| |
| Hey Insider! The day has kicked off with the news from Terraforms Labs appointing a new CEO to run the company that faced a multi-billion dollar collapse last year, replacing Do Kwon. Today’s issue also covers several of the other biggest stories from the crypto market, including Kuwait’s ban on crypto transactions, Tesla’s earnings report for Q2 revealing its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings, crypto exchange Bitget’s new office in Dubai, and more. I hope you enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Terraform Labs, the firm behind the collapsed Terra ecosystem, has appointed Chris Amani as its new interim CEO to replace Do Kwon, who currently deals with legal proceedings and charges stemming from the collapse. Amani previously carried out the chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO) roles at Terraform Labs. More: - The new executive was also the CEO of the business-software startup Humanity before joining Terraform Labs in December 2021.
- Amani said the firm would develop applications providing real utility, and they would share more details of the firm's plans in the coming months.
- The interim CEO also stated that the company has about 40 employees, with 15 who were with Terraform Labs before the collapse.
- Kwon stepped down from the CEO position in March after his arrest to focus on personal legal affairs.
- The 31-year-old co-founder was arrested at the Podgorica Airport in Montenegro in March with Han Chang-Joon, the former CFO of Terraform Labs, while trying to fly to Dubai carrying falsified traveling documents.
- Both the U.S. and Kwon's native South Korea seek his extradition, though they do not have a direct extradition treaty with Montenegro.
- Kwon is still the majority shareholder of Terraform Labs, with 92% of the shares.
Zoom Out: - The multibillion-dollar Terra ecosystem collapsed last year after its native token Luna's price plummeted nearly to zero in May 2022 and lost all its value against the U.S. dollar (USD), triggering a prolonged crypto winter.
- The collapse caused over $60B to be wiped off the crypto market.
- Do Kwon faces many lawsuits and investigations in several countries, including South Korea, the U.S., and Montenegro, with allegations such as tax fraud, deceiving investors, racket collecting, building a Ponzi scheme, and forgery.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Tesla's recent earnings report has shown that the company did not buy or sell any Bitcoin (BTC) in Q2. The value of the BTC holdings of the Elon Musk-led electric vehicle (EV) giant remained the same as the last two previous quarters at $184M. The figure stayed flat despite the volatility in Bitcoin price since such gains cannot be recorded under the current accounting rules. However, it still represents a major decline from $1.26B of Bitcoin holdings in Q1 2022. Relevance: Tesla's Bitcoin journey started in February 2021 when it bought $1.5B in BTC as part of its new investment strategy. In March 2021, the firm also began accepting Bitcoin as a payment method for the purchases of Tesla vehicles. The move helped the BTC price reach its all-time high, nearly $70,000, in November of the same year. However, two months after the investment, Musk said Tesla stopped accepting Bitcoin as payment due to its adverse environmental impacts amid the concerns around the use of fossil fuels for BTC mining and transactions. The EV giant also sold off 75% of its Bitcoin holdings for $936M in Q2 last year, mainly due to concerns about the company's cash flow and the uncertainty related to the crypto market. Brands that should care: Meanwhile, several other public companies with massive BTC reserves, including the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy and crypto mining company Marathon Digital, continue their Bitcoin purchases and are still holding a significant amount of the total Bitcoin supply. Most recently, MicroStrategy bought an additional 12,333 BTC for around $340M, taking its total Bitcoin reserve to 152,333. Marathon Digital's BTC holdings also currently stand at 11,466 BTC as one of the major reserves kept under the management of a public company. | | | |
| |
|
| 3 | | Renowned U.S.-based venture capital (VC) firm Sequoia Capital has parted ways with two leading crypto-focused investors, Michelle Fradin and Daniel Chen, as part of a wider restructuring in the VC team seeing the departures of the five partners in total. The move, announced in a note sent to investors, is expected to impact the firm's future investments in the crypto industry. More: - Michelle Fradin was one of Sequoia Capital's FTX investors, and he was heavily involved in the firm's crypto investments with Daniel Chen.
- The move came after Sequoia Capital experienced reputational damage due to the bankruptcy of the previously third-largest crypto exchange FTX in November 2022.
- FTX's collapse resulted in a $213.5M loss for the VC firm.
- Other investor departures include Michael Moritz, Mike Vernal, and Kais Khimji.
- Moritz left Sequoia Capital after nearly 40 years.
- Sequoia Capital had $53.3B of assets under management (AUM) for venture funding as of the end of Q1.
Zoom Out: - Following the collapses of the high-profile crypto firms last year, including FTX and the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem, VC firms shifted their focus from crypto to AI and more traditional sectors, causing a decline in venture funding to Web3 startups for five consecutive quarters.
- In May, Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings also decided to cut salaries for its executives who recommended investing in FTX after suffering from reputational damage due to the collapse.
| | | |
| 4 | | Kuwait's financial regulator, the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), has announced that the country banned all operations involving cryptocurrencies to combat money laundering and terrorism financing. Major use cases and operations affected by the ban include crypto payments, investments, and mining. More: - The order also blocked local regulators from issuing licenses to allow firms to offer crypto services as a commercial business.
- The securities and other financial instruments regulated by the CMA and the Central Bank of Kuwait were excluded from the ban.
- Also, the CMA warned citizens to take caution and be careful about the potential risks from virtual assets since they do not carry any legal status and are not issued or supported.
- The regulator added that the prices of cryptocurrencies can always be driven by speculation, causing a sharp decline.
- The circular, which prohibited crypto transactions, was also issued by the country's central bank, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Insurance Regulatory Unit.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Inside.com. |  | | Want to Accelerate Your Success? Attend the Live VC Pitching to AI Founders! San Francisco Bay Area Welcomes AI Startup Founders and Visionary VCs at the Exclusive Event hosted by Jason Calacanis. Join us for a remarkable gathering where trailblazing entrepreneurs and influential investors converge. Engage in captivating discussions, witness inspiring keynote speeches, and participate in interactive sessions designed to foster collaboration and fuel innovation. With limited tickets available, secure your place among the select 300 attendees who will have the unique opportunity to network, learn, and create lasting connections that can shape the trajectory of your AI startup. Don't miss out on this extraordinary event that could redefine the future of your entrepreneurial journey! Learn more | |
|
| 5 | | Seychelles-based crypto exchange Bitget has announced that it opened an office in Dubai, the most populated emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as part of its expansion plans to the Middle East. The firm said it started hiring for new roles in the region. More: - The company plans to hire 30 to 60 new staff members for its Middle Eastern team over the next two years.
- The popular crypto trading platform also weighs the possibility of opening a regional headquarters in the Middle East.
- The firm will first explore the opportunities in Bahrain and the UAE.
- Bitget has already submitted license applications in several Middle Eastern countries to operate in a regulated way in the region.
Zoom Out: - The UAE has become an attraction point for crypto firms over the last several months, as leading platforms, including Crypto.com, OKX, and Binance, showed efforts to register with Dubai's market regulator.
- In April, crypto exchange Bybit also opened its global headquarters in Dubai as part of its plans to strengthen its position in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
- Similarly, Coinbase's executive team recently visited the UAE for strategic development in the region, and at the time, CEO Brian Armstrong praised the country for the first dedicated crypto regulator in the world, a clear rule book, strong customer protections, and a business-friendly approach.
| | | |
| 6 | | Speaking at a recent lecture in Singapore, the Chinese central bank's governor, Yi Gang, announced that the transactions using the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC), or the digital yuan, reached nearly $250B as of the end of June. The figure was only at the level of $13B in August last year. More: - Yi also said the digital yuan in circulation hit $2.3B in June.
- The bank governor added that the number of transactions through the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY, reached 950 million, while the citizens have opened 120 million wallets so far.
- Still, the digital yuan in circulation represents only 0.16% of China's total cash in circulation.
- China is currently piloting e-CNY, launched in 2019, in 26 cities and 17 provinces.
- The digital currency has been used mainly for domestic retail payments in the country.
- The country has offered many use cases for e-CNY, including payments for public transport, salaries to public sector employees, medical expenses, groceries, gas, and water.
Zoom Out: - CBDCs are issued and controlled by a country's government or central bank and backed by the local currency.
- The Chinese Communist Party, the ruling political party of the country, pushes for CBDC adoption mainly because it is subject to the direct control of the state.
- Cryptocurrencies, any kind of crypto transactions, and all crypto mining activities have been forbidden in China since 2021.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Elevate your cloud expertise with the AWS Cookbook. Practical, concise, AWS-focused: This resource is your key to cloud success.*
- The U.K. government has rejected lawmakers' proposal to regulate retail investing in unbacked cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), as gambling.
- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has stated that the crypto industry is full of fraud, scams, and abuse.
- The Bank of Japan (BOJ), the Japanese central bank, has launched a forum involving a series of discussions with 60 companies on developing a pilot program for a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or the digital yen.
- There are 12,000+ ways for small businesses to qualify, but finding out if you're approved takes only two minutes. Apply now with no obligation, and discover what refund you're entitled to.*
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | JUL
20 | | How to Set Up a Fundraising Campaign | | | | | | | JUL
25 | | Lacework hosts former CEO of Starbucks, Jim Donald, for a fireside chat on what CEOs need to know about cybersecurity.* | | | | | | | JUL
31 | | #TwoCents Discussion Community Challenge | | | | | | | AUG
2 | | Join Vanta and VioletX and find out how growing startups should navigate the complex compliance space. | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Blockchain: A blockchain is a distributed database that stores a list of immutable transactions. Question of the Week Do you think it's ever acceptable to bring politics into the workplace? Join the conversation |
INSIDE CRYPTOCURRENCY LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Staff Writer | | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment