Hello everyone. I’m pleased to welcome you back to the MNO blog once again. The information provided on my site that has been online since 2007 is of incredible value so in order not to miss anything important that may come our way in 2023 make sure you follow MNO on Telegram, Facebook, and Twitter. If you would like the blog articles to be delivered to your email address in their complete form please get subscribed here and confirm by clicking the link that will be delivered to your mailbox. And remember that I’m always open to answer your questions and requests you may submit via this contact form or by simply emailing me at abramsonp@gmail.com I’m also always available on Telegram @mnoblog if you ever have something urgent to report or chat about.

2023 has started and we are all looking forward to new HYIPs on our radar and will eventually pop up on the MNO monitor as well. So keep your eyes peeled! For now I have only ShuttleRent featured there (a program that pays 3% daily on weekdays with a reduced rate of 1.25% credited on weekends for the period of 50 calendar days on which your deposit expires leaving you with 25.5% net profit). By the way, you can be the judge of whether this ROI is appealing by casting your vote in the poll currently running on the MNO TalkBack page. The final results will be drawn in a week, so you’re cordially invited to vote here, whether you like ShuttleRent‘s offer or not so much.

I myself have returned from a two-week trip to the beautiful island of Sicily and feel quite refreshed and reinvigorated. And I believe we will have something exciting to talk about soon on MNO over the next month or so. The rising economic forecast and more optimistic mood of the cryptocurrency markets which was clearly observed last week should help with the upcoming upward trend in the HYIP industry as well. So, fingers crossed it will happen sooner rather than later!

And the most discussed news over the last calendar week will definitely the sharp increase of cryptocurrency values by about 20% on average. For instance, BTC has gone up to nearly $21K at the time of writing, while just a week ago it was trading at about the $17K mark. It’s certainly some positive news that gives high hopes to all the crypto HODLers out there, many of whom have been discouraged by the disappointing overall results of 2022. So, let’s have a closer look at that and see what other major events happened during the last week, January, 9-15, 2023.

BITCOIN RISES TO PRE FTX COLLAPSE PRICE

There’s little if any reason to keep repeating the fact that it’s been a bad year for the crypto industry with fewer reasons to be cheerful for rank and file amateur investors there. But could the tide be turning? If you held your nerve through some of the most recent bad times and resisted the temptation to dump any crypto you might have had in storage, the answer just might be a cautious yes.

BitCoin starts this new week at a long term high, at the time of writing just shy of $21,000 which hasn’t been seen since last September and compares favorably with exchange rates seen six months ago. Opinion is naturally still divided after this latest blistering price rally, though that’s only to be expected given the currency’s recent history. In what is shaping up to be the antidote to last year’s slow bleed to lower prices, January has delivered the volatility Bitcoin bulls were hoping for — but can they sustain it? This is the key question for market participants going into the third week of the month. Beyond market dynamics, there is no shortage of potential catalysts waiting to assert themselves on sentiment. United States economic data will keep coming, while corporate earnings could deliver some fresh volatility to stock markets this week.

CRYPTO LENDER NEXO OFFICES RAIDED IN BULGARIA

Crypto lender Nexo’s office in Sofia was raided by Bulgarian police on Thursday of last week as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering, tax crimes and unlicensed banking activities. More than 300 police officers, prosecutors and national security agents are taking part in the operation, Siyka Mileva, a spokeswoman for Bulgaria’s chief prosecutors, told reporters in Sofia. Authorities are investigating London-based Nexo on suspicion of a wide variety of alleged financial crimes, she said, adding that the probe is so far limited to Bulgaria. That being said, the Bulgarian investigation comes after regulators in eight US states issued cease-and-desist orders against Nexo, alleging that the company was offering interest-earning accounts without registering the investment products as securities.

LAYOFFS AND REDUNDANCIES CONTINUE IN THE CRYPTO INDUSTRY

Crypto.com announced on Friday that it’s laying off 20% of its workforce. CEO Kris Marszalek said in a blog post that the crypto exchange grew ambitiously, (a claim made by many tech companies during the Covid lockdowns so by no means isolated to just crypto) but was unable to weather storm caused by the collapse of crypto empire FTX without the further cuts. All impacted personnel have already been notified according to the statement made by Marszalek. The company has around 2,500 employees give or take, according to best estimates, suggesting around 500 employees were laid off. Crypto exchanges and lenders have been forced to aggressively pare back head count, a move accelerated by the FTX collapse and the wave of crises that have followed. This particular round of reductions was part of Crypto.com’s continued focus on what they described as “prudent financial management.” Like FTX, Crypto.com entered into high-profile promotion deals and sponsorship, signing an eye-watering naming deal for the former Staples Center in 2021 that’s valued at $700 million over 20 years. The arena is home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

Crypto.com had a bruising 2022. High-profile gaffes included multiple mistaken transfers, one of which accidentally transferred over $400 million worth of assets to another exchange. The company had already laid off a number of employees in the year as well.

Meanwhile the US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will reduce its workforce by around 950 people. The firm had previously laid off 18% of its employees due to adverse macroeconomic conditions. Brian Armstrong, the CEO of Coinbase, said they had taken the difficult decision to dismiss 950 of its team members as part of the company’s long-term strategy to cut some costs amid the prolonged declining market. Armstrong further claimed that the crypto winter coincided with a broader economic downturn for the first time, which is another factor that played a role in the layoffs. “While it is always painful to part ways with our fellow colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough, without considering changes to headcount,” he said in an official statement. Affected Coinbase employees will receive a minimum of fourteen weeks of base pay and health insurance. The platform will also provide transition support to another company if necessary. Despite the latest dismissal spree, Armstrong remains confident that the cryptocurrency market will emerge victorious after the current slump comes to an end, while Coinbase will stand as one of the leaders in its field. Coinbase started downsizing its staff in June last year, laying off 18% of its employees. Back then, the company justified the move with the assumption that the global economy was about to enter into a recession after a 10+ year protracted period of an economic boom.

FTX RECOVERS OVER $5 BILLION IN ASSETS

Isn’t it amazing how the prospect of seeing out the rest of your life in a US federal prison can prove to be so motivational? A bankruptcy attorney revealed that FTX has miraculously managed to locate over $5 billion worth of assets including cash, crypto, and other liquid assets. The announcement substantially raises the total that FTX claims it holds, after claiming it held just over $1 billion in December. The total amount FTX owes its creditors however is still unclear, but this recent find is unlikely to put a satisfactory dent in what creditors are owed. The attorney in question is Adam Landis, speaking on behalf of FTX.

Sam Bankman-Fried instructed his lieutenant, Gary Wang, to create a “backdoor” for Alameda to borrow from FTX customers without their permission, Landis said. He added the former CEO created a line of credit worth $65 billion from the exchange to the trading arm.

“We know what Alameda did with the money. It bought planes, houses, threw parties, made political donations. It made personal loans to its founders. It sponsored the FTX Arena in Miami, a Formula One team, the League of Legends, Coachella and many other businesses, events and personalities,” Landis said. He added that this has led to a “shortfall in value” to repay customers and creditors. “The amount of the shortfall is not yet clear. It will depend on the size of the claims pool and our recovery efforts. But every week we come closer to completing the work necessary to estimate recoveries for the purposes of a plan of reorganization,” Landis said. Chief Financial Officer Mary Cilia estimated in December the company could complete that work by April. However, Judge John Dorsey of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court set a March 15 deadline in Wednesday’s hearing. Brian Glueckstein of Sullivan & Cromwell said there may be as many as 9 million creditors, echoing a figure made by Kevin Cofsky, a partner with Parella Weinberg Partners, a financial advisory firm. Landis also spoke about a recently announced cooperation agreement with the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, saying it was “an important first step to align incentives and maximize joint recoveries.” “It does not matter who collects $1 for customers, as long as the customers get it,” Landis said. “We’ve established a task force with the official committee of creditors and the Bahamas JPL to explore alternatives for the sale or reorganization of the international platform.”

HONG KONG REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO CRYPTO

I can’t help but feel it looks more than suspicious when China, probably the only place in the world where crypto is banned, its semi autonomous region of Hong Kong is allowed to embrace it so freely. One of the few things they seem to be allowed at all anymore without mainland approval. Hong Kong’s Finance Secretary reaffirmed the state’s commitment to crypto at a Web3 summit in Cyberport. Paul Chan highlighted Hong Kong’s rigorous standards, stating as certain crypto exchanges collapsed one after another, Hong Kong became a quality standing point for digital asset corporates. He added that Hong Kong has a robust regulatory framework for crypto that matches international standards.

Joseph Chan, the undersecretary for financial services and the Treasury for the government of Hong Kong, revealed at the same event that the city is preparing to issue more licenses for digital asset trading firms. Moreover, it is planning a consultation on crypto platforms to explore the potential for retail participation in the industry. Hong Kong is pushing to become a regional crypto hub despite the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and several other crypto firms filing for bankruptcy. Last month, the city’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) issued a statement warning about the risks associated with crypto platforms offering deposits, savings, earnings, and staking services. After years of strict regulations, Hong Kong is now pushing to make it easier for retail investors to trade crypto assets.

BINANCE REGISTERS IN SWEDEN

And finally for this week’s news digest, it’s been reported by Sweden’s financial watchdog that on Thursday it had registered crypto exchange Binance as a financial institute in the country. The registration allows Binance to launch a website in Swedish and in other ways market itself directly to consumers in the Nordic country, Per Nordkvist, deputy head of the Financial Supervisory Authority’s banks division, told Reuters. Binance accounts for over half the global crypto trading market. With its registration in Sweden, it has now received regulatory permissions or approvals in 15 jurisdictions, including several European Union states and Australia and New Zealand.

The core of the company’s business, the giant Binance.com exchange, last year processed trades worth over $22 trillion. Binance, founded by CEO Changpeng Zhao in Shanghai in 2017, has declined to reveal where the exchange is based.

I hope you liked what you read in today’s Weekly CryptoNews Digest and to stay informed on all the further important developments make sure to stay tuned next Monday for a new article on the MNO blog.

GET PAID REPORT FOR 16/01/2023

Here is the list of the programs from my monitor that paid me for the last 168 hours:
From MNO Sticky list: –
From MNO Premium list: –
From MNO Standard list: –
From MNO Basic list: ShuttleRent.

That’s the end of today’s post, guys. I wish you all the best over the next few days and let’s hope that the first positive signs shown at the beginning of 2023 will turn into a regular occurrence. We all need an upward trend this year and if that happens MNO will show you the true emerging leaders of the HYIP industry. Thanks for reading and for staying loyal to MNO – For Money Lovers!