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🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
Crypto adoption is on the rise, especially in developing countries.
This is quickly becoming a problem for central banks in those countries, and if this trend continues, central banks in developed countries will feel the same heat.
That’s why the Bank for International Settlements or BIS, the so called bank for central banks, has come out with a report to try and pour cold water on crypto’s adoption. The funniest part is that they admit the adoption is their fault.
What’s interesting is that the BIS actually doesn’t call on crypto to be banned or even isolated from TradFi. It wants TradFi crypto regulations, which means absorbing this new niche into the existing financial system.
As always, the WEF seems to be involved….
Enjoy!
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (14/09/23)
1️⃣ FTX Approved to Start Selling Its $3.4 Billion Crypto Hoard 💰
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has reportedly granted FTX Trading Ltd. its approval to sell, stake and hedge its crypto holdings worth over $3.4 billion to raise money for creditors who claim they are owed tens of billions of dollars.
The Judge also approved the Debtor’s recent proposal under which the estate’s token sales would be guided by a financial advisor. As per the plan, FTX would be permitted to sell $100 million per week for most tokens, with a provision to increase that limit to $200 million on a token-by-token basis. The sale of BTC, ETH and other tokens would require the estate to give the U.S. Trustee’s office 10 days’ notice.
Source
2️⃣ Singapore’s Central Bank Slugs Three Arrows Founders With 9-Year Ban 🏦
In a Sept. 14 statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that it had issued a nine-year prohibition to Kyle Davies and Su Zhu due to alleged violations of the country’s securities laws at their co-founded crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC). The prohibition prevents the founders from engaging in regulated activities in the country.
The order reads,
“Under the POs, which took effect from 13 September 2023, Mr Zhu and Mr Davies will be prohibited from performing any regulated activity and from taking part in the management of, acting as a director of or becoming a substantial shareholder, of any capital market services firm under the SFA.”
Source
3️⃣ Crypto Exchange Huobi Rebrands to HTX For Tenth Anniversary 🚀
In celebration of its tenth anniversary, crypto exchange Huobi announced its rebranding to HTX— which supposedly stands for “Huobi TRON Exchange”. The firm also changed its slogan, which now reads: “HTX, Just Trade It.” The platform has already changed its branding on its social media accounts and has altered several product lines to match the new brand, including ‘HTX Earn.’ Crypto Twitter users have had a mixed reaction to the rebranding, with most pointing to the new name’s uncanny resemblance to the name of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
Source
4️⃣ Mila Kunis' Stoner Cats NFT Project Sued by SEC, Settles for $1 Million ⚖️
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly charged Stoner Cats 2 LLC with selling unregistered securities via the sale of NFTs in 2021. Notably, Stoner Cats 2 LLC is the company behind the NFT-based cartoon web series ‘Stoner Cats’ that features Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and other famous celebrities. Stoner Cats 2 LLC has reportedly agreed to a cease-and-desist order and will pay a $1 million civil penalty without admitting fault. It has also agreed to destroy any NFTs that it still holds and establish a "Fair Fund" to refund investors who purchased the NFTs in the primary sale.
Source
5️⃣ New DCG Plan Could See Gemini Earn Users Get Back All Their Crypto ❗️
Crypto lending firm Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) have reportedly proposed a new creditor agreement that could see Gemini Earn users recoup all of the crypto held by the platform. Specifically, the plan provides a framework for creditors that would offer "all unsecured creditors a 70-90% recovery with a meaningful portion of the recovery in digital currencies."
Source
6️⃣ Crypto Miners Debate $500K Bitcoin Fee Refund to Paxos for 'Fat-Fingers' Error 🔎
Crypto services provider Paxos has reportedly been identified as the entity that paid a fee of 19.89 BTC ($500,000) to move just 0.7 BTC ($2000) on September 10th. Stake.fish, the mining company which picked up Paxos’ transaction has earlier stated that whoever was behind that transaction had three days to claim the transaction to receive a refund. While Paxos seems to have claimed the refund, Stake.fish founder Chun Wang suggested the claim was made after the initial deadline, citing timezone differences.
A Paxos spokesperson stated,
🚨Rally Report🚨
TONCOIN
The price of TON has rallied by 12% in the past 24 hours.
WHY?!
🎉 The TON Foundation announced its partnership with the Telegram messaging app at the TOKEN2049 conference in Singapore.
🚀 The partnership will make TON available to over 800 million Telegram Wallet users from November. Telegram will also provide priority access to its advertising platform to TON projects and partners.
If you want to buy or trade TON, 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!! 🚨
Does it ever feel like the news doesn’t really reflect reality? This seems to be the case for every sensitive issue, and there’s no issue more sensitive than the economic well-being of the average person.
Whether it’s inflation, wages, unemployment, the economy, savings, or the markets, the media seems to have a way of spinning everything to make it sound more positive for the average person.
In reality though, the average person is facing hardships on all of these fronts. Today we take you through the facts and stats so you can understand just how bad it is for us these days.
Enjoy, if you can…
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (12/09/23)
1️⃣ Sushi Expands to Aptos in 'Milestone' Move 🚀
Ethereum-based decentralised exchange Sushi has announced its expansion to the Aptos blockchain. Notably, the Sushi team called the integration a “milestone” as it is the first time the DEX is accessible on a blockchain that is not compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Sushi has stated that the integration is aimed at unlocking a new level of deep liquidity across major blockchain networks along with significantly elevating the cross-chain trading experience for users.
Source
2️⃣ Luno to Halt Some UK Clients From Investing in Crypto as Regulation Looms ❌
According to a CoinDesk report, the Luno crypto exchange is planning to halt the ability of some UK customers to trade on its platform. Notably, the move is set to come into effect by Oct. 6, which is two days before the U.K.’s new crypto promotion rules are set to come into force.
Nick Taylor, head of public policy at the company, stated
“The FCA has implemented new rules for crypto firms. As a result, all compliant crypto firms with U.K. customers are making a number of changes to their platforms in order to comply with the new regulations. For Luno, this includes pausing the ability to invest through the platform for some customers for the time being.”
Source
3️⃣ FTX Assets Include $1.2 Billion Of SOL, Bahamas Property ⚖️
According to recent court filings, the estate of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX tops around $7 billion in assets, including $1.16 billion in SOL tokens, $560 million in BTC, $192 million in ETH, 38 properties in the Bahamas appraised at $199 million, nearly $2.6 billion in cash, and several million dollars in illiquid tokens. The filings also reveal that 50 "insiders" including former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison received a mix of cash, crypto, equity and real estate worth $2.2 billion.
Source
4️⃣ Bitget Announces Further $100M Fund for Ecosystem Development 💰
Crypto derivatives platform Bitget has announced the launch of the Bitget EmpowerX Fund- a new fund that will invest $100 million into maximising the company’s “long-term impact” in the crypto space. As part of this initiative, the fund reportedly plans to focus on growing the Bitget ecosystem and investing in regional exchanges, analytics firms, media organisations and entities that can contribute to its growth.
Managing Director Gracy Chen stated,
"Through strategic, targeted investments that foster long-term growth, we aim to continually expand our ecosystem of services to better serve the evolving needs of users. We also want to empower other people in our industry, because a rising tide lifts all boats.”
Source
5️⃣ SEC Chair Gensler Stays the Course in Push for Crypto Compliance Ahead of Tuesday's Hearing 🧐
In a prepared testimony ahead of Gary Gensler’s appearance before the Senate Banking Committee today, the SEC Chair adamantly expressed that he plans to propose, again, that many cryptocurrencies fall under the agency's jurisdiction.
Gensler stated,
"Given this industry's wide-ranging noncompliance with the securities laws, it's not surprising that we've seen many problems in these markets. We've seen this story before. It's reminiscent of what we had in the 1920s before the federal securities laws were put in place. Thus, we have brought a number of enforcement actions—some settled, and some in litigation—to hold wrongdoers accountable and promote investor protection.”
Source
6️⃣ DeFi Group Petitions to Stop ‘Patent Troll’ Targeting DeFi Protocols ❗️
The DeFi Education Fund (DEF) has reportedly filed a 92-page petition to the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board to review a patent owned by a company called ‘True Return System’ (TRS). The petition accuses True Return System of being a “patent troll” (a firm that aims to profit from patent lawsuits) after the firm sued MakerDAO and Compound Protocol over alleged patent infringement.
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (10/09/23)
1️⃣ Rep. Tom Emmer Sponsors Amendment to Limit SEC’s Crypto Oversight 🙌
U.S. Congressman and crypto advocate Tom Emmer has reportedly sponsored an appropriations amendment restricting the SEC’s usage of money towards bringing enforcement cases on the digital asset industry. Emmer criticised SEC Chair Gary Gensler by stating that he was negatively affecting the American people by overstepping his authority and potentially misusing taxpayer funds to go after the digital assets industry without proper procedures.
Source
2️⃣ G20 Moves Forward with International Crypto Framework 🚀
According to local media reports covering the G20’s two-day summit in India, the leaders of the 20 biggest economies in the world are moving forward with their plans to implement a cross-border framework for crypto assets.
A consensus declaration signed by the G20 leaders reads,
“We call for the swift implementation of the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and amendments to the CRS [Common Reporting Standard]. We ask the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes to identify an appropriate and coordinated timeline to commence exchanges by relevant jurisdictions.”
Source
3️⃣ Vitalik Buterin’s X Account Hacked to Carry Out Phishing Attack That Stole $700,000 In Crypto and NFTs 🥶
Yesterday, crypto users lost over $700,000 in assets after a hacker compromised Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin’s X account and maliciously advertised a fake commemorative NFT mint linked to a phishing website that would drain cryptocurrencies and NFTs from wallets that interacted with it. Shortly after the compromise, Vitalik’s father ‘Dmitry Buterin’ tweeted that his son’s X account had been compromised. According to on-chain data, the drained assets include CryptoPunk NFTs and hundreds of ETH from multiple individuals.
While the cause of the compromise is yet to be identified, X user Satoshi 767 tweeted,
“I hate to be the one to say it, but Vitalik should take accountability for his poor op-sec and compensate those affected. I understand users have a responsibility to be wary of all links and that they ultimately connected their wallets irresponsibly; but can we blame them completely? How do we achieve mass adoption and simultaneously expect every user to distrust every link they see? The only way this isn’t negligence on Vitalik part is if someone at X internally compromised the account, or if he was coerced in person by a criminal who threatened violence. I highly doubt that’s what happened. Most likely, this was a SIM swap.”
Source
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
It's no secret that the world's second biggest economy is facing issues. Its slower growth combined with a collapsing property market has got many China watchers on edge.
What happens in China is important for all of us because it's how the government could react that would have the biggest impact all asset classes - including crypto.
So, where is the Chinese economy right now? And how much more severe have the risks become since last year?
That's all covered in our latest vid. We will break down some of the most troubling signs to look out for, how the government / central bank might respond and what impact it could have on crypto.
This is a vid you can't afford to miss!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (08/09/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Boss of Failed Crypto Exchange Gets 11,000-Year Sentence 👮♂️
A Turkish court has reportedly sentenced Thodex founder Faruk Fatih Ozer, his sister Serap Özer and his brother Güven Özer to 11,196 years, 10 months and 15 days in prison after finding them guilty of several counts of crime including aggravated fraud, money laundering and leading a criminal organisation.
At the final hearing, Ozer reportedly stated in court,
“I am smart enough to lead any institution on Earth. That is evident in this company I established at the age of 22. I wouldn’t have acted so amateurishly if this were a criminal organisation.”
Source
2️⃣ Ex-FTX Executive Ryan Salame Could Forfeit $1.5B as Part of Guilty Plea ⚖️
Ryan Salame, the FTX executive who played a key role in the exchange’s political fundraising operations, will reportedly forfeit $1.5 billion after pleading guilty to federal criminal charges including the conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions, as well as conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business in a New York federal court on Thursday afternoon.
According to a DOJ filing, Salame has stated that he will fulfil his $1.5B forfeiture order by paying roughly $6 million in penalties to the U.S. government, $5 million to FTX debtors and surrendering two properties in Massachusetts, ownership of the East Rood Farm Corporation, and a “2021 Porsche automobile” as well. Salame has also currently been released under a $1 million bond.
Source
3️⃣ CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham Proposes Pilot Program to Regulate Crypto 💡
During an event hosted by the libertarian think tank ‘the Cato Institute’, CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham proposed a limited pilot program to regulate cryptocurrencies. She suggested that the program would be similar to regulatory sandboxes previously introduced at the state level.
Her statement reads,
“A pilot program can create a framework for emerging technologies and market structures under our existing laws and regulations. It is my hope that a pilot to test, gather data, and develop a pragmatic approach to tokenisation can ensure we continue to uphold our mandate to fostering open, transparent, competitive and financially sound markets [….] In line with our previous pilot initiatives, I am optimistic that this approach will ensure the integrity of our markets and impartial access, foster liquidity and competition, address potential conflicts and risks, and prevent fraud, abusive practices, and manipulation.”
Source
4️⃣ FBI Says North Korea’s Lazarus Group Was Behind $41 Million Stake Hack 🔎
According to a statement released on Thursday by the FBI, the recent $41 million hack of crypto gambling site Stake was carried out by the North Korean Lazarus Group. The FBI claimed that the Lazarus Group’s digital fingerprints also connected them to other recent heists, such as the $100 million theft from Atomic Wallet in June and the $60 million stolen from projects Aplhapo and CoinsPaid in July.
Source
5️⃣ CTFC Cracks Down on DeFi Protocols Opyn, Zeroex and Deridex 🥶
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is reportedly taking regulatory action against three DeFi protocols- Opyn, ZeroEx and Deridex- for allegedly failing to register various derivatives trading offerings. The regulator has ordered Opyn, ZeroEx, and Deridex to cease those violations and pay penalties of $250,000, $200,000, and $100,000, respectively. The companies have also reportedly agreed to these terms to settle the charges.
Source
6️⃣ Crypto Firm LBRY to Challenge Ruling It Violated U.S. Securities Law ❗️
Blockchain-based file-sharing and payment network LBRY has reportedly submitted a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. This means that LBRY has decided to fight against the judgment that ordered it to pay a civil penalty and barred it from participating in unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities in the future.
Source
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (07/09/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1⃣ Tornado Cash Developer Roman Storm Pleads Not Guilty to Money Laundering, Other Charges 🔍
In an appearance before the New York District Court yesterday, Tornado Cash developer Roman Storm pleaded "not guilty" to all charges related to money laundering and violations of United States sanctions.
Storm has reportedly been released on a $2 million personal recognisance bond secured by his residence in Washington state and co-signed by one “financially responsible” person. The conditions of the bond require Storm to be under house arrest at his Washington home and receive regular drug testing. He is also not allowed to own a firearm or contact any co-defendants, witnesses or alleged victims.
Source
2⃣ Alex Mashinsky's Assets Frozen by US Court As Part of Criminal Case 🥶
According to an unsealed court order, a federal judge has ordered the banking and real estate assets of former Celsius chief Alex Mashinsky to be frozen as the criminal case against him advances. The order, which was issued on August 16, impacted Mashinsky's funds held at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and SoFi Bank, as well as a home in Austin, Texas that's shared with his wife.
Source
3⃣ SOMA Finance Plans to Launch Retail-Compliant Digital Security Token 🚀
SOMA Finance, a joint venture between DeFi product provider MANTRA and registered broker-dealer Tritaurian Capital, is reportedly planning to launch the SOMA token — which it claims will be the first legally issued and compliant digital security for U.S. and global retail investors.
The SOMA token will also reportedly be the first regulation crowdfunding (Reg CF) issuance on the SOMA.finance platform. The company has stated that it plans to sell up to $5 million in tokens. The token will reportedly grant holders the right to a dividend of up to 10% of SOMA’s profits.
SOMA Finance co-founder William B. Heyn stated,
“We have been working quietly but diligently to develop the necessary technology world’s first hybrid decentralized marketplace for digital assets, compliant digital securities and NFTs while liaising with regulators to provide a highly regulated decentralised financial platform,”
Source
4⃣ Google Changes Policy to Allow NFT Game Ads—With Some Limits ❗️
According to a blog post from Google, the company’s recently updated cryptocurrency advertising policy will allow advertisers to promote blockchain-based NFT gaming apps as long as they don’t promote gambling or gambling services. The new changes are expected to go into effect from Sept. 15. The post further stated that developers and publishers who wish to run ads that promote gambling-related content must “comply with the Gambling and games policy and receive the proper Google Ads certification.”
Source
5️⃣ More Binance Executives Leave, Including Some Overseeing Russia ❌
According to a Wall Street Journal report, several top executives of crypto exchange Binance have left in recent days. Notably, this also includes leaders overseeing its Russian business and its connections to the traditional financial system. The recent surge in management turnover at the exchange is likely due to the increased regulatory scrutiny surrounding the exchange.
Source
6️⃣ Genesis Global Capital Sues Digital Currency Group Over Unpaid Bitcoin Loans ⚖️
Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global Capital has reportedly filed two lawsuits against parent company Digital Currency Group (DCG) and affiliate company DCG International Investments (DCIG) in the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court. The lawsuits seek the repayment of overdue loans worth over $600 million in total.
According to the lawsuit, DCG and Genesis entered into a "master loan agreement" in 2019, under which it loaned over 18,000 BTC to DCG in 2022 and later that year converted the debt into a fixed-term loan with a maturity date of May 11 2023.
A DCG spokesperson stated,
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (06/09/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Coinbase Layer-2 Network Base Suffers First Major Outage Since Launch 🥶
Yesterday, Coinbase incubated layer 2 network Base suffered its first major outage since its public launch on Aug. 9. The outage, which lasted for nearly 45 minutes, was first identified by developers at 9:36 pm UTC. The outage was reportedly due to part of the network’s internal infrastructure requiring a refresh. Shortly after, the team announced that they had implemented a fix and were seeing widespread recovery.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-base-network-major-outage
2️⃣ Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Options to Solana ❗️
Global payments giant Visa has reportedly rolled out support for USDC payments settled on the Solana blockchain. As part of live pilots, the company has partnered with merchant acquirers Worldpay and Nuvei. It also reported that it has successfully moved millions of USDC between its partners over the Solana and Ethereum networks to settle fiat-denominated payments authorised over VisaNet.
Cuy Sheffield, Head of Crypto at Visa, stated,
“By leveraging stablecoins like USDC and global blockchain networks like Solana and Ethereum, we’re helping to improve the speed of cross-border settlement and providing a modern option for our clients to easily send or receive funds from Visa’s treasury.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/249153/visa-stablecoin-settlement-solana-ethereum
3️⃣ USD Coin Officially Expands to Base and Optimism Networks 🪙
Circle has reportedly launched native versions of its USDC stablecoin on both the Base and Optimism networks. This means that Circle account holders will now be able to send the stablecoin from their accounts to either network. Shortly after Circle’s announcement, crypto exchange Coinbase also announced that its users can now make USDC transfers to the Base network.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/usd-coin-expands-base-optimism-networks
4️⃣ MetaMask Introduces Bank and PayPal Cash-Out Options 🚀
Crypto wallet MetaMask has announced the launch of ‘Cash Out’- a feature that will allow users to sell Ether for fiat currency and send it to their bank or PayPal account. The feature is reportedly available to users in the United States, United Kingdom and parts of Europe at launch. MetaMask also stated that it plans to expand the ‘Cash Out’ feature for “native gas tokens on layer 2 networks” in the future.
The announcement stated,
“Combined with the Buy feature, it enables you to have a self-sufficient Web3 experience with fewer intermediaries and faster fiat conversion directly to your destination of choice where available, like your bank account or PayPal balance. Ensuring a way for users to enter and exit crypto freely is important, and we hope these options make Web3 attainable to more people."
https://decrypt.co/155039/metamask-sell-transfer-withdraw-cash-out-paypal
5️⃣ Genesis to Shutter Crypto Trading Desk for U.S. Market ❌
According to an email sent to Genesis Global Trading clients on Tuesday, the firm is planning to close its U.S.-focused spot crypto trading business later this month. The email stated that the firm’s over-the-counter trading platform would close on Sept. 18, followed by a settlement of all trades by Sept. 21 and a closure of all remaining open accounts by the end of day on the 30th. A spokesperson for the company stated that the decision was “made voluntarily and for business reasons” and that the firm was “working closely with regulatory authorities to coordinate an orderly discontinuation of services.”
https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/09/05/genesis-global-trading-to-shutter-crypto-spot-trading-desk
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
The SEC recently announced its first enforcement action against an NFT project, and it’s a bigger deal than you think. The settlement could impact much more than the NFT niche.
And that’s the key word: settlement. The NFT project in question has settled, which means that the SEC has a precedent it can use against other NFT projects.
This is what happened with Kraken before the SEC went after Coinbase. The bigger question is why the SEC is targeting NFTs, and why other regulators seem to have changed their tunes too.
You’ll have to watch until the end to find out…
"Paxos overpaid the BTC network fee on Sept. 10, 2023. This only impacted Paxos corporate operations. Paxos clients and end users have not been affected and all customer funds are safe."
Source
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (13/09/23)
1️⃣ Binance US CEO Departs as Crypto Platform Cuts Third of Staff ❗️
According to a Bloomberg report, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder has left the crypto exchange and has been replaced on an interim basis by Chief Legal Officer Norman Reed. Notably, the move coincides with another round of job cuts that have eliminated one-third of the exchange’s workforce.
Binance.US stated,
"The actions we are taking today provide Binance.US with more than seven years of financial runway and enable us to continue to serve our customers while we operate as a crypto-only exchange. The SEC's aggressive attempts to cripple our industry and the resulting impacts on our business have real-world consequences for American jobs and innovation, and this is an unfortunate example of that."
Source
2️⃣ Franklin Templeton Files with SEC For Spot Bitcoin ETF 🏦
According to a recent SEC filing, Franklin Templeton is the latest traditional asset management firm to file for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund. The investment giant has proposed a Coinbase-custodied ETF that would trade on Cboe BZX Exchange if approved. It also proposed using CME's CF Bitcoin Reference Rate – New York Variant for the pricing of the Bitcoin in its ETF.
Source
3️⃣ North Korean Attackers Linked to $54M CoinEx Hack, Blockchain Data Suggests 🔎
According to on-chain data cited by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT, North Korean hacking group Lazarus might be behind the recent $55 million exploit of crypto exchange CoinEx. The hackers reportedly siphoned ETH, XRP, TRX, MATIC, SOL, KDA and XDAG tokens from the exchange CoinEx has responded to the hack by appointing a “special investigative team.” It also clarified that the lost assets were a small part of the exchange’s total reserves and that users “will receive 100% compensation for any loss due to this breach."
Source
4️⃣ MetaMask To Be Usable Outside the EVM Ecosystem with Snaps Launch 🚀
Consensys, the creator of the popular MetaMask crypto wallet, has announced the launch of “MetaMask Snaps”- a major new feature that will allow users to directly install new features and functionality, created by third-party developers, to their MetaMask wallet. At public launch, users can choose from 34 Snaps which have undergone security audits and have been subsequently whitelisted by the team.
These 34 snaps, each provide various features such as clearer transaction insights, interoperability with non-EVM blockchains, and notifications that keep users informed on dapps in their MetaMask accounts. This also includes Solana wallet provider Solflare’s "Solana Snap"- a snap that will enable MetaMask users to manage their Solana holdings directly from their MetaMask accounts.
Source
5️⃣ OneCoin Co-Founder Greenwood Gets 20 Years in US Jail For Fraud, Money Laundering ⚖️
Karl Greenwood, the co-founder of OneCoin with Ruja Ignatova, has reportedly been sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $300 million on Sept. 20 for his role in the project by a federal court in the Southern District of New York. However, his fellow co-founder Ignatova remains at large and has not been seen since October 2017. She is currently on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ten Most Wanted List.
Source
Specifically, TRS stakes its claim on 2018 patent that claims to "invent a process for bringing off-chain data on-chain, including the use of oracles." In its petition, DEF has stated the patent never should have been issued because Nasdaq already filed a patent for the same, more than a year before TRS' patent.
DEF legal chief Amanda Tuminelli tweeted,
"All of us benefit, in crypto and outside of crypto, from open-source software development. It’s how we innovate, it's how people are able to improve on each other's technological developments. It is the opposite of open-source ethos to patent something because what happens when you patent something is you get to say, this is mine, and nobody else gets to copy it. You don't see a lot of patents in crypto because people want to contribute to the growing open-source development community."
Source
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (11/09/23)
1️⃣ FTX Filing Reveals Payments to Shaq, Naomi Osaka, David Ortiz, And More ⚖️
A recently filed court document reveals that bankrupt crypto exchange FTX paid millions of dollars to celebrity athletes Shaquille O’Neal, Naomi Osaka, David Ortiz, and Trevor Lawrence as part of its marketing and sponsorship deals under former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the filing, the payments represent “certain prepayments related to various advertising and sponsorship agreements, security deposits, retainers and other miscellaneous deposits and prepayments.”
Source
2️⃣ LayerZero Boss Hits Back, Claims FTX Suit Is ‘Filled with Unsubstantiated Claims’ 🧐
Bryan Pellegrino, the co-founder and CEO of LayerZero Labs, has responded to the recent FTX lawsuit that seeks to claw back tens of millions of dollars from LayerZero.
Pellegrino stated,
“Regarding the FTX suit, the entire suit is filled with unsubstantiated claims. To see them wait all this time to file a suit filled with unsubstantiated claims leads me to believe the purpose is not to settle the issue but simply prolong the process in hopes of receiving more legal fees.”
Source
3️⃣ Lido Assures LDO, stETH Tokens Remain Safe Despite Flaw In Token Contract ❗️
Yesterday, blockchain security firm SlowMist alerted investors that staking protocol Lido Finance LDO’s token contract was flawed and allowed bad actors to facilitate “fake deposit” attacks on exchanges.
In response to the alert, Lido assured users that both LDO and stETH tokens remain safe despite hackers allegedly exploiting a known security flaw in LDO’s token contract. However, SlowMist has recommended LDO holders check the return values of the token contract transfers in addition to the success or failure of a transaction.
Source
4️⃣ Animoca Brands Raises $20M for Metaverse Project Mocaverse 💰
Metaverse and gaming VC firm Animoca Brands has reportedly raised $20 million through the issuance of new ordinary shares for Mocaverse- a project that’s building web3-native tools for gaming and entertainment products. The funding round was led by CMCC Global and saw participation from investors such as Kingsway Capital, Liberty City Ventures and GameFi Ventures. Notably, the capital was raised through the sale of SAFEs that will be automatically converted into ordinary shares after six months.
Source
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
Time for another weekly crypto review, and because Guy is in Singapore this week, Jessica is doing the honours!
Last week was the calm, and that means this week could be the storm. That said, last week wasn’t as calm as meets the eye. There was a lot that happened, and some of it was very bullish.
For example, VanEck and Ark Invest filed for the first spot Ethereum ETFs. Visa also started testing USDC payments on Solana. This happens to tie into an interesting phenomenon we’ve noticed regarding Bitcoin and Ethereum dominance.
We’ve also noticed that tensions between China and the US have been escalating, and it’s starting to have a more different effect on the markets. This is because of what China has been doing with Apple lately, and it could just be the beginning.
Enjoy!
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
If you’re looking to get an edge in the crypto market, today’s video is for you. Recently, Ark Invest and Glassnode co-authored a whitepaper that proposes a new way of measuring crypto value, specifically for BTC.
This novel approach is called ‘Cointime Economics’ and it seems to be surprisingly effective at assessing where BTC’s tops and bottoms are (in terms of price, of course). In all seriousness, this could be a seriously powerful tool.
Unfortunately, Cointime Economics indicators aren’t available yet, apparently not even to institutional investors. Fortunately, we heard about this new concept and decided to fill you in, so that you can have an edge!
Enjoy!
📣📣 MARKET MOVING NEWS! (09/09/23)
1️⃣ Ripple Acquires Fortress Trust, Which Will Use Ripple Payments Tech for FortressPay 🤝
Crypto payments firm Ripple has reportedly acquired Nevada-based chartered trust company Fortress Trust as part of its mission to expand its portfolio of regulatory licenses in the United States. Fortress Trust provides regulatory and technology infrastructure for blockchain companies and holds a Nevada Trust license that allows it to custody financial assets. Ripple has stated that it plans to invest in Fortress’ parent company, Fortress Blockchain Technologies, and also its affiliated firm FortressPay services.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stated,
“As an early investor in Fortress Blockchain Technologies, we’ve had a chance to get to know the team, its vision and technology. Since their launch in 2021, they’ve built an impressive business with recurring revenue and a strong roster of both crypto-native and new-to-crypto customers.”
Source
2️⃣ Taiwan Crypto Watchdog to Issue 10 Guiding Principles for Virtual Assets in September 🇹🇼
According to local media reports, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission for Virtual Currency Management is planning to issue 10 guiding principles for virtual asset providers in September. The guidelines will reportedly ensure that crypto businesses establish review mechanisms, implement proper asset segregation practices, and comply with anti-money laundering laws. The guideline will also reportedly prohibit unregistered overseas firms from soliciting business in the country.
Source
3️⃣ Apple Secures Rights to Book on Sam Bankman-Fried For $5M ❗️
According to a report from The Ankler, multinational tech giant Apple has paid $5 million to secure the rights to Michael Lewis’ upcoming book on former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried. The book, which is titled ‘Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon,’ is set to be released on Oct. 3, which is also the start of SBF’s criminal trial in New York.
Source
4️⃣ Binance NFT Marketplace Ends Support for Polygon in Effort to ‘Streamline' ❌
According to a recent blog post, crypto exchange Binance’s NFT marketplace will end support for the Polygon Network from Sept. 26 at 6:00 UTC. It stated that the move was made after “careful consideration and evaluation” and was part of its efforts to “streamline product offerings” on the platform. Binance urged users to withdraw their NFTs via the Polygon Network by Dec. 31, 2024, at 23:59 UTC. Notably, the announcement came just after CEO Changepeng Zhao rejected "rumors" about its executives leaving the company or that the firm was winding down any projects.
Source
5️⃣ SEC Urges Court to Grant Ripple Labs Appeal Citing ‘Knotty Legal Problems ⚖️
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly submitted a filing that urges the court to grant Ripple’s motion to appeal the recent ruling that deemed the XRP token to not be a security when sold to retail investors.
The SEC stated,
"The SEC, like the Court, has an institutional interest in the most efficient ultimate resolution of this litigation. Defendants’ interest, by contrast, is to delay an ultimate resolution so that they may continue freely selling XRP into public markets without the disclosures that come with registration, to the tune of over $3 billion net ODL sales since 2020 alone."
Source
"Genesis has agreed to stay the turnover action so that we can move forward with documenting the deal in principle that was reached with Genesis, the UCC, and DCG. We are documenting a forbearance agreement and expect to file it with the court shortly. At that point, we will initiate the distribution of funds and continue on the path to significant recovery for Genesis creditors."
Source
📢 IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT 📢
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🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
Last week the crypto industry had an important victory. I am of course talking about Grayscale's win in its lawsuit with the SEC.
For those that don't know, Grayscale sued the SEC on the grounds that the regulator's denial of it's ETF application was arbitrary and capricious.
It seemed nonsensical that the regulator would claim that a spot-based instrument was "subject to manipulation" whereas a futures based one wasn't. Grayscale put forward a convincing case and the judge sided with them.
The win could have serious implications for the sector because it makes it that much more likely that the SEC is going to approve a range of different Spot ETF applications. Let's not forget that BlackRock already has an application in the pipes.
How likely are we to see an approval this year? And what implications is this going to have for the crypto industry? This is all covered in our video today!
Enjoy!
📣📣 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (05/09/23)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:
1️⃣ Crypto Casino Stake Reopens Withdrawals Just 5 Hours After $41M Hack ❗️
Yesterday, crypto betting platform Stake lost over $41M in crypto assets after hackers gained control over the platform’s BSC and ETH wallet in a suspected private key compromise. While Stake is yet to confirm the cause of the hack, it announced that it was reopening deposits and withdrawals along with resuming services for users just five hours after the incident.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-casino-stake-resume-services-hours-after-hack
2️⃣ Singapore's New President, a Former Central Bank Chairman, Has Called Crypto 'Slightly Crazy' 🇸🇬
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the former finance minister and central bank chairman of Singapore, was reportedly elected as the country's president on Saturday with a 70.4% vote majority, replacing Halimah Yacob, its first female head of state. He will be sworn into office on Sept. 14, less than two weeks after the election.
Notably, Shanmugaratnam is known for stating back in 2018 that cryptocurrency and related trading activity did not pose any threat to Singapore's finance system, and there was no need to prohibit it. He recently doubled down on this stance at the 2023 World Economic Forum, where he described crypto as "inherently purely speculative and in fact slightly crazy," while stating that it should remain an unregulated market.
https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2023/09/04/singapores-new-president-a-former-central-bank-chairman-has-called-crypto-slightly-crazy
3️⃣ Casio Dropping Free NFTs to 'Co-Create' Virtual G-Shock Watches ⌚️
Japanese electronics giant Casio has reportedly partnered with Polygon Labs to launch ‘Virtual G-Shock’- a blockchain-based “community co-creation” program that will grant NFT pass holders access to a dedicated Discord channel in which they can submit design ideas for the G-SHOCK creator pass and vote on its appearance, with the winning design becoming a variant of the NFT pass.
Users can begin claiming one of these 15,000 NFT-based G-SHOCK creator passes from Sept 23. Casio customers who are already registered for a CASIO ID at the company’s membership site will gain first access in the pre-distribution stage from Sept. 23-26. After that, a public distribution phase for unclaimed passes will begin on Sept. 26-29.
https://decrypt.co/154905/casio-dropping-free-nfts-co-create-virtual-g-shock-watches
4️⃣ SYN Price Plummets After Liquidity Provider Offloads Tokens 📉
The price of SYN, the native token of the cross-chain bridge Synapse, suddenly fell by almost 25% to just over $0.30 yesterday. According to a tweet by Synapse Labs, the main contributor to the cross-chain bridge, the sharp price drop was due to an unnamed liquidity provider selling millions of SYN. The company also stated that there has been no security breach of the protocol or bridge.
The tweet reads,
“A Synapse liquidity provider sold their SYN tokens and removed liquidity today. We’re investigating unusual activity on their wallets and are working to get in touch with them. Will update once there is more info.”
https://www.theblock.co/post/249102/syn-price-plummets-after-liquidity-provider-offloads-tokens
5️⃣ South Korea Seeks to Track and Freeze North Korea's Crypto Assets 🇰🇷
According to a local media report, the government of South Korea is planning to submit a bill to track and freeze cryptocurrencies and other virtual assets used by North Korea to fund illicit weapons programs. The bill is reportedly the result of 10 months of consultations among various South Korean government agencies and reflects the president’s belief that the country’s cybersecurity framework needs to be repaired.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2023-09-04/national/northKorea/South-seeks-to-track-and-freeze-Norths-crypto-assets/1861813
🚨 New Video Alert!! 🚨
It’s Monday, and you know what that means – another weekly crypto review!
This week we’ve got no shortage of news to talk about, and there were even a few altcoins that mooned.
All the attention has been on Grayscale’s recent win against the SEC and the regulator’s decision to delay the spot Bitcoin ETF applications, but there’s much to these stories than meets the eye.
There have also been some major changes on the macro front that could impact the crypto market in the coming weeks. September is a historically volatile month for crypto. Looks like this one will be too.
Enjoy!