Weekly Market News 21 November
Crypto News
FTX Says Top 50 Creditors Are Owed $3.1 Billion
According to a recently filed court document, FTX owes its 50 largest creditors about $3.1 billion with claims ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars. The document also reveals that FTX has around 1 million creditors, with the largest single claim standing at $226 million and the second largest one at $203 million.
The document further reads,
“The Top 50 List is based on the Debtors’ currently available creditor information, including customer information that was able to be viewed but is not otherwise accessible at this time. The Debtors’ investigation continues regarding the amounts listed, including payments that may have been made but are not yet reflected on the Debtors’ books and records. The Debtors are also working to obtain full access to customer data.”
Court Sets Jan. 3 Deadline for Celsius Customers to File Claims in Bankruptcy Case
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York has set January 3rd 2023 as the deadline for Celsius customers to file a claim in the company’s bankruptcy case. The court stated that any person or entity is free to file a claim via mail, by hand or through the website of Celsius’ claims agent ‘Stretto’. However, no action is required for customers who agree with Celsius’s scheduling of their claims. The next Celsius hearing is set for Dec. 5, where the firm says it plans to discuss custody and withhold accounts.
FTX Funds on The Move as Thief Converts Thousands of ETH Into Bitcoin
The attacker behind the $600 million exploit of crypto exchange FTX has reportedly begun converting all of the ETH held in the flagged wallets to Ren Bitcoin (renBTC). Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has posted a tweet requesting crypto exchanges to freeze these coins should the thief attempt to convert them into fiat or further obfuscate the assets through other means.
Over the past week, there has also been speculation that the exploited funds were in the custody of the Bahamian government. However, on-chain sleuth ZachXBT has tweeted that this was improbable due to the wallet addresses connected with the hack displaying “blackhat” behaviour along with using sketchy services.
Billionaire Investor Bill Ackman Endorses Crypto Project Helium, Discloses Crypto Holdings
Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman recently posted a tweet stating that he is bullish on cryptocurrency, despite the collapse of FTX. His tweet particularly highlighted the decentralised hotspot network Helium as an example of a real-world use case for cryptocurrencies.
Stock Market News
The U.S. stock and bond markets will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 24, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Trading will also end early on Black Friday, with markets shuttering at 1 p.m. E.T.
A readout of discussions from the U.S. central bank’s gathering earlier this month, set for release Wednesday, will be the highlight from a lighter economic calendar in days ahead. The earnings calendar will also be relatively sparse as third-quarter reporting heads into its final stretch.
Stocks registered a losing week last week despite modest gains Friday after a chorus of hawkish Fedspeak dampened optimism surfaced by lighter October inflation data.
The S&P 500 fell 0.7% last week while the Nasdaq Composite shed about 1.6% as central bank members asserted in nearly a dozen speeches throughout the week they intend to press on with aggressive policy tightening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was roughly flat for the week.
Minutes from the FOMC’s latest meeting, the Federal Reserve committee which votes on monetary policy, are likely to show officials planning a half-point rate hike at their December meeting.
Dollar loses its shine
Signs that US inflation is finally simmering down dealt a heavy blow to the US dollar lately, as traders unwound bets that the Fed will raise rates beyond 5%. Admittedly though, the sharp FX moves seem like an overreaction, driven by one-sided positioning in ‘long dollar’ bets.
In a nutshell, the story around the Fed hasn’t changed enough to warrant such dramatic moves. The dollar is trading as if the war against inflation is about to end, but Fed pricing and US yields suggest this was only a minor victory. Inflation is still running at nearly four times its target, the labor market is in good shape, and consumption hasn’t slowed yet.
