Crypto Blood: Silvergate, Binance, and Mt. Gox

More contagion to come? [Altucher Confidential] March 03, 2023 [WEBSITE]( | [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Once again, this underscores the importance of crypto’s most basic principles — transparency, openness, self-custody — things all-too easy to dismiss in traditional finance. Until, that is, the next blowup. [Hero_Image] Crypto Blood: Silvergate, Binance, and Mt. Gox By Chris Campbell [Urgent] Analyst Issues Rare “All-In” Buy Alert For $3 Stock [Click here for more...]( [This might be the biggest miracle of modern medicine that you or I will ever witness…]( Breakthrough new research shows that one $3 company is on the verge of fixing one of the biggest health problems in America today. And no, I’m not talking about cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s or anything else you’d expect… The disease I’m talking about affects a staggering 58 million American adults, or about 1 in 4 adults in this country. [Click Here Right Away For Details On This Urgent Buy Alert.]( [Chris Campbell] CHRIS CAMPBELL “I was born and raised in Brazil,” one speaker said. “And back in the 1990s the government overnight froze all of our savings. Imagine waking up and literally not being able to use your own money that’s in the bank.” It’s one of many similar stories I’ve heard in passing at ETHDenver this week. Since 2016, I’ve gone to crypto conferences and meetups all around the world. Brazil. Bangkok. Prague. Vietnam. DC. San Francisco. Lithuania. And more. One thing I’ve noticed… The less stable the speaker’s home currency and government, the more excited he or she is about the most basic use-cases of crypto. And the closer they are to home, the more it resonates. Things like self-custody, transparency, permissionlessness… things that make most Americans shrug… are, for obvious reasons, seen as more immediately valuable in places where the value of the local fiat currency has a history of going kaput. As another speaker, this one from Africa, said: “In America, you focus more on what you desire in crypto. In Africa, we focus on what we need.” Crypto Contagion? While cryptoland is talking about the future of crypto… Crypto itself is back in fear mode. As soon as I landed here in Denver, Bitcoin fell 5%. And as goes BTC, so goes crypto. Everything else fell with it. Seems there are a few reasons for this: 1. Crypto bank Silvergate looks to be in trouble. It started when they were late in filing their 10-K, citing “ongoing concerns.” The stock just dropped 57% and Coinbase, Circle, Paxos, Galaxy, and more have dropped them as banking partners. (They’re also down 65% since BlackRock announced their latest investment in them. Ouch.) 2. Mt Gox is about to unlock $3.3 billion in Bitcoin as soon as March 10. The infamous Mt. Gox debacle from nearly a decade ago is finally getting some closure -- and the exchange is returning money back to depositors. Recall, most of these people bought Bitcoin well below $500 per Bitcoin. If someone bought 100 BTC for $50,000… it’s now worth $2.2 million. That’s probably why most of it is going to come in a fiat payout. Because of this, the exchange would need to sell Bitcoin. There are worries that this will cause massive selling pressure on BTC and cause it to crash further. 3. FTX just confirmed $8.9 billion in missing funds. Most people aren’t shocked by this, and you shouldn’t be either. 4. Forbes wrote an article about Binance, stating that the crypto exchange used customer deposits for its own undisclosed purposes. Binance reportedly transferred $1.8 billion in collateral to hedge funds, according to Forbes. Time will tell if this story holds weight. 5. WSJ published a negative article on Tether, outlining that the stablecoin company falsified documents and used shell companies to open bank accounts. Again, Tether and Binance have received a ton of bad press lately. The market mostly shrugs. Time will tell. [VIDEO] Nord Stream Attack a “Covert Act of War” By the US? [Click here for more...]( Shocking details have come out that all but PROVE the US attacked the Nord Stream pipeline… And that Americans would suffer the consequences. [Click here for more.]( What’s Next? Banks take risks. Crypto is risky. There aren’t a lot of banks in the cryptosphere… so the few that do serve the big industry players bear the brunt of the entire industry’s risk. That said, it’s becoming clear that Silvergate took on too much risk. We have no crystal ball. We have no idea what will happen next. But, here’s the thing that most mainstream pundits will gloss over: Once again, this underscores the importance of crypto’s most basic principles -- transparency, openness, self-custody -- which are all-too easy to dismiss in traditional finance. (Until the next blow-up, then everyone asks, ‘How could this happen!?’) In the meantime, we’re focusing on the real-world use-cases for crypto and DeFi… and embracing any dips as opportunities. Until next time, [Chris Campbell] Chris Campbell For Altucher Confidential Urgent: Currency Wars Alert [Click here for more...]( “Worst case scenario is almost inevitable” -Former Pentagon Insider Jim Rickards In my 2011 book, I warned that the U.S. was engaged in a currency war. And that these wars: “Degenerate into sequential bouts of inflation, recession, retaliation and actual violence as the scramble for resources leads to invasion and war.” Now with Putin invading Ukraine…Rising tensions with China… Inflation, recession, and supply chain issues all hitting the U.S. economy at the same time. It seems as if some of my worst fears have finally come true. [That’s why I’ve recorded an urgent video message.]( To update you on exactly what you need to be doing to protect yourself. Because if history is any indicator, this will not end well. [Click here to view my urgent video message.]( [Paradigm]( ☰ ⊗ [ARCHIVE]( [ABOUT]( [Contact Us]( © 2023 Paradigm Press, LLC. 808 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21202. By submitting your email address, you consent to Paradigm Press, LLC. delivering daily email issues and advertisements. To end your Altucher Confidential e-mail subscription and associated external offers sent from Altucher Confidential, feel free to [click here.]( Please note: the mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so do not reply to this message. We welcome comments or suggestions at feedback@altucherconfidential.com. This address is for feedback only. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, [contact us here]( or call (844)-731-0984. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We allow the editors of our publications to recommend securities that they own themselves. However, our policy prohibits editors from exiting a personal trade while the recommendation to subscribers is open. In no circumstance may an editor sell a security before subscribers have a fair opportunity to exit. The length of time an editor must wait after subscribers have been advised to exit a play depends on the type of publication. All other employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of a printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Altucher Confidential is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. We do not rent or share your email address. Please read our [Privacy Statement.]( If you are having trouble receiving your Altucher Confidential subscription, you can ensure its arrival in your mailbox by [whitelisting Altucher Confidential.](