First Mover Americas: FTX's Troubles in Paradise

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

Latest Prices

CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) 846.86 +8.1 ▲ 1.0% Bitcoin (BTC) $16,746 +174.2 ▲ 1.1% Ethereum (ETH) $1,218 +17.1 ▲ 1.4% S&P 500 futures 3,985.75 +30.5 ▲ 0.8% FTSE 100 7,403.73 +57.2 ▲ 0.8% Treasury Yield 10 Years 3.77% ▲ 0.1 BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices, as of 7 a.m. ET (11 a.m. UTC)

Top Stories

The Bahamas securities commission said Thursdayit had ordered the contents of FTX’s crypto wallets to be moved to government-controlled wallets last Saturday. The commission said it has the authority to take such action to protect customers and their funds. It's unclear why the commission made the announcement five days after placing the order. It's also unclear whether and when exactly the transfers may have occurred.

A Cardano-based regulated stablecoin USDA is hitting the market in early 2023. Emurgo, the official commercial arm and a founding entity of the Cardano blockchain, plans to launch USDA, a U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin. USDA will be the first fully fiat-backed, regulatory-compliant stablecoin in the Cardano network. That could help bolster Cardano’s decentralized-finance (DeFi) ecosystem, which had just over $53 million in value locked as of Friday, according to DeFiLlama data.

Bank of America said in a research report Thursday that crypto exchanges’ proofs of reserves have too many shortcomings. Following the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research, crypto trading platforms are rushing to show that clients’ assets are safe, but proof of reserves isn't complete enough to inspire confidence, the bank said. The crypto industry also needs to make a clear delineation between trading platforms and market makers, the report said.

Trending Posts

• Alameda Had ‘Secret Exemption’ From FTX Liquidation Protocols, New CEO Says
• Confusion Abounds As Binance and OKX Suspend Support for USDC, USDT on Solana, Then Backpedal
• Crypto Market Analysis: Risk Management Remains Paramount in Coming