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UK’s first migrant deportation flight to Rwanda set to depart on Tuesday


The courts have thrown out last-ditch bids by human rights groups and campaigners to halt the first flight.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Britain’s first scheduled flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda was due to depart on Tuesday, with the government warning that anyone who avoided it through last-minute legal challenges would be put on a later flight anyway.

“We are expecting to send the flight later today,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Sky News. “I can’t say exactly how many people will be on the flight.

But the really important thing is that we establish the principle.”

“There will be people on this flight and if they’re not on this flight, they will be on the next flight because we are determined to break the model of the appalling people traffickers.”

Britain has struck a 120-million-pound ($148 million) deal with Rwanda to send some migrants, who had arrived illegally by crossing the Channel in small boats from Europe, to live in the landlocked African country.

The government says the policy is needed to stem the flow of migrants risking their lives in Channel crossings and smash the people-smuggling networks.

But the plan has horrified political opponents, charities and church leaders who say it is inhumane. The United Nations’ refugee chief called it “catastrophic”, the entire leadership of the Church of England denounced it as an “immoral policy that shames Britain”.

The courts have thrown out last-ditch bids by human rights groups and campaigners to halt the first flight, but London’s High Court is set to hear further cases before it departs on Tuesday evening.

Amid legal challenges, only a few people are now scheduled to leave on that first plane.

Some 37 individuals had been scheduled to be removed on Tuesday, which charities said included people fleeing Afghanistan and Syria as well as Iran and Iraq. However a string of successful legal challenges has reduced that number to seven, according to charity Care4Calais.

At least three High Court appeals were still to be heard.

Human rights groups say the policy will put migrants at risk. The UNHCR has said Rwanda, whose own human rights record is under scrutiny, does not have the capacity to process the claims, and there is a risk some migrants could be returned to countries from which they had fled.

A full hearing to determine the legality of the policy as a whole is due in July.



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10-year Treasury yield falls after biggest move since March 2020; investors await key Fed meeting


Treasury yields fell on Tuesday as investors assessed the prospect of the Federal Reserve taking the most aggressive step yet in its fight to lower soaring inflation.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped around 9 basis points to 3.276%, paring gains after climbing to 3.39% and notching its biggest move since 2020 in the previous session.

The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond fell roughly 7 basis points to 3.298%, while the 2-year rate fell 5 basis points to 3.236%, erasing gains from earlier in the session. Yields move inversely to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.

The 2-year and 10-year Treasury yield curve on Monday briefly inverted for the first time since early April as investors braced for the prospect of aggressive monetary policy tightening to lower inflation. This measure is closely monitored by traders and is often seen as an indicator of a recession.

It comes after an intense sell-off during the regular session on Wall Street as market participants await the start of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, which concludes on Wednesday.

“The move in the 10-year Treasury yield toward 3.5% shows the market’s fear that the Fed may fall further behind the curve is increasing. In turn, this will give the Fed less room to ‘declare victory’ and ease off on rate hikes,” Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management, said.

“As a result, the risks of a Fed-induced recession have increased, in our view, and the chances of a recession in the next six months have risen,” Haefele added.

Investors are bracing themselves for a 75 basis-point hike from the Fed this week, rather than a 50 basis-point hike many had come to expect. That’s because last week’s inflation report showed prices running hotter than expected.

The Federal Open Market Committee in May raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.75% to 1% from 0.25% to 0.5%.

On the data front, the National Federation of Independent Business survey for May will be released at around 6 a.m. ET, with the producer price index for May set to follow at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday is scheduled to auction $34 billion in 52-week bills.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min contributed to this report.



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Ukraine must ‘knock out the occupiers,’ Zelenskyy says; Severodonetsk cut off after all bridges destroyed


Risks of a ‘frozen conflict’ rising as Russia makes gains in eastern Ukraine

Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a street during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the town of Popasna in the Luhansk Region, Ukraine May 26, 2022.

Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

As Russia gradually seizes more territory in Ukraine and continues to pound various targets in the Donbas, analysts fear that Ukrainian fighters are losing the upper hand in the conflict and that a war of attrition is underway.

“I am worried about it,” William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNBC. “There are huge risks that Ukraine will continue to lose land incrementally.”

Alberque said there was still the possibility that the Russian line will collapse somewhere but what made this inflection point of the invasion dangerous was that Russia was now throwing everything it has at fully occupying eastern Ukraine.

“This is the part of the war that one really worries about because it’s a war of attrition because it’s just Russia throwing tons and tons of crap equipment into the battle. It’s them using the Donetsk and Luhansk fighters as cannon fodder. It’s them just drawing upon their huge human resources and there is the chance [Ukraine is] going to lose more land.”

Read more here: ‘Frozen conflict’: Ukraine war could last 10 years or more if Russian forces aren’t pushed back

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia makes advances around Kharkiv for first time in weeks, UK says

Although Russia’s main objective remains the assault against the Severodonetsk pocket in the Donbas, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said Russian forces “have likely made small advances in the Kharkiv sector for the first time in several weeks.”

A view of a destroyed shopping mall after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 8, 2022.

Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

The ministry, posting its latest intelligence update on Twitter Tuesday, also noted that Russia could be starting to leverage its industrial base for the war effort.

On June 10, the U.K. noted, an official within Russia’s Military-Industrial Commission predicted that state defense spending will increase by 600-700 billion rubles (up to $12 billion), which could approach a 20% increase in Russia’s defense budget.

“Russian government funding is allowing the country’s defense industrial base to be slowly mobilized to meet demands placed on it by the war in Ukraine,” the U.K. said. “However, the industry could struggle to meet many of these requirements, partially due to the effects of sanctions and lack of expertise.”

The ministry said Russia’s production “of high-quality optics and advanced electronics likely remain troubled and could undermine its efforts to replace equipment lost in Ukraine.”

Holly Ellyatt

All bridges to Severodonetsk are now destroyed, governor says

The city of Severodonetsk in the Luhansk province — one of the last strongholds of Ukrainian forces in the area — has now seen all of its bridges destroyed, according to the governor of Luhansk, who said the evacuation of civilians is now impossible.

Severodonetsk has been the focus of severe fighting for weeks as Ukrainian soldiers have tried desperately to prevent the city from falling into Russian hands. The relentless bombardment from Russia has taken its toll, however, and at least 70% of the city is now controlled by its forces.

Smoke rising in Severodonetsk, seen from neighboring Lysychansk, in Ukraine on June 10, 2022.

Marcus Yam | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

After an update on Monday in which he said only one bridge into the city was left, and that was critically damaged, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai updated the situation on Facebook Monday night saying “all bridges are destroyed, but Severodonetsk is not blocked. Communication with the city is there!!”

“Evacuation and transport of human cargo is impossible,” he added

He added that the Russians have not completely captured Severodonetsk and that a part of the city was still under Ukrainian control.

— Holly Ellyatt

U.S. officials say new military aid for Ukraine might come as early as this week

Ukrainian soldiers move U.S.-made missiles on Feb. 13, 2022. The U.S. could announce new military aid for Ukraine as early as this week, a defense official and an administration official said.

Sergei Supinsky | Afp | Getty Images

The United States could announce new military aid for Ukraine as early as this week, a defense official and administration official said.

The additional aid is likely to come from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which can be used for training, equipping, and advising Ukrainian forces. The U.S. has used more than $6 billion for USAI funds in fiscal year 2022.   

Another military aid package, with additional weapons and equipment, could also be announced as early as next week through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, the defense official said.

That would be the 12th drawdown of U.S. arms and equipment for Ukraine’s defense.

Last month, Congress approved an additional $40 billion for aid to Ukraine after President Joe Biden’s request for $33 billion.

— Chelsea Ong

‘We are dealing with absolute evil,’ Zelenskyy says; vows to rebuild Kyiv

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the positions of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut city and Lysychansk district, Ukraine, on June 5, 2022.

Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the capital city of Kyiv will “rebuild everything that was destroyed by the occupiers.”

“We are dealing with absolute evil. And we have no choice but to move on,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address to the nation, delivered on the 110th day of its invasion by Russia.

He added that Ukrainian forces will “knock out the occupiers from all our areas.”

“We will rebuild everything that was destroyed by the occupiers, from Volnovakha to Chortkiv, because this is Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said.

“And it was our destiny to return and strengthen it.”

— Amanda Macias

A look inside the destroyed Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol

Russian servicemen patrol the ruins of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine. 

The Russian military had besieged the strategic port city for three months, only taking complete control in late May after a group of Ukrainian soldiers who holed up in the steel plant surrendered.

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel under the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP) (Photo by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel under the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. 

Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel under the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. 

Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel under the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 13, 2022. (Photo by Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP) (Photo by YURI KADOBNOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

A Russian serviceman inspects an underground tunnel under the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, amid the ongoing Russian military action in Ukraine, on June 13, 2022.

Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

-Yuri Kadobnov | AFP | Getty Images

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:



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Fund manager reveals his crypto shorts — and one is already down more than 25% this week




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‘Frozen conflict’: Ukraine war could last 10 years or more if Russian forces aren’t pushed back


Ukrainian troop members repair an army’s Main Battle Tank (MBT) in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7, 2022.

Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images

As Russia gradually seizes more territory in Ukraine and continues to pound various targets in the Donbas, analysts fear that Ukrainian fighters are losing the upper hand, leaving the eastern region vulnerable to being wholly seized amid a prolonged conflict.

“I am worried about it,” William Alberque, director of strategy, technology and arms control at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told CNBC. “There are huge risks that Ukraine will continue to lose land incrementally.”

A lot has changed since Russia first launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Having initially appeared to attack the country from the south, east and north, Russia soon appeared to realize it had bitten off more than it could chew and instead changed its focus to eastern Ukraine.

That move away from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, as well as other strategic failures by Russia’s forces during the initial phase of the conflict, gave Ukraine’s leadership and fighters a big morale boost and there was optimism among Western allies that perhaps Ukraine could even “win” this war against its more powerful neighbor.

Such unabated optimism has not lasted long, however, particularly as Russia appears to be throwing everything it can at seizing the entire Donbas region as it aims to cement a land corridor from Russia via the Donbas to the Black Sea, where it seeks to take control of Ukraine’s ports and trade.

The Donbas region refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in the easternmost part of Ukraine.

Ukrainian troop members move towards the front line with an army’s Main Battle Tank (MBT) in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7, 2022.

Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images

For several weeks now, Russian artillery has been battering eastern Ukrainian cities such as Lysychansk and Severodonetsk — the last city held by Ukrainian forces in the Luhansk province.

On Monday, Luhansk’s governor warned that Russia controlled a majority of Severodonetsk and that severe fighting continued, with all but one bridge into the city destroyed and the last one critically damaged. What’s worse is that Russian forces appear to have renewed their assaults on Kharkiv too, Ukraine’s second largest city, to the northeast, after a period of respite.

Losing Severodonetsk would be a major blow to Ukraine, analysts agree, and there are concerns that the country’s forces could be starting to lose momentum in the fight against Russia’s re-focused onslaught.

Smoke and dirt rise from shelling in the city of Severodonetsk during fight between Ukrainian and Russian troops in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7, 2022.

Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images

Russia is making advances

The situation now appears to have changed in Russia’s favor, analysts warn, and the capture of Severodonetsk by Russia, which is looking increasingly likely, could mark another turning point for Ukraine, and another major loss, like that of its major port Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.

“Russia is making incremental advances and is now reportedly controlling most of the strategic city of Severodonetsk, although heavy fighting is continuing in the area,” Andrius Tursa, central and eastern Europe advisor at Teneo Intelligence, said in a note last week.

“The capture of this city — as well as Lysychansk to the west — is crucial for Russia to gain full control of the Luhansk administrative region. If successful, the Russian offensive would likely shift focus onto the Donetsk region, around half of which has been already occupied,” he said.

Tursa said the situation in Donbas reflects Russia’s military advantages, including much greater firepower and troop numbers. Worryingly for Ukraine, Russia also appears to have sharpened its strategic nous.

“Compared to the first phase of the offensive, the Russian side appears to have improved its operational and logistical activities and is taking greater advantage of its air superiority and electronic warfare capabilities. Meanwhile, Ukraine is suffering from slow and insufficient weapons supplies from its allies.”

An aerial view of completely destroyed settlements after shellings as Russia – Ukraine war continues, in northern Saltivka-3 neighbourhood, about 40 km from the Russian border in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine on June 12, 2022.

Metin Aktas | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Alberque said there was still the possibility that the Russian line will collapse somewhere and they’ll have to pull troops out of the Severodonetsk front and push them toward the north, toward Kharkiv or Kherson, but what made this inflection point of the invasion dangerous was that Russia was now throwing everything it has at fully occupying the region.

“This is the part of the war that one really worries about because it’s a war of attrition because it’s just Russia throwing tons and tons of crap equipment into the battle. It’s them using the Donetsk and Luhansk fighters as cannon fodder. It’s them just drawing upon their huge human resources and there is the chance [Ukraine is] going to lose more land.”

Alberque added that he has “real fears that if Ukraine can’t collapse parts of the Russian line, and start pushing them back, and force Russia into an even further reduced [territorial] ambition, that we may see some sort of semi-permanent frozen conflict that lasts a decade or more.”

For its part, Ukraine continues to plead with its Western allies for hundreds more pieces of heavy weaponry to have what it called “weapons parity” with Russia and to “end the war,” according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s wish list, including a request for tanks and more long-range weaponry such as howitzers and MLRS or multiple-launch rocket systems — which have a 50-80 kilometer range and can strike targets with precision-guided rockets — are seen to be exactly what Ukraine needs right now and while the U.S. and U.K. have pledged more of these weapons, there are concerns over how long it will take to deliver them.

Ukrainian troops fire with surface-to-surface rockets MLRS towards Russian positions at a front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas on June 7, 2022.

Aris Messinis | AFP | Getty Images

Teneo’s Tursa said that the delivery of NATO-standard weapons – combined with heavy troop and equipment losses on the Russian side – could still shift the military balance in favor of Ukraine in the longer term.

However, he noted, “it remains unclear whether such deliveries are timely and sufficient for Ukraine to halt the Russian offensive in Donbas or regain at least some of the occupied territories.”



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European stocks head for mixed open as global markets are rattled by central banks


LONDON — European stocks are expected to open in mixed territory on Tuesday after sharp declines in global markets on Monday amid fears that central banks will be forced into aggressive monetary policy tightening with inflation remaining high.

The U.K.’s FTSE index is seen opening 23 points higher at 7,226, Germany’s DAX 44 points higher at 13,464, France’s CAC 40 up 7 points at 6,030 and Italy’s FTSE MIB down 9 points at 21,955, according to data from IG.

Global stock markets were sent reeling on Monday, with investors reacting to the potential for more aggressive rate hikes by central banks in Europe and the United States after the latest inflation report.

Fed meets

Against this backdrop, the U.S. Federal Reserve is central to market action this week, with Fed officials meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss their next monetary policy move.

The Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected to announce at least a 50-basis-point hike on Wednesday, having already raised rates twice this year, though market bets for a 75-basis-point hike have risen in light of Friday’s inflation reading.

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will announce its latest interest rate decision on Thursday. The Bank of Japan, Swiss National Bank and Brazil’s BCB also meet this week.

On the data front in Europe on Tuesday, due for release are German inflation figures for May, the U.K. unemployment rate for April, euro area industrial production data for April and Germany’s ZEW index of economic sentiment for June.



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Bitcoin drops below $21,000 briefly as crypto sell-off continues


Illustrative image of two commemorative bitcoins with a green background.

Artur Widak | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Bitcoin briefly dropped below $21,000 on Tuesday in Asia before bouncing back slightly, continuing its plunge as investors sold off risk assets.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency fell nearly 14% in the past 24 hours, while ethereum tumbled more than 12% over the same period, according to Coinbase data.

Bitcoin was hovering at about $21,800 on Tuesday in Asia.

Crypto assets were hammered on Monday as trading platforms such as Celsius and Binance stopped withdrawals, and some companies cut jobs.

Celsius said withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts would be halted because of “extreme market conditions” and that the move was meant to “stabilize liquidity and operations.”

“We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations,” the company said in a memo.

Meanwhile, Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, halted bitcoin withdrawals for over three hours “due to a stuck transaction causing a backlog.”

The market capitalization for cryptocurrencies slipped below $1 trillion on Monday for the first time since February 2021, data from CoinMarketCap showed. Around $200 billion has been wiped off the market in recent days.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

The crypto sell-off comes as investors broadly shunned risky assets against a backdrop of fears over a potential global recession as major central banks around the world hike interest rates to tame inflation.

Policymakers at the U.S. Federal Reserve are now contemplating the idea of a 75-basis-point rate increase later this week, according to CNBC’s Steve Liesman. That’s bigger than the 50-basis-point hike many traders had come to expect. The Wall Street Journal reported the story first.

Rising rates tend to make future earnings for growth assets look less attractive.

Bitcoin has fallen nearly 70% from its all-time high in November 2021.



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BYD is selling so many electric cars it’s become one of the top three automakers in China


One of BYD’s bestselling electric car models, the Han, is on display during an auto show in Shenzhen on June 5, 2022.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

BEIJING — Chinese electric car maker BYD saw sales more than double in May, solidifying the company’s climb into the ranks of the top three automakers in China.

That’s according to data by the China Passenger Car Association which was released Friday. China is the world’s largest auto market.

Backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, BYD is also a battery maker that’s become a major electric car brand in China — and some of its models are vying with Tesla in popularity.

So far this year, not only has BYD continued to dominate new energy vehicles, which include hybrid and battery-powered cars, but the company also climbed into the ranks of the top three brands in China by passenger car sales.

Despite Covid lockdowns that hit supply chains and Chinese consumer sentiment, BYD sold 113,768 new energy passenger cars last month, the data showed.

Whether in SUVs or smaller passenger cars, BYD accounted for two of the top three bestselling new energy models in China last month, according to association data. Tesla, Nio and Xpeng didn’t make the cut.

Those sales put BYD into second place in China’s passenger car market overall — just behind FAW-Volkswagen, with 150,009 cars sold, according to the data. FAW-Volkswagen is the German automaker’s joint venture in China that sells the Audi and Volkswagen branded vehicles.

BYD’s sales marked a 159.5% year-on-year increase, while FAW-Volkswagen’s fell 10.6% from May last year. Geely was the third-largest by passenger car sales, at 73,315, down 14.5%.

Last year, BYD ranked 13th by passenger car sales. FAW-Volkswagen, SAIC Volkswagen and SAIC GM took the top three spots.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

In the U.S. passenger car market, Tesla did not make the top three spots. Toyota ranks first by sales, followed by Ford and General Motors’ Chevrolet brand, according to Sino Auto Insights.

China’s passenger car sales fell 11.8% in May from a year ago, while new energy vehicles saw sales climb 91.2%, according to the passenger car association.

For the first five months of the year, FAW-Volkswagen ranked first by sales, followed by BYD and then Changan Automobile, the data showed.

Within new energy vehicles, BYD ranked first, followed by General Motors’ joint venture with Wuling Motors and state-owned SAIC Motor. Tesla China ranked third.



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The crypto industry just had one of its worst days ever — Here’s what happened


Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell sharply as investors dump risk assets. A crypto lending company called Celsius is pausing withdrawals for its customers, sparking fears of contagion into the broader market.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Crypto has had a brutal first half of 2022, but few days have been this bad for the industry that’s built itself up around digital currencies.

On Monday, trading platforms halted withdrawals, companies cut jobs, and panicked investors dumped their holdings, dragging the market cap of crypto below $1 trillion, down from $3 trillion at its peak in November.

Bitcoin plunged to an 18-month low, falling below $23,000. The most valuable cryptocurrency tumbled by 15% in the past 24 hours, while ethereum, which is second to bitcoin, fell 17%.

The sell-off comes as investors rotate out of the riskiest assets due to macroeconomic headwinds and rising interest rates. But it’s worse than that. The action on Monday showed a fundamental mistrust of cryptocurrencies and the platforms that support them. What was already a deep downturn started to look like panic selling.

Here are some of Monday’s crypto lowlights:

The Celsius contagion effect

Celsius had previously admitted to losing funds, though it didn’t specify how much, as a result of the $120 million hack of decentralized finance platform BadgerDAO.

Early Monday, Celsius shocked the market, announcing that all withdrawals, swaps, and transfers between accounts have been paused due to “extreme market conditions.” In a memo addressed to the Celsius Community, the platform also said the move was designed to “stabilize liquidity and operations.”

“We are taking this action today to put Celsius in a better position to honor, over time, its withdrawal obligations,” the memo said.

Celsius effectively locked up its $12 billion in crypto assets under management, raising concerns about the platform’s solvency. The news rippled across the crypto industry, reminding some of what happened in May, when a failed U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin project lost $60 billion in value and dragged the wider crypto industry down with it.

Shares of crypto trading platform Coinbase dropped 11% on Monday to their lowest since the company went public in April 2021.

Read more about tech and crypto from CNBC Pro

Binance pauses bitcoin withdrawals

In a series of post-mortem tweets, the exchange noted that deposits were “unaffected” and explained that the problem stemmed from scheduled repair work.

Zhao assured customers that all funds were “SAFU.” That’s a reference to the “Secure Asset Fund for Users,” which was set up by Binance in 2018 to protect users’ holdings.

During the withdrawal outage, Zhao tweeted that it was still possible for holders to take out their bitcoin on other networks like CEP-20.

Layoffs ahead of ‘crypto winter’

Peter Thiel-backed start-up BlockFi has joined a growing list of crypto companies slashing costs by cutting jobs.

On Monday, the company announced it would be reducing headcount by about 20%. Prior to the latest cuts, the company expanded from 150 employees at the end of 2020, to more than 850.

CEO Zac Prince said in a tweet that BlockFi has been impacted by the “dramatic shift in macroeconomic conditions,” which have had a “negative impact” on growth.

It’s becoming a familiar theme for companies in the space.

Late last week, Crypto.com announced a staff reduction of 260 people, just seven months after the company gained naming rights to the arena that’s home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers in a $700 million deal. Earlier this month Gemini said it would be laying off 10% of its workforce and warned that the industry is in a “contraction phase” known as “crypto winter.”

Meanwhile, Coinbase has extended its hiring pause for the “foreseeable future” and plans to rescind some job offers.

WATCH: UST’s crash has some investors reevaluating their crypto investments





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Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 drops 5% as Asia-Pacific stocks fall


SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific fell in Tuesday morning trade after the S&P 500 fell overnight and closed in bear market territory.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200, which returned to trade Tuesday following a holiday yesterday, plunged about 5% and led losses among the region’s major markets.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan fell 2% while the Topix index declined 1.7%. South Korea’s Kospi dipped 1.26%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded nearly 1% lower.

Risk assets have plummeted with recession risk rising given the surge in yields and expectations of the Fed doing a Volcker

Tapas Strickland

Director of Economics, National Australia Bank

The S&P 500 fell nearly 4% overnight to 3,749.63, closing in bear market territory, or down more than 20% from its January peak.

Other major indexes stateside also saw big declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 876.05 points, or 2.79%, to 30,516.74. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lagged, plunging 4.68% to around 10,809.23.

Stock picks and investing trends from CNBC Pro:

The losses on Wall Street came as investors braced for a potentially faster pace of interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve following Friday’s hotter-than-expected consumer inflation report.

Fed policymakers are now contemplating the idea of a 75-basis-point rate increase later this week, according to CNBC’s Steve Liesman. That’s bigger than the 50-basis-point hike many traders had come to expect. The Wall Street Journal reported the story first.

“Risk assets have plummeted with recession risk rising given the surge in yields and expectations of the Fed doing a Volcker,” Tapas Strickland, director of economics at National Australia Bank, said in a note on Tuesday.

In the early 1980s, former Fed Chief Paul Volcker helped tame inflation by raising benchmark interest rate to close to 20% and sent the economy into recession.

“If the Fed hikes by 75bps that will be a true Volcker moment and underscore front loading, a 50bp hike in contrast would cement the likelihood of 50bp hikes at every meeting for the rest of the year,” Strickland said.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recently saw its biggest move since March 2020, last standing at 3.3713%. The 2-year rate also saw a big jump and is currently trading at 3.3898%. Yields move opposite to prices, and a basis point is equal to 0.01%.

The 2-year rate now sits higher than the 10-year Treasury yield, representing an inversion – a measure closely watched by traders and often viewed as a potential indicator of recession.

Currencies

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 105.128 — continuing a general upward trek after last week’s climb from levels below 102.6.

The Japanese yen traded at 134.12 per dollar, stronger as compared with levels above 135 seen against the greenback yesterday. The Australian dollar was at $0.6946 after yesterday’s fall from above $0.70.



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