🙏Paypal reveals ~$1B in crypto holdings

Welcome to Coinsauce's Daily Newsletter 🗞️, your daily dose of all things crypto! Our mission is to keep you well-informed and up-to-date on all the latest developments in the crypto world in a bite-sized email.

Top highlights of the day 👇️

1. 😒 Holdings - Paypal discloses $1 billion dollars in crypto holdings!

2. 😶 Dead end - Ex-Coinbase manager sentenced to 2 years in prison

3. 📉 CPI cools down! - Inflation in the USA comes in under 5%.

PayPal discloses crypto holdings 🙈 

In its latest quarterly report filed with the SEC, PayPal reported that it holds approximately a billion dollars (That's right, a billion with a 'B') worth// of crypto assets as of Q1 2023, showing a whopping 56% increase from the previous quarter. The growth is most likely attributed to Bitcoin’s impressive 80% rally since the start of the year!

The majority of the company’s crypto holdings were in Bitcoin and ethereum, with the split as seen below 👇️

Paypal has fully embraced digital assets by allowing its customers in specific markets to buy, hold, sell, receive, and send these cryptocurrencies and use the proceeds from sales of cryptocurrencies to pay for purchases at checkout. However, the company does not actually hold the crypto assets but instead relies on outside custodial service providers for the same.

Despite seeing the fallout of several centralized platforms like Celsius, Voyager, FTX, etc. It is concerning to see users still trusting third parties to hold their assets. It gets even worse when you realize that PayPal has had a history of freezing user funds and imposing fines on users for no valid reason at all! As always, we would always recommend you invest in a hardware wallet and have full custody of your funds!

Caught in action ❗️

The Coinbase insider trading saga has finally reached its climax. In a federal courtroom, former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for insider trading. His brother, Nikhil Wahi, had already pleaded guilty to charges related to wire fraud conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 months in jail in September 2022.

In July 2022, The Wahi brothers' dreams of an easy payday turned out to be a nightmare, as U.S. authorities caught them trying to flee to India with over a million dollars in illicit gains. They allegedly used confidential information obtained from Coinbase to profit off new token listings, netting over $1.5 million. Ishan must now surrender by June 21 to serve his sentence at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in New Jersey.

As for Sameer Ramani, the third member of the trio, he's still on the run. Maybe he's hiding out on a tropical island sipping Mai Tais, or maybe he's just a few steps ahead of the law 🙈

Moral of the story - In the end, shortcuts often lead to dead ends, and the only insider trading tip you need is to invest in yourself 💰️

The CPI downtrend continues 😅

The latest US inflation numbers are in, and they're causing a bit of a stir. While the overall CPI for April came in at 4.9%, lower than market expectations of 5%, the core reading - which excludes the wily influence of food and energy - held steady at 5.5%, right on target with forecasts. Every month, both the headline and core figures rose 0.4%, just as analysts predicted.

But even with the Fed's recent 25 basis point interest rate hike, inflation is still running hot. Prices are well above the desired rate of around 2% for stable and sustainable growth, leaving the central bank with a tricky balancing act 😅

Following a 25 basis point hike last week, the Fed's benchmark rate now stands at 5% to 5.25%, a far cry from near-zero at the beginning of last year.

The Fed has hinted that it may push pause on the tightening campaign at its next meeting in June, although Chair Jerome Powell noted that it is "prepared to do more" if further policy restraint is necessary.

At this point, The FED aiming for a soft landing, i.e getting inflation under control without inducing a recession, seems similar to putting the toothpaste back in the tube. Good luck with that 🤷‍♂️

Meme of the day

HODLers convincing newbies to not sell their BTC like… 😃 

That's a wrap for today's Coinsauce Crypto Roundup! We hope you enjoyed the news, the drama, and the occasional bad pun. Always remember folks, keep your eyes on the crypto prize, and never let market fluctuations dampen your spirit of curiosity. Until next time, Happy HODLing 🙏

Disclaimer: This newsletter is educational and does not constitute financial advice. You must exercise caution and conduct your research before making any financial decisions.