Category: Cryptocurrency

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Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) criticized Bitfarms (NASDAQ:BITF) for adopting a poison pill strategy to prevent a takeover, calling the move “shareholder unfriendly” and highlighting Bitfarms’ weak corporate governance.

Riot stated on Wednesday that it had privately urged Bitfarms to remove its chairman and interim CEO, Nicolas Bonta, and to appoint at least two independent directors to its board. This dispute follows Riot’s unsolicited $950 million acquisition offer made in April, which Bitfarms rejected, deeming it undervalued. In response, Bitfarms approved a poison pill plan to block hostile takeover attempts.

The plan specifies that if any entity acquires more than a 15% stake in Bitfarms between June 20 and September 10, Bitfarms will issue additional shares to other stockholders, diluting the acquiring entity’s stake. Riot contended that the 15% trigger “conflicts with established legal and governance standards.”

Riot CEO Jason Les stated, “We will continue to address the serious corporate governance issues at Bitfarms and ensure that shareholders have a say in the company’s direction.”

Bitfarms did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

In a separate regulatory filing, Riot revealed that it had increased its stake in Bitfarms to 13.1% from 12% earlier this month, making it Bitfarms’ largest shareholder, according to LSEG data.

Despite a surge in the crypto industry due to the approval of exchange-traded funds tied to bitcoin’s spot price, shares of Riot and Bitfarms have declined by 35% and 19%, respectively, this year.

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Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rallied on Wednesday following U.S. inflation data that came in slightly below expectations, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates later this year. The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged over 4% to above $69,500 shortly after the inflation report’s release.

The Labor Department reported that the annual inflation rate decreased to 3.3% in May, down from 3.4% in April.

While still elevated, the lower-than-expected inflation readings could prompt the Fed to ease its aggressive rate hike measures eventually.

Crypto prices jumped on the news, with Bitcoin rising over $1,900 within minutes. Ether and other altcoins also saw gains as traders reevaluated the macroeconomic landscape.

However, despite the optimistic market response, Wednesday’s report alone might not persuade Fed Chair Jerome Powell and colleagues to start cutting rates immediately. At 3.3%, inflation remains above the Fed’s 2% target.

The Fed is set to conclude its latest policy meeting later on Wednesday.

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The U.S. Consumer Price Index remained unchanged in May, outperforming economists’ expectations of a 0.1% rise and down from 0.3% in April. On a year-over-year basis, CPI increased by 3.3%, slightly lower than both the forecast and April’s reading of 3.4%.

The core CPI, excluding food and energy costs, rose 0.2% in May, better than the anticipated 0.3% rise and down from April’s 0.3%. Year-over-year, core CPI was up 3.4%, below the expected 3.5% and April’s 3.6%.

Bitcoin responded positively to the lower inflation reading, jumping to $69,400, an increase of nearly 4% over the past 24 hours.

After significant drops in inflation throughout 2022 and 2023 due to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes, the decline had stalled at higher levels than the Fed’s 2% target, dampening market hopes for imminent rate cuts.

At the beginning of this year, traders anticipated five or six 25 basis point rate cuts in 2024 by December. This expectation had decreased to one or two cuts before today’s CPI report, with the first cut not expected until September, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Crypto prices have shown high sensitivity to U.S. economic data, noted K33 Research earlier this week. Rising inflation figures and reduced expectations for rate cuts caused Bitcoin to fall from its all-time high above $73,000 in March to below $57,000 in May. Traders believe that looser monetary policies will drive the next phase of the crypto rally to new record prices.

Contrary to U.S. trends, several major central banks worldwide, including the European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada, have begun lowering benchmark rates, pushing the U.S. dollar index to a one-month high.

Investors are also keenly awaiting the Federal Reserve’s “dot plot,” scheduled for release later today, which outlines the Federal Market Open Committee members’ interest rate projections and could significantly impact asset prices.

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Solana crypto wallet startup TipLink is simplifying blockchain access for newcomers by eliminating the need for traditional wallet browser extensions. Their new service, TipLink Wallet Adaptor, enables users to create in-browser wallets linked to their Google accounts, bypassing the need to set up wallets like Phantom or Solflare before receiving tokens.

TipLink CEO Ian Krotinsky stated, “It unlocks the rest of the world for easy onboarding.” This approach aims to attract the majority of internet users who lack a crypto wallet and the knowledge or inclination to set one up. Users can receive a wallet link, log in with their Google credentials, and start using it immediately.

While this might not sit well with staunch advocates of self-custody—those who emphasize “not your keys, not your coins”—Krotinsky isn’t concerned about that niche. He explained that TipLink’s app secures private keys to minimize the risk of users unintentionally exposing them to phishing attacks. Google’s security measures, especially for accounts with two-factor authentication, add another layer of protection.

“It’s currently not the place users will likely store a million dollars in,” Krotinsky noted, but assured that the team is working to introduce “more layers of security” in the future.

TipLink operates within a controlled environment for decentralized applications, only interacting with vetted programs to ensure user safety and prevent fund theft, as demonstrated in a promotional video shared with CoinDesk.

Additionally, TipLink is developing a “Pro” service aimed at helping developers distribute cryptocurrencies to hundreds or thousands of users via campaign links.

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The Ethereum Name Service topped CryptoSlam’s non-fungible token market on Monday with over $4.27 million in sales. Although not classified as a typical NFT collection, ENS utilizes NFT technology to offer decentralized domain names on the Ethereum blockchain. This allows users to convert Ethereum addresses into human-readable formats, with each registered ENS domain corresponding to a unique NFT that can be transferred or sold.

Ranking second for the day were the $PIZZA BRC-20 NFTs on the Bitcoin blockchain, which generated $2.18 million in sales. This collection saw a decrease from its $7.12 million in sales on Sunday.

Guild of Guardians Avatars, hosted on the Immutable network, secured third place with $1.24 million in sales. Other notable collections included Blast’s Fantasy Top, which ranked fourth with $987,910, and Genesis Fanta Field on Solana, debuting in the top 10 with $635,539 in sales.

The DMarket collection on the Mythos network, featuring game-related NFTs, ranked sixth with $583,411. The Bored Ape Yacht Club from Yuga Labs, a leading NFT collection by all-time sales, placed seventh with $470,907. Polygon-based OKX NFT Creation followed in eighth place with $414,817 in sales.

Rounding out the top 10 were two more Polygon collections: Matr1x Fire Weapon and TTAvatars, each with approximately $350,000 in sales.

The Ethereum blockchain, led by ENS, recorded the highest daily sales among all blockchains with $8.45 million, up from $4.51 million the previous day. The Bitcoin blockchain saw a daily sales volume of $4.11 million, a significant drop from $11.03 million on June 9.

Solana recorded sales of $2.68 million, while the Polygon blockchain had a higher transaction volume, totaling $2.44 million in sales. Immutable reported sales of $1.56 million, and the Blast blockchain saw $988,646 in sales.

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Bitcoin is currently trading down more than 3% over the past 24 hours, sitting at $67,171.52, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Robinhood Markets, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) recently announced the acquisition of Bitstamp Ltd., a well-established global cryptocurrency exchange. Robinhood’s expansion into the cryptocurrency space is adding pressure on existing crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, as a new competitor enters the market.

In response, Coinbase has introduced a new smart wallet aimed at simplifying the previously cumbersome onboarding process associated with crypto wallets. “These next-generation wallets address the biggest pain points of the crypto experience today,” the company stated in a blog post. “Smart wallets make the transition to on-chain smoother than ever.”

Is COIN A Good Stock To Buy?

When deciding if a stock is a good buy, investors consider several factors. Besides valuation metrics and price action, which you can find on Benzinga’s quote pages (like Coinbase’s page), there are other considerations like dividend payments and stock buyback programs.

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) does pay a dividend, yielding 0.43% per year as of the closing price on June 11, 2024. You can check Benzinga’s dividend calendar to find out when the next dividend is due and what kind of yield you can expect for holding the company’s shares.

For instance, if you’re aiming for an annualized return of 13.81%, you might consider buying a share of Ellington Residential by June 28, 2024. This would entitle you to a nominal payout of $0.08 on July 25, 2024.

Stock buyback programs are another factor to consider, as they can vary significantly. A company can approve a buyback program and purchase shares as it sees fit over the authorized period. Checking the latest news on Coinbase can reveal if the company has recently approved a buyback program. Buyback programs typically support share prices by providing a backstop for demand.

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Cryptocurrencies plunged deeper into correction territory on Tuesday, with bitcoin (BTC) dropping to nearly $66,000. This comes as traders brace for Wednesday’s key U.S. inflation report and Federal Reserve meeting.

Bitcoin (BTC) started the day trading around $70,000 but fell to a three-week low of $66,170 during the U.S. session. It slightly rebounded to approximately $66,500 but remained down nearly 5% over the past 24 hours.

Altcoins experienced even steeper declines, with the CoinDesk 20 Index dropping over 6%, and all twenty constituents in the red. Ethereum’s ether (ETH) fell below $3,500, down 6.5%, while solana (SOL), dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano’s ADA, and Chainlink’s LINK suffered losses between 6%-9%.

The sudden pullback led to over $250 million in liquidations of leveraged derivatives trading positions across all crypto assets, according to CoinGlass data. This marked the second significant leverage flush in a week, following Friday’s $400 million liquidations. Liquidations occur when an exchange closes a leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin because the user fails to meet the margin requirements or lacks sufficient funds to keep the position open.

One reason behind the pullback is investors “de-risking” from crypto assets ahead of Wednesday’s May Consumer Price Index (CPI) report and Federal Reserve meeting, hedge fund QCP noted in an update. Bitcoin could see a volatile session on Wednesday as it has been “highly responsive” to economic data recently, with its 30-day correlation with U.S. equities climbing to the highest level since 2022, K33 Research mentioned in a Tuesday market update.

“The stage is set for a frantic macro-Wednesday, with both May CPI data and the Fed’s interest rate decision poised to move the market,” K33 analysts said. Investors will closely monitor the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members’ interest rate outlook – the so-called “dot plot” – to see how many rate cuts policymakers are projecting for this year, considering recent persistent inflation readings and softer economic data. “The FOMC dot plot, alongside forward guidance during Jerome Powell’s press conference, is likely to be the most material price movers, as BTC has resumed its attentiveness to the market’s interest rate expectations.”

Market observers noted some positive signs during the sell-off that could indicate a quick recovery. Bitcoin has seen multiple pullbacks this year before FOMC meetings, only to reverse the move soon after, pseudonymous crypto analyst Gumshoe pointed out in an X post.

Bitcoin futures open interest on crypto exchanges BitMEX and Binance diverged earlier today, according to crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant, citing pseudonymous trader BQYoutube. “Often this kind of phenomenon is seen when whales on BitMEX start to accumulate positions while Binance retail gets washed out,” the post added. “Despite short-term headwinds, we think this might be a good opportunity to accumulate coin,” QCP said.

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Bitcoin led the investment charge last week, accumulating over $1.97 billion in inflows, while Ether experienced its strongest week since March, attracting nearly $70 million in inflows.

Expectations are mounting among some traders regarding continued buying activity in Ether-tracked products, with projections of the asset reaching the $10,000 price level by 2024.

In a report released on Monday, asset manager CoinShares revealed that crypto investment products amassed nearly $2 billion in inflows last week, extending a five-week streak to over $4.3 billion.

Trading volumes in exchange-traded products (ETPs) surged to $12.8 billion for the week, marking a 55% increase from the previous week. Bitcoin dominated the investment landscape, attracting over $1.97 billion in inflows, while Ether witnessed its strongest week of inflows since March, totaling nearly $70 million.

Buying activity for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. has surged since mid-May, following a lackluster period in April characterized by days of zero net inflows across all products. Notably, BlackRock’s IBIT, one of the major products, even experienced outflows during this time. However, inflows have since rebounded, with IBIT emerging as the largest bitcoin ETF last week, accumulating over $20 billion worth of the asset since its January issuance.

CoinShares analyst James Butterfill noted that inflows were observed across almost all providers, with a continued slowdown in outflows from established players. Positive price action propelled total assets under management (AuM) above the $100 billion mark for the first time since March this year.

Butterfill suggested that the surge in Ether buying was likely spurred by the SEC’s surprise decision to greenlight spot ether ETFs.

Traders anticipate continued inflows into Ether products in the coming months, with a rally expected towards the end of the year. Ed Hindi, Chief Investment Officer at Tyr Capital, believes that $5-10 billion of fresh capital could flow through Ether products in the short to medium term, potentially fueling a year-end rally in ETH and its ecosystem to new record highs. Hindi considers a price target of $10,000 in 2024 as reasonable, especially given Ether’s transition to a deflationary asset.

In May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved key regulatory filings tied to ETH ETFs, marking a historic milestone for the second-largest cryptocurrency. The approval covered documents for eight ETFs from various providers, including VanEck, Fidelity, Franklin, Grayscale, Bitwise, ARK Invest 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and BlackRock, for listing on major exchanges.

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Bitfarms Ltd., a Bitcoin mining company, is adopting a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan in response to an unsolicited takeover offer from larger rival Riot Platforms Inc.

A poison pill strategy is designed to deter corporate takeovers by making the acquisition too costly for the acquiring company. Under the terms of Bitfarms’ plan, if an entity acquires an equity stake exceeding 15% by September 10, Bitfarms will issue new stock to existing shareholders, thereby diluting the stake of the entity pursuing the hostile takeover, as stated in a Monday announcement by Bitfarms.

Riot Platforms made an unsolicited offer of $950 million in May to acquire Bitfarms Ltd. following the latter’s rejection of Riot’s takeover bid the previous month. Bitfarms’ board deemed the proposal as significantly undervaluing the company and its growth prospects.

In April, Riot privately proposed $2.30 per share in cash and stock for Bitfarms, which represented a 20% premium over the company’s pre-offer share price.

According to Bitfarms, Riot currently holds 47,830,440 shares, constituting approximately 12% of the issued and outstanding stock. A spokesperson for Riot did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

On Monday, Bitfarms shares declined by 4.2% to $2.30, while Riot’s stock increased by 1.8% to $9.90. Year-to-date, both stocks have experienced declines of around 21% and 36%, respectively.

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Cryptocurrency custody firm Fireblocks has announced a partnership with Coinbase International Exchange, the non-U.S. division of Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), to provide more secure trading features for institutional and retail clients in eligible jurisdictions, the companies reported on Monday.

Through this partnership, Fireblocks customers can now link their accounts with Coinbase International Exchange, safeguarding operations such as withdrawals and deposits with Fireblocks’ governance and policy rules, according to a statement.

Coinbase International Exchange obtained a regulatory license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority in May 2023. Initially, it operated as a derivatives exchange for institutions and later added spot crypto trading for retail clients.

Fireblocks utilizes Multi-Party Computation technology to eliminate single points of compromise in API credentials and secure hardware enclaves to prevent threats and inside collusion attacks. Customers can leverage Fireblocks’ policy engine to set up user roles, governance policies, and approval workflows for deposit and withdrawal operations, ensuring protection against unauthorized fund movements. They can also manage deposits, withdrawals, and account rebalancing through the Fireblocks Console or API while monitoring all connected account balances.

“As we continue to expand our offerings for institutional and retail clients, this collaboration underscores our commitment to providing a robust and reliable trading infrastructure for our global clientele,” said Usman Naeem, CEO of Coinbase International Exchange.

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