“The cryptocurrency industry has collapsed,” the senator stated, noting that $1.46 trillion was lost in crypto market value by 2022, and that over 1,600 jobs have been eliminated by crypto firms. The lawmaker went on:

Last year saw crypto prices plummet, and platforms started collapsing, causing more losses for the rest of crypto ecosystem. Crypto firms left behind have had to stop customer withdrawals and freeze people’s money.

The senator from Ohio noted that crypto contagion didn’t infect the wider financial system. However, he said that he saw signs of what it could do if crypto was allowed to enter the banking system. He said: “This nightmare isn’t over yet… we are still learning about the full extent of what happened to the FTX collapse.”

The senator noted that “As these cryptocurrency firms filed for bankruptcy”, regulators and policymakers also learned how out of control some of those businesses were.

They were both over-leveraged, and undercapitalized. They did not have internal risk controls. They took customers’ money for granted. They used the money to fund their own personal ends in the case of FTX. They might never see the money again.

“These crypto disasters have exposed what many people already knew: digital assets – stablecoins and investment tokens- are speculative products run recklessly by companies that put Americans’ hard-earned dollars at risk. It is not surprising that this industry was designed to skirt the rules,” Senator Brown added.

Recent crypto meltdowns have shown that we need a comprehensive framework for regulating crypto products in order to protect consumers as well as our financial system.

The lawmaker pointed out that crypto can be covered by existing rules, and stated that: “Crypto isn’t unique… We can begin with these commonsense principle as we consider a regulatory framework that places consumers first while keeping our financial system safe.”

Senator Brown has been skeptical of cryptocurrency for a long time. He suggested in December 2013 that crypto should be banned. He acknowledged, however, that it would be difficult to ban crypto as it will move offshore.

Ethereum, which is the second-largest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization, saw 21% growth over the last week. Experts believe that the bulls are near exhaustion and traders who have short positions could benefit from the Shanghai upgrade.

Experts believe that ETH short traders could make a profit as Ethereum trade volume drops.

The crypto market’s recovery from the bear market saw Ethereum prices gain 21.3% over the last week. Two of the most important cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, and Ethereum, have recovered from the losses caused by Samuel Bankman-Fried’s FTX collapse.

Trade volume fell despite the rise in Ethereum’s price. Experts believe that Ethereum bulls are near exhaustion. A drop in trade volume is a sign of the altcoin’s declining strength.

Up to January 4, incremental profits were earned by traders who held a short position on Ethereum. The ETH price has risen steadily since then, reaching a seven-day high of $1.554. The decline in trade volume and daily activity on Ethereum’s network are two factors that could help traders who are short Ethereum.

Ethereum development is well on track for the Shanghai hardfork. This will be followed by a token unlocking event. The deposit contract’s ETH will be unlocked for first time since November 2020, when it was launched. The altcoin’s circulating supply will increase by at least 35,000 ETH, or if the contract is terminated, unlocked/un staked. Experts think this will increase the selling pressure and push the Bitcoin competitor’s prices lower.

The Shanghai upgrade contains Ethereum Improving Proposals to improve the network’s scalability before the next critical development phase. These releases together make the ‘Surge’ phase of ETH’s cycle.

In an interview with CNBC on Friday, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary defended the position of a spokesperson at the collapsing crypto exchange FTX. He also spoke out about Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao’s (CZ), calling him a fool.

O’Leary responded to a question about why he didn’t condemn Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX (SBF),

This is America. Unless proven otherwise, the justice system gives the presumption that you are innocent.

The former FTX executive was detained in Bahamas last week. His crypto exchange has been the subject of fraud allegations by the U.S government and other regulators. O’Leary was FTX’s spokesperson, and an investor in the company when it crashed. was paid $15 million by to be its spokesperson. O’Leary, Shark Tank star, claimed that the exchange lost it when it filed for bankruptcy.

When asked if he was still combining money he received from FTX and losing it, the Shark Tank star replied: ‘Money is fungible.’ Shark Tank’s star responded that money is fungible. Joe Kernen, CNBC’s correspondent noted that he didn’t. Again, you are a venture investor. You ventured your name…. And you didn’t even have to pay taxes.

Andrew Ross Sorkin then asked O’Leary: “What do you believe happened?” Is this fraud? He stressed that he didn’t ‘have all the facts’, and that the new FTX CEO also doesn’t have them yet’. Wonderful replied:

I am looking for my records. I am willing to pay for a forensic audit. It would be a great pleasure to find out what actually happened. It’s been said that there are many bad things. No question about it. They are likely to be true because there isn’t money. The cash is gone.

O’Leary Responds To Binance CEO CZ’s Allegation

O’Leary’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee claiming that FTX failed due to rival crypto exchange Binance intentionally putting it out of business, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao CZ called the Shark Tank star a liar.

Mr. Wonderful stressed:

Yesterday, CZ called my liar on air. He suggested that I perjure myself before the U.S. Senate during 2 hours this week. I can assure that this is not true.

O’Leary said, “Another little story here that you should understand.” O’Leary explained that his father was Irish and that he had been told by his father that he would never call an Irishman “a liar” unless he is certain that it is true. Shark Tank’s star asked his father, “Why is that dad?” His father responded, “Because the Irish have crazy minds.”

In response to CZ’s accusations, Mr. Wonderful stated, “I’m not happy with this,” adding:

I don’t have any ill will toward this guy at the end of it all, but he is part of the story.

O’Leary nearly secured $8 Billion before FTX went bust. This was to keep the crypto exchange from going bankrupt. Bankman-Fried is a crypto trader and he will support the FTX cofounder if he launches another venture.

Cathie Wood, ARK Invest snapped up shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Monday as the famed Invesment Manager goes bargain hunting in the downtrodden crypto market.

Bloomberg reports that ARK’s Next Generation Internet ETF purchased 315,000 shares Grayscale. This is approximately $2.83 million. The price was $9 per share on Tuesday afternoon. Grayscale has outperformed its underlying bitcoin holdings over a long period, even before the chaos caused by the crash of FTX.

The current price of the trust is equivalent to buying bitcoin for $11,000, compared to the $16,000 the actual token trades for. This is a compelling proposition for Wood’s ETF, if Grayscale can close some of the gap with spot bitcoin prices.

Across cryptocurrencies, there is widespread pain following last week’s shock fall of FTX, an exchange managed by Sam Bankman-Fried. After failing to receive rescue funds from its rivals, the exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday.

Bitcoin plunged faster than 12% to the lowest point in more than two years. It briefly traded below $16,000 At 12:55 p.m. ET Monday, $16,577 is the market price for the largest crypto in the world by market capital.

Mastercard has introduced Crypto Source Monday, a program that gives banks crypto trading capabilities.

Crypto Source, in partnership with licensed and regulated crypto custody providers will ‘enable financial institution to offer secure crypto trading capabilities to their customers’, the announcement details.

Mastercard’s financial institutions partners will have access to a complete suite of buy-hold-sell services for selected crypto assets. These services are augmented by proven identity, cybersecurity, and advisory services.

“This Crypto Source offering is complemented with Mastercard Crypto Safe to provide additional security to crypto ecosystem,” the payments company stressed, noting that Crypto Source is currently being prepared to pilot programs.

Mastercard explained further that it was ‘expanding the partnership and working with Paxos Trust Company to support this program’, adding:

Paxos will provide custody and crypto-asset trading services for banks through the partnership, while Mastercard will use its technology to integrate these capabilities into bank interfaces.

Jorn Lambert is the chief digital officer of Mastercard. He stated that his crypto product innovations would provide choice at scale, and continue to bring unique opportunities to financial institutions, as they seek new, advanced services for their customers. He stated:

Our mission is simple: to investigate crypto and the underlying technology of digital assets to support consumer choice when it comes to payments.

Lambert commented on Crypto Source’s launch and said that he believes there are a lot of people who are interested in crypto. He also stated that they would be more comfortable if their financial institutions offered these services. Some people find it a bit scary. He said that crypto is at the “cusp” of becoming mainstream.

Mastercard recently highlighted five areas it is focusing its efforts on to make cryptocurrencies ‘an everyday method to pay.