Republicans are forming a first-of-its-kind congressional group focusing on digital assets. Some GOP lawmakers have criticized regulators such as the SEC for its handling of the digital assets industry. More: - Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) announced that the new House subcommittee will focus on digital assets, financial technology, and inclusion and will be chaired by Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.).
- The panel will establish “rules of the road” for federal regulators of the digital asset ecosystem and policies to reach underserved communities.
- There are several crypto regulations being established, including:
- The Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, which was introduced in the Senate in June of last year.
- The Stablecoin TRUST Act, which was introduced by Republican Sen. Patrick Toomey.
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Solana rose 58% to $23.70 over the past week and is at its highest price point since the collapse of FTX. The price was bumped by the release of BONK, a Solana-based dog-themed token that has entered the marketplace. More: - BONK rose 3,300% in the first week to $0.00000487, but it then dropped 69% last week.
- BONK has a $57M market cap; its price rose 20% in the past 48 hours.
- Last week the Solana Foundation warned users about a security risk incident with Mailchimp.
- The Solana Foundation said, "the affected information may have included, inter alia, email addresses, names, and Telegram usernames, in each case only to the extent users provided any such information."
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FTX has officially received approval from the court to sell LedgerX LLC, Embed Technologies, FTX Japan Holdings, and FTX Europe. The Investment bank Perella Weinberg will handle the sales process. More: - Kevin Cofsky, partner at Perella Weinberg, says over 117 have expressed interest in the assets.
- Interested parties must submit non-binding preliminary bids by Jan. 18 for Embed, Jan. 25 for LedgerX, and Feb. 1 for FTX Japan and FTX Europe.
- FTX Europe's licenses were suspended by regulators.
- FTX Japan is subject to suspension.
- Former President of FTX US Brett Harrison accused Sam Bankman-Fried of "gaslighting and manipulation" on Twitter.
- Harrison left FTX's U.S. division in September and says his relationship with SBF went sour: "My relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried and his deputies had reached a point of total deterioration after months of disputes over management practices at FTX."
- Harrison worked at FTX US for 17 months. Still, he wanted to leave the company in April last year due to "organizational problems," such as the separation of FTX's legal, development, and executive teams.
- He says that under SBF's management, his team's professional background was rendered "irrelevant and valueless."
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Lazarus Group moved millions of dollars of Ethereum. The Lazarus Group is a well-known North Korean crypto hacker group with heists totaling more than $2B. More: - During the weekend, Lazarus Group transferred stolen money in the Harmony Bridge attack.
- Over $63.5M, or approximately 41,000 ETH, was moved.
- The activity was flagged by blockchain sleuth ZachXBT on Jan. 16.
- The assets originated from Tornado Cash and moved through Railgun, a zero-knowledge proof to hide transactions.
- More than 350 addresses moved the ETH through Railgun and were deposited on three different exchanges.
- Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, tweeted that there were suspicious money transfers from the Harmony One hackers in an attempt to launder money through Binance; the exchange froze the accounts.
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Russia and Iran are exploring stablecoins backed by gold. Central Bank of Iran may launch a stablecoin in partnership with the Russian Federation to facilitate payment for international trade. More: - The stablecoin would be backed by gold and used at Astrakhan, a free-trade zone for purchasing merchandise using the new coin.
- Crypto could be regulated in Russia sometime in 2023.
- The Russian Central Bank does not support the use of crypto as a means of payment in the country. However, it allows crypto usage for business dealings and international trade.
- Iran is also advancing toward using crypto for international trades; in August 2022, it made the first import worth $10M using crypto.
Zoom out: - The People’s Bank of China and Russia’s central bank have also been stockpiling gold, which may drive up the price.
- The World Gold Council reports that the central banks purchased more than 399 tonnes in the third quarter of 2022.
- Russia and China rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the world for holding gold reserves.
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Anthony Scaramucci invested an undisclosed amount in former FTX US president Brett Harrison's new venture. The firm is valued at $100M and will focus on algorithmic trading services to crypto investors, providing access to private and public markets. More: - The sudden collapse of FTX and Harrison's connection to the firm may hinder his progress in fundraising.
- Although Harrison is not subject to any FTX-related legal probing, investors have told Harrison that:
- "We can't take on the PR risk of associating ourselves with FTX, no matter how capable you are or how compelling your idea is."
- SkyBridge Capital, Scaramucci's New York-based investment firm, had close ties with FTX and has invested an undisclosed amount in Harrison's new venture.
- Harrison is reportedly looking to raise $6M and noted on Twitter that he has been struggling to land investment due to his involvement with FTX.
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
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