Every week within the crypto industry, many new developments, news, and rumors take up the headlines. This week has even more news to its name than any other week since the year started. With the current regulatory crackdown on many crypto firms, the crypto community expects much information from regulatory bodies this week.
Apart from the evergreen regulations on crypto firms, much other news will rock the crypto industry this week. Investors should keep an eye on many crypto firms as they unveil their final earnings for the year this week. Also, the ETHDenver festival is set to rock the whole crypto industry later this week.
With the few events mentioned, one can see that the industry is already overbooked with many events. Continue reading as we share the top crypto stories investors should be aware of this week.
Regulatory Crackdown
For many crypto companies, it is boiling in the United States as their head regulatory agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, began taking down firms. SEC has declared war on staking in the US, making several crypto firms pay dearly for it. SEC goes as far as making many crypto firms pay for offenses they didn't commit.
Kraken was one of the latest victims of the crackdown after SEC made them pay about $30 million to SEC just to shut down their staking services in the US. Ripples are also in a very heated legal battle with the regulatory body.
The recent crackdown from SEC has caused an enormous uproar in the crypto community as many lament bitterly about the self-centeredness of the SEC.
Another FTX Victim
Another crypto firm has fallen under the effects of the FTX scandal. Before its downfall, Galois Capital was one of the world’s largest crypto-focused quantitative funds. But the FTX scandal affected the owners of this hedge fund, leading to the loss of its capital.
According to the report from the company, they had about $40 million stuck at FTX before its collapse. The company says the amount it lost from the FTX collapse was a sizable part of its capital. But they have said they will still recover some of the funds and settle investors.
Companies to Unveil Earnings for the Year
One of the top crypto stories investors need to watch out for is the earnings of many crypto firms. It will be a busy week for many crypto companies such as Coinbase, Block, and Coinshares as they will share with the public how much they earned and lost within the last fiscal year.
Many would expect several crypto firms to talk about how the FTX collapse affected their firms. It wouldn't come as a surprise that crypto firms' profits are heavily influenced by the unfortunate event last year.
According to Chief Executive Officer Brian Armstrong, Coinbase is expected to release its earnings report for the year on February 21st. The CEO of the exchange has already predicted that the company will make fewer profits than its initial target. The shares of Coinbase, like other crypto firm shares, have been in shambles since the FTX collapse. Compared to what was witnessed in 2021, the shares of many crypto firms are in huge losses.
Coinbase won't be the only company to release its earnings report this week. Coinshares have also announced they will be revealing their earnings report on Tuesday. The Block is also expected to release theirs two days after Coinbase.
ETHDenver Festival on the Horizon
The prestigious ETHDenver is back this year again, as the event is set to kick off its week on Feb. 24th. This is one of the biggest crypto stories to expect this week, as many well-known personalities will be there. Those who created a top new cryptocurrency will be there. Vitalik Buterin, the governor of Colorado, and many other personalities will be there.
The ETHDenver Festival is an event that will see experts and professionals answering questions about new developments in the crypto industry. As expected, there would be talks on the latest Ethereum Shanghai upgrade and what it means for the Ethereum network.
Hong Kong to Become a New Crypto Hub
The United States has taken the title of significant crypto hub for far too long. But the government is making it hard for crypto investors to stay in the US and run their businesses. Right on time, Hong Kong announced its plans to create a very enabling environment for crypto activities in the middle of 2023.
When this happens, the crypto industry could shift its attention and headquarters to the Asian city, leaving the US and its harsh regulatory policies behind.