Author: Steven Sahiounie

Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment has raised more than $16 million for two new private crypto funds as digital assets continue rallying amid banking worries. According to recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Ark Invest has raised $16.3 million for a crypto fund split between a domestic and a Cayman Islands-based version. The ARK Crypto Revolutions U.S. Fund LLC raised $7,281,630 from nine investors, while the ARK Crypto Revolutions Cayman Fund LLC raised almost $9 million from one backer.  For the overall target, Ark checked “Indefinite,” meaning the fund is open-ended. These two new funds are private and open only to a…

A mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq has claimed the lives of several people, including alleged fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a statement from the counter-terrorism services of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region on March 16. The helicopter, identified as a Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil, crashed in the district of Chamanke in Dohuk province in Kurdistan late on March 15. Seven people who were aboard the helicopter at the time of the crash were killed. In its statement, the counter-terroism services of Kurdistan said that the helicopter was carrying fighters of the PKK. Iraq’s government, the United States-led…

The Pentagon has released a video filmed by MQ-9 Reaper which crashed in a close proximity to the Russian borders over the Black Sea. The video shows that the drone’s propeller was bent as a result of the maneuver. On March 16, Russian specialists detected the UAV in the Black Sea. According to the sources close to the Russian Defense Ministry, the drone was found at the bottom of the sea, 60 kilometers from Sevastopol, at a depth of 850–900 meters. “An underwater robot discovered the MQ-9 Reaper at a depth of about 850-900 meters. A deep–water branch of the…

New YorkCNN — First Republic Bank, facing a crisis of confidence from investors and customers, is actively discussing options for a lifeline — including a takeover, according to the Wall Street Journal. Participating in the discussions Thursday are massive Wall Street banks, including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, the Journal reported. A First Republic spokesman declined to comment to CNN. Both Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings downgraded First Republic Bank’s credit rating on Wednesday on concerns that depositors could pull their cash from the bank. That sent shares plunging 26% Thursday, and the stock tripped several automatic circuit breakers designed to prevent…

Credit Suisse shares soared more than 30% at Thursday’s market open after the bank said it will borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($54 billion) from the Swiss National Bank. The Swiss-listed stock’s rally cooled slightly during the day’s trading, but the shares were still up 17.3% at 2 p.m. London time (10 a.m. ET). The embattled lender announced late Wednesday that it would exercise its option to borrow from the Swiss central bank under a covered loan facility and a short-term liquidity facility. The Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority said in a statement Wednesday that Credit Suisse “meets…

Shares of Credit Suisse surged Thursday, rebounding from a fresh all-time low after the beleaguered lender announced it would tap central bank support to shore up its finances. Switzerland’s second-largest bank said it would borrow up to 50 billion Swiss francs ($53.68 billion) from the Swiss National Bank, providing a moment of relief for investors after the Zurich-headquartered firm led Europe’s banking sector on a wild ride lower during the previous session. The Swiss-listed stock was trading around 17% higher at 1:35 p.m. London time (9:35 a.m. ET) — a massive swing from Wednesday’s more than 30% tumble after its biggest backer said it wouldn’t provide further assistance…

Over 100,000 Ukrainian forces, including the most experienced soldiers, have been killed since the start of the conflict, Politico reported, citing US officials’ estimates. According to the media outlet, many of these losses are taking place in the city of Artyomovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), so “the US military is rushing equipment to the battlefield and training Ukrainian forces at a rapid pace.” Earlier, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Director for Operations Lieutenant General Douglas Sims said that the US Department of Defense had trained more than 4,000 Ukrainian troops since the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.…

Delegations from the United States, Canada and the EU, in anticipation of the upcoming second Russia-Africa summit, are demanding that African leaders in fact stop cooperation with Moscow, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. “There are many examples of this kind. First of all, delegations that come almost daily from Washington and from other Anglo-Saxon countries: from Canada, Great Britain, as well as from the European Union, literally besiege African leaders and African power bodies, parliaments,” Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Oleg Ozerov was cited by Novosti as saying. “They nearly demand that cooperation with Russia be stopped,” Ozerov said. Source:…

SHIB prices were down 10% in the past 24 hours, data shows. Shiba Inu (SHIB) prices fell 10% in the past 24 hours amid drama surrounding the codebase of the upcoming Shibarium blockchain. The much-awaited Shibarium blockchain released its beta version for the layer 2 network last week, as CoinDesk reported. A beta testnet is a blockchain that mimics real-world functioning. Layer 2 refers to a set of off-chain systems (separate blockchains) built on top of layer 1 protocols that reduce bottlenecks with scaling and data. However, the euphoria surrounding the launch paused on Thursday morning after a top-ranked community member…

Higher-than-usual market volatility affected bulls and bears alike as crypto futures racked up $300 million in liquidations over a 24-hour period on Wednesday. Liquidation refers to when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader is unable to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open). Large liquidations can signal the local top or bottom of a steep price move, which may allow traders to position themselves accordingly. Bitcoin and ether briefly inched…