Genesis Digital Assets, one of the world's largest and most experienced Bitcoin mining companies, has secured $431 million in funding to expand its mining operations in the United States and the Nordics. 

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is now issuing strong warnings to the cryptocurrency industry that it’s in danger of replicating the toxic culture that was present before the 2008 financial crisis. 

HSBC, one of the largest banks in the world with total assets of nearly $3 trillion (as of December 2020), says it supports the notion of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) whilst remaining sceptical on cryptocurrencies.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Genesis Digital Assets Secures $431M in Funding
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Issues Warning to Crypto Industry
• HSBC Group CEO Echos Stablecoin Concerns and Backs CBDCs

Genesis Digital Assets Secures $431M in Funding

Genesis Digital Assets, one of the world's largest and most experienced Bitcoin mining companies, has secured $431 million in funding to expand its mining operations in the United States and the Nordics. 

Genesis Digital’s latest funding round was led by Paradigm, one of the largest crypto investment companies that has previously backed the likes of Coinbase and FTX. The co-founder of Paradigm, Matt Huang, also joined Genesis Digital’s board of directors, according to an announcement by the firm on Tuesday. 

The funding round also included the likes of $11 billion asset manager Stone Ridge, as well as its Bitcoin subsidiary NYDIG. Several venture capital firms and investment management firms were also involved, such as Ribbit, Electric Capital, Skybridge Capital, Kingsway Capital, and FTX crypto exchange

Genesis Digital noted that the new funds will help the company continue to expand its operations and reach its goal of attaining a 1.4 gigawatts mining capacity by 2023. “The capital raised from this round will be used to expand our Bitcoin mining operations in locations where clean energy is easily accessible,” said Genesis Digital CEO and co-founder Marco Streng.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Issues Warning to Crypto Industry

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is now issuing strong warnings to the cryptocurrency industry that it’s in danger of replicating the toxic culture that was present before the 2008 financial crisis. 

Michael Hsu, the acting chief of the OCC, argued on Tuesday that cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance (DeFi) have the potential to evolve into threats to the wider financial ecosystem. Hsu believes that these fast-growing sectors could have the same impact that certain derivatives had on the financial markets over a decade ago.

Hsu told the Blockchain Association during a webcast:  “Crypto/DeFi today is on a path that looks similar to CDS in the early 2000s, [...] Fortunately, this group has the power to change paths and avoid a crisis.”

Hsu has previously been involved in talks at the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets, discussing what the government should do, and what approach they should take regarding stablecoins -- a key component of digital currencies.

HSBC Group CEO Echos Stablecoin Concerns and Backs CBDCs

HSBC, one of the largest European banks with total assets of nearly $3 trillion (as of December 2020), says it supports the notion of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) whilst remaining sceptical on cryptocurrencies 

CEO of HSBC Group, Noel Quinn, outlined the firm’s commitment to the idea of a CBDC in an article titled “New forms of digital money could spur growth” that was published on September 20th. Quinn wrote that a CBDC could provide transparent legal tender and be designed to avoid “many risks” that are commonly associated with cryptocurrencies and stablecoins.

Quinn argued that CBDC efforts, such as China’s digital yuan, are likely to be the “new form of digital money” and that “other types of digital money, such as stablecoins and cryptocurrencies” are “both forms of private money,” which he considers “nothing new.”

The CEO continued that stablecoins and cryptocurrencies will require regulation that matches their associated risks as the industry's adoption grows further. “Even then, only designs that are sufficiently well anchored to achieve price stability, and correspond with current approaches to financial crime prevention, are likely to be useful as a reliable and safe means of payment,” he added.

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