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Cryptocurrency News: Galaxy Digital loomed large on crypto investor radar after Monday’s news it would back out of the $1.2 billion deal to buy BitGo. Galaxy claimed BitGo management failed to deliver audited financial statements. The institutional digital asset services company plans to seek a $100 million break-up fee. News of the Acala hack also continued, as the finance network burned $1.29 billion of its stablecoins that were erroneously minted during a hacking exploit to reclaim aUSD’s peg. And, in a big-picture look at crypto-blockchain markets, a new report forecasts the global fintech blockchain market to reach $8.7 billion by 2026.
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Bitcoin is just under $24,000 Tuesday afternoon, after surpassing $25,000 late Sunday night. BTC took off last week after July’s better-than-expected inflation report on Wednesday. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has been trending higher. The currency gained 16.8% in July, its best monthly performance since October 2021, but remains far below its November peak.
Ethereum is hanging below its $1,900 level as of market close Tuesday, after hitting $2,022 overnight Sunday. ETH is at its highest level since late May after successfully transitioning its Goerli network to proof-of-stake last Wednesday. It’s the final test network before the official merge to a PoS blockchain, which was just expedited by four days to September 15.
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Digital asset investments are extremely volatile. While cryptocurrency’s fundamentals and technical indicators may differ, investors should focus on the same key objectives. First, stay protected by learning when it’s time to sell, cut losses or capture profits. Second, prepare to profit if the cryptocurrency starts to rebound.
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Digital asset investment and financial services firm Galaxy Digital announced it is terminating its $1.2 billion acquisition of BitGo. Galaxy claims the institutional digital asset services company failed to deliver audited financial statements for 2021, as required in the agreement from last May.
BitGo fired back saying Galaxy Digital improperly terminated the deal, which wasn’t scheduled to expire until the end of this year. It also claims Galaxy owes the company a $100 million reverse break fee that was promised in March 2022 to extend the merger agreement. Galaxy Digital says there’s no required termination fee.
BitGo hired law firm Quinn Emanuel to pursue legal action. And partner R. Brain Timmons asserts that Galaxy is only backing out because it recorded a $550 million loss this past quarter stemming from the LUNA crash. “Either Galaxy owes BitGo a $100 million termination fee as promised or it has been acting in bad faith and faces damages of that much or more,” Timmons stated.
BitGo CEO Mike Belshe dismissed Galaxy’s concerns over the company’s financials. He noted BitGo ended 2021 with $64 billion in assets in custody. He claimed client growth tripled over the year, momentum he says has continued into 2022.
“I have never been more bullish about our future,” Belshe said.
Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital plans to reorganize as a Delaware-based company and seeks to be listed on the Nasdaq, dependent on the SEC and exchange reviewing and approving the listing. Galaxy Digital stock currently trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The company is also rolling out its own in-house digital asset investing service for institutional clients, called Galaxy One Prime. “We are committed to continuing our process to list in the U.S. and providing our clients with a prime solution that truly makes Galaxy a one-stop shop for institutions,” CEO Mike Novogratz said.
Late Monday night, Acala Network developers announced they “burned” — removed from circulation — 1.29 billion of its aUSD stablecoins that had erroneously been minted as part of a hack. The exploit from Sunday night caused aUSD to depeg and lose more than 99% of its value, falling below 1 cent. Hackers used a bug to mint the tokens from one of Acala’s liquidity pools, which are collateral used to maintain stablecoin prices. Polkadot blockchain-based aUSD nearly regained its peg by Monday morning and climbed back to 92 cents by the time of writing.
A new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com forecasts the market for financial services using blockchain technology will reach $8.7 billion in the next four years. The “FinTech Blockchain – Global Market Trajectory & Analytics” report predicts the global fintech blockchain market will have a 44.8% compounded annual growth rate for the period, skyrocketing from $1.3 billion in 2022.
ResearchAndMarkets notes fintech blockchain services rapidly increased during the Covid pandemic. And they have been fueled by rising consumer demand for bitcoin investing and greater need for cross-border payment, security and compatibility within the financial services industry ecosystem. The U.S. market is estimated at $451.6 million in 2022, making up 32.8% of the global market share.
But researchers expect China to lead the charge over the next few years. China’s market is predicted to hit $874 million by 2026, with a compounded annual growth rate of 52.6% for the period.
Canadian Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms reported a net loss of 70 cents per share for its second quarter Monday morning, falling from a loss of 2 cents last year. Total revenue grew 14% to $42 million for the period. Bitfarms mined 1,257 during the quarter, up from 759 last year. But the average cost of production increased by $900 to $9,900 per bitcoin. The company sold 3,357 in the quarter, generating $69 million in proceeds. Bitfarms also recorded a loss of $77.9 million while disposing of its digital assets. And a $70.48 million loss on the revaluation of its digital assets. As of June 30, Bitfarms had $46 million in cash on hand and 3,144 BTC. Bitfarms shares rose about 7% to $2.15 by Monday’s close, but quickly tumbled more than 8% early Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Villarreal CF of Spain’s La Liga soccer league added Zoomex as its ‘Official Crypto Exchange Partner’ for the 2022/2023 season, and will feature its logo on the back of the team’s jerseys. Financial details weren’t disclosed, but Zoomex is just the latest cryptocurrency company breaking into sports sponsorships. Crypto firms spent more than $2.4 billion on sports marketing over the past 18 months as of August 5, according to Bloomberg data.
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