Read in the Digest:
- Morgan Creek is preparing to counter FTX’s $250 million BlockFi bailout.
- Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) plans to raise $2 billion to buy Celsius Network assets.
- IOG releases “Final Candidate” for the Cardano mainnet ‘Vasil’ hard fork.
- Shiba Inu fails to meet weekly 1 billion burn average – burns 565M SHIB.
Bitcoin and Ethereum Sustain Gains, Terra Classic (LUNC) Spikes 50%
Recovering from the brutal crash endured by the crypto market last week, its two biggest players, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), are leading the market with sizable price recoveries.
Over the last week, the price of Bitcoin has shot up by more than 11%, hitting an interday high of $21,480 after dropping as low as $18k. Bitcoin now trades at $20,900 at the time of writing, losing 2% of its gains over the last 24 hours.
The 7 day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum has showed an even more impressive recovery than Bitcoin, gaining almost 20% over the same period. The price boost helped ETH hit a high of $1,272, up from a weekly low of $1,040. ETH now trades at $1,200 at the time of writing, though it shed 3% over the last 24 hours.
The 7 day price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- The biggest surprise of the crypto market rally has been Terra Classic (LUNC) – the original Terra token which was abandoned in favor of Terra 2.0.
- LUNC has gained in value by 50% over the last 24 hours, and more than 61% in the last week, outperforming both Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The 24 hour price chart for Terra Classic (LUNC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Why You Should Care
The important takeaway for investors is that Bitcoin and Ethereum have managed to trade above their respective key support zones for six consecutive days.
Morgan Creek Is Preparing to Counter FTX’s $250 Million BlockFi Bailout
Morgan Creek is looking to provide embattled crypto lender BlockFi with an alternative bailout option. The news comes shortly after the lender received a $250 million credit facility offer from Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange.
Cryptocurrency investment firm Morgan Creek Digital is working to raise $250 million from investors in order to purchase a majority stake in BlockFi. The move would put Morgan Creek at odds with the offer from FTX.
According to reports, Morgan Creek, a longtime BlockFi backer, is looking to generate equity for the beleaguered BlockFi. When asked about the offer, Managing Partner for Morgan Creek Digital Mark Yusko said he had been “making calls all day.”
Flipsider:
- The move comes amidst reports of FTX holding ongoing discussions with BlockFi to buy a stake in the company.
- Sources reveal that talks between FTX and BlockFi are still ongoing, and no decision has been made.
Why You Should Care
Yusko claims that FTX’s $250 million credit facility raises a point of concern for existing shareholders. He added that if FTX finalizes the deal, only some of the investors in BlockFi’s latest fundraiser would be likely to recover a portion of their investment, while older investors would be liquidated.
Goldman Sachs Plans to Raise $2 Billion to Buy Celsius Network Assets
In a turn of events for the Celsius Network, the embattled crypto lending company on the brink of bankruptcy, reports suggest that international investment bank Goldman Sachs is planning to raise $2 billion in commitments from investors to purchase its assets.
Celsius recently enlisted additional advisors to help with a potential bankruptcy situation. Insiders have revealed that, if the situation worsens and the crypto lender files for bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs will look to purchase the company’s assets at a considerable discount.
According to a source familiar with the situation, the banking powerhouse is already soliciting commitments from Web 3.0 crypto funds, funds specializing in distressed assets, and traditional financial institutions with ample cash on hand.
With Celsius yet to resume withdrawals on the platform more than a week after its services were frozen, tensions continue to mount over the company’s ability to stay afloat. The situation has been exacerbated by the rumors that Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky is on the run.
Flipsider:
- Goldman Sachs will have competition, as Celsius received a similar offer for its assets from Nexo, and there are reports of CitiBank preparing to do the same.
Why You Should Care
Goldman Sachs continues to dig deeper into the Web 3.0 and the cryptocurrency space, with the latest news trailing talks with FTX over potential derivatives services.
IOG Releases “Final Candidate” for the Cardano Mainnet ‘Vasil’ Hard Fork
The Cardano community was undeniably disappointed when Input Output Global (IOG) announced that it needed more time to launch the much-anticipated ‘Vasil’ hard fork. As part of its efforts to meet the new schedule, IOG has launched a new node.
According to IOG, the new node, Cardano Node 1.35.0, is the final component to prepare the Cardano mainnet for the upcoming hard fork. IOG also confirmed that it has completed tests on the new #Plutus v2 code, which will be implemented with the launch.
The Vasil hard fork is now set to launch on the testnet, ahead of its final mainnet implementation, as IOG informed the SPO community supporting the testnet, that the new node is ready for them to deploy on the testnet.
Last week, Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, announced that the mainnet hard fork would take place in July. However, IOG hinted that more updates on the Vasil upgrade will be announced this week.
Flipsider:
- Despite the significant developments Cardano has enjoyed this year, Santiment reports that the number of ADA whale addresses has been on the decline in light of the network failing to generate enthusiasm.
Why You Should Care
Vasil is an important upgrade for Cardano, promising massive improvements to the network consensus layer, and overall faster block propagation.
Shiba Inu Fails to Meet Weekly 1 Billion Burn Average – Burns 565M SHIB
For the first time since the Shib Inu (SHIB) burn portal was launched, the Shiba Army fell short of its weekly target of burning 1 billion or more SHIB tokens this past week.
The Shiba Inu community burned only 565 million SHIB tokens over the past week, marking the first time that less than 1 billion SHIB has been burned across a nine week period. Over the last 24 hours, 117 million SHIB tokens were destroyed on the portal.
The Shib Burn portal was built to reward SHIB burners with passive income in the form of $RYOSHI Rewards. 0.49% of all RYOSHI transactions will be distributed to individuals who take part in the burn process.
The Shiba Inu team is now set to begin RYOSHI reward distribution, as 410.3 trillion SHIB tokens have been removed from circulation in the 65 days that the portal has been active.
Flipsider:
- Top Ethereum whales acquired more than 163.2 billion SHIB over the weekend amidst the burning of tokens.
Why You Should Care
The SHIB burn program is designed to help the SHIB token achieve a deflationary status, while also rewarding the community for its participation.