• Goldman Sachs Group believes blockchain technology has potential to improve traditional financial markets.
• GS DAP is a private blockchain developed by Goldman Sachs recently used by Hong Kong for tokenization and selling a green bond.
• Goldman remains „hugely supportive“ of blockchain applications and plans to hire additional experts in the field as needed.

Goldman Sachs Group Embraces Blockchain Technology

The Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs Group told Bloomberg News on February 28th that it is “hugely supportive” of exploring further use cases for blockchain technology, and plans to hire additional experts in the field as needed. This comes shortly after the company laid off roughly 3200 employees, adding further weight to the potential of blockchain technology application in traditional banking.

GS DAP Platform

Goldman’s blockchain tokenization platform, GS DAP, is a private blockchain developed by Goldman Sachs that was recently used by Hong Kong to tokenize and sell a green bond. This enabled settlement one day after trade versus the normal five days it takes with traditional methods. Private blockchains are generally centralized compared to public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Benefits To Investors

Mathew McDermott, managing director at Goldman Sachs, believes GS DAP can be used to tokenize a multitude of assets in the traditional financial markets such as private equity, derivatives and fund units. He added that this platform gives investors greater transparency and accurate pricing of assets which encourages liquidity and brings more investors into secondary markets.

Regulatory Uncertainty & Distrust Of Crypto

McDermott also said that it is unlikely that traditional financial transactions will move over to public blockchains any time soon due to regulatory uncertainty and distrust of crypto prevalent today.

Conclusion

Overall, Goldman Sachs remains committed to exploring further use cases for blockchain technology which shows promise in terms of improving various TradFi markets such as private equity while bringing greater transparency and accurate pricing options for investors throughout secondary markets.

• FTX Japan announced the resumption of withdrawals for fiat and crypto assets on Feb. 21.
• Users must confirm their balances and transfer them to Liquid’s platform in order to process withdrawals.
• The withdrawal process may take some time due to the large number of expected requests from customers.

FTX Japan Resumes Withdrawals on Feb. 21

FTX Japan has announced its plans to resume withdrawals for both fiat and crypto assets on Feb. 21, according to a recent statement. This news comes after the exchange paused its services following the collapse of FTX in November 2022.

Users Must Confirm Balances and Transfer Them To Liquid’s Platform

In order for users to take advantage of this new service, they must first confirm their balances and then transfer them over to Liquid’s web platform in order for the withdrawal process to be successful. Those who don’t have a Liquid account will need to open one before proceeding with their withdrawal requests.

Withdrawal Process May Take Some Time

Due to the anticipated range of withdrawal requests from customers, FTX Japan warns that it might take some time for all transactions to be completed successfully and without issue. They added that they will announce further resumption of other services as soon as possible so that users can get back into trading as quickly as possible.

Possible Acquisition by Certain Investors

Certain investors have also shown interest in acquiring FTX, though no additional information has been released regarding this potential transaction at this time. It is unclear what effect this acquisition could have on user funds or how it might affect how FTX operates going forward if it were indeed successful in taking place at some point down the line.

Conclusion

Overall, those who had funds stored with FTX Japan should now be able to withdraw them via Liquid’s web platform starting February 21st, although it is important to note that there may still be delays depending upon the volume of customer requests being made all at once during this time period. In addition, certain investors are reportedly looking into acquiring FTX which could potentially change up how things operate moving forward depending upon what terms are agreed upon if an acquisition does indeed end up taking place eventually after all is said and done here..

Overview

• Jacob Blish, head of business development at the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that runs Lido Finance, said the SEC’s enforcement actions are likely a „net benefit“ for decentralized liquid staking providers.
• Decentralized staking platforms like Lido act as the „plumbing“ required in a staking service, offering users full control over their assets.
• Kraken recently settled with the SEC and closed its staking service in the U.S., while there is still uncertainty regarding the decision-making process of the SEC.

Decentralized Staking Platforms

Jacob Blish, head of business development at the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that runs Lido Finance, said that if the SEC bans U.S. citizens from interacting with any staking protocols, it could hurt both investors and contributors. He added that an outright ban on crypto staking participation could not only stop users from staking assets but could also potentially force contributors to abandon projects.

Decentralized staking platforms like Lido act as the „plumbing“ required in a staking service. These platforms offer a software service which allows users to have full control over their assets; this differs from how centralized exchanges work where they hand over control of their assets to an exchange instead.

SEC Enforcement Action Against Kraken Exchange

Kraken recently settled with the SEC for $30 million and closed its staking service in the U.S., as stated by Bloomberg News reportage. The SEC claimed that Kraken provided unregistered securities through its stacking services according to Blish’s comments following this action taken against them by the regulatory body .

Uncertainty Around The Decision Making Process Of The SEC

Blish noted that there is uncertainty around what decision will be made by regulators involved in this situation and expressed his disappointment with having lack of transparency when asked about it stating: “The most disappointing thing is we as an industry keep getting asked for transparency, but then me as a U.S citizen I get no transparency and how [the regulatory] decision-making process is going”

Conclusion

In conclusion, it appears as though Blish believes that while there are risks associated with this enforcement action taken against Kraken from an investment standpoint; overall he sees it being beneficial for decentralised liquid stacking providers if it isn’t banned completely for US citizens participating in these activities or investing into them .

• The market collapse of June 2022 sparked a fire that kept devouring the crypto market and culminated with the collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the industry.
• Bitcoin reached $15,500 and threatened to drop even further as contagion from FTX spread. Since then, it has recovered and posted notable returns, hovering around $23,000 since the end of January 2023.
• The industry is divided on whether or not Bitcoin bottomed in November 2022 — some believe it did while others think there may be more volatility and an even lower low in the coming months.

Crypto Market Bottom: Is It In?

The collapse of Terra (LUNA) in June 2022 sent shockwaves through the crypto market that culminated with the collapse of one of its largest exchanges, FTX. While Bitcoin reached a three-year low at $15,500 and threatened to drop further due to contagion from FTX’s collapse, it has since recovered and posted notable returns hovering around $23,000 since January 2023.
The industry is divided on whether or not this current level is actually a true bottom for Bitcoin – some believe it did while others think there may be more volatility and an even lower low in the coming months. In order to gain insight into this debate CryptoSlate looked at various indicators such as whale accumulation patterns and perpetual funding rates to present both sides of the argument surrounding a potential market bottom.

Why The Market Bottomed – Whales Are Accumulating

Whale addresses – those holding over 1,000 BTC – have historically been known to accumulate during extreme price volatility; this was seen during Terra’s collapse when whales scooped up almost 100k BTC in just a few weeks. Net position change metrics also indicate that whales have been accumulating again recently which could indicate a strong cycle bottom.

Long-Term Holder Supply Is Increasing

Long-term holders are another group who are known for buying dips; by looking at supply metrics we can see that long-term holders are continuing their trend of accumulating coins which could mean they believe any dip will be short lived making now an optimal time to buy before prices rebound higher than their current levels.

Perpetual Funding Rates Are No Longer Negative

Negative Perpetual Funding Rates (PFR) were another sign that something wasn’t quite right during this bear market as PFRs typically move positive when traders believe prices will increase; however since early December perpetual funding rates have returned back above 0% which suggests traders are expecting an imminent bull run soon enough.

Total Supply In Profit Is Growing

Total supply metrics also indicate that we may be near a market bottom as we can see more coins entering profit than ever before; this suggests that many investors now view these levels as ideal entry points for long-term positions due to their belief that prices will eventually rise again sometime soon.

On-Chain Indicators Are Flashing Green

Several other on-chain indicators such as realized cap/market cap ratio are emerging from oversold territory while exchange net inflows & transaction count have all increased significantly suggesting people have started investing again despite macroeconomic uncertainty caused by impending recession & ongoing bankruptcy proceedings for major players like FTX & Celsius – both factors that could cause more price volatility if left unchecked