Celsius (CEL) has repaid a substantial amount of its outstanding debt to Maker (MKR) protocol since the beginning of the month, signaling that the troubled crypto lending platform was trying to stave off a complete collapse amid credible rumors of insolvency. Since July 1, Celsius has repaid $142.8 million worth of Dai (DAI) stablecoins across four separate transactions, according to data from DeFi Explorer. The crypto lender still has $82 million in outstanding debt owed to Maker. Out of $1.8 billion in lifetime investments, the firm's losses currently stand at $667.2 million. With the loan repayments, Celsius’ liquidation price on …

Coinbase has long been considered an important bellwether of the cryptocurrency market. Last year, when the company was expanding its workforce, adding institutional clients and issuing stock, crypto prices were hitting record highs. Now, in the depths of crypto winter, Coinbase finds itself slashing a fifth of its workforce, losing retail trading volume and contending with downgrades of its credit and stock. This week’s Crypto Biz dissects Goldman Sachs’ latest downgrade of Coinbase and also looks at the latest developments surrounding Three Arrows Capital. Goldman Sachs downgrades Coinbase stock to ‘sell’ After a promising debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange …

Shares of Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN) have been downgraded by analysts at Goldman Sachs after plunging cryptocurrency prices affected the exchange’s underlying business, underscoring the challenges posed by the bear market. The reason for the downgrade stems from the “continued downdraft in crypto prices,” Goldman analyst William Nance said in a note that was obtained by Bloomberg. The analyst said Coinbase “will need to make substantial reductions in its cost base in order to stem the resulting cash burn as retail trading activity dries up.” According to Bloomberg, Coinbase still has 20 buy recommendations, 6 holds and 5 sell ratings …

China’s pandemic-hit economy needs all the help it can get after a surge in COVID-19 infections triggered mass lockdowns across the country. In an attempt to revive consumption, the southern city of Shenzhen used Beijing’s central bank digital currency, or CBDC, to airdrop free money to local residents. A similar strategy was used in the northern Hebei province, where even more digital yuan was deployed. Think of all the things governments can do when they have full control over fiat money on-ramps. This week’s Crypto Biz newsletter explores China’s helicopter CBDC strategy, the latest funding news from the world of …

United States-based insurers are the most interested in cryptocurrency investment according to a Goldman Sachs global survey of 328 chief financial and chief investment officers regarding their firm’s asset allocations and portfolios. The investment banking giant recently released its annual global insurance investment survey, which included responses regarding cryptocurrencies for the first time, finding that 11% of U.S. insurance firms indicated either an interest in investing or a current investment in crypto. Speaking on the company’s Exchanges at Goldman Sachs podcast on Tuesday, Goldman Sachs global head of insurance asset management Mike Siegel said he was surprised to get any …

Goldman Sachs, one of the leading investment banks in the United States is reportedly trying to onboard some of its derivatives products into FTX.US crypto derivatives offerings. Goldman Sachs has been in talks with FTX over regulatory and public listing help, and aims to expand into offering crypto derivatives by leveraging some of its own derivatives tools and services, reported Barron’s. FTX.US, the U.S. subsidiary of global cryptocurrency exchange FTX is currently seeking to offer brokerage services for its derivatives offerings. This would allow the crypto exchange to handle the collateral and margin requirements internally rather than depending on “futures …

Has there ever been a worse time to be in crypto? It depends on how you look at it. Amid Terra’s death spiral, Bitcoin (BTC) recording seven-consecutive weekly red candles, over $1 trillion in lost market cap across the ecosystem and an aggressive Federal Reserve hell-bent on reversing the chaos it created, major banks are quietly increasing their exposure to the sector. You’re going to love this: Goldman Sachs — once the most passionate Bitcoin detractors — and Barclays are doing some strategic buying as they prepare for the future of crypto trading. Early polling from Terra vote indicates 91% …

Banking giants Goldman Sachs and the United Kingdom’s Barclays have joined a $70 million Series A funding round for the institutional crypto trading platform Elwood Technologies, founded by billionaire British hedge fund manager Alan Howard. Joining the round was crypto-friendly German bank Commerzbank, crypto investment manager Galaxy Digital and Dawn Capital, as reported by the Financial Times on Sunday. The fundraising round valued the company at around $500 million, according to the report. Despite the recent fall in crypto markets, Elwood said it’s betting that traditional financial institutions such as hedge funds and banks will still be interested in investing …

America’s largest crypto exchange Coinbase has been revealed as the mystery firm that took out Wall Street’s first Bitcoin- (BTC)-backed loan from Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has $2.5 trillion assets under management as of 2021. Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the Bitcoin-backed loan issued by Goldman Sachs had been taken out by Coinbase as a way to deepen ties between the crypto and traditional finance (TradFi) world, with the head of Coinbase Institutional Brett Tejpaul stating that: “Coinbase’s work with Goldman is a first step in the recognition of crypto as collateral which deepens the bridge between the fiat and …

Goldman Sachs has offered its first Bitcoin- (BTC)-backed loan, in a major step forward for institutional cryptocurrency adoption on Wall Street. A spokeswoman from Goldman told Bloomberg that the multinational investment bank had lent cash collateralized by Bitcoin owned by the borrower for the first time in Goldman Sachs’ history. She added that the deal was particularly interesting because of its structure and 24-hour risk management. Such a loan allows for a Bitcoin holder to borrow fiat currency such as the United States dollar by fronting up to their BTC as collateral to the bank. The underlying volatility of Bitcoin …

Goldman Sachs is reportedly pursuing an alliance with one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges FTX. The CEO of Goldman Sachs David Solomon reportedly met with Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX in a closed-door meeting in March to discuss various prospects of working together, reported the Financial Times. According to the report, the major points of discussion were around mitigating regulatory compliance in the United States and Goldman Sachs offered to help them, especially with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Apart from regulatory assistance, the Wall Street bank also offered to help with future funding rounds. The latest report …

Bitcoin (BTC) and the broader cryptocurrency market rallied on Thursday, as the total value of digital assets crossed $2 trillion for the first time in over three weeks amid signs of a clear shift in market sentiment — headlined by Goldman Sachs, no less. BTC printed an intraday high of $44,253, having gained more than 3% during the session, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has now recovered over 33% from its January low. The total crypto market cap has gained over 7% since Monday to reach nearly $2.1 trillion, according …