Global investor confidence has reached one of its lowest points in the last 20 years as a result of the upheaval in the U.S. banking sector and fresh concerns about the recession.
Several economists and experts are calling for a halt to rate increases until the banking system has recovered from its recent catastrophe, which was partly caused by Silicon Valley Bank failing under the weight of rising interest rates.
Closure of the cryptocurrency-focused Silvergate Bank
State officials shut down New York-based Signature Bank, which was well-known for being cryptocurrency-friendly and had a sizeable number of clients from the sector, including Circle, Coinbase, and Fireblock. The stoppage was carried out, according to the Federal Reserve’s statement, to protect depositors.
The governors of the Federal Reserve Board have promised that customers would get a complete reimbursement of their bank deposits.
Silicon Valley Bank UK is acquired by HSBC.
The UK government and HSBC confirmed that HSBC had paid a pathetic 1 pound ($1.2) for the UK arm of the bankrupt American lender Silicon Valley Bank as part of a rescue plan on March 13, 2023.
The deal was authorized by the Bank of England and the Treasury UK Treasury department using powers granted by the nation’s Banking Act 2009 following the bankruptcy of SVB on March 10, which raised concerns in Britain about its important clients in the technology and life science industries.
FBI Warning: Crypto theft scams in Play-to-Earn Games
A new public service announcement (PSA) warning consumers of a new scam in which fake “play to earn” mobile and online games are being used to steal cryptocurrency has been released by the FBI, an American government agency.
The trick entails con artists visiting victims and urging them to sign up for a new game that requires them to make a cryptocurrency wallet, purchase cryptocurrency, and download the specific gaming software. Players will see imaginary rewards accumulate on the app according to how much money they have in their wallets. Nevertheless, once players ceased contributing money to their wallets, a malicious program that was mistakenly loaded with the game was used by thieves to steal the gathered currency.
NatWest limits cryptocurrency payments to £1,000 per day
To combat the growing number of frauds, NatWest has implemented cryptocurrency payment restrictions.
According to the bank, the cost-of-living problem is also having an effect as a result of criminals luring investors with promises of large profits.
A £1,000 daily cap and a £5,000 30-day ban have been implemented to protect consumers from incurring a catastrophic financial loss.
Using trusted exchange platforms, users may buy, sell, or swap cryptocurrencies for other digital currencies or conventional currencies, according to NatWest.
Cryptocurrency money-laundering network ChipMixer was shut down
U.S. prosecutors claim that ChipMixer handled stolen funds for the cybercriminals behind the $100 million hack of Harmony’s Horizon bridge, which allows users to trade cryptocurrencies across several blockchains, and the $540 million theft of the online game Axie Infinity. The Lazarus Group, an online criminal organization connected to the North Korean government, has previously been the target of both assaults, the United States claims in the lawsuit filed by the Justice Department and made public on Wednesday.
The prosecution claims that ChipMixer was also responsible for the ransomware profits made between August 2017 and March 2023, which came to about $17 million in bitcoin.
