First Mover Americas: Binance Increases Recovery Fund, wBTC Loses Its Peg

The latest price moves in crypto markets in context for Nov. 25, 2022.

AccessTimeIconNov 25, 2022 at 1:05 p.m. UTC
Updated Mar 3, 2023 at 7:01 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

This article originally appeared in First Mover, CoinDesk’s daily newsletter putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day.

Latest Prices

839.05
+2.6 0.3%
$16,514
−31.5 0.2%
$1,192
−1.1 0.1%
S&P 500 futures
4,037.25
+NaN NaN%
FTSE 100
7,488.65
+22.0 0.3%
Treasury Yield 10 Years
3.71%
0.1
BTC/ETH prices per CoinDesk Indices, as of 7 a.m. ET (11 a.m. UTC)

Top Stories

Crypto exchange Binance has allocated another $1 billion for its crypto recovery fund, increasing the size of the fund to over $2 billion. Aptos Labs, Jump Crypto and other prominent crypto companies joined the exchange’s initiative and will contribute $50 million to it. The increase comes a day after Binance CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao announced the fund.

Crypto lending firm Matrixport is looking to raise $100 million at a $1.5 billion valuation. The Singapore-based firm led by Jihan Wu already has commitments for $50 million from lead investors at the sky-high valuation, but is still looking for investors for the rest. The firm has $5 billion in trading volume every month, along with $10 billion in assets under management and custody.

Ethereum developers have agreed on what could be included in the network’s next upgrade. The developers have decided to consider eight Ethereum Improvement Proposals for its upcoming hard fork, called “Shanghai.” The upgrade will unlock Beacon Chain staked ether (ETH) withdrawals. However, there is no consensus on when the upgrade will happen.

Chart of the Day

(TradingView)
(TradingView)
  • Wrapped bitcoin (WBTC), an ERC-20 token meant to trade in line with bitcoin's price, has lost its BTC peg since Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11.
  • The prolonged de-pegging has raised alarm bells in the investor community, with some associating the spread with a substantial lag on redemptions at BitGo, a custodian for the Wrapped Bitcoin protocol.
  • "Maybe the smart move really is to just nuke all wBTC exposure for the time being unless it is paramount to your operations on chain, better safe than sorry with all the recent shenanigans," pseudonymous market expert @0xMerp said in a Twitter thread.

Trending Posts

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Lyllah Ledesma

Lyllah Ledesma is a CoinDesk Markets reporter currently based in Europe. She holds bitcoin, ether and small amounts of other crypto assets.

Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.