Bitcoin Hits New All-Time High: On March 14th, 2021, Bitcoin reached a new all-time high of over $61,000 USD. This marks a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency, which has seen tremendous growth over the past year.
Coinbase Goes Public: One of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase, filed for a direct listing on the NASDAQ stock exchange on March 11th. The company is expected to go public in April, and its listing is seen as a significant milestone for the cryptocurrency industry.
Tesla Invests $1.5 Billion in Bitcoin: In February 2021, Tesla announced that it had invested $1.5 billion USD in Bitcoin and planned to accept the cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its products in the future. The move was seen as a significant endorsement of Bitcoin by a major corporation.
SEC Delays Bitcoin ETF Decision: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on whether to approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The decision was originally expected in late March but has been postponed until June 17th.
Turkey Bans Crypto Payments: On April 16th, Turkey's central bank announced a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies for payments, citing the risks associated with volatility and lack of regulation. The ban is set to take effect on April 30th, and it is unclear how it will affect the use and trading of cryptocurrencies in Turkey.
Intensity and insults rise as lawmakers debate debt ceiling
WASHINGTON (AP) — Fights over increasing the nation’s borrowing authority have been contentious in Congress, yet follow a familiar pattern: Time and again, lawmakers found a way to step back from the brink before markets began to panic and the nation risked a dangerous default on its debt.
But this year’s fight has a different feel, some lawmakers say.
A new Republican majority in the House is itching for a spending showdown, and determined not to yield. They blame what they view as excessive federal spending for higher food and gasoline prices and the growing national debt. Led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, they have ruled out passing a “clean” debt ceiling increase even as the White House insists such legislation be passed without conditions. It’s an impasse that shows no signs of easing ahead of this summer’s deadline for action.
“Very worried. Very worried,” was how Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a close McCarthy ally, described his outlook. “And frankly, I don’t see how we get there at this point. There’s no process set up, there’s no dialogue, there’s no discussion.”
The political conditions are comparable to 2011, when a new Republican majority swept into power after a resounding election win and was determined to confront a Democratic White House and extract major spending cuts in return for a debt limit increase.
To resolve that stalemate, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Budget Control Act. The bill temporarily allowed borrowing to resume, set new spending limits and created a bipartisan “supercommittee” to recommend at least $1.2 trillion more in deficit reduction over 10 years. Republicans and Democrats on the panel failed to compromise, however, triggering automatic reductions in spending.
But some damage was done. Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services downgraded U.S. debt for the first time that year because it lacked confidence political leaders would make the choices needed to avert a long-term fiscal crisis.
In 2013, Obama took a different tack. He made clear early on there would be no negotiations on must-pass legislation to prevent a U.S. default, and he never wavered.
A partial government shutdown, which began Oct. 1, swiftly coincided with the prospects of a default. On Oct. 16, Congress passed legislation to end the twin threats and GOP lawmakers who demanded to roll back Obama’s signature health care law got nothing for their efforts. “We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win,” conceded then-House Speaker John Boehner.
Republicans say they are determined that Biden, who was Obama’s vice president during both of those debt ceiling battles, will have to follow the path set in 2011 — not the one set in 2013.