained bitcoin price suppression, fluctuating power prices and increased network difficulty.

The crypto company’s installed hashrate currently sits at about 2.5 EH/s. Wall Street currently has a consensus “overweight” rating on the Hut 8 Mining stock and sees upside in it to $3.38 on average – about a 75% premium on its current price.

Notable figures in Hut 8 Mining’s earnings report

  • Lost C$186.7 million versus the year-ago C$111.2 million
  • Per-share loss also widened from 67 cents to 90 cents
  • Swung to an adjusted EBITDA loss of C$3.9 million
  • Revenue also declined about 62% YoY to C$21.8 million
  • Analysts had forecast a higher C$24.5 million of revenue

Last month, Hut 8 Mining said it will merge with US Bitcoin Corp in an all-stock transaction. According to CEO Jaime Leverton said:

We’ll continue to uphold our operating principles as we work to close business combination with USBTC and begin operating as a US-domiciled, digital asset mining, hosting organisation.

Versus its year-to-date high, Hut 8 Mining stock is now down more than 40%.

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XRP price prediction: XRP bulls wake up as Ripple vs. SEC decision edges closer

  • XRP price rose to $0.40 on growing bullish sentiment around the cryptocurrency.
  • On Wednesday, bulls took advantage of positive news in the Ripple Labs vs. SEC case to retest a key price zone.
  • The price prediction for XRP also looks at the prevailing technical picture. 

XRP, the cryptocurrency at the center of the Ripple Labs versus the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) court battle, has traded higher over the past few days amid growing positivity among investors.

Silvergate’s liquidation news has seen XRP price retreat below the round figure of 40 cents. However, bulls appear to be in charge and are holding to the main support base with the price 2.9% up over the past week.

XRP price short term outlook: All eyes on SEC vs. Ripple 

As noted above, the XRP cryptocurrency has pared some of the gains with sideways trading on Thursday as the broader market slipped on negative Silvergate news. Despite this, bullish sentiment around XRP/USD remains high.

Indeed, bulls are likely to target fresh gains that could see XRP retest resistance at highs of $0.40 reached on Wednesday. 

This particular upside momentum had a lot to do with yesterday’s ruling by a US judge, who handed Ripple Labs a crucial boost by striking off one of SEC’s expert witnesses. Experts believe the ruling has dealt a “fatal” blow to SEC’s quest for a summary judgement.

The SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple goes back to December 2020 and the latest development has an increasingly optimistic market rooting for a belated upsurge in XRP price following what’s largely been a downtrend.

XRP price prediction: Whale activity 

Whale activity over the past few days has added to the sentiment, with on-chain data showing massive buying for the cryptocurrency. 

Coins have moved from exchanges this week, with Whale Alert highlighting one such transaction that saw over $10 million in XRP transferred from the Bitso crypto exchange.

XRP price prediction: What is the technical picture?

The price of XRP has broken above a key downtrend line on the daily chart, and is hovering above the 50-day moving average. As can be seen on the chart below, XRP/USD did break above its 200-day average to suggest bulls were having an upper hand. 

XRP price daily chart showing potential support and resistance areas. Source: TradingViewAlthough price is back below the 200-day MA, the upside reversal is likely to continue given the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is above 50 and rising.

If bulls break the resistance around $0.40 with conviction, increased buying could catapult XRP to the previous support zone around $0.45. The next target lies around the November 2022 supply zone at $0.50.

A breakdown in the short term could however include a retest of support at $0.33, which forms part of the key trendline since June 2022.

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Silvergate shares tumble after company says it’s shutting down crypto bank

  • Silvergate shares fell sharply after news the crypto-friendly bank would be winding down operations.
  • The company says it will issue full repayments of all customer deposits.
  • Silvergate has been in trouble since late 2022 following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

Silvergate Capital shares have plummeted nearly 50% after the company announced it would be winding down its crypto bank.

The company’s stock had closed in the red on Wednesday, falling by more than 30% shortly after the news as investors reacted to the news. As of 7:50 am ET on Thursday, shares of the troubled crypto-friendly bank were 48.8% down ahead of markets open. 

Crypto prices also fell as the news added to the negative sentiment across the market.

Silvergate to wind down crypto bank

In a press announcement published late Wednesday, Silvergate said it would be shutting down the Silvergate Bank and liquidating its assets.

In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward. The Bank’s wind down and liquidation plan includes full repayment of all deposits. The Company is also considering how best to resolve claims and preserve the residual value of its assets, including its proprietary technology and tax assets,” the firm wrote.

Silvergate Bank had increasingly hit troubled waters following the collapse of its main customer FTX last November.

The company revealed a $1 billion loss earlier this year, and a significant decline in customer numbers. In recent weeks, the crypto bank has found itself at the center of investigations from US regulators amid mounting financial challenges.

Silvergate’s exit from the crypto scent leaves Signature Bank, a New York-based banking providers with over $114 billion in assets as the main crypto-friendly bank.

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Silvergate stock just crashed again: explore why

  • Silvergate Capital Corp says it has decided to wind down operations.
  • The crypto company will liquidate the Silvergate Bank as well.
  • Silvergate stock is now down close to 75% versus the start of 2023.

Shares of Silvergate Capital Corp (NYSE: SI) crashed about 40% in extended hours on Wednesday after the crypto bank confirmed that it has decided to wind down operations.

Silvergate to liquidate the ‘Bank’ as well

The announcement arrives about a week after Silvergate Capital Corp delayed the submission of its annual 10-K report. In a press release today, it also revealed plans of liquidating the Silvergate Bank.

In light of recent industry and regulatory developments, Silvergate believes that an orderly wind down of Bank operations and a voluntary liquidation of the Bank is the best path forward.

The California-based company has been struggling for a while and opted to lower its headcount by 40% in January. Versus the start of the new year, Silvergate stock is now down close to 75% at writing.

Silvergate discontinues its crypto-payments network

Silvergate Capital Corp has picked Centerview Partners LLC as its financial advisor while Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP will act as its legal advisor through the process. The press release also reads:

Bank’s wind down and liquidation plan includes full repayment of all deposits. The Company is also considering how best to resolve claims and preserve the residual value of its assets.

Last week, the crypto company discontinued one of its core offerings – the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) but clarified that its other deposit-related services were still operational.

Silvergate currently has more than $11 billion in total assets. It’s the only crypto bank other than its bigger rival Signature Bank that has over $114 billion instead.

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Verichains issues security advisories on security vulnerabilities on Tendermint Core

  • Verichains has identified several significant vulnerabilities on Tendermint Core
  • Projects using IAVL proof verification in Tendermint Core are advised to secure their assets to mitigate exploitation.
  • Many popular projects including BNB Smart Chain (BSC) are built on Tendermint

Leading blockchain security firm Verichains has identified several significant vulnerabilities in Tendermint Core and as part of its Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure Policy has released two public advisories.

The first advisory titled VSA-2022-100 discusses a critical Empty Merkle Tree vulnerability in the IAVL proof. The second advisory is titled VSA-2022-101 and discusses a critical IAVL Spoofing Attack via multiple vulnerabilities on Tendermint Core.

Verichain advises that projects using IAVL-proof verification in Tendermint Core should secure their assets to mitigate exploitation risks.

Linked to recent BNB Chain bridge hack

Tendermint BFT consensus engine and Cosmos SDK are popular blockchain platforms that are used by several popular blockchain projects including the now defunct Terra (LUNA), Band Chain, OKX Chain, and BNB Smart Chain (BSC).

Verichains indicated that it discovered the Tendermint Core vulnerabilities while working on the BNB Chain bridge hack that took place in October last year. Security specialists, who identified the critical IAVL Spoofing Attack via multiple vulnerabilities found in BNB Chain and Tendermint, say it could have resulted in a significant loss of funds.

However, although the vulnerabilities were disclosed to the Tendermint/Cosmos maintainer, no patch was released for the Tendermint Core library since the Cosmos-SDK and IBC had migrated from IAVL Merkle proof verification to ICS-23.

Verichains Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure Policy

Verichains followed its Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure Policy to notify the public after the requisite 120 days. If not fixed, the critical nature of the bugs may lead to further hacks and consequent loss of funds, which in some cases could result in millions or even billions of dollars lost.

Verichains regularly posts the Security flaws and vulnerabilities that it identifies on its website for public consumption.

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