Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

General Bytes experienced a security incident on March 17 and 18 that enabled a hacker to remotely access the master service interface and send funds from hot wallets, according to the company and sources. The breach forced a majority of U.S.-based crypto automated teller machine (ATM) operators to temporarily shut down. The hacker was able to liquidate 56.28 bitcoins, worth approximately $1.5 million, from about 15 to 20 crypto ATM operators nationwide. Crypto ATM Operators Temporarily Shut Down After General Bytes Security Breach Enables Hacker to Liquidate $1.5M in Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies The largest cryptocurrency automated teller machine (ATM) manufacturer, General Bytes , has produced 9,505 such machines globally, with thousands located in the United States. On Saturday, March 18, the company informed the public of a serious security incident that occurred on March 17 as well. “We released a statement urging customers to take immediate action to protect their per...

The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, has warned about additional bank seizures and shutdowns that could result from regulatory changes in response to the failures of several major banks in the U.S. “It does seem inevitable that some banks will now need to pull back on lending to shore up their balance sheets, and we’re likely to see stricter capital standards for banks,” he added. Blackrock’s Chief on More Bank Seizures, Shutdowns Larry Fink, the chairman and CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, shared his view on the U.S. economy and recent bank failures in his annual chairman’s letter to investors, published this week. “This past week we saw the biggest bank failure in more than 15 years as federal regulators seized Silicon Valley Bank . This is a classic asset-liability mismatch. Two smaller banks failed in the past week as well,” Fink described. Silicon Valley Bank was shut down by regulators on March 10 while Signature Bank was seized by t...

According to a presentation recently submitted by the FTX debtors on March 16, Sam Bankman-Fried’s companies had a $6.8 billion hole in their intercompany balance sheet when they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. FTX and its conglomerate of firms have debts of around $11.6 billion, including customer claims and various other liabilities. FTX’s $6.8 Billion Gap The FTX debtors have released a third presentation that provides an overview of FTX’s debts and liabilities. The presentation reveals that, while a significant amount of money is owed to customers, FTX and its few subsidiary firms also owe funds to certain vendors, counterparties, and unpaid invoices. Some of the vendors include Margaritaville Beach Resort owned by Jimmy Buffett, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Fairview Asset Management, Stripe, Meta, Trulioo, Spotify, Turner Network Television, and American Express. Advisers concluded that when FTX filed for bankruptcy, the more than 100 companies under its umbrella had...

Ethereum classic rose by as much as 12% in today’s session, as cryptocurrency markets rallied to start the weekend. The global market cap is trading over 3% higher at the time of writing, as investors continue to buy crypto following the recent banking crisis. Solana was also higher in today’s session. Ethereum Classic ( ETC ) Ethereum classic ( ETC ) rose by as much as 12% in today’s session, as traders continued to pump cryptocurrencies. Following a low of $19.14 on Friday, ETC /USD moved to a high of $22.46 to start the weekend. The move came as ethereum classic rose back above a recent floor at $20.00, hitting its strongest point since February 22 in the process. Looking at the chart, the rally also coincided with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) breaking out of a ceiling at the 58.00 mark. As of writing, the index is tracking at 60.22, which is its highest reading since February 2. The next visible point of resistance appears to be a ceiling at 65.00, which could l...

Ethereum rose above $1,800 for the first time since August, as markets continued to react to the Fed’s decision to inject $300 billion into the economy. This comes following the recent banking crisis, which saw the likes of Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Bitcoin neared $28,000 in today’s session. Bitcoin Bitcoin ( BTC ) closed in on the $28,000 level to start the weekend, as markets continued to react to the Federal Reserve’s decision to pump liquidity into the U.S. economy. BTC /USD jumped to an intraday high of $27,787.81 earlier in the day, which comes after falling to a low of $26,209.29 on Friday. As a result of the move, bitcoin climbed a fresh nine-month high, which is its strongest point since June 2022. Looking at the chart, the surge took place as the 10-day (red) moving average crossed its 25-day (blue) counterpart. In addition to this, the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) continues to gain traction, moving deeper into overbought territory. At the time of writing,...

One of Africa’s fintech giants, Chipper Cash, is said to be weighing the possibility of selling the business or bringing in new investors. According to the CEO of the FTX and Silicon Valley Bank-backed fintech startup, Chipper Cash had insignificant exposure to both SVB and Signature Bank. Chipper Cash ‘Never Sought to Be Acquired’ The FTX and Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) backed-African fintech giant, Chipper Cash, is weighing options including the sale of the business or bringing in new investors, a Bloomberg report that cites unnamed sources has said. According to the report, the fintech, which began exploring its options before SVB’s abrupt collapse, is yet to make a final decision on which course of action it will take. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in late 2021, Chipper Cash successfully raised $150 million in a Series C extension that was led by the now-collapsed crypto exchange FTX. SVB, which led the first Series C, also participated in the round as did Deciens C...

Russian lawmakers have approved a draft law facilitating the implementation of the digital version of the national currency, the ruble. The legislation amends various other acts to introduce definitions and establish procedures related to the launch of the central bank digital currency. Russian State Duma Passes Digital Ruble Draft Law on First Reading The lower house of Russian parliament, the State Duma, has adopted in the first reading a bill introducing legislative changes necessary for the realization of the digital ruble project. Most notably, it seeks to amend the law “On the National Payment System.” The latter will be supplemented with legal definitions related to the central bank digital currency (CBDC) issued by the Bank of Russia. The authors also propose procedures for accessing the state-backed coin’s platform as well as for opening a digital wallet, RBC Crypto noted in a report. According to the business daily Vedomosti, the draft suggests terms like “participant o...