The Fed, FDIC and OCC Issue New Warnings to Banks on Crypto Risks to Safety and Soundness

By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: January 4, 2023

After multiple federally-insured banks involved with crypto have watched their publicly-traded stocks crater in price over the past year (see above chart); after a former Fed insider blew the whistle on what’s been going down as a result of the Fed’s hands off approach to policing crypto banks; after alleged fraudster operation, FTX, quietly bought a large stake in a federally-insured bank in the state of Washington; and after Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith sent a blistering demand for answers to the Fed, FDIC, and OCC on December 7 – those three federal agencies issued a new warning to banks yesterday on what life in the crypto lane could mean to their future.

The warnings included the following:

“The events of the past year have been marked by significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector. These events highlight a number of key risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of, including:

Bitcoin core developer claims to have lost 200+ BTC in hack

By Stephen Katte

A Bitcoin OG and core developer Luke Dashjr claims his PGP key was compromised, resulting in virtually all his Bitcoin being stolen from him on Dec. 31.

One of the original core developers behind Bitcoin , Luke Dashjr, claims to have lost “basically” all his BTC as a result of a hack that occurred just before the new year.

In a Jan. 1 post on Twitter, the developer said the alleged hackers had somehow gained access to his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key, a common security method that uses two keys to gain access to encrypted information.

In the thread, he shared a wallet address where some of the stolen BTC had been sent but did not reveal how much of his BTC was stolen in total.

Six Steps to Build Your Wealth in 2023

By Teeka Tiwari

I made my first big haul in the early 1990s, buying beaten-down junk bonds.

I was 19, and before the year was out, my junk bond play would make me over $250,000. That’s about half a million dollars in today’s money. The year before, I had made just $8,000.

That began a wild ride of moneymaking that had me making $54,000 in one day by the time I was 22.

When the mid-’90s rolled around, I made money hand-over-fist in technology stocks. I was young and making a fortune while living my American Dream. I would love to tell you I embraced my success with calm and sober-minded maturity.

I didn’t. I let the money make me an arrogant jackass.

And by late 1998, I’d lost it all. You see, I made a terrible mistake…

I took massive bets instead of taking small bets on high-risk, high-reward ideas.

By the time the 1997 Asian financial crisis rolled around, I’d built up a substantial short position. A short position is when you bet on a stock or an index going lower.

How Strung-Out Are Households with their Debt Service & Financial Obligations as the Miracle of Free-Money Fades?

Looks like households have lots of fuel left to throw on inflation, if they’re in the mood.

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

What is the burden on households from servicing their debts and other financial obligations, in terms of their disposable income? That’s perhaps the most important debt measure, and the question we’re going to grapple with in a moment.

The pandemic-era policies left households flush with money, allowed them to catch up with past-dues, and allowed them to move delinquent debt into forbearance. They had free money by not having to make payments on mortgages, student loans, and rent. Then there were the PPP loans, over $800 billion of them. Delinquency rates, foreclosure rates, third-party collections, and bankruptcies all dropped to record lows. As a result, credit scores improved across the board. This was topped off by the blistering asset price inflation in stocks, bonds, real estate, cryptos, etc. But all of this is now getting more or less rapidly unwound.

Don't Get Fooled by This Popular Bull Trap

By Sean Michael Cummings

Many analysts think it's the strongest bullish signal...

It suggests the bottom is in. It promises rallying prices and improving sentiment. And it has appeared before every major bull market in history.

The indicator I'm talking about is the "golden cross." This signal appears when an asset's short-term price average overtakes its long-term price average. And we just saw one in a major index...

This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average completed a golden cross for the first time since August 2020.

That's a green light for bulls. Many investors will pour into long positions based on it. They might

Nightmare Fall of United States – Martin Armstrong

By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com (Saturday Night Post)

Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong said just before the 2022 midterm elections that voter fraud and cheating will set up a very troubling 2023. Armstrong is predicting “a major turning point in January of 2023.” Armstrong explains, “The computer (Socrates program) is showing that January is going to be the major turning point for the entire year of 2023. . . .