How the Latest Crypto Bankruptcy Could Affect Bitcoin

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Last year, the price of bitcoin fell by 64%. The price fell by 19% between November 1 and the end of the year. This action followed CoinDesks’ November 2 report on the unusually close relationship between FTX and Alameda Research. Both companies were co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11.

But on Thursday night, Genesis Global Capital became the latest major player in the virtual currency world to file for bankruptcy. Genesis is a subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which was founded by its CEO Barry Silbert and also owns CoinDesk and Grayscale, which manages the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC, +0.70%, a fund with $13.3 billion in assets under management, invested in bitcoin.

GBTC shares were trading at a 40% discount to the value of the fund’s bitcoin holdings at the Jan. 19 close, according to Grayscale.

In this week’s Distributed Ledger column, Frances Yue examines how the Genesis bankruptcy could affect the price of bitcoin, while covering other developments in the crypto industry.

Learn more about virtual currencies:

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You can start collecting Social Security payments at age 62, but you don’t have to start until age 70. This raises a difficult question. Take a look at your annual Social Security statement to see the agency’s estimates of how much it will increase for each year of waiting. Then you might have more questions, like this, which Jessica Hall answers:

Should I apply for Social Security at 62 and invest it or wait until 70?

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In 2022, the benchmark S&P 500 SPX index, +0.90%, fell 18%, and that with dividends reinvested, according to FactSet. Then again, even with that dismal year included, the average annual return for the indices over the 20 years to 2022 was 9.8%.

The kind of volatility we saw in 2022 was not unusual, but it can be hard to avoid the temptation to try to time the market. Investors who move away tend to return after a market rally is well underway. This means that they are likely to underperform the index over the long term.

To facilitate long-term commitment, Doug Ramsey, chief investment strategist at Leuthold & Co., designed an all-weather portfolio, as Brett Arends reports.

Related: 10 Simple Investments That Can Turn Your Portfolio Into an Income Dynamo

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Alessandra Malito writes the Help Me Retire column. This week, she is helping a 36-year-old man who emptied his tax-deferred retirement account to help fund the purchase of a first home for his family. Now he faces taxes and penalties. Here’s how to reset and start rebuilding a retirement nest egg.

Layoffs rise A sign of the times Alphabet to lay off 12,000 workers. kenzo tribouillard/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Google holding Alphabet GOOGL, +4.26% GOOG, +4.31% is the latest tech giant to announce layoffs 12,000 jobs will be cut.

Earlier this week, Microsoft MSFT, +2.81% confirmed its plan to cut 10,000 jobs.

James Rogers kept a running tab of tech layoffs.

Related coverage:

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Here’s what to do if you’re worried about your job and not ready to retire.

Related: For This Physician, Retirement Is an Opportunity for Mentorship, Exploration and Innovation

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Shares of Netflix NFLX, +6.80%, rose 7% in morning trading on Friday after the streaming pioneer grew its subscriber base more than analysts had expected. The company also provided strong guidance for the first quarter as it moved toward a transition period of steps to reduce password sharing. Company co-founder Reed Hastings to transition from CEO to executive chairman; current chief operating officer Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos will serve as co-CEOs.

Therese Poletti looks back on 25 years of leadership under Hastings and what appears to be a smooth managerial transition.

Read more: Netflix is ​​making big changes, but its stock may need to take a break

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Read more: Households earning $100,000 or more are cutting spending more aggressively. What is going on?

What happens when short sellers get naked?

Short selling is when a trader borrows shares of a company and immediately sells them, in the hope that the stock price will drop. If so, the short seller will buy the shares at the lower price, return them to the lender and pocket the difference. A broker is only supposed to let you short a stock if the stock is available to borrow and you may have to pay a fee to borrow stock that is already heavily shorted.

This brings up a naked short sale, which is when an investor sells a stock short without actually borrowing the stock first. Genius Groups GNS, +56.93% news of its own naked short-selling investigation sent its stock rebounding 200% on Jan. 19.

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