<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="555" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-820x555.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-420644" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-820x555.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-300x203.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-133x90.jpg 133w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-768x519.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-1536x1039.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/HJDYMEREYFLQFPCH6PHBFH2UTA-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>FILE PHOTO: Representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration, August 10, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration</figcaption></figure>



JOHANNESBURG, Oct 19 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;South Africa&#8217;s financial watchdog has classified cryptocurrency assets as financial products, a notice in the government gazette said on Wednesday, enabling them to be regulated.



In the brief notice, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) said a crypto asset, which it referred to as &#8220;a digital representation of value&#8221;, must be regulated in South Africa from the date of publication.



Regulations that the authorities have said they planned to introduce include applying foreign exchange controls and licensing crypto trading companies.



Financial watchdogs across the globe have been grappling with how to regulate new digital currencies and tokens, the prices of which have fallen since November last year.



Crypto assets are not issued by a central bank, but are capable of being traded, transferred or stored electronically.



South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Deputy Governor Kuben Naidoo&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL5N2XA2CZ&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told Reuters in May</a>&nbsp;that regulation of crypto assets was in the offing and might come into force within nine to 15 months, after regulators said they intended to do so in November 2020.



He added the SARB wanted regulation of crypto assets to prevent theft, money laundering and undermining of monetary policy because an ubiquitous cryptocurrency could weaken the authority of the central bank.



&#8220;This was the first legal step that was required to bring the crypto asset industry within the South African legal framework,&#8221; Brent Petersen from Easy Crypto, a crypto buying and selling platform, said in a note.



He added the declaration would apply to crypto trading platforms, as well as those that provide advice or intermediary services for the buyers and sellers of digital financial assets.



(Reporting by Rachel Savage; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by Mark Potter)

Illustration shows representations of cryptocurrencies

South Africa moves to regulate crypto assets￼

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="462" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1-820x462.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-420480" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1-820x462.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1-160x90.jpeg 160w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1.jpeg 929w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Ether has hugely outperformed bitcoin since both cryptocurrencies formed a bottom in June 2022. Ether’s superior gains have come as investors anticipate a major upgrade to the ethereum blockchain called “the merge.” Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Cryptocurrencies were slightly higher on Wednesday after investors shrugged off a higher-than-expected inflation report in anticipation of another key inflation indicator due to come out on Thursday.



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CM=/">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;edged higher by about 0.4% and was trading at $19,072.00, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH.CM=/">ether</a>&nbsp;rose 0.6% to $1,290.73.



The September producer price index, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, came in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/12/producer-price-index-september-2022.html">higher than expected</a>, suggesting to investors that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue aggressively hiking rates until inflation comes down.



Cryptocurrencies were slightly higher on Wednesday after investors shrugged off a higher-than-expected inflation report in anticipation of another key inflation indicator due to come out on Thursday.



The price of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC.CM=/">bitcoin</a>&nbsp;edged higher by about 0.4% and was trading at $19,072.00, while&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/ETH.CM=/">ether</a>&nbsp;rose 0.6% to $1,290.73.



The September producer price index, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, came in <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/12/producer-price-index-september-2022.html">higher than expected</a>, suggesting to investors that the Federal Reserve is likely to continue aggressively hiking rates until inflation comes down.

107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-1

Crypto prices are higher ahead of key inflation data, bitcoin holds at $19,000

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-420386" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-1536x1024.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Cryptocurrency exchange Binance temporarily suspended its blockchain network after hackers made off with around $570 million worth of its BNB token.



Binance said late Thursday a cross-chain bridge linking with its BNB Chain was targeted, enabling hackers to move BNB tokens off the network. So-called cross-chain bridges are tools that allow the transfer of tokens from one blockchain to another.



The company said it had worked with network validators — entities or individuals who confirm transactions on the blockchain — to pause creation of new blocks on BSC, suspending all transaction processing while a team of developers investigates the breach.



Binance is the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume.



“An exploit on a cross-chain bridge, BSC Token Hub, resulted in extra BNB. We have asked all validators to temporarily suspend BSC,” Changpeng Zhao, Binance’s CEO, said in a tweet Thursday evening.



“The issue is contained now. Your funds are safe. We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide further updates accordingly.”



BNB Chain has since resumed operations.



In total, hackers drained 2 million BNB tokens — about $570 million at current prices — from the network, Binance’s BNB Chain said in a blog post on Friday. The exploit was enabled “through a sophisticated forging of the low level proof into one common library,” BNB Chain said.



The value of BNB sank more than 3% Friday morning to $285.36 a coin, according to CoinMarketCap data.



An earlier estimate from the company placed the total amount withdrawn in a range of $100 million to $110 million. The company also said it managed to freeze $7 million of funds with the help of its security partners.



A Binance spokesperson told CNBC the company coordinated with BNB Chain validators to enact an upgrade. That meant that most of the funds remained in the exploiter’s crypto wallet, while about $100 million was “unrecovered.”



BNB Chain has 26 active validators at present and 44 in total in different time zones, the spokesperson added.



BNB Chain, originally known as Binance Chain, was first developed by Binance in 2019. Like other blockchains, it features a native token, called BNB, that can be traded or used in games and other applications.



It is the latest in a series of major hacks targeting cross-chain bridges, with instances of sloppy engineering making them a prime target for cybercriminals.



A total of around $1.4 billion has been lost to breaches&nbsp;on cross-chain bridges since the start of 2022, according to data from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.



The crypto industry has had a rough year, with roughly $2 trillion in value being erased since the peak of a blistering rally from 2020 to 2021. The implosion of $60 billion blockchain venture Terra and a worsening macroeconomic environment have severely impacted market sentiment.

107130793-1665128197293-gettyimages-1238536714-porzycki-cryptocu220216_np7mt

$570 million worth of Binance’s BNB token stolen in another major crypto hack

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="594" height="396" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419950" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002.jpeg 594w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002-135x90.jpeg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px" /><figcaption>Photo: via CNBC</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a>&nbsp;fell to its lowest level in three months on Monday as investors dumped risk assets amid expectations of higher interest rates.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency dropped as much as about 5% to hit an intraday low of $18,276, its lowest level since June 19, according to Coin Metrics. It was last down 1.2% at $19,465.00. Bitcoin is down 3.77% this month and on pace for the second straight negative month after plunging 15% in August.



“Regulatory pressure, rising base rates, and inflation are pressing heavily on riskier asset classes, especially crypto, and are thus forcing liquidations, reducing capital available for investment, and increasing concerns over undefined regulatory controls,” said Sadie Raney, co-founder and head of operations at Strix Leviathan. “These forces may mute the overall crypto complex until the financial system stabilizes and a regulatory framework becomes more clear.”



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">Ether</a>&nbsp;also fell a similar 5% to $1,281 apiece Monday, hitting its lowest level since July 15. It was last lower by 1.6% at $19,465.00. It’s currently down -13.8% this month, on track to post its worst month since June.



Risk assets have been under massive pressure as the Federal Reserve is expected to stick to its aggressive tightening schedule. The central bank is widely expected to approve this week&nbsp;a third consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase&nbsp;that would take benchmark rates up to a range of 3%-3.25%.&nbsp;



“Retail buyers have a long term outlook on bitcoin while institutional traders are treating digital assets like tech stocks and adopting a short term mentality that’s contributing to the selloff we’re seeing,” said Chris Kline, chief revenue officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA. “The tightening policy at the Fed is strengthening the dollar and is weighing down risk assets, overall.”



So-called “whales” — institutions, miners, or other holders of large amounts of bitcoin, typically with more than 1,000 bitcoins in a wallet — have been hedging the macro condition and selling their coins since June, according to Julio Moreno, senior analyst at blockchain&nbsp;analytics firm&nbsp;CryptoQuant.



That’s evidenced by the increasing amount of coins being sent to exchanges and dumped onto retail investors, who believe bitcoin is finding a bottom at these levels, though it actually has further to go, he said.



CryptoQuant data shows bitcoin bottoming at between $10,000 and $14,500 this cycle.

107105674-1660812664654-gettyimages-1292707878-yn_crypto_ethereum_002

Bitcoin briefly drops to its lowest level in 3 months as risk assets continue to get crushed

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-413313" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/106943534-GettyImages-1234636440-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Representation of Ethereum cryptocurrency is seen in this illustration photo taken in Sulkowice, Poland on August 12, 2021.
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Ethereum’s biggest-ever upgrade just took effect, in what industry experts are calling a game changer for the entire crypto sector. Thus far, all signs suggest the so-called merge — which is designed to cut the cryptocurrency’s energy consumption by more than 99% — was a success.



The very first proof-of-stake block of transactions has finalized with a nearly 100% client participation rate. This was, by far, the best-case scenario.



The overhaul to the ethereum network fundamentally alters the way the blockchain secures its network and verifies transactions. Most of these changes are happening under the hood and the hallmark of a successful upgrade is if the end user doesn’t feel a difference in the hours and days ahead.



Cryptocurrencies such as ethereum and bitcoin are often criticized for the process of mining to generate new coins. Before the merge, both blockchains had their own vast network of miners all over the planet running highly specialized computers that crunched math equations in order to validate transactions. Proof-of-work uses a lot of energy, and it is one of the industry’s biggest targets for critiques.



But with the upgrade, ethereum has migrated to a system known as proof-of-stake, which swaps out miners for validators. Instead of running large banks of computers, validators leverage their existing cache of ether as a means to verify transactions and mint new tokens.&nbsp;This requires far less power than mining and experts say it will make the protocol both more secure and more sustainable.



The price of ether jumped following the merge. It is trading at around $1,640, up more than 3% in the last hour.



Nine teams and more than 100 developers worked on the merge for years. In the hours ahead, this decentralized network of programmers spread out across the planet will monitor the rollout and, if needed, debug as fast as possible.



Danny Ryan, a core developer based in Denver who has been working on the merge for five years, tells CNBC that they will be watching for any irregularities via both automated and manual monitoring systems. If issues come up, the corresponding team will debug and release a patch to users, but Ryan says they are pretty confident going into the merge given all the successful dry runs in the last few months.



“There might be some sort of small fire that gets put out very quickly,” said Ryan. “But the network as a whole — because of the redundancy across all this different software — will very likely be stable and fine.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-changes"><a></a>What changes</h2>



Part of why the merge is such a big deal has to do with optics.



Last week, the White House released a report warning that proof-of-work mining operations could get in the way of efforts to mitigate climate change. Slashing energy consumption by roughly 99.95% will not only establish greater sustainability for the network, but it will also go a long way toward lowering the barrier to entry for institutional investors, who struggled with the optics of contributing to the climate crisis.



Bank of America said in a note on Sept. 9 that the significant&nbsp;reduction in energy consumption post-merge “may enable some institutional investors to purchase the token that were previously prohibited from purchasing tokens that run on blockchains leveraging proof of work (PoW) consensus mechanisms.”



Analysts have said that institutional money entering the digital asset space at scale is critical to its future as an asset class.



The upgrade also changes the tokenomics around ethereum’s native coin, ether.



“Ether itself becomes a productive asset,” said Ryan. “It’s not something you might just speculate on, but it’s something that can earn returns.”



In this post-merge era, ether takes on some of the characteristics typical of a traditional financial asset, such as a certificate of a deposit, which pays interest to holders.



“It’s probably the lowest risk return inside of the ethereum ecosystem,” explained Ryan, who added that yield in other corners of decentralized finance, or DeFi, involve taking on smart contract risks and other types of counter-party risk.



The upgrade will also result in a significantly reduced supply of ether tokens in circulation, which could pave the way for ether to become a deflationary currency in the weeks and months ahead. Some investors say this could also help drive up the price of the token.



That reduced supply is the result of the new verification model that replaces miners with “validators.” The rewards for validators are much smaller than those that went to proof-of-work miners, meaning that less ether will be minted as a result of this upgrade. Validators are also required to lock up their tokens for a prolonged period of time, pulling ether out of circulation.



Additionally, as part of an upgrade that went into effect August 2021, the network is already “burning” or permanently destroying a portion of the digital currency that would otherwise be recycled back into circulation.



Developers say that enhanced network security is another critical feature of the upgrade.



“There are changes to the security guarantees of the chain,” said Sean Anderson of Sigma Prime.



Take a 51% attack, in which someone or a consortium of people control 51% or more of a cryptocurrency and subsequently weaponize that control to make changes to the blockchain.



Anderson says that it is much easier to recover from a 51% attack on a proof-of-stake network, because there are built-in mechanisms to financially punish malicious actors by reducing their stake.



“Because that economic asset is inside of the protocol, you get much better recovery mode, so you end up with a better kind of security profile,” Ryan told CNBC.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Next few hours, days are key</h2>



The next few hours and days will be key to gauging the health of the ethereum network post upgrade. Behind the scenes, developers will be monitoring metrics like the participation rate of validators to determine how things are going. But coders tell CNBC that in an ideal world, users would be totally oblivious to the upgrade.



“If everything goes perfectly, then an end user wouldn’t notice a difference,” said Anderson. “If anyone who’s trying to transact on ethereum doesn’t realize it, then it was smooth.”



The upgrade doesn’t immediately make ethereum faster, cheaper or more scalable.&nbsp;But those features come with future upgrades that are now possible post-merge.



Scalability, in particular, is something that Ryan says is desperately needed for the network going forward.



At the moment, layer two technologies such as sharding and roll-ups are working to address just that.



“More scalability, more ability to process user transactions is coming online in parallel through layer two constructions called roll-ups, but the scale is not being enhanced at the core protocol itself,” continued Ryan. That comes in subsequent upgrades instead.



Katie Talati, head of research at asset management firm Arca, says that her team is closely watching anything in the layer two space, especially the projects that are trying to offer scalability.



“The biggest issue right now is that it’s very fragmented,” said Talati. “You end up with these people who are now on ethereum, but they’re siloed from each other, because the L2s don’t necessarily talk to each other very easily. And so it’s just not a seamless experience,” she said.

106943534-GettyImages-1234636440

Ethereum’s massive software upgrade just went live — here’s what it does

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419501" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>A bitcoin representation is seen in a file photo, in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> topped $22,000 as it continues a week-long rally ahead of U.S. inflation data and a highly anticipated <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">Ethereum</a> network upgrade.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit $22,341.50 at 9:45 p.m. ET Sunday before dipping slightly, according to CoinDesk data. Bitcoin was trading at $22,203 at around 4:03 a.m. ET on Monday.



After falling below $19,000 on Wednesday to its lowest level since June, bitcoin has since rallied around 17%.



This also comes off the back of a winning week last week for U.S. stocks. Bitcoin has been closely correlated to equity markets, particularly the Nasdaq, and often moves higher when the tech-heavy index rises.



Crypto investors are looking ahead to the August consumer price index report, scheduled to be released Tuesday, to see the direction inflation is headed which could give hints toward future policy moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve.



Stocks have been under pressure this year as the Fed has hiked interest rates to try to control rampant inflation.



Cryptocurrencies, which are also risk assets, have been battered. Nearly $2 trillion has been wiped off the entire crypto market since its all-time high in November. Bitcoin is down more than 50% this year.



That decline has also been driven by crypto-specific issues including the collapse of key projects and bankruptcies that have spread across the industry.



Meanwhile, the Ethereum network will complete a long-awaited upgrade called the merge. This will transform the Ethereum blockchain from a proof-of-work to proof-of-stake model and significantly reduce the amount of energy required for the network to operate.



Proponents say this could pave the way for a broader use of ether, the token that runs on Ethereum.



“Crypto faces an unusual double whammy this week: U.S. inflation data and [hopefully] the long-awaited and oft-delayed Ethereum Merge. Hold your breath for a rollercoaster ride,” Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of Nexo, said in a note on Monday.



“In a time awash with narratives, there’s none bigger than the Merge in crypto and it’s one which the wider world should take notice of with Ethereum’s carbon footprint set to be slashed by 99%.”



However, analysts cautioned that the merge will not necessarily speed up the Ethereum network, which is known to be slow, nor will it reduce the fees associated with transactions.



Still, excitement has been growing for the merge. Since ether hit its low for the year in mid-June, the price for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency has far outpaced bitcoin’s. Ether is up more than 90% since June. 19 while bitcoin has risen just over 20%, begging the question of how much the merge has already been priced in.



The Federal Reserve is also widely expected to increase interest rates again next week when its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets, which is another dark cloud hanging over the crypto market.



“The Merge may trigger a ‘sell the fact’ situation in the crypto market and we still need to be careful for next week’s FOMC meeting. Bitcoin could continue to rally but it could be quite short lived,” Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese exchange Bitbank, said in a note Monday.

FILE PHOTO: Bitcoin representation is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris

Bitcoin tops $22,000, hitting highest in nearly a month ahead of inflation data and Ethereum merge

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="728" height="485" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419501" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI.jpg 728w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/VWGGGHRVGFNNBKICEKKB2G2CXI-135x90.jpg 135w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px" /><figcaption>A bitcoin representation is seen in a file photo, in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo</figcaption></figure>



BANGUI, Aug 29 (Reuters)&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;Central African Republic&#8217;s Constitutional Court on Monday ruled that the purchase of citizenship, &#8220;e-residency&#8221; and land using a cryptocurrency the government launched last month was unconstitutional.



The &#8220;Sango Coin&#8221; went on sale on July 21 despite a sharp fall in bitcoin prices during recent months, and doubts over the project&#8217;s viability in a poorly connected and war-torn country.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2YW38J&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



Under the initiative, foreign investors would have been able to buy citizenship for $60,000 worth of crypto &#8211; with the equivalent Sango Coins held as collateral for five years &#8211; and &#8220;e-residency&#8221; for $6,000, held for three years, according to the Sango website.



A 250 metre square plot of land had also been listed as $10,000, with the Sango Coins locked away for a decade.



But the country&#8217;s top court deemed those purchases &#8220;unconstitutional&#8221;, arguing among other reasons that nationality did not have a market value and that residency required a physical stay in Central African Republic (CAR), a decree showed.



The impact on the Sango Coin initiative was not immediately clear.



Government spokesman Serge Djorie told Reuters he did not have a response to the ruling.



CAR, one of the world&#8217;s poorest countries, became the first in Africa to make bitcoin legal tender in April &#8211; raising eyebrows among cryptocurrency experts and prompting the International Monetary Fund to warn it was not a &#8220;panacea&#8221; for the continent&#8217;s challenges.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL3N2WQ3XY&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



President Faustin-Archange Touadera has defended the Sango Coin as a solution to financial exclusion that will facilitate investment in CAR&#8217;s vast mineral resources.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL1N2YK0E0&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



But sales of the initial $21 million on offer have been slow, with just over 5% of the target bought in the hours after its launch.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?search=all%3AL8N2Z732L&amp;linkedFromStory=true" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Read full story</a>



(Reporting by Rachel Savage and Judicael Yongo; Writing by Sofia Christensen; Editing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Central African Republic top court blocks purchases with new cryptocurrency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107070828-1654264879215-gettyimages-905283738-99016973.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419448" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107070828-1654264879215-gettyimages-905283738-99016973.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107070828-1654264879215-gettyimages-905283738-99016973-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107070828-1654264879215-gettyimages-905283738-99016973-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Cryptocurrencies have taken a tumble in 2022. Chesnot | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> could be poised for outsized gains if recent technical signals are to be believed.



Investors have been searching for a bottom to bitcoin since the cryptocurrency lost more than 60% of its value from the all-time high of nearly $69,000 it hit in November. Nearly $2 trillion has been wiped off the entire crypto market in recent months.



A measure of activity of bitcoin miners could give investors a clue as to where the digital currency is headed next.



Miners validate transactions on the bitcoin network using highly-specialized and power-intensive computers to solve complex mathematical puzzles. They are rewarded in bitcoin for their efforts. As more bitcoin is mined, solving these puzzles becomes more difficult.



During market slumps, a depressed bitcoin price can make it unprofitable for many miners to continue operations. They then sell some bitcoin to keep afloat. But they also turn off their mining rigs to save money.



That has happened in the latest market slump and can be demonstrated by “hash rate,” a measure of computational power used to mine bitcoin. Since mid-May, when the market really started to sell-off, the 30-day average hash rate (a monthly average value) fell more than 7% and at one point saw a 10% dip. That signaled that miners were turning off their machines.



Hash rate, studied in various ways, is used by crypto investors to try to figure out when the market might bottom, because capitulation and a shakeout of the miners is often associated with the late stage of a bitcoin cycle.



“Historically speaking, capitulation&nbsp;in the mining market has tended to correspond strongly with overall market bottoms,” Matthew Kimmell, digital asset analyst at CoinShares, told CNBC via email.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hash-rate-and-a-buy-signal"><a></a>Hash rate and a buy signal</h2>



Following on from this, Charles Edwards, founder of quantitative crypto fund Capriole Investments, came up with the idea of “hash ribbons” in 2019 to identify buying opportunities for bitcoin.



When the 30-day moving average for hash rate dips below the 60-day moving average, this is called a bearish cross, and signals that miners are shutting down machines. Usually selling is associated with these events. As more miners are taken out of the market, the difficulty of mining bitcoin reduces because there is less competition.



Because of the reduced competition, more miners may re-enter the market and a recovery may occur.



“These ‘capitulations’ are painful events for miners within the ecosystem,” Edwards told CNBC.



But using Edwards’ method, when the 30-day moving average for hash rate crosses back above the 60-day moving average, the worst of the miner capitulation tends to be over.



When this happens along with the 10-day moving average price of bitcoin going above the 20-day moving average price, then this is when a “buy signal” flashes, according to Edwards.



He said those crosses occurred on Saturday.



In the past, buying bitcoin at these points would have yielded strong returns depending on how long you held the cryptocurrency for, according to Edwards.



For example, purchasing bitcoin at the buy signal of August 2016 would have given an investor a more than 3,000% return if held to the peak of December 2018, which was at the time when bitcoin hit a new record high.



More recently, buying during the recent buy signal in August 2021, would have yielded a more than 50% return if bitcoin was sold at the November 2021 record high.



“I created Hash Ribbons in 2019 as a way to identify when major Bitcoin mining capitulation had occurred, as once recovery resumes from these events, they typically mark&nbsp;major Bitcoin price bottoms,” Edwards said. “Historically, these have been great times to allocate into Bitcoin, with incredible returns.”



Kimmell from CoinShares said that the logic behind the buy signal is that if the bitcoin price “tends to steadily outpace hashrate before a period of high price growth, then a trending rebound in hashrate,” marked by the 30 day moving average for hash rate crossing above the 60 day moving average, it “may mean the rebound in bitcoin price has already begun.”



“I find this metric should not be solely relied upon to make an investment decision, but can certainly be helpful if coupled with a suite of other metrics and qualitative evidence,” he added.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Bottom near?</h2>



CoinShares has put together a graph to show the correlation between hash rate and the bitcoin price. And it is split into areas where there is “gold rush” as bitcoin’s price rises, and a subsequent inventory flush and miners’ shakeout as the price declines.



In a chart provided to CNBC, CoinShares suggests that the market is currently in the shakeout period which typically precedes rebalancing and a rally in prices. Right now, according to the chart, the bitcoin price line is below the hash rate.



But this could signal a bottom is near, according to Kimmell.



“It is impossible to say if we have reached full capitulation, however there is evidence we are in the phase of the mining cycle where capitulation most often occurs. Secondarily, if previous cycles carry predictive power, then yes, bitcoin price steadily outpacing hashrate would likely precede a period of high price growth,” Kimmell said.



Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, holds a similar view.



“I think we have seen broad signs of capitulation given the events in the previous months. Hence it is likely we could have the beginnings of a bottom being formed. Usually bitcoin consolidates in a range for a whole which indicates accumulation, which is what we may be seeing,” Ayyar told CNBC via text message.



Bitcoin has been trading in a tight range of around $18,000 to $25,000 since mid-June.



However, there are risks that these indicators do not prove as positive as they have been in the past because of the broader macroeconomic environment.



The current global economy is in a very different state versus previous cryptocurrency cycles. There is rampant inflation and rising interest rates globally, aspects which have not been present before.



Risk assets such as U.S. stocks, and in particular the Nasdaq, to which bitcoin is closely correlated, have seen a big sell-off this year.



“Of course all this is still based on historical similarity, and we are in a different macro environment,” Ayyar said.



“The major risk remains the economy and inflation, but even then we are closer to an inflation peak than not, and hence this also shows that on risk assets we are closer to a bottom than not.”

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A closely-watched bitcoin metric is pointing to a possible price bottom for the cryptocurrency

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107080916-1656319994349-gettyimages-1030734176-s3s_04sep2018_cw0016.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-419326" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107080916-1656319994349-gettyimages-1030734176-s3s_04sep2018_cw0016.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107080916-1656319994349-gettyimages-1030734176-s3s_04sep2018_cw0016-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/107080916-1656319994349-gettyimages-1030734176-s3s_04sep2018_cw0016-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Bitcoin and ether ended Thursday in the red, but ether has surged more than 100% since mid-June. Yu Chun Christopher Wong | S3studio | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> on Friday fell to its lowest level in more than three weeks, dipping below $22,000 amid a sudden crypto sell-off in early European trading. 



Bitcoin briefly plunged from $22,738 to below $21,500 at 2:30 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data, before recovering slightly to just under $22,000 over a 10-minute period.



It comes shortly after the world’s largest digital coin surpassed the $25,000 level for the first time since June following a rise in U.S. stocks.



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">Ether</a> fell from $1,808 to $1,728 at the same time before staging a muted rebound. By 3:05 a.m. ET, it stood at $1,733, a level it has not traded at since Aug. 10. 



A specific cause for a drop at that time, which also sent Binance Coin, Cardano and Solana falling, was not immediately clear. 



“US equity markets have pulled back since Wednesday’s release of the July Fed meeting minutes, the key takeaway being that the Fed likely won’t be finished with rate hikes until inflation is tamed across the board, with no guidance offered on future rate increases either,” Simon Peters, crypto market analyst at eToro, told CNBC.



“With the tight correlation between US equities and crypto in recent months I suspect this has filtered through to crypto markets and it’s why we are seeing the sell-off. The trend has also perhaps been exacerbated by liquidation of long positions on bitcoin perpetual futures markets.”



Citing Coinglass data, Peters said today had been the biggest liquidation of long positions on futures since June 18, also the date bitcoin reached its lowest price of the year around $17,500.



Bitcoin and ether ended Thursday in the red, but ether has surged more than 100% since mid-June as investors prepare for a massive upgrade in the ethereum network.

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Sudden crypto market drop sends bitcoin below $22,000

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="550" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY-820x550.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-419212" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY-820x550.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY-300x201.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY-134x90.jpg 134w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY-768x515.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY.jpg 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Photo: via Sharenet</figcaption></figure>



Aug 16 (Reuters) – It looks like ethereum’s mega-upgrade is happening. Finally.



After years of delays, the “Merge” seems all but certain to take place in September, with the cryptography underlying the blockchain undergoing a radical shift to a system where the creation of new ether tokens becomes far less energy-intensive.



“It’s an exciting time for the ethereum ecosystem,” said Omar Syed, co-founder of smart contract platform Shardeum. “I think there will be drama surrounding the Merge, but I don’t think there will be any technical hiccups.”



Investors seem to agree, with ether outstripping big brother bitcoin.



Ether has seen six consecutive weeks of gains, pushing it up from a 1-1/2-year low of $880 in mid-June to levels closing in on $2,000, even though it’s way off its November 2021 peak of $4,868.79.



Bitcoin has paled in comparison, rebounding 37% from its June low to $24,116.



Ether is gnawing away at behemoth bitcoin’s market share: it now accounts for nearly a fifth – 19.7% – of the total crypto market capitalization of $1.14 trillion, up from less than 14.9% two months ago, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s share has dropped to 40.2% from 44.9% in the same period.



“Crypto is still very tightly coupled, I think when the Merge successfully completes it could drive up the price of bitcoin as well,” said Alex Miller, CEO of Hiro, which builds developer tools to create applications for bitcoin.



If ethereum’s creators succeed, as is largely expected, it could be a game-changer for the blockchain, making it cheaper to mine and easy to adopt for fintech and other crypto apps.



Of course little is assured about the elusive transition, which has been delayed several times, with developers most recently axing plans to push the button in June, unnerving investors who began to fear it might never see the light of day.



The Merge is also is fraught with risk, and the fortunes of the roughly 122 million ether in circulation, worth about $232 billion, could be at stake should it fail.



If the upgrade doesn’t go well, it would “set the entire crypto world back five or 10 years,” Hiro’s Miller said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">‘DIFFICULTY BOMB’</h2>



The ethereum blockchain currently uses the energy-intensive proof-of work (PoW) method of validating blocks, wherein miners use massive amounts of power to quickly solve complex computational problems to win newly minted coins.



On a parallel chain, ethereum has been testing a proof-of-stake (PoS) system that only requires miners to “stake” their coins to validate transactions and create new blocks. It promises 99.95% reduction in the blockhain’s energy consumption and prepares it for faster transactions.



Not everyone’s happy about the imminent merger of the two systems – notably ether miners, whose expensive mining rigs will be rendered obsolete, and can’t be used for mining bitcoin either.



Ether mining has hitherto been more profitable than bitcoin mining. Ether miners made $18 billion in 2021 versus $17 billion for bitcoin miners, according to Arcane Research.



Some miners have decided to shift to mining the next best option, such as the tokens ethereum classic or ravencoin.



At least one miner has declared plans to resist and continue mining ethereum, raising the spectre of some people keeping the PoW chain running in its current form even after the merge, likely competing with the upgraded blockchain.



However, that option has perils.



Ethereum creators have designed a “difficulty bomb” to exponentially increase mining difficulty in order to discourage the PoW parallel chain after the Merge.



Moreover, both Tether and USDC – the largest stablecoins – have thrown their weight behind the Merge, reducing the likelihood of a wider adoption of the parallel PoW chain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frothy-futures">FROTHY FUTURES</h2>



“The likelihood of a long-lasting chain split of Ethereum following the Merge remains slim,” said Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital.



Nonetheless, at least some investors are preparing for a hard fork, or a parallel PoW chain, positioning in the derivatives market indicates.



Ether futures were also trading at premium at $1,905 on the CME exchange, “reflecting expectations around a proof of work fork,” said Matthew Sigel, head of digital assets research at fund manager VanEck.



“But that gap is not so huge so as to think there is extreme froth,” he added.



(Reporting by Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru Editing by Vidya Ranganathan and Pravin Char)

OENJDLFACZIANF23Q23HPESQNY

Cryptoverse: Electric Ether leaps on verge of merge

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107095923-1659087675543-gettyimages-1231981582-economou-notitle210327_npj1T.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-418831" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107095923-1659087675543-gettyimages-1231981582-economou-notitle210327_npj1T.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107095923-1659087675543-gettyimages-1231981582-economou-notitle210327_npj1T-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107095923-1659087675543-gettyimages-1231981582-economou-notitle210327_npj1T-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Bitcoin prices have been under pressure in 2022 after the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD and subsequent bankruptcy filings from lender Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Nicolas Economou | Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> hovered around $24,000 on Friday, hitting a 6-week high as it continues to follow stock markets higher.



The world’s largest digital currency reached $24,412 on 2:30 a.m. ET on Friday, according to CoinDesk data, its highest level in more than six weeks. Bitcoin has since pared some of those gains and sat just above $24,000 at 6:32 a.m. ET.



Bitcoin’s rally began after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates on Wednesday, but signaled that the pace of such rises could slow. This sparked a rally in U.S. equities.



Moves in cryptocurrencies have traded broadly in line with U.S. stocks of late, in particular tracking the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which has jumped sharply in the last two days.



Other cryptocurrencies including <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">ether</a> were sharply higher on Friday.



“Overall, I think markets have reacted positively to the Fed’s comments and arguably have priced in most of the rate hikes,” Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, told CNBC via text message.



“There seems to be a lot of liquidity sitting on the sidelines, which is now coming in based on the last few months of consolidation/downward pressure, that is now easing up,” he added.



Still, bitcoin is down about 48% this year and remains more than 60% off of its all-time high price of $68,990.90 that was hit in November.



The crypto market has been plagued by a number of issues including the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD, which sparked a chain of events that led to the bankruptcy of lending platform Celsius and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.



Market participants are trying to figure out where the bottom is for bitcoin and whether the deleveraging and shakeout in the industry is over. Market players told CNBC that they want to see an improving macroeconomic picture and the completion of deleveraging before the bottom for bitcoin is found.



Bitcoin has been trading within a range of&nbsp;around&nbsp;$18,000 to just over $24,000 since mid-June, and Luno’s Ayyar said that investors had been accumulating bitcoin at those prices.

107095923-1659087675543-gettyimages-1231981582-economou-notitle210327_npj1T

Bitcoin hits 6-week high topping $24,000 in a post-Fed rally

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/106963876-1634825244800-gettyimages-1236011917-AA_21102021_496570-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-418541" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/106963876-1634825244800-gettyimages-1236011917-AA_21102021_496570-1.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/106963876-1634825244800-gettyimages-1236011917-AA_21102021_496570-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/106963876-1634825244800-gettyimages-1236011917-AA_21102021_496570-1-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices have been under pressure in 2022 with traders feeling the fallout from a number of major collapses in the industry. Selim Korkutata | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> bounced above $22,000 on Monday, hitting its highest level in more than a month as the cryptocurrency market held out hope that the contagion and shakeout over the past few weeks is nearing its end.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading around $22,135.30 at 8:57 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data, up around 4%. Bitcoin traded as high as $22,493.61 in the past 24 hours, the highest since June 16.



Other cryptocurrencies also bounced with <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">ether</a> up more than 9% versus the price 24 hours ago and Polygon’s MATIC token up 16%.



The bullish sentiment was helped by a rally in stock markets in Europe and Asia. U.S. stock futures were also higher. Cryptocurrencies, in particularly bitcoin, has been closely correlated with equity market trade. Often, a rise in stocks will also lift sentiment in the crypto market.



But investors are also watching whether the carnage over the last few weeks, which has seen bitcoin near 70% off its all-time high that was hit in November and billions of dollars wiped off the market, might be over.



The price crash has brought the downfall of several high-profile companies in the space, most notably hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto lender Celsius, both of which have filed for bankruptcy.



These collapses have caused contagion across the industry and seen other associated companies come under pressure.



Much of this has been caused by the huge amounts of leverage and borrowing that has taken place in this latest crypto cycle. Three Arrows Capital for example took out loans it was unable to pay back once the crypto collapse took place. Celsius, which offered customers yields over 18% for depositing their digital coins, took on high risk trading activities to earn the interest to try to give back to its users.



Crypto companies have been selling off whatever assets they have to try to meet their liabilities which has put pressure on the broader market.



Analysts say there are signs this contagion could be slowing.



“The worst of market contagion has likely run its course, with the majority of forced selling behind us,” David Moreno, research analyst at CryptoCompare, wrote in a research note.



Despite the rally, the crypto market is still suffering. Both bitcoin and ether are down more than 50% this year. Bitcoin had its worst quarter in more than a decade in the second quarter.



Analysts are still not convinced of any significant move higher in the near term.



“Given the severely negative performance in Q2, it is unsurprising that a ‘relief’ bounce has occurred. We believe the market will continue range-bound over the coming months,” Moreno said.

106963876-1634825244800-gettyimages-1236011917-AA_21102021_496570-1

Bitcoin tops $22,000 as crypto market hopes contagion and shakeout is over; ether jumps 9%

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107083589-1656654994211-gettyimages-963468298-_DHP4856.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-418184" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107083589-1656654994211-gettyimages-963468298-_DHP4856.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107083589-1656654994211-gettyimages-963468298-_DHP4856-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/107083589-1656654994211-gettyimages-963468298-_DHP4856-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) is the first attempt at creating comprehensive regulation for digital assets in the EU. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



EU officials on Thursday secured an agreement on what is likely to be the first major regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry.



The European Commission, EU lawmakers and member states hammered out a deal in Brussels after hours of negotiations. The move came a day after the three main institutions finalized measures aimed at stamping out money laundering in crypto.



The new rules come at a brutal time for digital assets, with bitcoin facing its worst quarter in more than a decade.



The landmark law, known as Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, is designed to make life tougher for numerous players in the crypto market, including exchanges and issuers of so-called stablecoins, tokens that are meant to be pegged to existing assets like the U.S. dollar.



Under the new rules, stablecoins like tether and Circle’s USDC will be required to maintain ample reserves to meet redemption requests in the event of mass withdrawals. Stablecoins that become too large also face being limited to 200 million euros in transactions per day.



The European Securities and Markets Authority, or ESMA, will be given powers to step in to ban or restrict crypto platforms if they are seen to not properly protect investors, or threaten market integrity or financial stability.



“Today, we put order in the Wild West of crypto assets and set clear rules for a harmonized market that will provide legal certainty for crypto asset issuers, guarantee equal rights for service providers and ensure high standards for consumers and investors,” said Stefan Berger, the lawmaker who led negotiations on behalf of the European Parliament.



MiCA will also address environmental concerns surrounding crypto, with firms forced to disclose their energy consumption as well as the impact of digital assets on the environment.



A previous proposal would have scrapped crypto mining, the energy-intensive process of minting new units of bitcoin and other tokens. However, it was voted down by lawmakers in March.



The rules won’t affect tokens without issuers, like bitcoin, however trading platforms will need to warn consumers about the risk of losses associated with trading digital tokens.



Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which represent ownership in digital properties like art, were excluded from the proposals. The EU Commission has been tasked with determining whether NFTs require their own regime within 18 months.



Separately, regulators also agreed on measures Wednesday that would reduce anonymity when it comes to certain crypto transactions. Authorities are deeply concerned about exploitation of crypto-assets for laundering ill-gotten gains and evasion of sanctions — particularly after Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.



Transfers between exchanges and so-called “un-hosted wallets” owned by individuals will need to be reported if the amount tops the 1,000-euro threshold, a contentious issue for crypto enthusiasts who often trade digital currencies for privacy reasons.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-un-stablecoins"><a></a>Un-stablecoins</h2>



The rules follow the collapse of terraUSD, a so-called “algorithmic” stablecoin that tried to maintain a $1 value by using a complex algorithm. The debacle resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars being wiped from the entire crypto market.



“The EU is not happy about stablecoins generally,” said Robert Kopitsch, secretary general of crypto lobbying group Blockchain for Europe.



Policymakers have been skeptical of such tokens — which aim to be pegged to existing assets, such as the dollar — ever since Facebook botched an attempt at launching its own token in 2019. Authorities feared private digital tokens could end up threatening sovereign currencies like the euro.



Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether, said the world’s biggest stablecoin issuer welcomed regulatory clarity.



“MiCA is one of the more progressive initiatives to date and is focused on driving crypto innovation and adoption in the European region,” Ardoino said.



In addition, Dante Disparte, chief strategy officer at Circle, said the EU framework represented a “significant milestone.”



MiCA “will be to crypto what GDPR was to privacy,” he said, referring to groundbreaking EU data protection rules that set the standard for similar laws elsewhere in the world, including California and Brazil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Reducing fragmentation</h2>



Overall, MiCA is the first attempt at creating comprehensive regulation for digital assets in the EU. While some of its stricter policies have rattled a few crypto firms, several industry insiders see the move as a positive step and believe Europe could lead the way on crypto regulation.



The rules are expected to come into force as early as 2024, a landmark move that would put the bloc ahead of both the U.S. and Britain in rolling out laws tailored to the crypto market.



“Harmonization of the market is key in order to really generate bigger crypto companies in Europe,” said Patrick Hansen, an advisor at the venture fund Presight Capital.



“Europe is lacking huge crypto companies right now, and fragmentation is one of the reasons why.”



Coinbase is seeking licenses in several European countries including France, said Katherine Minarik, the firm’s vice president of legal. She told CNBC the exchange will be able to “passport” its services into all 27 EU countries under MiCA.

107083589-1656654994211-gettyimages-963468298-_DHP4856

EU agrees on landmark regulation to clean up crypto ‘Wild West’

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-417941" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Bitcoin continues to trade around the $20,000 mark, keeping investors on edge about where the price is going next.
Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



If crypto’s past bubbles are anything to go by, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">bitcoin</a> could be about to fall much further.



That’s according to one strategist, who warns the world’s top cryptocurrency is likely to tank as low as $13,000 — an almost 40% drop from current levels.



“We would still be selling these kinds of cryptocurrencies into this environment,” Ian Harnett, co-founder and chief investment officer of Absolute Strategy Research, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” Tuesday.



“It really is a liquidity play. What we’ve found is it’s neither a currency, nor a commodity and certainly not a store of value.”



Explaining his bearish call, Harnett said past crypto rallies show bitcoin tends to fall roughly 80% from all-time highs. In 2018, for instance, the cryptocurrency plummeted close to $3,000 after hitting a peak of nearly $20,000 in late 2017.



Such a drop in 2022 “would take you back to about $13,000,” a “key support area” for the token, according to Harnett. Bitcoin rose to a record high of nearly $69,000 at the height of the 2021 crypto frenzy.



“In a world where liquidity is plentiful, the bitcoins of this world do well,” Harnett said. “When that liquidity is taken away — and that’s what the central banks are doing at the moment — then you see those markets come under extreme pressure.”



The crypto world is on edge as investors grapple with the impact of higher interest rates on assets that flourished in an era of ultra-loose monetary policy.



Last week, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by 75 basis points, its largest single hike since 1994. The decision from the Fed was followed up with similar moves from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.



That’s taken its toll on digital assets. The combined value of all cryptocurrencies plunged more than $350 billion in the past two weeks. Bitcoin was trading at a price of $20,010 Tuesday, down 5% in the last 24 hours. The No. 1 crypto has lost more than half of its value year-to-date.



The crypto market was already on shaky ground before the Fed’s rate hike last week, with traders roiled by the $60 billion collapse of popular stablecoin terraUSD and its sister token luna.



To further complicate matters, the fall in the value of a derivative token designed to be one-to-one redeemable for ether has exacerbated financial troubles at major industry players like Celsius and Three Arrows Capital.

107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY

Bitcoin could plunge even further to a low of $13,000, one strategist warns

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="547" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-820x547.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-417941" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-820x547.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-135x90.jpeg 135w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-1536x1025.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/107078012-1655709503739-gettyimages-1234311678-sindeyev-notitle210729_npFPY-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Bitcoin continues to trade around the $20,000 mark, keeping investors on edge about where the price is going next. Nurphoto | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> jumped 8% on Monday after a sharp sell-off over the weekend but continues to teeter around the $20,000 mark, keeping investors on edge.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency was trading at $19,935.98 at 03:20 a.m. ET, according to data from CoinDesk. In the last 24 hours, bitcoin had risen sharply above $20,000 and fallen as low as $18,261.75.



Over the weekend, bitcoin had fallen as low as $17,601.58.



Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">ether</a> jumped more than 12% and was trading above $1,075 at 03:13 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data.



While the rebound will be welcome by investors, bitcoin still sits around 70% below its all-time high hit in November last year and is down 57% year-to-date.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-dead-cat-bounce"><a></a>‘Dead cat bounce’</h2>



With bitcoin unable to hold convincingly above $20,000, industry watchers said the rally might be short-lived.



Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, told CNBC that unless the price of bitcoin closes above $23,000 on a daily time frame basis, “the odds are this is a dead cat bounce.”



“We’re oversold, so a bounce was expected,” he said.



The broader cryptocurrency market has been plagued by a number of issues in recent weeks, beginning with the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD and associated token luna.



Attention has now turned to crypto lending companies that promise users high yields for depositing their digital coins. Last week, Celsius, a company with 1.7 million customers and nearly $12 billion of crypto assets under management, paused withdrawal of funds for customers, sparking concerns that it is insolvent.



Cryptocurrency companies have announced rounds of layoffs amid the market downturn. Coinbase, a crypto wallet and exchange, said last week it will cut 18% of full-time jobs. A lending firm called BlockFi said last week it will lay off a fifth of its staff.



Macroeconomic factors including high inflation and upcoming rate hikes from the U.S. Federal Reserve are also weighing on the market.



“When inflation is on the doorstep and with rate hikes in the offing, the risks of a recession round the bend are high,” Charles Hayter, CEO of CryptoCompare, told CNBC via email.



“The push me pull you of higher rates sapping cash from mortgaged house owners means people are psychologically bracing and paring back and digital assets are suffering thus.”



“Coupled with this, the pull back in the digital asset ecosystem has uncovered a number of systemic issues.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a></a>Market bottom?</h2>



Given the big fall in cryptocurrency prices in the last few weeks, some observers said that a bottom to the market could be close.



Giles Keating, director of Bitcoin Suisse, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday that “we’re close to a point where some of the real excess leverage has now been driven out of the system and a bottom can begin to be formed.”



Leverage refers to trading in which investors effectively use borrowed money to make trades. That means investors can get larger exposure to positions with less initial capital. But that’s seen as a risky means of trading as it requires investors to ensure they have enough capital to meet the so-called margin requirements. If they don’t, their position is automatically liquidated. Those liquidations are seen as a big factor behind market moves.



Keating said there is still a risk of further liquidation, but he thinks the majority of the selling is over.



“Now some people are warning that we are still not yet there and that if we were to break significantly lower, that we’d see another wave of liquidations,” Keating said.



“There’s always that risk hovering there. But my feeling, given I think those very very big double digit rebounds we saw, in bitcoin, particularly in ether, I think to my mind that was a sign that a lot of those really big liquidations are now done and that the base really is being formed.”

Bitcoin rebounds 8% but struggles to hold above $20,000

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106885587-16214575182021-05-19t203912z_144465080_rc28jn9cpt2v_rtrmadp_0_crypto-currency-bitcoin-1.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-414803" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106885587-16214575182021-05-19t203912z_144465080_rc28jn9cpt2v_rtrmadp_0_crypto-currency-bitcoin-1.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106885587-16214575182021-05-19t203912z_144465080_rc28jn9cpt2v_rtrmadp_0_crypto-currency-bitcoin-1-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/106885587-16214575182021-05-19t203912z_144465080_rc28jn9cpt2v_rtrmadp_0_crypto-currency-bitcoin-1-160x90.jpeg 160w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A representations of virtual currency Bitcoin is seen in front of a stock graph in this illustration taken May 19, 2021.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters</figcaption></figure>



<a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">Bitcoin</a> tumbled below $24,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest level since December 2020, as investors dump crypto amid a broader sell-off in risk assets.



Meanwhile, a crypto lending company called Celsius has paused withdrawals for its customers, sparking fears of contagion into the broader market.



The world’s largest cryptocurrency bitcoin briefly dropped below the $24,000 mark around 05:00 a.m. ET, according to CoinDesk data, before jumping back above that level shortly after.



Over the weekend and into Monday morning, more than $200 billion had been wiped off the entire cryptocurrency market. The cryptocurrency market capitalization fell below $1 trillion on Monday for the first time since February 2021, according to data from CoinMarketCap.



Macro factors are contributing to the bearishness in the crypto markets, with rampant inflation continuing and the U.S. Federal Reserve expected to hike interest rates this week to control rising prices.



Last week, U.S. indices sold off heavily, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropping sharply. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have tended to correlate with stocks and other risk assets. When these indices fall, crypto drops as well.



“Since Nov 2021, sentiment has changed drastically given the Fed rate hikes and inflation management. We’re also potentially looking at a recession given the FED may need to finally tackle the demand side to manage inflation,” Vijay Ayyar, vice president of corporate development and international at crypto exchange Luno, told CNBC.



“All this points to the market not completely having bottomed and unless the Fed is able to take a breather, we’re probably not going to see bullishness return.”



Ayyar noted that in previous bear markets, bitcoin had dropped around 80% from its last record high. Currently, it is down around 63% from its last all-time high which it hit in November.



“We could see much lower bitcoin prices over the next month or two,” Ayyar said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-celsius-adding-fuel-to-the-fire"><a></a>Celsius ‘adding fuel to the fire’</h2>



The crypto market has also been on edge since mid-May when the so-called algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD, or UST, and its sister cryptocurrency luna collapsed.



Now, the market is concerned about a crypto lending company called Celsius which said on Monday that it’s pausing all withdrawals, swap and transfers between accounts “due to extreme market conditions.”



Celsius, which claims to have 1.7 million customers, advertises to its users that they can get a yield of 18% through the platform. Users deposit their crypto with Celsius. That crypto is then loaned out to institutions and other investors. Users then get yield as a result of the revenue Celsius earns.



But the crypto market sell-off has hurt Celsius. The company had $11.8 billion worth of assets as at May 17, down from more than $26 billion in October last year, according to its website.



CEL, which is Celsius’ own coin, is down more than 50% in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Investors are concerned about broader contagion in the crypto market.



“The Celsius situation is definitely adding fuel to the fire,” Ayyar said.



“Broadly the markets were already under pressure from inflation concerns and the interest rate hikes, but with crypto such contagion events could cause outsized declines, given the market is tightly interlinked these days with a variety of inter-connected protocols and businesses.”

106885587-16214575182021-05-19t203912z_144465080_rc28jn9cpt2v_rtrmadp_0_crypto-currency-bitcoin-1

Bitcoin drops 12%, falling below $24,000 as $200 billion wiped off crypto market over the weekend

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="416" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/106837526-1612866638564-gettyimages-1294702554-yn_cryptoimages_016.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-409576" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/106837526-1612866638564-gettyimages-1294702554-yn_cryptoimages_016.jpeg 740w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/106837526-1612866638564-gettyimages-1294702554-yn_cryptoimages_016-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/106837526-1612866638564-gettyimages-1294702554-yn_cryptoimages_016-140x80.jpeg 140w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /><figcaption>A visual representation of digital currencies.
Yuriko Nakao | Getty Images</figcaption></figure>



Several cryptocurrency industry players have told CNBC that thousands of digital tokens are likely to collapse while the number of blockchains in existence will also fall over the coming years.



There are more than 19,000 cryptocurrencies in existence and dozens of blockchain platforms that exist. A blockchain platform, such as Ethereum, is the underlying technology that many of these different cryptocurrencies are built upon.



The recent collapse of so-called algorithmic stabelcoin terraUSD and its associated digital token luna, which sent shockwaves through the market, has thrust a spotlight on the thousands of cryptocurrencies in existence and whether they will all survive.



“One of the effects of what we’ve seen last week with the Terra issue is we’re at the stage where basically there are far too many blockchains out there, too many tokens. And that’s confusing users. And that’s also bringing some risks for the users,” Bertrand Perez, CEO of the Web3 Foundation, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week.



“Like at the beginning of the internet, you were having lots of dotcom companies and lots of them were scams, and were not bringing any value and all that got cleared. And now we have very useful and legit companies.”



Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of cross-border blockchain payments company Ripple, said there is likely to be “scores” of cryptocurrencies that remain in the future.



“I think there’s a question about whether or not we need 19,000 new currencies today. In the fiat world, there’s maybe 180 currencies,” Garlinghouse said.



Guggenheim Chief Investment Officer Scott Minerd added further pessimism last week when he said that most crypto is “junk” but that <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/btc=x/">bitcoin</a> and <a href="https://www.cnbcafrica.com/quotes/eth=x/">ethereum</a> would survive.



The comments from the industry come as the cryptocurrency market continues to feel pressure. Bitcoin is off more than 50% from its record high it hit in November, with many other digital tokens sharply lower from their all-time highs.



Many different blockchain platforms from Ethereum to Solana are vying for a leadership position in the industry. But Brett Harrison, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange FTX U.S., said the hundreds currently in existence will not all survive.



“When you think about the blockchains &#8230; there probably won’t be hundreds of different blockchains in 10 years, I think there’ll be a couple of clear winners for different kinds of applications,” Harrison said.



“And we’ll see the market &#8230; sort that out over time,” he added.

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South Africa moves to regulate crypto assets