The CEOs of several of the largest banks in the United States have said they do not plan on financing cryptocurrency miners during a congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX is reportedly in talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in new funding that would keep the company’s valuation at around $32 billion. Negotiations are said to be ongoing and the terms could change.

Popular cryptocurrency Exchange Kraken has said that co-founder and current CEO, Jesse Powell, is going to give up his role and become chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Wall Street CEOs Don’t Plan to Finance Crypto Miners
• Crypto Exchange FTX to Raise Funds at $32 Billion Valuation
• Kraken’s Longtime CEO Jesse Powell Steps Down
• What is XRP?

Wall Street CEOs Don’t Plan to Finance Crypto Miners

The CEOs of several of the largest banks in the United States have said they do not plan on financing cryptocurrency miners during a congressional hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

During the hearing, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) asked the CEOs of three major Wall Street banks whether they intend to finance crypto mining, which he said “creates electricity that is then wasted in something that doesn't keep anybody's lights on, doesn't cook anybody's food.”

In response to Sherman, an outspoken crypto critic, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser said she does “not believe” the bank will finance crypto mining, while Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank does “not have any” plans to do so. Wells Fargo’s CEO Charles Scharf noted he was “not aware of anything” on the topic.

Raising capital has become difficult for cryptocurrency miners, who have been dealing with depressed cryptocurrency prices and rising energy costs.

Crypto Exchange FTX to Raise Funds at $32 Billion Valuation

Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX is reportedly in talks with investors to raise up to $1 billion in new funding that would keep the company’s valuation at around $32 billion. Negotiations are said to be ongoing and the terms could change.

FTX last raised capital in January and existing investors in the company include Singapore’s Temasek, Softbank's Vision Fund 2, and Tiger Global. Some of the exchange’s rivals have suffered during the ongoing crypto winter, while FTX has been billing itself as a market consolidator.

Some of the raised capital would go to fuel more deals, such as the one FTX signed with crypto lender BlockFi, which gives it the option to buy the firm. FTX was also in discussions to acquire South Korean exchange Bithumb.

FTX’s revenue reportedly soared more than 1,000% in 2021 to $1.02 billion, from $89 million in the prior year. The company’s net income of $388 million last year dwarfs the $17 million from a year earlier.

Kraken’s Longtime CEO Jesse Powell Steps Down

Popular cryptocurrency Exchange Kraken has said that co-founder and current CEO Jesse Powell is going to give up his role and become chairman of the company’s board of directors.

The exchange has announced that Dave Ripley, Kraken’s longtime Chief Operating Officer, will succeed Powell in the coming months. The shake-up is significant as Powell has been an influential figure in the cryptocurrency space since Bitcoin’s early days and founded Kraken in 2011.

Powell was quoted saying:

“Dave’s proven leadership and experience give me great confidence that he’s the ideal successor and the best person to lead Kraken through its next era of growth. I look forward to spending more of my time on the company’s products, user experience and broader industry advocacy.“

In an interview, Powell said he was stepping up rather than stepping down to take a “higher level role at the chairman level.” He added he hopes the change will allow him to become more deeply involved with the company’s products, services, and “user experiences.”

What is XRP?

XRP is the native token of the XRP Ledger and positions itself as a “fast and green” digital asset that was built “to be the most practical cryptocurrency for applications across the financial services space.” It offers fast transaction settlements, can handle thousands of transactions per second, and relies on hundreds of validators on its network.

The cryptocurrency aims to complement traditional payment methods, and allows regulated entities to follow strict money transmission laws. While more open blockchains like that of Bitcoin (BTC) allow anyone to contribute to the network and validate transactions, the XRP Ledger relies on approved validators.

All 100 billion XRP were distributed when the cryptocurrency was created, with some of the tokens going to its creators, and other being sent out through gifts and giveaways. A large percentage of XRP’s supply is held in escrow.

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