2022: Top five crypto developments
Capping off 2022, FinTech Futures takes a look back at some of the year’s top crypto developments.
Crypto, despite enduring regulatory scrutiny, job cuts, consolidation across the market and a ‘crypto winter’, the technology and promise behind it remains undimmed. Nonetheless, it’s been a tumultuous year for crypto.
Here are five of the top crypto stories of 2022.
Crypto exchange Binance.US to acquire Voyager assets in $1bn deal
Binance.US set to acquire Voyager assets in $1bn deal
Beleaguered US-based crypto lender Voyager Digital was set to sell its assets to crypto exchange Binance.US in a deal worth approximately $1.022 billion.
Voyager Digital, which filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year, said that “after a review of strategic options”, the Binance.US bid “sets a clear path forward” for Voyager customers to gain access to their locked funds “as soon as possible”.
Binance.US CEO and president Brian Shroder said: “We hope our selection brings to an end a painful bankruptcy process which saw customers unfairly dragged into it at no fault of their own.
“Upon close of the deal, users will be able to seamlessly access their digital assets on the Binance.US platform where they will continue to receive future disbursements from the Voyager estate.”
The Reserve Bank of India wants to ban crypto, says India’s finance minister
India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the country’s central bank wants cryptocurrencies to be prohibited.
In a response to questions on crypto from the Indian parliament, Sitharaman cited the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) concerns regarding the “destabilising effect of cryptocurrencies on the monetary and fiscal stability of a country” as a reason for holding this view.
Currently, cryptocurrencies are not regulated in India, and the government is holding consultations regarding the draft legislation to regulate them.
Earlier this year, it introduced new crypto taxation rules, including a 30% tax on any income from the transfer of digital assets and 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) for every crypto transaction.
“RBI is of the view that cryptocurrencies should be prohibited,” Sitharaman added.
US crypto firm Celsius files for bankruptcy protection
Celsius files for bankruptcy
US crypto firm Celsius filed for bankruptcy protection as it looked to “stabilise its business” amid an unfolding crypto winter.
Celsius said it had initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in the US Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York in an attempt to “consummate a comprehensive restructuring transaction that maximises value for all stakeholders” and continue operations.
The firm said it has “ample liquidity” of $167 million in cash which will allow it to support certain operations during the restructuring process.
Celsius also filed a series of motions to allow the company to pay employees and continue their benefits without disruption.
However, the firm added it is “not requesting authority to allow customer withdrawals at this time”, with customer claims set to be addressed via the Chapter 11 process.
Blockchain.com valued at $14bn following Series D funding round
London-based crypto firm Blockchain.com reportedly raised new funding that valued the company at about $14 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The financing round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Edinburgh-based Baillie Gifford. The amount raised in the round has not been disclosed by the parties.
Both Lightspeed Venture Partners and Baillie Gifford contributed to Blockchain.com’s previous funding round, a $300 million Series C in March 2021, which also featured participation from Vy Capital, DST Global and LG Group. The firm had raised around $490 million in total capital ahead of this latest Series D funding.
Meta drops crypto project Diem due to regulatory roadblocks
Meta shutters Diem
Meta’s foray into crypto via its proposed digital currency Diem (formerly Libra) officially came to an end.
The Meta-funded Diem Association, the organisation set up to run the project, sold its intellectual property and tech assets related to its “blockchain-based payment network infrastructure” to San Diego’s Silvergate Capital in a $182 million deal.
Announcing the sale, Diem CEO Stuart Levey said that while the project was designed to be a more inclusive payment system, “it soon became clear from our dialogue with federal regulators that the project could not move ahead”.
Following the acquisition, Silvergate said it intended to launch a stablecoin in 2022, “enabled by the assets we acquired today and our existing technology”.
Launched in 2019 under the moniker Libra, the Facebook-funded stablecoin ran into pushback from regulators and legislators from the outset.
