The Weekly Pen: Us against them

Week 15 has arrived and it’s been a ”big week” for Ethereum, but the title of this week’s weekly Pen from the Pen, paints a cryptic picture of what week 15 has to offer, and by ’us’ we mean we or they and not the United States, or? This week presents, CBDC advancement across the globe, with BRICS progressing more away from the US Dollar, Elon Musk plotting PayPal 3.0 plans, and big institutions FOMO’ing for crypto once again, whilst operation crypto crackdown is still on-going in the U.S. on top of operation chokepoint of banks, whilst U.S. banks are dumping crypto companies, all the while Europe and Asia are welcoming, and Bitcoin is rushing past gold as a better alternative asset, and…Get caught up and catch the ”gist” of it all. Have a good read.

GLOBAL ECONOMY#

Switzerland planning stablecoin and live wholesale CBDC pilots.

Sweden drives the final nail into its Bitcoin mining industry with a tax hike.

Central Bank of Montenegro plans CBDC development with Ripple.

BRICS advancing to eliminate U.S. Dollar financial system.

Japan approves Web3 whitepaper to promote industry growth in the country.

The U.S. government remains a large Bitcoin holder with over $5BN from seized assets.

Fed rate hike in May remains in play as inflation eases.

Swedish pension fund chair faces a dilemma after $2bn US bank losses.

Money market funds caught up in US debt ceiling stand-off.

US regulator calls for greater scrutiny of hedge funds after bond turmoil.

New stablecoin bill draft introduced in US House of Representatives.

Swiss Court allows FTX to explore sales of European business.

Japan to push CBDC’s, crypto regulation as top agendas for G7.

Saudi Central Bank surpasses cashless target.

IMF engaging with dozens of countries on CBDCs.

Fed economists project recession this year.

POLITICS#

El Salvador grants the first Digital Asset license to Bitfinex.

Digital Currency Monetary Authority Debuts International CBDC.

Macron’s unpopular plan to raise the pension age is signed into law as nationwide protests rage on.

U.S. House committee publishes draft stablecoin bill.

China’s Xi, and Brazil’s Lula take United Stance against the U.S.

Saudi-Led oil cuts risk fueling inflation.

ECB official warns of ’gaps’ in forthcoming crypto rules.

The US charges Bankman-Fried with bribing Chinese officials.

Cheap FTX crypto tokens were offered to Genesis executives.

SEC’s regulatory actions push US-based exchanges to withdraw staked Ethereum.

CFTC claims crypto assets are commodities in a lawsuit against ex-Deutsche Bank investment banker.

Biden and Congress want to Bank TikTok, youtube sees surge of finfluencers.

The threat of Chinese cyberattacks on the US increases.

CRYPTO#

FTX could be revived as more customers’ funds recovered.

Binance to support Ether staking withdrawals from April 19th.

Elon Musk makes a bet over 1 million DOGE.

Ralph Lauren goes crypto, airdrops NFT invites to Miami party.

Hong Kong Banks are netting crypto customers.

Binance hid extensive links to China for several years.

Shaquille O’Neal hides in plain sight as lawyers try (and fail) to serve him in the FTX lawsuit.

Stablecoins being converted into Bitcoin helped push BTC prices over $30K.

Ethereum trades above $2k for the first time in almost a year.

FTX native token spikes nearly 100% after lawyers tell court that the exchange could be revived.

PAYMENTS#

Brazil's Bitcoin Beach says lightning network works better than visa.

International CBDC aims to unify the fragmented digital currency landscape.

Circle Exec to join US congressional committee hearing on stablecoin payments.

A Nigerian crypto payments startup shutdown, amid push for eNaira.

Crypto remittances to El Salvador were down 18% in early 2023.

UK payments startup Ryft wins FCA license.

Ralph Lauren Miami store to accept crypto payments.

BANKING#

Hong Kong’s largest digital bank to service crypto exchanges.

US Banks abruptly closed innocent customers’ accounts without warning.

Fed expects the banking crisis to cause a recession this year.

Bank of England building its CBDC, Britcoin team.

$1tn has likely exited the US banking system as America risks global economic isolation.

Canada’s sixth-largest commercial bank acquired MicroStrategy shares.

HSBC hires ex-SVB bankers to focus on the US ’innovation economy'.

FINANCIAL MARKETS#

Twitter partners with eToro, to let users trade stocks, and crypto as Musk pushes app into finance.

Do Kwon lawyers receive $7M before Terra collapse.

Cash App founder Bob Lee’s stabbing suspects arrested by San Francisco authorities.

London Stock Exchange Group may provide clearing services for BTC derivatives in Q4.

UK forms bitcoin policy org. to boost BTC education and adaption.

French stocks enjoy a renaissance on the back of Chinese demand for luxury.

LSE Group joins the battle between exchanges for crypto derivatives.

Virgin Money launches digital wealth platform.

INVESTMENTS#

A NewChatGPT-powered bot named Satoshi will soon help crypto traders.

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire sells $1.2BN of Yen debt after big Japan bets.

Trump made a bundle of cash selling NFTs, financial filings show.

Ether rallying ahead of an upgrade that will let holders more easily access their crypto.

Crypto trading could take a breather after the ’Shangai’ rally as investors refocus on banks.

Charles Schwab's investor sold its entire $1.4BN stake as the brokerage fell victim to the banking turmoil.

BlackRock hunts ’transformational’ opportunities as assets hit $9.1tn.

Hong Kong’s biggest virtual lender to start crypto conversion services.

Whales Abruptly move over $850M in Bitcoin in just 24 hours.

Cathie Wood’s said, Bitcoin and Ethereum act as flight to safety amid global order disruption.

Institutions FOMO’ing back into Bitcoin.

DEFI#

Pelago Co-founder sees DeFi crypto shining in today’s complicated world.

NovaWulf plans to tokenize equity of Celsius’ new firm with $2BN assets, after takeover.

SEC targets DeFi in a vote to revisit the proposal concerning the definition of ’exchange’.

Ripple launches liquidity hub for businesses to bridge the crypto liquidity gap.

Silk Road attacker gets 1-year imprisonment for $3.4B bitcoin theft.

TECH#

AI-Focused blockchain CryptoGPT raises $10M funding at a $250M valuation.

Coindesk to use AI generative tools.

- Till we yield again

*Disclaimer: This article is not financial or investment advice, nor should it be perceived as such. Penning Group and the author shall not be held accountable for any misinterpreted information by the reader. If you are interested in learning more about investing in the DeFi space and in general, please get in touch with us.

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