The crypto market had ups and downs last week, with both good and bad news making the headlines. From surprisingly favorable SEC comments to more woe at Celsius Network, the crypto market looks like it will be in the midst of a few more rough weeks.
Highlights:
- Celsius Network has a $1.2 billion hole in its balance sheet, according to an SEC filing. This led to acquisitions falling through.
- Ethereum developers have said that September 19 could potentially be the date for the Merge on the Ethereum mainnet.
- New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has received over $150,000 in crypto donations for his campaign, and donors include Sam Bankman-Fried and the Winklevoss twins.
- A report shows that over 75% of financial institutions expect to use crypto within the next three years, which could result in a great boost to adoption.
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that crypto companies could be exempt from certain securities laws in a bid to coax them into compliance.
This Week in Crypto
Celsius Has a $1.2B Problem on Its Balance Sheet
Celsius Network has raised a storm in the crypto market, and the negative developments have only been piling up since the decision to suspend withdrawals. Now, after having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the business has a $1.2 billion gap in its balance sheet, according to a court filing.
The information reveals the scale of the problems Celsius is facing and a $1.2 billion hole has even led to deals falling through. Crypto exchange FTX was in talks to acquire Celsius, but the financial gap led to the exchange backing out. How Celsius’ financial restructuring plays out will be closely watched, as the crypto market enters.
September 19 Could Be the Date of Ethereum Mainnet Merge
Ethereum developers have tentatively laid out a date for the Merge to take place on the Ethereum mainnet. The devs said during a conference call on July 14 that September 19 was a target date for the transition to proof-of-stake.
The Merge integrations have so far been very successful, with no hiccups in integrations with testnets. The final transition onto the mainnet would mark a huge step forward for Ethereum, bringing staking to the network and reducing energy consumption significantly.
New York Senator Gets $150K+ in Crypto Donations
Crypto continues to play a role in U.S. politics, with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York receiving over $150,000 in crypto donations from the likes of Sam Bankman-Fried and the Winklevoss twins. Many individuals from the crypto industry were associated with the donations.
Gillibrand is known in the crypto space for proposing a bipartisan bill alongside crypto community favorite Cynthia Lummis, who is known for her friendly stance on the crypto market. Lummis even said that she was learning about NFTs from Gillibrand.
Over 75% of Financial Institutions Expect To Use Crypto in a Few Years
A report released by Ripple shows substantial interest among financial institutions when it comes to using crypto. 76% of these institutions said that they expect to use crypto within the next three years, and 70% said that they want to use blockchain technology for payments.
The institutions listed the reasons for the asset class being a hedge against inflation, a form of payment, and lending and borrowing as the main reasons for wanting to get involved. With this kind of reception, it’s hard not to see crypto reaching much higher levels of adoption in the near future.
SEC May Exempt Crypto Companies From Some Securities Laws
SEC Chair Gary Gensler, in an interview with Yahoo! Finance on July 15, said that the agency might consider exempting crypto companies from certain securities laws. The idea is to coax more crypto companies to comply with other laws by offering some leeway in terms of regulation.
Gensler believes there’s a “potential path forward” and that engaging with crypto companies will be the right way to deal with the regulation problem. The U.S. is gearing up to implement wide-ranging regulation, which at this point seems like it will be accommodating towards crypto.