Daily Digest - 17th October 2022

Headlines

▌Bloomberg: Celsius Has Been Subpoenaed by a U.S. Grand Jury

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lending service provider Celsius has received a U.S. grand jury subpoena, which means U.S. prosecutors and several federal regulators will seek more evidentiary information from Celsius Network Ltd. The subpoena shows, The SEC, CFTC, and FTC also sent inquiries to Celsius. It is understood that grand juries can use the powers of a court to call evidence, although they can also invite (rather than direct) witnesses to testify. If you receive a subpoena but believe you should not testify in court, or believe the subpoena's request is "unreasonable or oppressive," a motion can be filed to silence that voice. Celsius said they are cooperating with all regulatory investigations.

Cryptocurrency

▌North Korean Hackers Attack Japanese Exchanges

According to the "Japan News" citing information provided by the National Police Agency of Japan, a number of exchanges in Japan were attacked by the Lazarus Group, which is believed to be directly controlled by the North Korean government. Employees of affected companies were tricked into opening phishing emails sent by hackers. Their computers ended up with a virus. After an investigation by the regional police and the NPA's cybercrime unit, it was determined that Lazarus was behind the hack.

▌FSB: Stablecoins May Speed up the Reduction of X-Border Payments

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) sees stablecoins as a way to achieve its goal of reducing the cost and time required for cross-border payments. In a report, the FSB said it was “considering whether and how the use of well-designed and risk-managed stablecoin arrangements could enhance cross-border payments by addressing existing frictions, including long transaction chains, legacy technology platforms, fragmentation and truncated data formats, and the cost of capital depending on their design. In addition, the FSB added that the possibility of introducing new risks requires careful trade-offs and the need to make legal and regulatory frameworks in different jurisdictions difficult. The most difficult may be large economies that have banned payments in stablecoins.

▌Report: Young Adults Are 7.5 Times More Likely to Hold Cryptocurrencies in Their Portfolios Than Investors 43 and Older

The Bank of America this week released its 2022 Rich American Private Banking Research Report. Bank of America found that young, wealthy Americans are 7.5 times more likely to hold cryptocurrencies in their portfolios than investors 43 and older. Furthermore, conventional investment advice suggests that younger investors hold more, not fewer, stocks than older investors. However, 21 to 42 year olds hold only a quarter of their stock portfolio, compared to 55% of investors 43 and older, although 29% say crypto is wealth-creating major opportunities, but only 7% of seniors agree that younger cohorts are generally more interested in private equity or debt, and investments related to sustainability or environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Key Economic Events

▌ECB Governing Council Kazaks: The ECB Will Raise Interest Rates by 75 Basis Points in October

Kazaks, the governing council member of the European Central Bank, said that it is more appropriate for the European Central Bank to raise interest rates by 75 basis points in October, and it is more appropriate to raise interest rates by 50 or 75 basis points in December. There is no reason for the ECB to suspend rate hikes after December. Significant rate hikes are needed this year, after which the pace of rate hikes can be slowed. The ECB no longer has to maintain a huge balance sheet.