Cryptocurrency market continues to suffer

by harrison weinberg graphics editor

Cryptocurrency continues to feel the impact of the market crash from November 2022, attributed mainly to major cryptocurrency exchange Futures Exchange, or FTX, filing for bankruptcy.

Cryptocurrency is defined as “a digital or virtual currency secured by cryptography and based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers,” according to investopedia.com

People can buy and exchange various forms of cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, online through a wide selection of exchange platforms. However, with this virtual system being less regulated and harder to monitor than physical currency, cryptocurrency has faced a fair share of issues over its lifetime.

FTX was one of the largest mediums of cryptocurrency exchange in the market, sporting over 1 million users buying and selling crypto on its platform. After a messy deal with rival cryptocurrency company Binance, the company now owes billions to its customers, reaching up to $3.1 billion for its top 50 creditors, according to nerdwallet.com

The FTX bankruptcy had profound effects on the market, with the prices of many cryptocurrencies falling heavily after it shut down, some of which are still struggling to rebound. FTX founder Sam Bankman–Fried received heavy backlash due to the situation.

“I ask myself a lot how I made a series of mistakes that seem — they don’t just seem dumb,” said Bankman–Fried in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. “They seem like the type of mistakes I could see myself having ridiculed someone else for having made.”

Although the recovery hasn’t been quick, the cryptocurrency market is slowly starting to turn around. Analysts believe that cryptocurrency will still need at least the first quarter of 2023 to fully recover, according to investors.com

“Bitcoin and Ethereum are trading at their highest levels since the collapse of the FTX exchange in early November,” according to investors.com

Though the FTX shutdown seems to be the main cause of last year’s crash, some attribute the situation to the wider issues of cryptocurrency as a whole. Without a defined physical currency, many believe the issues cryptocurrency faces are unavoidable and bound to happen.

Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway CEO and successful investor, believes that issues such as these are a byproduct of cryptocurrency’s innate flaws rather than just unfortunate occurrences.

“Whether it goes up or down in the next year, or five or 10 years, I don’t know. But the one thing I’m pretty sure of is that [cryptocurrency] doesn’t produce anything,” said Buffett. “It’s got a magic to it, and people have attached magic to lots of things.”

President Joe Biden’s residences are being investigated after classified documents were discovered in an office that was in Biden’s use on Jan. 9, 2023, according to cnbc.com. The documents that have been uncovered so far pertain to events that took place during Biden’s time as vice president under the Obama Administration. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate additional documents found in Biden’s Delaware home. This discovery came to light three months after former President Donald Trump’s Mar–a–Lago residence was raided by the FBI, where over 100 classified government documents were discovered. All classified government documents are required to be handed over to the National Archives, however both Trump and Biden have failed to do so while serving as governmental figures.

The bell schedule for the 2023–24 school year was voted on and approved by teachers on Feb. 3, 2023. The new bell schedule will see a significant alteration to the A period, as the new “0 period” classes will meet from 7:15–8:23 a.m. four days a week and will not meet on Wednesdays. On top of this, Wednesdays will no longer have a late start to accomodate for PLC staff meetings. Instead, all students will attend period 1 class beginning at 8:30 a.m.

On Feb. 4, the WHS Academic Decathlon team took home multiple awards for its performances at the objective, speech, interview and super quiz events. Academic Decathlon includes 10 categories, on which members are quizzed and ranked both individually and holistically.

This year, WHS Academic Decathlon members took home the first place awards for speech, essay, interview, math, science, economics, literature, music, art, social science, and super quiz as a team. Alexander Chi ‘23 was named the team’s MVP, as he won a total of 8 individual medals, three of which are gold, and received the highest overall score. In March, nine WHS Academic Decathlon members will go to the state level competition.

New Schedule AcA deca mock trial

The WHS Mock Trial team saw much success, ranking third in the county, as well as receiving many individual awards. The annual Ventura County Mock Trial competition occured from Feb. 6–9, students arriving at the Ventura County Supreme Court at around 5 p.m. and leaving at around midnight each day.

Students participated as attornies, witnesses and baliffs, attempting to prosecute or defend the made–up defendant, Jordan Franks. This year’s case entailed theft, larceny and battery.

Led by team captains Luke Jones ‘23 and Aviv Stabinsky ‘23, the mock trial reached high and achieved the second highest rank in WHS history.