The Galaxy CEO seemed undaunted by this year’s devastation in the BTC mining business, stating that the company plans to dramatically increase its mining activities. Galaxy Digital Holdings CEO Mike Novogratz describes the Helios mining purchase as a game changer for the company. Bear markets are for construction. We are long-term supporters of $BTC and think that the lowest-cost miners will triumph over time.
Helios is a game changer that will broaden our mining capabilities and services as we continue to develop towards a decentralized future. In a more detailed explanation of the transaction, Mike Novogratz stated that the business has a certain philosophy on how to approach the mining sector- low-cost power, a very efficient staff, and buying ASIC miners cheaply. Previously, Argo Blockchain CEO Peter Wall announced on December 28 a $65 million transaction with Galaxy Digital to sell the Helios mining operation.
The crypto investment business announced the $65 million acquisition of Argo Blockchain’s main mining operation on December 28 as part of Argo’s extreme measures to avoid bankruptcy. In a tweet regarding the acquisition on December 29, Novogratz stated that Galaxy is a “big believer” in Bitcoin’s long-term prospects and that the firm would continue to scale up its mining initiatives:
The Galaxy CEO went on to explain that the company has an unique “thesis” on how to approach the mining sector: “low-cost power, a highly efficient crew,” and “purchasing ASIC miners inexpensively.” “That’s a prescription for mining success, even as the hash rate climbs,” he added.
According to Hash rate Index, Bitcoin ASIC miner prices are at a level not seen since at least 2021, with the most efficient ASIC miners seeing their prices collapse 86.8% from their high in May 2021. Galaxy offers five business lines: trading, asset management, cryptocurrency mining, venture capital, and investment banking.
According to its website, it presently manages assets worth $1.9 billion. Galaxy now relies heavily on hosting services for its mining activities. However, Novogratz points out that Helios’ 200 megawatt (MW) capacity will allow the firm to not only run miners on its own site, but also host for others.
Helios has the potential to become one of the largest miners on the market. Argo Blockchain earlier stated in May of this year that it intended to expand its energy capacity to 800MW in the “coming years.” At the time, Helios claimed it intended to attain a BTC mining capacity of 5.5 exahashes per second by the end of the year, with the potential to reach 20 EH/s in the future.
Galaxy looks to have some capital to burn during the 2022 bear market, since it also provided Argo Blockchain with a $35 million equipment financing loan as part of the deal. The acquisition follows Galaxy’s earlier this month acquisition of crypto self-custody platform GK8 for an unknown sum.
GK8 was auctioned off as part of the Celsius bankruptcy process, after the failed crypto lender purchased the company for $115 million in 2021. The purchase, according to Novogratz, is a “critical cornerstone in our endeavour to develop a genuinely full-service financial platform for digital assets.”
Blockchain technology took the world by storm, seemingly overnight. While investors are looking for the next 10x coin or “moonshot”, purpose driven companies are finding unique ways to use the new technology and web 3 culture to do good. Historically, small groups of dedicated people with a purpose make the biggest waves. “Using Blockchain As a Force For Good” is a short series exploring some of these projects.
Recently, Artist For Addicts had a stealth launch of Recovery Punks, a Crypto Punk inspired project designed to bring awareness to, change the conversation about and fund addiction recovery and connection.
“The Mission of Artists For Addicts is to change the global conversation surrounding addiction from one of judgement to one of compassion, using art as a force for good.”
Recovery Punks is an extension of that mission; using art on the blockchain as a force for good. The project is keeping marketing and “hype” to minimum and instead using education and connection to slowly mint out the entire 10k connection. The Recovery Punks community has contributed by opening up twitter spaces and inviting the public to join the conversation: a conversation about addiction recovery and connection, which Artist for Addicts believes is one of the most important conversations to be had in the current crypto landscape.
The royalties on Recovery Punks are set at 2.5%, 100% of which goes to Artist for Addicts to continue to find creative and fun ways to educate and change the global conversation about addiction.
The Recovery Punks community has formed a council that will allow them to create governance that can increase the royalties, build a community treasury and direct the project through community contribution and vote.
Many investors will continue to follow the hype, looking for the next big thing. The companies, projects and organizations that are finding ways to use new technology and web 3 culture to have an impact might have the last laugh. Their communities are small, but they are hyper-engaged and the reach extends beyond the early adopters of crypto.
While we will have to wait and see what happens, this is a recipe for massive impact and long term success. An important cause, a strong community, real world implications and a founder with an incredible track record. Our team will have our eyes glued to Recovery Punks in 2023.
Recovery Punks is one of the many projects published by Wolf Den Labs focused on having a real impact on people in the real world.
Due to a series of events that have significantly harmed any altcoin, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, the crypto winter may last longer. Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, fell more than 3% to $16,160 after failing to break out of a descending triangle pattern in the market. Similarly, Ethereum, the second-most valuable cryptocurrency, has fallen nearly 5% to $1,171, following Bitcoin’s lead.
It looks like that the bad time of crypto is not going to end any time soon. The recent FTX collapse has also affected the entire crypto industry and most of the big coins are going down when it comes to their price. Just recently, we have seen the sudden crash of BTC going below $17000 which looks quite alarming to all Bitcoin holders. While on the other hand, for the people who were thinking to buy BTC, it may be a good time for them since they are now less expensive than their value before the collapse.
China’s Situation:
China Lockdown Causes a Sell-Off in Global Markets. Cryptocurrencies fell as a result of investor apprehension in global markets brought on by protests in China against Covid restrictions. Outraged by the stringent COVID-19 regulations, protesters demanded the resignation of China’s powerful leader.
On Sunday, officials in at least eight cities attempted to suppress demonstrations that posed a direct threat to the ruling Communist Party. This was a rare rebuke. Nearly three years into the pandemic, dissatisfaction with President Xi Jinping’s well-known zero-COVID policy has sparked a surge of public disobedience on the mainland not seen since President Hu Jintao took office a decade ago.
The COVID-19 regulations are also having an impact on the second-largest economy in the world. The largest demonstrations against the ruling party in decades have taken place since and have spread to cities like Beijing, the capital, and dozens of university campuses.
China’s role in the cryptocurrency slump:
The second-largest economy in the world, China has a significant impact on global financial markets; therefore, financial backers are searching for a place of refuge to stop their speculations. Since stocks and digital currencies are not considered safe havens, today’s price action is bearish.
However, Bitcoin and other currencies may experience a sharp bullish reversal as the situation in China improves and the protest ends.
However, given that some investors are beginning to believe that Chinese stocks may have reached a crossroads following the recent sharp gains, the protests may dampen sentiment. This is the case in spite of a growing chorus of bullish China calls on Wall Street, which cited favorable policies and low valuations.
The unrest in China may also dampen hopes that a gauge of currencies from emerging markets will experience its strongest monthly rally in six years on global markets.
The sixth annual Oppenheimer Blockchain and Digital Assets Summit on Web 3.0 and the Creator Economy will take place on November 17 at Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (“Oppenheimer”), a renowned investment bank, wealth management, and a division of Oppenheimer Holdings (NYSE: OPY).
A prominent group of businesses driving the continuous development of the blockchain ecosystem, including Fidelity Digital Assets, Blockchain.com, Coinbase, and Silvergate Capital Corporation, will be featured at the virtual event. You may sign up right there.
Timothy Horan who is the Senior Analyst for Cloud & Communications and Owen Lau who is the Senior Analyst for Exchanges, Information Analytics, and Asset Managers, said in a statement that the potential to access the internet in new and different ways based on blockchain technology is arising, along with significant opportunities for the expansion of decentralized finance in the era of Web 3.0,”
Blockchain & Digital Assets Summit
Everything will be impacted by this, from the development of private market funds to dispersed wireless infrastructure. This virtual conference highlights how Oppenheimer Blockchain is committed to bringing together innovators and thought leaders from across the field as an ever-wider range of investors seek to learn about the adoption of digital assets.
Presentations, panels, and one-on-one discussions will be part of the summit’s coverage of significant themes in the blockchain and digital asset ecosystem, including uses for DeFi and NFTs, payments and remittances, capital markets infrastructure, regulatory framework, and more. The following businesses will be present:
Apollo is a publicly traded, global supplier of alternative assets with over 30 years of experience working with both institutional and retail clients throughout the risk spectrum.
Blockchain.com is one of the most well-liked platforms for securely purchasing bitcoin, Ethereum, and other cryptocurrencies. Users can safely store, swap, trade, and purchase the most popular cryptocurrencies on its site.
Coinbase: A publicly traded platform for gaining access to the larger crypto industry. In over 100 countries, 103 million verified individuals, 14,500 institutions, and 245,000 ecosystem partners put their trust in Coinbase to buy, sell, save, and use cryptocurrencies.
Fidelity Digital Assets: The goal of Fidelity Digital Assets, a Fidelity Investments subsidiary that runs as a separate company, is to provide products and services that assist institutions in utilizing digital assets and innovating in the increasingly digital world of finance.
Figure Technologies is a lender that specializes in revolutionizing the trillion-dollar financial services sector by utilizing the Provenance Blockchain’s proven power for loan origination, equity management, private fund services, banking, and payments.
Silvergate Capital Corporation: Providing innovative financial infrastructure solutions and services to the digital currency sector. An ever-expanding list of investors and digital currency enterprises from around the world is provided by the corporation with a real-time payment mechanism.
The fifth annual Blockchain and Digital Assets Summit is excited to welcome the visionary group of entrepreneurs, investors, and presenters, according to Erica L. Moffett, who is the Associate Director of Research and Managing Director at Oppenheimer Blockchain.
As new applications for these technologies emerge, established platforms continue to evolve, and financial markets change in reaction, their insights come at a key time for the future of the Creator Economy and Web 3.0. Oppenheimer Blockchain will lead and participate in engaging discussions using our own distinctive viewpoints throughout the evening.
Oppenheimer Blockchain & Co. Inc.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. (Oppenheimer), a significant subordinate of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. and its affiliates. It offers a full wide range of securities brokerage, wealth management, and investment banking services to individuals, corporate executives, local governments, families, businesses, and institutions.
The recent FTX collapse has impacted the entire crypto industry and even US stocks quite badly. Due to the collapse, the prices of even some of the most popular coins i.e. BTC and ETC went down.
What is FTX?
Before getting into FTX collapse, let’s just talk a little bit about it. Founded in 2018 by former Jane Street Capital international exchange-traded funds trader and an MIT graduate “Sam Bankman-Fried”, FTX Exchange is considered one of the leading centralized cryptocurrency exchanges that specialize in derivatives and leveraged products. Derivatives, Leveraged tokens, options & volatility products are the products offered by FTX. It also provided spot markets in more than 300 cryptocurrency trading pairs including BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT, and its native token FTT/USDT.
The FTX Collapse:
FTX petitioned for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Nov. 11, 2022, after a quick go-wrong. The organization’s valuation plunged from $32 billion to liquidation surprisingly fast, hauling down the CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s $16 billion total assets to approach zero. FTX’s collapse was a huge shock for the volatile crypto market. It all resulted in billions of lost in value and dropped under $1 trillion.
The outcomes of FTX collapse and breakdown will probably affect cryptocurrencies well into the future and really might haul down more extensive business sectors. On Nov. 16, 2022, a legal claim was filed in a Florida government court, charging that Sam Bankman-Fried made a fake cryptocurrency scheme intended to exploit unsophisticated financial backers from the nation over. Different VIPs named in the claim incorporate Steph Curry, Shohei Ohtani, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin O’Leary, Naomi Osaka, and Larry David, who supposedly assisted Bankman-Fried with the plan.
At the point when the cryptocurrency industry encountered a $2 trillion crash in May, FTX offered monetary lifesavers to a few falling firms. Its fall has undulated through the market: Lenders, for example, BlockFi and Genesis have reported a pause in their operations due to this collapse. The cost of FTT, a local cryptocurrency token for FTX, has gone down to more than 90% since Nov. 8. The cost of Bitcoin is down around 19% this month, and the cost of Ether is down around 24%.
This year for sure was not the best one for the crypto industry. Let’s hope for the best and see what’s waiting for us in the future of crypto.
