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📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (05/08/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Revolut To Suspend Cryptocurrency Services In US ❌
Digital bank Revolut has announced that it is closing its U.S. crypto platform due to the uncertain regulatory environment in the country. The platform stated that it will begin by suspending access to buying cryptocurrencies from Sept. 2 and later completely shutting down access to crypto from Oct 3. The platform also stated that, in the case of its U.S. users not selling their crypto holdings before Oct. 2, the company will liquidate any remaining balance on Oct. 3 and grant them the same market price for each token at that time.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-revolut-to-suspend-cryptocurrency-services-in-us
2️⃣ Looter Behind $61M Curve Hack Starts Returning Assets, Raising Hope for Recovery 🙌
The hacker behind the $61 million Curve exploit has reportedly returned some of the stolen assets. Specifically, the hacker returned 4820.55 alETH ($8,889,118) to the Alchemix Finance team and 1 ETH ($1,844) to the Curve Finance team. Notably, the return of assets come after the affected protocols offered a 10% no-questions-asked bounty to the attacker.
Interestingly, the attacker left a message in one of the return transactions. It reads,
“I saw some ridiculous views, so I want to clarify that I'm refunding you not because you can find me, it's because I don't want to ruin your project, maybe it's a lot of money for a lot of people, but not for me, I'm smarter than all of you."
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/08/04/looter-behind-61m-curve-hack-starts-returning-assets-raising-hope-for-recovery
3️⃣ Coinbase Seeks to Toss SEC Suit, Citing Ripple Crypto Ruling ⚖️
Crypto exchange Coinbase has reportedly filed a motion to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against the platform. Notably, Coinbase cited the decision taken by the judge in the Ripple Labs’ XRP lawsuit to argue that the SEC has no authority over its activities.
The filing reads,
“In this case, by contrast, the SEC has charged Coinbase based solely on blind, bid-ask, spot exchange transactions— the very sort of transactions the Ripple court recently held as a matter of law were not investment contracts because the undisputed facts showed no relevant relationship between the parties to the sale.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-04/coinbase-seeks-to-toss-sec-suit-citing-ripple-ruling-on-crypto
4️⃣ Elon Musk Claims X 'Never Will' Launch A Crypto Token 🔎
In a recently published tweet, Elon Musk declared that neither he nor the X platform will ever launch a crypto token. Notably, the declaration came in response to a post by X user DogeDesigner who cautioned readers to be wary of scam tokens that falsely claim connections to the social media platform.
https://www.theblock.co/post/243375/elon-musk-x-crypto-token-never
5️⃣ Worldcoin’s Orb Had Serious Security Vulnerability in Operator Onboarding: CertiK ❗️
According to a recent tweet by security firm CertiK, the controversial Worldcoin project had a serious security vulnerability in the vetting process for operators that could have allowed an attacker to bypass the verification process and operate an Orb without being interviewed or having a proper ID. The vulnerability has reportedly been fixed by the Worldcoin team after CertiK reported the vulnerability as a “standard whitehat disclosure.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/worldcoin-orb-had-serious-security-vulnerability-in-operator-onboarding-certik
According to a CNBC report, Ilya Lichtenstein, the husband of Heather Morgan, has admitted on record to being the hacker behind the multimillion-dollar exploit of the crypto exchange Bitfinex in 2016. The admission came while entering a guilty plea to the money laundering conspiracy charges at a hearing at the U.S. District Court in Washington on Thursday. While Lichtenstein and his wife were charged with laundering the stolen assets, they were never charged for the hack itself. Morgan has also reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/03/new-york-man-admits-being-original-bitfinex-hacker-during-guilty-plea-in-dc-to-bitcoin-money-laundering.html
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the Australian division of the social investing platform eToro, accusing the platform of allegedly breaching its "design and distribution obligations” and its licence obligations to act “efficiently, honestly and fairly." Specifically, the lawsuit pertains to its retail clients being allowed to use eToro's contract for difference (CFD) product- a leveraged derivative contract that allows a client to speculate on the change in the value of an underlying asset such as crypto.
https://decrypt.co/151086/australian-financial-watchdog-takes-etoro-court-over-high-risk-trading-products
“Companies across Web3 ecosystems – including Ethereum, Solana, Stacks, and others – are quickly building Ordinals infrastructure after previously believing NFT-functionality ‘wasn't possible’ on native Bitcoin. Given Ordinals' unprecedented pace of adoption and real-world implications for various crypto-economies, we believe it is crucial to fund a strong team of non-corporate funded developers to ensure the security and neutrality of this open-source protocol.”
https://decrypt.co/150871/bitcoin-ordinals-team-launches-nonprofit-inscriptions-top-21-million
🚨Rally Report🚨
BONE SHIBASWAP
The price of BONE has rallied by 7% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 Investors are bullish due to the upcoming launch of Shibarium this month.
🚀 The Shiba Inu team also published a new blog on the BONE token recently. According to the blog, the Shiba Inu team will mint the remaining BONE prior to the launch and renounce the BONE contract so that no further minting will be possible. A significant portion of the BONE token will reportedly be allocated to reward validators.
If you want to buy or trade BONE, we have an exclusive $40K Bonus, a 20% trading fee discount & a $15k trading competition on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
The Fed has done it again – it raised interest rates by another 25 basis points. By now you’re probably sick of hearing about it. After all, it’s had next to no effect on the stock market or the crypto market over the last 8-9 months.
Right? Wrong!
You see, most of the rally we’ve seen so far has been due to investor expectations around interest rates and especially inflation. So far, inflation has come down as everyone expected, but food and energy costs have spiked over the last month.
Not only that, but there are ‘base effects’ coming through that will amplify any increases to underlying inflation. Even though these factors have probably been priced in, it’s clear that the Fed’s response to them has not. This means volatility is coming.
Enjoy!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (01/08/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Blockchain Sleuths Link BALD Liquidity Rug Pull to Sam Bankman-Fried 🧐
According to on-chain analysts, the mystery developer behind the BALD meme coin on the layer-2 network ‘Base’ could be FTX founder Sam Bankman Fried. The reports come shortly after the mystery dev pulled all of the liquidity out of the BALD meme coin on Monday. Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran also tweeted that he believes the BALD dev is “90% SBF or an Alameda person” as he noted that the same wallet address was also involved in the SushiSwap community years ago when SushiSwap creator Chef Nomi had bailed.
https://decrypt.co/150780/bald-token-liquidity-rug-pull-linked-to-sam-bankman-fried
2️⃣ Ripple Ruling on Crypto Rejected by Federal Judge in Terra Case ❗️
Judge Jed Rakoff, the federal judge overseeing the SEC’s lawsuit against Terraform Labs, has rejected District Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13 decision in the SEC’s case against Ripple. Specifically, he disagreed with Judge Torres’ position on Ripple not violating securities laws by selling its XRP token on public exchanges.
Notably, Judge Rakoff presides in the same district court where the Ripple case was heard and partially decided. The difference in position came to light when Terraform Labs attempted to use the Ripple decision to persuade the Judge to dismiss the SEC’s case against the firm. While Judge Rakoff’s difference in opinion will have no effect on the Ripple case, it once again brings uncertainty to matters regarding the regulation and legal treatment of crypto assets.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-31/ripple-ruling-on-crypto-rejected-by-federal-judge-in-terra-case
3️⃣ SEC Files Complaint Against Hex Founder for Allegedly Offering Unregistered Securities ⚖️
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Richard Schueler (aka Richard Heart) for his involvement in the alleged unregistered offerings of three “crypto asset securities”- Hex, PulseChain and PulseX. The SEC claims Heart touted the tokens “as a pathway to grandiose wealth for investors” and raised more than $1 billion through the unregistered offering.
The lawsuit reads,
"Heart continually touted these investments as a pathway to grandiose wealth for investors, claiming that Hex, for example, 'was built to be the highest appreciating asset that has ever existed in the history of man’. Although Heart claimed these investments were for the vague purpose of supporting free speech, he did not disclose that he used millions of dollars of PulseChain investor funds to buy luxury goods for himself."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/sec-files-complaint-hex-founder-offering-unregistered-securities
4️⃣ Tether Reports $3.3B in Excess Reserves in Q2, up $850M for the Quarter 🔎
Stablecoin issuer Tether published its Q2 attestation report on Monday. The report, which is signed by accounting firm BDO Italy, states that the firm held $3.3 billion of reserve assets in excess to back the value of its stablecoins. It also reveals that Tether has an exposure of $72.5 billion to U.S. Treasuries, including direct T-bill investments, repurchase agreements and deposits in money market funds. The firm’s operational profits are reportedly at $1 billion from April to June 2023, this accounts for a 30% increase from Q1 2023.
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/07/31/tether-reports-33b-in-excess-reserves-in-q2-up-850m-for-the-quarter
5️⃣ LeetSwap, Base’s Leading DEX, Halts Trading Amid Reports of An Exploit ❌
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
It’s been another interesting week in crypto. Crypto prices seem to have slid due to mixed macro factors and continued uncertainty in the crypto industry. Despite this, there have been some bullish signs from the institutional side, and it seems that altcoins could have room to run.
One of the few that’s been running a lot lately is Worldcoin which is infamous for scanning people’s eyeballs in exchange for crypto. Some would say that most people have been running away rather than towards this crypto project, but that’s a topic for another video.
In other crypto related news, we recently brought on another co-host: the one and only Jessica Walker! Today you’ll get to see her on the big screen along with yours truly. You’ll be seeing Jessica more often from now on, but don’t worry, I won’t be going anywhere!
Enjoy!
🚨Rally Report🚨
COMPOUND
The price of COMP has rallied by 6% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 Analysts believe the recent Curve Finance exploit is driving users to the rival DeFi platform Compound.
🚀 The rally could also be attributed to the recent string of products launched for the Compound ecosystem, including ‘CometWrapper’- a wrapper for Compound V3 tokens to make them static and "non-rebasing.” CometWrapper has already been deployed for both Mainnet USDC and Mainnet WETH.
If you want to buy or trade COMP, we have an exclusive $40K Bonus, a 20% trading fee discount & a $15k trading competition on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
A global crypto crackdown could be coming. That’s because the Financial Stability Board or FSB recently published its global crypto regulations.
Why should you care about this organisation?
Well, it admits that it has the power to set regulations in G20 countries.
Later this year, the FSB will be presenting the regulatory recommendations to the G20 at a summit. After that, they will begin to implement these regulations. It looks like this is going to happen quickly as it’s the G20 that’s been pushing for these recommendations.
Obviously, many of these recommendations are extremely problematic and could do serious damage to the crypto market. The worst part is that nobody is paying attention to this, which is why it’s only appropriate that we put it front and center for everyone!
Enjoy!
🚨Rally Report🚨
OPTIMISM
The price of OP has rallied by 6% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 Investors are bullish after the Optimism network outpaced Arbitrum in terms of daily transaction count this week.
🚀 The surge in daily transactions comes from the recent launch of the Worldcoin project, which transitioned to the OP mainnet last week.
If you want to buy or trade OP, we have an exclusive trading fee discount of up to 60% on Kucoin 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/kucoin/
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
There’s no question that governments are intent on rolling out digital IDs, CBDCs, smart cities, and all of that other dystopian technology. The only questions are when they’re going to roll all of this out, what the warning signs will be, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Believe it or not, but Nigeria could have the answer to all of the above. Its government has been rolling out digital ID, CBDCs, smart cities, and other dystopian technologies. It has done this mostly with the help of the United States and China, which have a global presence.
In theory, Nigeria’s situation is unique, but in practice it’s not that different from what happens in most countries. Every there is corruption. Everywhere money comes with strings attached. And everywhere it’s possible to protect yourself with the same two simple steps.
This is a video you cannot miss!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (29/07/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Pond0X Token Launch Snafu Leads to Millions of Dollars in Losses 📉
Pond0x, the memecoin launched by Twitter user Pauly0x, has reportedly led to millions of dollars in losses for investors. The incident occurred as a result of Pauly0x posting both the pre-sale link and contract address of the token. This created confusion in the minds of the investors, as some went to mint the token on the website and others went to buy the token on the decentralised exchanges such as Uniswap using the contract address of the token.
This resulted in investors, who had minted the token, dumping on the investors buying directly from decentralised exchanges. Combined with the low liquidity available in the pool, the continuous dumping resulted in the value of the tokens collapsing to near zero in a span of five minutes.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/pond0x-token-launch-snafu-leads-millions-dollars-losses
2️⃣ France's Privacy Watchdog Questions Legality of Worldcoin Biometric Data Collection 👁
According to a Reuters report, France’s data protection agency has stated that the legality of Worldcoin's biometric data collection methods “seems questionable.” A spokesperson for the regulator has confirmed that the authority has initiated investigations into the company.
The Worldcoin Foundation has responded to the reports, stating,
“The Worldcoin Foundation complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in the markets where Worldcoin is available. The project will continue to cooperate with governing bodies on requests for more information about its privacy and data protection practices."
https://www.reuters.com/technology/frances-privacy-watchdog-says-worldcoin-legality-seems-questionable-2023-07-28/
3️⃣ Crypto.com Trumps Binance, Securing Netherlands Registration as Larger Rival Withdraws ❗️
According to reports, crypto exchange Crypto.com has officially registered as a crypto service provider by the Dutch central bank (DNB). Notably, the announcement comes just a month after rival Binance had to exit after failing to get registration in the country.
Kris Marszalek, the CEO of Crypto.com, stated,
"Collaborating with regulators to responsibly advance the crypto and blockchain industry is of paramount importance to Crypto.com. This registration approval from De Nederlandsche Bank is a significant milestone for our business and the latest testament to our commitment to compliance."
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/07/28/cryptocom-trumps-binance-securing-netherlands-registration-as-larger-rival-withdraws
4️⃣ DoJ Continues Push to Revoke Bankman-Fried's Bond, Files to Federal Judge ⚖️
Prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice have reportedly filed a written submission to a federal judge on Friday, "seeking detention" for FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried after he shared private diaries belonging to former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison with the New York Times.
The filing reads,
"The defendant’s leaking of Ellison’s private writings is yet another instance of the defendant trying to intimidate and corruptly persuade Ellison with respect to her upcoming trial testimony, as well as an effort to influence or prevent the testimony of other potential trial witnesses by creating the specter that their most intimate business is at risk of being reported in the press."
https://www.theblock.co/post/242004/doj-sbf-revoke-bond-filing
5️⃣ Wall Street Banks Side with Nemesis Elizabeth Warren on Crypto Crackdown 🏦
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI), a trade group for lenders, is backing bipartisan legislation re-introduced by Elizabeth Warren and three of her Senate colleagues. The legislation reportedly seeks to "crack down on crypto's use in money laundering, drug trafficking, and financing of terrorism and rogue nations" by bringing in strict rules for the crypto industry.
The BPI stated,
Suku, a Web3 wallet application that facilitates transactions over social media platforms, has launched its product which allows users to directly send digital currencies and NFTs to each other using just their Twitter handles. Notably, the launch comes at the time of Musk’s rebranding of Twitter to ‘X’- his all-in-one social media platform that will also eventually integrate digital currency transfers within the social media platform.
Yonathan Lapchik, CEO of Suku, stated,
“We start with the assumption that we are going to be concentrating a lot of our efforts to bring in non-crypto users. The majority of people will not have a wallet…for us, the first phase is really to give someone a wallet immediately. If you use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and LinkedIn all day, you don't want to have a payment system for each one of those – you only want to have one that connects to all of the social media platforms. That's exactly what we do, and when you top that off with being noncustodial and easy to use and easy to onboard, I think that’s a great formula.”
https://www.coindesk.com/web3/2023/07/27/suku-may-beat-musk-to-crypto-twitter-payment-adoption
🚨Rally Report🚨
SHIBA INU
The price of SHIB has rallied by 9% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 Core developers of the Shiba Inu ecosystem are reportedly working to integrate a Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) system into all of the ecosystem’s applications.
🚀 Crypto exchange Binance also announced that it was adding SHIB as a collateral asset for its “isolated, over-collateralised, and open-term” Flexible loan service.
If you want to buy or trade SHIB, we have an exclusive trading fee discount of up to 60% on Kucoin 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/kucoin/
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (04/08/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Hong Kong Lawmaker to Explore Digital Asset Link with Mainland China 🤔
In a recent interview with Chinese media outlet The Paper, Hong Kong Legislative Council member Johnny Ng stated that he hopes there will be discussions exploring the possibility of connecting digital asset platforms in Hong Kong with digital asset exchanges in Shanghai. Specifically, NG stated that he would like more cooperation between web3 industries in Hong Kong and Shanghai, similar to what the cities currently share via the ‘Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program’ that seamlessly connects the stock markets of Shanghai and Hong Kong.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/08/04/hong-kong-lawmaker-to-explore-digital-asset-link-with-mainland-china
2️⃣ Matter Labs CEO Denies Polygon’s Code Attribution Accusations ❌
Alex Gluchowski, the co-founder and chief executive of Matter Labs, has denied the recent plagiarism allegations made by Polygon’s zero-knowledge scaling arm, Polygon Zero. Specifically, Polygon Zero accused Matter Labs of copy-pasting “a substantial amount of source code” from Polygon’s Plonky2 library to zkSync Era’s Boojum upgrade.
Gluchowski stated,
“The reader of the Polygon Zero post is left with the impression that Boojum is largely using Plonky2 code with little innovation and that we allegedly re-used this code without providing any attribution to the original work. These claims could not be further from the truth. I really want to believe in the good intentions of the Polygon Zero team (which I highly respect for their excellent work). I am deeply passionate about the mission of zkSync and the amazing work our team is doing, and I’m sure the same applies to the authors of the post and their work. Alas, passion can at times lead to rushed arguments and inaccurate statements.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/243159/matter-labs-ceo-denies-polygons-code-attribution-accusations
3️⃣ Curve, Metronome and Alchemix Offering 10% Bug Bounty on Vyper Hack ❗️
In a bid to recover stolen funds, DeFi platforms Curve Finance, Metronome and Alchemix have jointly announced a program that offers the exploiters a 10% bounty of the stolen funds as a reward for returning the remaining 90% of the funds. The July 30 exploit resulted in the theft of roughly $70 million in crypto, this program would bring the bounty close to $7 million. The platforms have also promised to bring no further legal actions or involvement of law enforcement.
The statement further reads,
“If you choose not to partake in the voluntary return and complete the process by 6 August at 0800 UTC, we will expand the bounty to the public, and offer the full 10% to the person who is able to identify you in a way that leads to your conviction in the courts. We will pursue you from all angles with the full extent of the law."
https://cointelegraph.com/news/curve-metronome-alchemix-offering-bug-bounty-vyper-hack
4️⃣ 'Wreck League' Mech Fighter Grows the 'Extended Yugaverse' With Bored Apes 🎮
nWay, a game developer and Animoca Brands subsidiary, has announced the release of "Wreck League"- a new mech fighting game that will incorporate Yuga Labs' NFT projects as part of its storyline. nWay has reportedly entered into an IP licensing agreement with Yuga Labs that will see the game developer granted access to not only Bored Apes IP but also that of Mutant Ape Yacht Club, Bored Ape Kennel Club and Otherside Kodas. The game launches in September and will offer both an NFT-driven version and a free-to-play, non-crypto experience.
https://decrypt.co/151138/wreck-league-mech-fighter-grows-extended-yugaverse-bored-apes
5️⃣ Bitcoin Launderer Pleads Guilty, Admits to Massive Bitfinex Hack ⚖️
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
Worldcoin has taken the crypto industry by storm, and not in a good way. Of course, there have been no shortage of videos about the controversial crypto project since it launched last week, but it seems they all missed some very important points.
For example, did you know that Worldcoin seems to have connections to the United Nations? The Worldcoin Foundation notes on its website that its purpose is to ensure one of the Sustainable Development Goals is met. This isn’t good, by the way.
In addition, the Worldcoin team has made some questionable claims when it comes to the adoption and decentralization of the crypto project. Neither of the two are particularly good despite the impressive headline figures. This has significant implications for WLD.
All of that and more in today’s altcoin review!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (03/08/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Ethereum Juggernaut MetaMask’s Origin Story Challenged in New Lawsuit 🧐
Joel Dietz, an entrepreneur who claims to have spearheaded early efforts to build a browser-based digital wallet called Vapor, has filed a lawsuit against Ethereum-focused developer firm Consensys. Dietz has accused Consensys of stealing his idea for an in-browser crypto wallet to create its popular MetaMask wallet. Specifically, Dietz accuses MetaMask founder Davis, whom he says he hired in 2015 to help code Vapor, of betraying him and conspiring instead with Consensys.
A Consensys spokesperson responded to the allegations, stating,
“Joel Dietz is an individual we understand to have been falsely marketing himself as the founder of MetaMask in an attempt to sell tokens or gain investment from unsuspecting investors globally. Joel Dietz is not a founder of MetaMask, has no relation to MetaMask or any of its technology and we look forward to the court promptly disposing of these frivolous claims. MetaMask was founded by Aaron Davis and Dan Finlay in 2016.”
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/08/02/ethereum-juggernaut-metamasks-origin-story-challenged-in-new-lawsuit
2️⃣ HashKey Obtains First License in Hong Kong to Offer Crypto Retail Trading 🇭🇰
Asia-based crypto financial services group ‘HashKey Exchange’ has reportedly become the first crypto exchange in Hong Kong to obtain a license which will allow it to offer services to retail customers. Notably, the approval of the license comes only two months after Hong Kong launched its new Virtual Asset Service Provider licensing regime on June 1.
The exchange stated,
"As an existing Type 1 and Type 7 licenses holder, HashKey Exchange successfully underwent a simplified process to obtain the licence upgrade ... to expand its business scope from serving professional investors to retail users, fulfilling market demand for a licensed platform that offers users a safer and simpler process for buying and storing cryptocurrencies."
https://www.theblock.co/post/242897/hashkey-obtains-first-license-in-hong-kong-to-offer-crypto-retail-trading
3️⃣ Litecoin Halving Completes as LTC Sees Increased Payments Adoption 🤩
Yesterday, the Litecoin network successfully underwent its third “halving” in its 12-year history at block 2,520,000. The network’s block rewards are now halved to 6.25 Litecoin per block. Litecoin founder Charlie Lee and his brother Bobby Lee have teamed up to commemorate the blockchain’s third halving by creating 500 collectable cards made of 99.9% pure silver.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/litecoin-halving-completes-ltc-sees-increased-payments-adoption
4️⃣ U.S. Prosecutors Worry Binance Charges Could Cause Run on Exchange ❗️
According to a Semafor report, the United States Department of Justice is planning to charge crypto exchange Binance with fraud, but hesitating due to concerns about the costs to consumers. Specifically, federal prosecutors are worried about a potential run on Binance if they indict the exchange. They fear it would cause consumers to lose their money and potentially spur a panic in the crypto markets, similar to the one that befell now bankrupt platform FTX. They are now reportedly weighing alternatives such as "fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements."
https://www.semafor.com/article/08/02/2023/us-prosecutors-worry-binance-charges-could-cause-run-on-exchange
5️⃣ Australian Financial Watchdog Takes eToro to Court Over High-Risk Trading Products ⚖️
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (02/08/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Kenyan Government Suspends Worldcoin Activity on Financial Security, Privacy Concerns 🇰🇪
Digital identity protocol Worldcoin has reportedly had its operations suspended in Kenya by the country’s Ministry of the Interior. The government has announced that the suspension will stay in effect for as long as local authorities take to investigate the legitimacy and data protection of the project.
Kenya’s Ministry of the Interior stated,
“The Government is concerned by the ongoing activities of an organisation calling itself ‘WORLD COIN’ which is involved in the registration of citizens through the collection of eyeball/iris data. Accordingly, the government has SUSPENDED forthwith, activities of ‘WORLD COIN’ and any other entity that may be similarly engaging the people of Kenya until relevant public agencies certify the absence of any risks to the general public whatsoever.”
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/08/02/kenyan-government-suspends-worldcoin-activity
2️⃣ Crypto Is Illegal in China. Binance Does $90 Billion of Business There Anyway: WSJ 🔎
According to an exclusive Wall Street Journal report, crypto exchange Binance had over $90 billion worth of spot and futures trading volume from China in May, despite the country’s ban on crypto. The report also states that Binance has 900,000 active users in the country and that teams from Binance regularly collaborate with Chinese law enforcement to detect potential criminal activity. China reportedly remains to be Binance’s biggest market by far, accounting for 20% of volume worldwide.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/crypto-is-illegal-in-china-binance-does-90-billion-of-business-there-anyway-2a0af975
3️⃣ ConsenSys Releases ‘Fuzzing’ Tool to Test Smart Contract Vulnerabilities 🚀
Blockchain technology firm ConsenSys has publicly announced the launch of “Diligence Fuzzing”- a self-service smart contract testing tool. The tool reportedly allows developers to seamlessly identify vulnerabilities in their Ethereum smart contracts by producing “random and invalid data points” that trigger bugs, crashes, or vulnerabilities. This removes the need for teams to establish their own infrastructure or design intricate test cases. The new tool is also now integrated with the smart contract toolkit Foundry and features a free version for developers who want to test it out before spending any money.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/consensys-releases-fuzzing-tool-test-smart-contract-vulnerabilities
4️⃣ 3AC Co-Founder States That US Court Can No Longer Tell Him What to Do 🧐
In an Aug. 1 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Three Arrows Capital co-founder Kyle Davies stated that he has renounced his U.S. citizenship in late 2020 and that he no longer views himself as under the jurisdiction of U.S. courts. Davies provided notarized and Apostilled copies of the form applying for the renunciation of his U.S. citizenship on Dec. 15, 2020, as evidence of the same.
Davies stated that he is now fully a citizen of Singapore. He stated that he got married in 2017 to a Singaporean national, gained permanent residency and has two children in the country. He reportedly chose to renounce his U.S. citizenship due to Singapore not allowing dual nationality.
https://www.theblock.co/post/242675/3ac-co-founder-says-us-court-can-no-longer-tell-him-what-to-do
5️⃣ Bitcoin Ordinals Team Launches Nonprofit as Inscriptions Top 21 Million 🏦
The team behind the Ordinals protocol has reportedly created the ‘Open Ordinals Institute’- a nonprofit organisation that will collect donations in Bitcoin to initially help bolster the work of its core developers. The organisation will reportedly accept donations to the institute through two bitcoin wallet addresses posted on the Ordinals[dot]org site which shares progress on protocol development.
Erin Redwin, Open Ordinals Institute board member, stated,
LeetSwap, the largest DEX built on Coinbase’s Layer 2 blockchain Base, has reportedly announced a pause on trading due to fears of an exploit after the team noticed that “some pool liquidity might have been compromised.” Crypto security firm PeckShield has stated that one of its community contributors estimates that liquidity pairs on Base have been exploited for approximately 340 ETH (roughly $630,000). The LeetSwap team has tweeted that it is working with on-chain security experts to try to recover the locked liquidity.
https://www.theblock.co/post/242402/leetswap-bases-leading-dex-halts-trading-amid-reports-of-an-exploit
6️⃣ IRS: Crypto Staking Rewards Taxable Once Investor Gets Hands on Tokens 💸
According to the latest tax guidance from the United States Internal Revenue Service, the staking rewards received by crypto investors for their validation activity on a proof-of-stake network will be treated as gross income in the year the investor gets control of those tokens. This rule reportedly applies to both when staking cryptocurrency directly and when staking through a centralised crypto exchange.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/07/31/irs-says-staking-rewards-are-subject-to-taxes-in-year-the-investor-gets-control
7️⃣ Yuga Labs to Acquire Roar Studios for AI Expertise 🤝
BAYC creator Yuga Labs is reportedly acquiring Los Angeles-based gaming and music firm Roar Studios. The acquisition, which is reportedly part of Yuga Labs’ efforts to expand its Otherside metaverse, will also see Roar Studios Founder and CEO Eric Reid joining Yuga Labs as the general manager of Otherside. Yuga Labs stated that the acquisition will help speed up its ambitious plans for Otherside and that Roar has “deep technology and AI roots,” though it remains to be disclosed how Yuga Labs plans to use it for Otherside.
https://decrypt.co/150757/yuga-labs-roar-studios-acquisition-ai
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (31/07/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Vyper Vulnerability Exposes DeFi Ecosystem to Stress Tests ❗️
In the past 24 hours, millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies have been stolen from DeFi protocols after a critical vulnerability was found on versions of Vyper- a contract programming language designed for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Specifically, the exploits occurred due to a malfunctioning reentrancy lock bug in three versions (0.2.15, 0.2.16 and 0.3) of Vyper. Smart contract auditing firm BlockSec stated that the reentrancy could potentially place all pools with wrapped Ether (WETH) at risk of attack. Thus far, attackers have exploited a number of DeFi projects, including Alchemix, PEGd, Metronome, Ellipsis and Curve Finance.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/vyper-vulnerability-exposes-defi-ecosystem-stress-tests
2️⃣ Upbit Halts Trading of Curve Finance's Token After $100M Exploit ❌
South Korean crypto exchange Upbit has temporarily suspended the trading of Curve Finance’s CRV token. The move comes shortly after the DeFi protocol lost over $100 million worth of crypto due to a 're-entrancy' bug exploit earlier today.
Upbit stated,
“Today, certain vulnerabilities have been discovered in some of the stablecoin pools associated with Curve (CRV). As a result, CRV is currently experiencing significant volatility. We advise exercising caution when considering any investments related to CRV. To ensure the safety of digital asset transactions, we have temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals for CRV.”
https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2023/07/31/upbit-halts-trading-of-curve-finances-token-after-100m-exploit
3️⃣ BNB Smart Chain Hit with Copycat Vyper Attack, $73K Exploited 🧐
The BNB Smart Chain has also reportedly suffered copycat attacks due to the bug in the Vyper programming language. According to blockchain security firm BlockSec, around $73,000 worth of crypto on BSC has been stolen across three exploits on the network.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/vyper-copycat-exploit-on-bsc-bnb-smart-chain-curve
4️⃣ SEC Asked Coinbase to Halt Trading in Everything Except Bitcoin, CEO Says 🔎
According to a Financial Times report, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had asked Coinbase to stop trading in all cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin (BTC) prior to suing the crypto exchange for failing to register as a broker.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated,
“We really didn’t have a choice at that point, delisting every asset other than bitcoin, which by the way is not what the law says, would have essentially meant the end of the crypto industry in the US. It kind of made it an easy choice . . . let’s go to court and find out what the court says.”
https://www.ft.com/content/1f873dd5-df8f-4cfc-bb21-ef83ed11fb4d
5️⃣ Binance Obtains License to Operate as Virtual Asset Exchange in Dubai 🚀
Crypto exchange giant Binance has reportedly obtained an Operational Minimum Viable Product license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The license will allow Binance FZE, the exchange’s Dubai subsidiary, to operate virtual asset exchange services in Dubai. However, the services enabled by the license are currently limited to institutional and qualified retail investors in Dubai.
Richard Teng, head of regional markets of Binance, stated,
“We are honoured to be the first exchange to be granted an operational Minimum Viable Product License by VARA. Our priority is to be able to operate this first fully regulated exchange in, and from Dubai, in a FATF-compliant ecosystem, setting the stage for global scalability with uncompromised user assurance.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/242127/binance-obtains-license-to-operate-as-virtual-asset-exchange-in-dubai
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (30/07/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Kansas Heartland Tri-State Bank Closed by FDIC as Banking Crisis Deepens 📉
The Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart is the latest bank to join the ongoing bank crisis in the United States. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reportedly took control over the bank after it was closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner yesterday. According to the FDIC, the four branches of Heartland Tri-State Bank will reopen as branches of Dream First Bank under regular business hours from July 31st. This means that the depositors of the failed Heartland Tri-State Bank will become customers of Dream First Bank.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/heartland-tri-state-closed-by-fdic-as-banking-crisis-deepens
2️⃣ Human Rights Foundation Backs Bug Bounty with Bitcoin ❗️
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has reportedly launched a bug bounty challenge with a cumulative reward of 20 BTC to support open-source development on the Bitcoin protocol. The challenge focuses on ten user experience-focused bounties that challengers must undertake to make the Bitcoin UX, specifically those of mobile wallets, better.
Alex Gladstein, the Chief Strategy Officer for HRF, stated that the best improvement proposed for each bounty will secure a 2 BTC reward. Gladstein stated,
“HRF views Bitcoin and financial freedom as one aspect of the human rights struggle. The fact is human rights defenders are persistently attacked through their bank accounts... Bitcoin allows them to keep going. The bounties are a bit of an experiment, if they go well, maybe other organisations can do the same.”
https://decrypt.co/150586/human-rights-foundation-bitcoin-development-challenge-for-activists
3️⃣ Court Reverses SEC Ruling on SPIKES Futures, Calls It “Arbitrary and Capricious” ⚖️
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has reportedly overturned an SEC ruling that ordered the SPIKES Index securities to be treated as futures rather than securities futures.
Specifically, the SEC’s ruling eliminated heavy taxes and other regulatory requirements attached to the term “security” for the SPIKES index. However, in the appeal, Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan ruled that the exemption granted was “arbitrary and capricious” due to the SEC’s lack of rationale behind the decision as well as its failure to consider the “confusion among market participants” that resulted from the exemption.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/dc-circuit-reverses-sec-ruling-spikes-futures-calls-arbitrary-capricious
“The existing anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act framework must account for digital assets, and we look forward to engaging in this process to defend our nation’s financial system against illicit finance in all its forms.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-28/wall-street-banks-side-with-elizabeth-warren-on-crypto-crackdown
🚨Rally Report🚨
MAKER
The price of MKR has rallied by 6% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 The MakerDAO community recently passed a governance vote that sought to introduce the Enhanced Dai Savings Rate (EDSR).
🚀 Investors are bullish as the EDSR mechanism is expected to fix the comparatively low adoption rate of the DSR by temporarily boosting the rewards for DAI stablecoin holders to up to 8%.
If you want to buy or trade MKR, we have an exclusive $40K Bonus, a 20% trading fee discount & a $15k trading competition on Bitget! 👇
https://www.coinbureau.com/deals/trading/bitget-crypto-exchange/
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (28/07/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Bankrupt Crypto Platforms FTX, Genesis Set to Resolve Dispute ⚖️
Bankrupt crypto companies FTX Trading Ltd. and Genesis Global Holdco LLC have reportedly reached an in-principle agreement to settle a dispute surrounding their bankruptcy protection cases. Details about the settlement have not been revealed.
A letter filed by the firms’ legal representatives reads,
“The Parties have reached an agreement in principle, subject to documentation, regarding a settlement that would resolve, among other things, the claims asserted by the FTX Debtors against the Debtors in these Chapter 11 Cases and the claims asserted by the Genesis Debtors against the FTX Debtors in the FTX Chapter 11 Cases,”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-28/bankrupt-crypto-platforms-ftx-genesis-set-to-resolve-dispute
2️⃣ Palm Network to Launch NFT Creators' Platform on Polygon Supernet ❗️
Palm Foundation, the NFT infrastructure firm behind the Ethereum-sidechain Palm Network, has announced plans to transition its existing proof-of-authority (PoA) mechanism sidechain to a proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism sidechain within the Polygon ecosystem using the Supernets software stack. The transition is planned in two stages. The first step, scheduled for August 2023, involves the network’s migration into a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) chain. The second step, scheduled sometime later in 2024, will see the network upgraded into a Polygon zk Supernet.
https://decrypt.co/150297/palm-network-to-launch-web3-creators-platform-polygon-supernet
3️⃣ Securitize Launches Tokenised Security in Europe 🇪🇺
Digital asset trading platform Securitize has reportedly issued its first tokenised equities under the European Union’s pilot regime for digital assets. Securitize’s first offering is issued via the Avalanche blockchain and represents equity in the Spanish real estate investment trust Mancipi Partners. Secondary trading for the assets is set to begin in September.
Carlos Domingo, the co-founder of Securitize, stated,
“Securitize is now the first firm to be able to issue and trade tokenised securities in both the U.S. and Europe, and is the first firm to do so under the EU’s new pilot regime for digital assets. European businesses will be a major beneficiary of this innovation, giving businesses a new way to raise capital through primary capital raises, and obtain potential tax benefits and liquidity through secondary trading.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/241382/securitize-launches-tokenized-security-in-europe
4️⃣ Grayscale Urges SEC To Approve All Bitcoin ETFs Simultaneously 🧐
In a letter addressed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), crypto fund manager Grayscale urged the authority to approve all proposed spot BTC ETFs at the same time in order to avoid any one having an advantage over the others. It argued that the SEC shouldn’t pick “winners and losers” and instead make a fair and orderly decision. Grayscale also criticised the recent surveillance sharing agreements (SSAs) between Coinbase and the other spot ETF providers by stating that they would not meet the SEC’s standards.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/grayscale-sec-approve-all-bitcoin-etfs-together
5️⃣ Sequoia Capital Slashes Crypto Fund as It Downsizes Amid Startup Crunch ❌
According to a Wall Street Journal report, venture capital giant Sequoia Capital is shrinking the size of its crypto fund by more than 65% from $585 million to $200 million. It also shrunk the size of its ‘ecosystem’ fund from $900 million to $450 million. The firm stated that the move is part of a dramatic downsizing occurring due to the change in market conditions. The firm also stated that the crypto fund will now focus more on backing early-stage startups.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sequoia-capital-slashes-crypto-fund-as-it-downsizes-amid-startup-crunch-f396bb0b
6️⃣ Web3 Wallet Suku May Beat Musk to Crypto Twitter Payment Adoption 🚀