Crypto Flipsider News – Dip In Uptober; Coinbase Withdrawal Issue; Celsius Controversy; ETH Lending Falls; Bitcoin ATMs Decline
Read in the Digest:
- Crypto starts Uptober with a dip amid Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank fears.
- Coinbase fixes the technical issue that halted payments and withdrawals.
- Ex-Celsius CEO reportedly withdrew $10M ahead of bankruptcy filing.
- Sharp decline to average lending volumes on Ethereum (ETH) in Q3.
- The global net growth of Bitcoin ATMs experiences its first-ever decline.
Crypto Starts Uptober with Dip amid Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank Fears
The crypto market’s history of undergoing massive rallies in the month of October led to the month being dubbed “Uptober” by the crypto community. However, 2022, is shaping up to be different as the crypto market opens the month in the red.
Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest crypto, led the dip, falling beneath $19,000, immediately quelling excitement for a potential rally. From its low of $18,970, BTC now trades at $19,200, placing it back in the range it has traded within for the past three weeks.
The October price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Ethereum (ETH) failed to fare better than Bitcoin, with its price falling as low as $1,275 on October 2nd. ETH now trades at $1,295, and would need a major rally to reach the price levels predicted before its merge in mid-September.
The October price chart for Ethereum (ETH). Source: CoinMarketCap
In the wake of its major rally recorded in the last week of September, the price of XRP has been in free fall. From its high of $0.503, XRP has fallen to as low $0.4395, with investors awaiting the final ruling in the Ripple vs SEC lawsuit.
The October price chart for XRP (XRP). Source: ConMarketCap
Flipsider:
- Ethereum is beginning to reap the benefits of its Merge as it witnesses a steep increase in daily block creation, alongside a substantial decrease in average block time.
Coinbase Fixes the Technical Issue That Halted Payments and Withdrawals
In the early hours of Sunday, October 2nd, Coinbase users reported a technical issue that was preventing them from making payments and withdrawals to or from U.S. bank accounts.
Coinbase quickly identified the error as an ACH problem that was leading to deposit and purchase failures on U.S.-linked bank accounts. ACH, or Automated Clearing House, is a system used in the U.S. for electronically transferring funds between bank accounts.
However, during the downtime, users were still able to trade all Coinbase-supported tokens on the platform. Users were also able to carry out transactions using debit cards and PayPal accounts throughout the duration.
The exchange released a statement reassuring users of the safety of their funds, then, six hours after the issue was reported (at 4:41 p.m. UTC) Coinbase announced that the “incident has been resolved” on its status page.
Flipsider:
- There are reports that Coinbase is preparing to list Terra Classic (LUNC), leading to a major rally for the crypto.
Why You Should Care
Coinbase’s swift reaction to the ACH transaction failure helped to assuage fears among users, who have typically been quick to go on edge as a result of the many ups and downs experienced in the prolonged crypto winter.
Ex-Celsius CEO Reportedly Withdrew $10M Ahead of Bankruptcy Filing
According to reports, in May, the Founder and former CEO of the Celsius Network, Alex Mashinsky, allegecly withdrew $10 million in order to settle state and federal taxes ($8 million), as well as for the purpose of “estate planning” ($2 million). In June, the crypto lender was forced to halt transactions.
According to a report by the Financial Times, Celsius will be required to submit details about Mashinsky’s transactions to the courtas part of wider financial disclosure.
A spokesperson for the ex-Celsius CEO stated that “in the nine months leading up to that withdrawal, he consistently deposited cryptocurrency in amounts that totalled what he withdrew in May.”
The laws in any bankrupty case as clear: in the 90 days leading up to a bankruptcy filing, payments made by a company can be reversed to benefit creditors under United States’ legislation. Now, with details of the operations being submitted before the court, Mashinsky could be made to return the $10 million.
Flipsider:
- A Mashinsky spokesperson claims that $44 million in crypto belonging to Mashinsky and his family is still locked up in Celsius.
Why You Should Care
The withdrawals have raised questions as to whether its CEO knew the crypto lender was headed towards bankruptcy.
Sharp Decline in Average Lending Volumes on Ethereum (ETH) in Q3
Ethereum’s merge, which saw it transition to a Proof of Stake (PoS) model, was regarded as one of the most important upgrades in the entire crypto industry. However, since the upgrade, not everything has gone according to plan for the network.
Messari, the crypto market intelligence provider, in reporting the state of the Ethereum network in the third quarter, has revealed that ETH experienced a steep decline in terms of average lending volumes on Ethereum in Q3.
According to Messari’s report, lending volumes dropped from $280 billion per day in Q2, to $116 billion per day in Q3. Messari noted that, despite a brief increase in August due to the merge, general interest in ETH remained low compared to earlier in the year.
In May, when ETH’s 2022 lending volume was at its highest point, the price of ETH measured at above $2,700, prior to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. Uncertainty among investors ahead of the merge also played a role in the decline.
Flipsider:
- Messari also reports that user activity increased on Layer-2 solutions, with the total value locked on both Optimism and Arbitrum reaching $1 billion.
Why You Should Care
The decline in the price of ETH has been one of the major factors contributing to the steep decline in its lending volume.
The Global Net Growth of Bitcoin ATMs Experiences First-Ever Decline
For the first time since the original Bitcoin ATM was installed in 2013, the net growth of global Bitcoin (BTC) ATM installations declined 2.05% for the month. The decline appears to be in tandem with the sinking prices of the world’s leading digital asset.
According to data from CoinATMRadar, the number of global active Bitcoin ATMs fell from an all-time high of 38,776 ATMs in August, to 37,980 in September, reflecting a 2.05% drop.
Global crypto ATM installations. Source: Coin ATM Radar
Data on net changes in crypto ATM installations confirms that in September alone, 796 machines were removed from the global network. Although 825 ATMs were pulled out in the U.S., approximately 201 ATMs were installed in Canada and Europe, as of the start of October, slightly off-setting the decline.
Nearly 14 crypto ATMs are being installed globally every day, with Genesis Coin holding a 40.3% share of the ATMs, General Bytes and BitAccess following with 23.1%, Coinsource with 5.2%, Bitstop with 5.7%, etc.
Flipsider:
- After 8 years of denying crypto ATMs, Japan has decided to reintegrate them to its infrastructure with plans to set up 50 BTMs across the country by August 2023.
Why You Should Care
In addition to the ailing crypto prices, other factors affecting the decline in the number of Bitcoin ATMs are geopolitical tensions, rising inflation, market uncertainties, and the general lack of regulatory clarity.
Text source: DailyCoin.com
