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Citigroup Executive Steps Down To Explore Crypto

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4 months ago

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Citigroup executive Shobhit Maini has resigned from his post as the global head of digital assets in the bank’s markets division. Maini, a Citigroup veteran of more than 14 years, has given notice to the company to take up an “entrepreneurial opportunity in the digital asset space.”

Citigroup Executive Steps Down

Citigroup executive Shobhit Maini has decided to resign from his role as the global head of digital assets in the bank’s markets unit. 

As reported in the memo from Lee Smallwood, the head of markets innovation and investments at Citigroup, Maini is stepping down to pursue entrepreneurial projects in the cryptocurrency sector.

After the departure of Maini, Deepak Mehra, the international lead for markets strategic investments at Citigroup, will take over the leadership of the digital assets team. This appointment suggests a smooth transition and Citi’s continuing interest in developing and adopting blockchain technology.

Citigroup’s Blockchain Initiatives

During his tenure at the bank, the Citigroup executive has been piloting the tokenization of private equity funds using the blockchain. In February, Citigroup said it had conducted a trial proving that a blockchain system could tokenise a private equity fund. This test was a part of a larger strategic plan that the bank had embarked upon to transform its operations and expand its presence in the digital assets ecosystem.

The test involved working with Wellington Management and WisdomTree, thus underlining the bank’s efforts to incorporate blockchain into the traditional financial industry. 

This move under the Citigroup executive is consistent with the bank’s objective to move into digital assets, which the company demonstrated when it introduced a service in September that converts customers’ deposits into tokens for cross-border transactions.

Challenges and Controversies

While the bank has been pushing forward with its blockchain initiatives, the bank has faced challenges, including accusations of money laundering activities. A June report cited that drug traffickers allegedly used Citibank ATMs to launder money, exploiting perceived weaknesses in the bank’s oversight.

According to the report, two individuals from California, who are believed to be associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel, made several cash deposits into Citibank ATMs. These transactions raised questions on the dynamics of the bank’s anti-money laundering policies.

The bank, nonetheless, argued that it has adequate measures to monitor and disclose any suspicious transactions and it always offers its full assistance to the authorities in their investigations.

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Kelvin Munene Murithi

Kelvin is a distinguished writer specializing in crypto and finance, backed by a Bachelor’s in Actuarial Science. Recognized for incisive analysis and insightful content, he has an adept command of English and excels at thorough research and timely delivery.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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CryptoQuant Hails Binance Reserve Amid High Leverage Trading

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3 hours ago

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December 23, 2024

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Crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant has conducted a deep dive research into Binance and other centralized exchanges to uncover how susceptible they are to liquidity risks. With the crypto ecosystem trading at a very high premium, exchanges require high liquidity to meet growing demands. Of its findings, CryptoQuant singles out Binance and OKX as platforms to watch out for.

What Makes Binance Stand Out from Centralized Exchanges?

According to CryptoQuant, it analyzed the leverage levels of top centralized exchanges. It conducted this exercise to evaluate their liquidity, default risk and how crypto reserves backs trading activity. The analysis also employs leverage ratio calculation to estimate trader’s exposures.

Based on this, the analytics firm singled out Binance as an exchange with robust reserves. The trading platform maintains this reserve despite the significant growth in open interest this year. This is signficant, considering how Binance Futures list new tokens to fuel this expansion including Solana’s Fartcoin.

“Its reserves in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT comfortably exceed its open interest. Binance also reported the lowest and most stable leverage ratio among major exchanges, with a ratio of 12.8 in December 2023, rising slightly to 13.5 in December 2024,” the CryptoQaunt report reads.

As pointed out, this stability and the 2.6x expansion in Bitcoin open interest on the platform from $4.45 billion to $11.64 billion implies that the exchange can handle unexpected liquidations.

As the report hinted, smaller exchanges like OKX also maintain low leverage ratios.

Centralized Exchanges and Avoiding the FTX Saga

In addition to the Binance spotlight, CryptoQuant also mentioned Gate io, Bybit, and Deribit. However, the report noted that these trading platforms have the highest leverage ratios in the market pegged at 106, 86, and 32, respectively. Notably, this figures show open interests for Bitcoin and Ethereum is higher than the existing reserves available on these centralized exchanges.

The analysis concluded by flagging the impact of high leverage trading, one of the major causes of the FTX Derivatives Exchange collapse. This report serves as an eye opener that can help traders manage risk per platforms they trade on.

Meanwhile, FTX is at the tail end of its bankruptcy proceedings. As Coingape reported earlier, FTX has set January 3 as the date to commence creditor repayment.

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Godfrey Benjamin

Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.

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Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Ripple Transfers 90M Coins, What’s Happening?

Published

12 hours ago

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December 22, 2024

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XRP has regained its footing above the $2 support level, fueled by significant whale activity. In only 30 minutes, 90 tokens, worth approximately $202,5 million, were transferred to unknown wallets.

Ripple has emerged as one of the top post-election performers, quadrupling in value since November 5. This impressive rally, alongside gains in other cryptocurrencies, has spotlighted digital assets and fueled speculation about their potential trajectory heading into 2025.

XRP Whales Make Massive Moves, Sparking Price Speculation

XRP has regained its footing above the $2 support level, fueled by significant whale activity. In only 30 minutes, 90 tokens, worth approximately $202,5 million, were transferred to unknown wallets.

The unusually large withdrawals, flagged by Whale Alert, have sparked heightened interest among investors and increased speculation about the token’s future price movement.

Whale Alert reveals that the recent XRP transfers consisted of two significant transactions. The largest involved 50 million tokens, valued at approximately $112.5 million, moved to a newly created wallet. The second transaction saw 40 million tokens worth $90 million sent to a recently activated address.

The destination wallets are not linked to any known cryptocurrency exchanges, leading investors to speculate that high-net-worth individuals or institutional investors may be accumulating Ripple. This has fueled expectations of further price movement. Also, recently, renowned hedge fund manager Scott Melker has revealed that former President Donald Trump is actively accumulating XRP and HBAR tokens.

Crypto analysts think that large transfers to exchanges from unknown wallets are often a bullish indicator. This is a signal that the whales-the major holders-are moving their holdings to cold storage, which typically reflects a long strategy, rather than short-term selling. This can set up a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency’s price. However, the reversal situation results usually with reversal outcome so it’s interesting the price is still on the rise.

This development comes as a US appeals court announces the filing deadlines for the opening and reply briefs by Ripple and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.

Holding Steady at Key Support, Awaiting Next Move

XRP and the broader cryptocurrency market have remained relatively flat in recent days, with the token holding critical support levels that could spark a renewed uptrend. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.25, reflecting a slight 0.35% rise over the past 24 hours.

If the bulls stay in control, Ripple may continue its upside, having key resistances between $3.62 and $4.30. A break above such a range could send prices towards $5.73. At 46, though, the RSI rests, showing that sellers have still managed to be at the helm and cap upside momentum. Increased buying pressure will, thus, be critical for resuming the uptrend.

The Awesome Oscillator supports a bullish divergence with the histogram bars turning positive, yet still remaining in negative territory. This indeed would hint at a possible reversal, though additional buying pressure needs to be generated to confirm the uptrend.

The critical support level that traders should watch is at $2.20. A drop below this might set off panic and send prices lower.

In spite of this uncertainty and the possible bearishness of it all, this token is still attracting a great deal of interest from institutional investors-a fact that points to its long-term potential.

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Teuta is a seasoned writer and editor with over 15 years of expertise in macroeconomics, technology, and the crypto and blockchain sectors.

She began her career in 2005 as a lifestyle writer for *Cosmopolitan* before transitioning to business and economic reporting for renowned outlets like *Forbes* and *Bloomberg*.

Inspired by thought leaders like Don and Alex Tapscott and Laura Shin, Teuta embraced blockchain’s potential, viewing cryptocurrency as one of humanity’s most transformative innovations.

Since 2014, she has specialized in fintech, focusing on crypto, blockchain, NFTs, and Web3. Known for her strong collaboration and communication skills, Teuta also holds dual MAs in Political Science and Law.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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How Low Will Ethereum Price Go By The End of December?

Published

15 hours ago

on

December 22, 2024

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In a recent analysis, crypto analyst Justin Bennett provided insights into how low the Ethereum price could drop by the end of December. This came as the analyst revealed that buyers need to step or ETH could enter next week with a bearish outlook.

How Low Ethereum Price Can Go By Year-End

In an X post, Justin Bennett suggested that the Ethereum price could drop to as low as $3,027 by year-end. While analyzing ETH’s daily chart, the analyst stated that ETH needs to flip $3,541 as support to turn bullish next week. If that doesn’t happen, he remarked there is a decent chance that Ethereum drops lower. The analyst’s accompanying chart showed that ETH could even drop to as low as $2,560 if it loses the $3,027 support level.

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In an earlier X post, the crypto analyst stated that he is bullish on the Ethereum price based on the overall setup going into 2025. however, he believes that buyers still have work to do. He gave an example of how ETH needs to recover $3,540 on the weekly time frame to look bullish next week.

These buyers already look to be stepping in, as there has been an accumulation trend among ETH whales. Coingape reported that Ethereum whales are buying the dip as ETH eyes a quick rally to $4,000.

These whales have withdrawn 17,698 ETH worth $61.66 million from the crypto exchange Binance. Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial has also gotten in on the act as the DeFi project accumulated more ETH on this dip.

Correction Might Be Over

In an X post, crypto analyst Titan of Crypto provided a more bullish outlook for the Ethereum price, stating that the correction might be over. The analyst made this statement based on his Ichimoku cloud analysis.

Titan of Crypto stated that Ethereum has retested both Tenkan and Kijun. He added that the worst-case scenario would be a retest of the Kumo Cloud SSB, Ichimoku’s strongest line.

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According to a CoinGape market analysis, this might indeed be the last dip before ETH hits five digits. There are predictions that the Ethereum price could hit $15,937 by May 2025.

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Boluwatife Adeyemi

Boluwatife Adeyemi is a well-experienced crypto news writer and editor who has covered topics that cut across DeFi, NFTs, smart contracts, and blockchain interoperability, among others. Boluwatife has a knack for simplifying the most technical concepts and making it easy for crypto newbies to understand. Away from writing, He is an avid basketball lover and a part-time degen.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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