Operation ChokePoint 2.0 Looks At SilverGate Bank

White House

During her White House press briefing Monday, Jean-Pierre said she couldn't speak to Silvergate specifically, but noted that a number of crypto companies have "experience[d] significant issues" in recent weeks and pointed to statements from federal bank regulators warning of the risk cryptocurrencies could pose to banks and other financial institutions.

"In recent weeks banking regulators have released guidelines on how banks should protect themselves from risks associated with crypto," she said. "As you know, this is a president that has repeatedly called on Congress to take action to protect everyday Americans from the risk posted by digital assets and he will continue to do so."

"[I] won't speak to this particular company as we have not on other cryptocurrency companies, but we're going to continue monitoring reports, and currently we're aware of the situation," Jean-Pierre said Monday.

Nigeria Begins Forcing CBDC As Test For The World

It is no secret that CBDCs have been growing in popularity among central bankers, policy makers, and consultancy firms in recent years. Yet, for citizens it’s been another story. When the U.S. Federal Reserve solicited comments on CBDCs, more than two-thirds of the commenters were concerned about the risks to financial privacy, financial freedom and the stability of the banking system.

Further, CBDCs really don’t add anything novel to the market in terms of benefits for consumers. To the extent people want it, many currencies are available in digital forms through debit cards, payment apps and even prepaid cards. That much should be clear from the abysmal adoption rate in Nigeria, where less than 0.5 % of Nigerians have used the CBDC. To put that number into perspective, more than 50% of Nigerians have used cryptocurrency.

FBBA Special Notice

Web3 Day At The Capitol May 2nd 2023

The Florida Blockchain Business Association will be hosting its Third Annual Blockchain Day at the Capitol on May 2nd, 2023 in Tallahassee. Stay tuned as more information will be presented in coming news letters. If you are interested in attending please click here and type "Blockchain Day At The Capitol" in the message. This event is limited.

Web3 Day At the Capitol

FBBA Featured Members

Arterra Luxe Joins FBBA Real Estate Committee Under Angela Yungk – FBBA
fbba.io

DARTexon & Seed IncubIT Join FBBA To Push Forward B2B Web3 Integrations – FBBA
fbba.io

In The Know

DAO gets legal recognition in the US as Utah DAO Act passes
Utah State Legislature passes Utah DAO Act, granting DAOs a form of legal recognition as “Utah LLD.“
cointelegraph.com

Crypto Observers Look to Treasury Yields for Cues as Bitcoin Remains Comatose
BTC may struggle to maintain current valuations if the U.S. government bond yields extend the February rally, one trading firm said, although the yields have started to pull back.
coindesk.com

Crypto’s Banking Problem Is Not Ironic
Call it Choke Point 2.0, debanking or whatever, the crypto industry’s problems with the banking industry show why the banking industry needs reform.
coindesk.com

Coinbase CEO hints its new layer-2 network could include AML measures
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that "centralized actors" will be responsible for transaction monitoring and AML measures.
cointelegraph.com

Analytical Data

The FTX balance sheet is really something. $1.6 billion worth of Bitcoin owed to customers, with only $1m there in reality. Rough NFA breakdown of what liquidators have found so far across all silos

-$3.5b in 'liquid' coins

-$1.7b cash

-$800m 'illiquid' coins (SRM, MAPS etc aka zero)

-$500m FTT (zero)

-$250m stonks (mostly GBTC)

-$4.5b book value venture investments (worth who knows in reality)

~$5.5b 'liquid' assets

~$11.5b customer liabilities

🥇 Mt. Gox creditors may receive repayments from March 10 onward.

137,890 $BTC($3B) unlock is coming soon!

Mt. Gox suspended withdrawals on Feb 7, 2014, when the price of $BTC was ~$800.

Events

Click here for events & meetups inMarch 2023

Crypto News Heard Around the State

Tampa News

Blockchain company and Ticketmaster competitor moves to St. Petersburg
Relic Tickets is relocating from Lakeland to the Sunshine City, the company announced Wednesday.
tampabay.com

Orlando News

Avalon raises $13M to build an interoperable digital universe
Avalon Corp. has raised $13 million in funding to build a new interoperable digital universe. Or maybe a chunk of the metaverse.
venturebeat.com

Miami News

SEC Alleges BKCoin Collected From Crypto Investors, Ran Fraud Scheme
BKCoin Management and one of its former executives misused millions of dollars raised from crypto investors, the agency says.
blockworks.co

Cryptocurrency ATM Company CEO Arrested in Miami Beach on Warrant for Conspiracy, Money Laundering
The CEO of a cryptocurrency ATM company was arrested in Miami Beach on an Ohio warrant that accused him of conspiracy, money laundering and other charges.
nbcmiami.com

Bitcoin 101 Lunch & Learn with Kurt Wuckert Jr.
Kurt Wuckert Jr. broadcasts a Bitcoin 101 class sponsored by the BSV Blockchain Association and covers the basics of Bitcoin, including its structure and function.
coingeek.com

Disclaimer: Crypto Flo DOES NOT provide financial advice. All content is for informational purposes only. Crypto Flo is not a registered investment, legal, or tax advisor or a broker/dealer. Trading any crypto-related asset is extremely risky and could result in significant capital losses.