Bitcoin Markets are Seriously Jumpy

Crashing on rumors plus some Gensler hypocrisy

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
April 27, 2023

The Breakdown First Five - Thur April 27, 2023

5. No Way Out for First Republic

Wait I thought we were done with the banking crisis!? Seems not. All week, markets have been watching First Republic Bank. It’s been teetering for months, and when the FDIC sent a team there earlier this week, you better believe everyone noticed. Receivership by the end of the week?

4. Hong Kong welcomes Crypto with license scheme

Hong Kong regulators are set to reveal their Crypto licensing regime next month in a bid to revitalize the industry. A consultation period yielded 150 responses and interest is high. Firms seeking a jurisdiction with legal clarity can expect Hong Kong to welcome them from sometime in late June. If you had said a year ago the US would be pushing people out and China/HK would be welcoming them in…

3. Republican Stablecoin bill won’t go to a vote.

Washington insiders say the revamped Republican stablecoin bill doesn’t have the juice to go to a vote. The bill, which was updated this week, would give the Fed regulatory power over on-chain dollars but it’s apparently a long way from being ready. The one thing that both parties can agree on is that the SEC should be kept far away from regulating stablecoins.

2. DB tweet crashes Bitcoin market

Man are we jumpy right now. A tweet from crypto news-slinger DB suggesting the US gov’t was dumping coin appeared to coincide with a brutal crash for bitcoin. On further investigation it appears the selloff had already begun when DB tweeted and the news was mistaken, with nothing moving from known government wallets. Lesson: Bitcoin markets are thin and hecka jumpy right now.

1. The Clip Seen Round the World

At the recent House SEC oversight hearing, the crypto world was gobsmacked to hear Chair Gary Gensler say he had never used crypto despite teaching courses about it at MIT. That set off a mad review of lectures from that era and this particular gem has been making the rounds. In it, Gensler claims 75% of ICO tokens wouldn’t be considered securities. What happened Gary? What happened?

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