SEC vs Kim Kardashian

Good morning, everyone, we hope your week is going the right way. This is the BitDegree Newsletter, and it's time to see what's happening.

Today we have:

• Kardashian Moment
• Credit Suisse Update
• DOJ vs Celsius
• Crypto McDonald's
• Selected Meme of The Day

Kim Kardashian Moment

Okay, so two worlds collided as Kim Kardashian and crypto spheres got intertwined. Here's what happened.

Kim Kardashian got charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Her crime? Shilling EthereumMax on Instagram. Apparently, she didn't do this just because she believed in the project. She was paid $250,000 to publish this innocent post.

Kardashian agreed to pay the $1.26 million fine. It consists of $1 million + returning the $250.000 payment she received for the post (+ interest).

'This case is a reminder that, when celebrities / influencers endorse investment opps, including crypto asset securities, it doesn't mean those investment products are right for all investors,' tweeted SEC chair Gary Gensler (and it started a whirlpool of memes, criticism, and unexpectedly sophisticated debates in the comment section).

Credit Suisse Update

Yesterday we talked about the alarm that went off regarding Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank. Well it's not over yet. After the panic began to spread, this happened:

• Bank's shares fell to an all-time-low, but later began recovering.
• Bank's CDS (Credit Default Swaps) soared (the insurance against bank's defaulting).
• Others observe that people overreacted. Everyone freaked out over the CDS.

The bank remains under pressure. But another major European bank is getting more attention. The spotlight is now reserved for… BNP Paribas.

It appears that short sellers have chosen this bank as their latest profit-making arena.

Short selling is a way of making a profit by borrowing shares, selling them asap at the market price, waiting for the stocks' prices to fall, then repurchasing them at this lower price, and ending up with the difference in their pockets. 

This means they expect the bank's shares to plummet. Something fishy must be going on, and someone probably knows something spicy.

DOJ vs Celsius

The Department of Justice (DOJ) doesn't want the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius to act without supervision. Not long ago, Celsius announced that they're planning to reopen withdrawals for selected customers, and sell their stablecoin holdings. This was regarded as at least something the bankrupt firm could do to start regaining their reputation in front of at least the tiniest fraction of their (select) customers. DOJ doesn't think so.

According to the submitted objection by the DOJ, Celsius' financial state is far from trustworthy, and important decisions like these should not be made without an external, independent examiner report.

One of the reasons regarding the objection to Celsius' plans to sell their stablecoin holdings is the possibility of the company returning to violating the law once the stablecoins are sold and the capital is collected.

Crypto Mcdonald's

Lugano, a city in Switzerland with a population of over 60k inhabitants, has decided to walk the walk. Crypto adoption takes a step forward, as from now on hungry locals and tourists in Lugano will be able to pay for their Happy Meals and Big Macs in Bitcoin and Tether.

Despite its size, Lugano is a strong puncher when it comes to crypto adoption. On March 3, 2022, the city signed the so-called 'Plan B'. Its aim was to facilitate crypto adoptions for local businesses, and it resulted in creating funds (worth $106M and $3M) that would be used for this cause.

This 'Plan B' aims for even higher advancements - allowing their citizens to pay taxes, public services, tuition fees, etc. in crypto. So remember the name - Lugano.

And for those who would like to see more, a video titled 'Paying at McDonald's with #Bitcoin in Lugano' has been posted online. (despite the soul-destroying choice of music, the 1-minute-long video is a nice peek into how things may look like in the future all over the globe).

Selected Meme of The Day