| |
| Hey Insider! Welcome back to the Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter! The arrest of one of the Tornado Cash founders in the U.S. hit the headlines within the day as the week nears to close. Today's issue also covers Bitstamp's decision to halt its staking service for U.S. customers, Binance's suspension of crypto debit card services in the Middle East and Latin America, DBS Bank's new metaverse experience to reduce food waste, and more. Enjoy your reading, and if you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Luxembourg-based Bitstamp, one of the oldest crypto exchanges, has announced that it would halt offering its staking service in the U.S. as of Sept. 25. The company's national CEO, Bobby Zagotta, cited the current regulatory dynamics while explaining the decision. More: - The move will see Bitstamp customers in the U.S. becoming unable to stake Ether (ETH) by pledging their tokens to earn rewards through the platform after the deadline.
- Bitstamp's staking service allows users to pledge their ETH and Algorand (ALGO) tokens, though the latter is not available in the U.S.
- Hence, the decision will only affect the ETH staking in the country.
- The move came amid increased scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the crypto exchanges' staking services.
- Some rival exchanges, such as Coinbase and Kraken, came against the SEC earlier this year since the agency classified their staking products as unregistered securities.
- Bitstamp also recently decided to suspend trading for seven tokens, which were labeled as unregistered securities in the SEC's consecutive lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase in the U.S. as of Aug. 29.
Zoom Out: - The SEC classifies all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) as securities in the light of current chair Gary Gensler's approach, claiming jurisdiction over the digital asset market.
- Within the last several months alone, many crypto exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, faced increased crackdowns by the SEC over alleged securities law violations.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The trading volume on the popular NFT marketplace and aggregator platform Rarible jumped by 598% within just one day. The figure increased to the $45,700 level yesterday, up from $6,540 a day before. The average sale price on the platform also surged to $1,130 from $144.10 within a 24-hour period. Relevance: The jump in Rarible's trading volume followed the platform's public announcement demonstrating its commitment to the NFT creator royalty fees. The increased volumes have shown that the community supported Rarible's reaction. Right before the nearly 600% increase, Rarible co-founder Alex Salnikov stated that they would no longer support marketplaces neglecting royalties since they stand in solidarity with creators and artists, urging other platforms to make similar moves. As part of the decision, the platform said it would stop aggregating orders from NFT marketplaces OpenSea, LooksRare, and X2Y2 as of Sept. 30. The move came as a response to OpenSea's decision to lift its royalty enforcement tool, Operator Filter. Brands that should care: OpenSea also recently saw backlash from Yuga Labs, the firm behind the famous Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks NFTs. The NFT company made a similar decision, announcing that it would gradually halt using OpenSea's SeaPort smart contract built for the sales of Ethereum-based NFTs. What it means: NFT royalties refer to the payments made to the original creator of an NFT for every secondary sale of the digital collectible, and they usually account for a certain percentage of the sales amount, typically 2.5% to 10%. These fees have lately become a source of tension between marketplaces and NFT creators, as the leading trading platforms like OpenSea and Blur adopted policies that make creator payouts optional for the collectors. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Fount. |  | | Fount brings you elite-level performance optimization and longevity strategies, without the gimmicks or hype. Leveraging proven methods based on our work with Special Operations and top-tier athletes, we analyze your bloodwork, wearable data, and lifestyle factors to craft tailored plans. Our focus encompasses sleep, nutrition, custom supplements, hormone balance, longevity, and stress resilience. Begin a 4-month comprehensive life transformation now. Use code FOUNDER to receive $500 off your first month. Get Started | |
|
| 3 | | The controversial coin-mixing service Tornado Cash's two founders, Roman Storm and Roman Semenov, have been charged with money laundering, U.S. sanctions violations, and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in the U.S. As part of the indictments, Storm was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Washington to wait for his trial in court. More: - On the other hand, Russian citizen Semenov is currently a fugitive and not in custody.
- The two men were accused of helping Tornado Cash clients, including the North Korean cybercrime organization Lazarus Group, launder more than $1B of crypto.
- Tornado Cash made it harder to track digital assets, claiming to provide untraceable financial transactions for the sake of anonymity and privacy.
- Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, stated that Storm and Semenov knew they were helping hackers and fraudsters launder their illegal funds and evade sanctions.
- The U.S. Treasury Department also pointed out that the Lazarus Group used Tornado Cash to hide the transfer of over $455M stolen funds during a crypto heist in March 2022.
Zoom Out: - Last year, Tornado Cash came under scrutiny by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) with the accusations of laundering more than $7B of crypto assets since its launch in 2019.
- As part of its accusations, the agency sanctioned Tornado Cash and blocked crypto wallets associated with it to eliminate financial transactions benefiting foreign terrorists.
- Most recently, U.S. Judge Robert Pitman ruled that the OFAC was right in its determinations in a lawsuit funded by the U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase and denied the argument that the Treasury Department exceeded its authority while sanctioning Tornado Cash.
Q: What do you think about Tornado Cash's role in the crypto industry? Is it an alternative way to maintain anonymity or a channel to help crime groups launder illegal funds? Share your thoughts with us in the comments box. | | | |
| 4 | | Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has filed a new legal motion, asking the bankruptcy court to approve it to hire Galaxy Digital as an investment manager for its crypto holdings. The motion proposed that Galaxy Digital manages and trades the digital assets owned by FTX to liquidate them into fiat currencies or stablecoins while hedging the firm's exposure to volatile cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). More: - In return, Galaxy Digital will receive a monthly management fee from FTX.
- The proposed agreement will allow FTX to benefit from Galaxy Digital's expertise and the investment manager to conduct trades confidentially without revealing FTX's plans.
- The potential collaboration will also help FTX's restructuring efforts by monetizing its crypto holdings.
- As part of the deal, Galaxy Digital will have a fiduciary duty to look out for the best interest of FTX when managing its digital assets.
- Besides, FTX will be approved to stake some crypto assets to generate passive yield.
- Following the motion, FTX debtors also asked the court to allow them to establish guidelines for managing and selling the firm's digital assets.
- The proposed guidelines will let FTX sell up to $100M of crypto assets a week and increase this limit to $200M temporarily when needed.
- FTX still needs bankruptcy court approval to proceed with the proposals.
Zoom Out: - FTX, previously the third-largest crypto exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 2022, with all the 130 entities under the roof of FTX Group.
- The downfall followed the claims that the former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at the sister company Alameda Research.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Masterworks. |  | | “Risk-free” 5% return just means you’re risking losing out on 35% Thanks to this year’s interest rate hikes, investors can finally earn more on their cash than the .01% rate their bank was giving them. But while having a “risk free” return seems comforting, there’s a hidden cost banks don’t want you to consider: opportunity. Like the opportunity to invest in Masterworks, an award-winning platform for investing in blue-chip art. So far, it has achieved a 100% positive net returns track record for investors, with recent exits delivering 17.8%, 21.5%, and 35% annualized net returns. Because the truth is, you can’t afford to risk only getting 5% returns, especially if you’re hoping to retire one day. But with a track record like this, Masterworks’ offerings can sell out in minutes. However, Inside readers can skip the waitlist to join with this exclusive link and claim their free account. SKIP THE WAITLIST See important disclosures at masterworks.com/cd | |
|
| 5 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it would stop offering its crypto debit card services in Latin America and the Middle East as of Sept. 21. The firm said the decision would affect less than 1% of its users in the two regions. More: - The platform has yet to reveal any reason for the decision.
- The exchange's crypto-supported debit cards allowed customers to make payments for goods and services in shops and online stores using their crypto assets.
- The move will see Binance's crypto debit cards used in Latin America and the Middle East being terminated by Sept. 21.
- However, the exchange will continue to process claimed refunds and disputes in the regions until Dec. 20.
- The decision to downsize the scale of the service came more than three years after Binance first announced its plans for crypto-backed debit cards in April 2020.
Zoom Out: - The move also followed an increased scrutiny by regulators worldwide, the U.S., Australia, France, and Belgium, on Binance.
- Besides, over the last several months alone, the platform had to withdraw from several markets in the West, including Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the U.K., and Germany, mainly due to compliance issues.
| | | |
| 6 | | Singapore's biggest bank, DBS Bank, has unveiled a new metaverse concept dubbed DBS BetterWorld to reduce food waste. The move came nearly a year after the Singaporean bank acquired a virtual land in the metaverse platform, The Sandbox, in September 2022. More: - DBS BetterWorld will offer a gamified adventure to its visitors.
- The bank's metaverse will aim to demonstrate how virtual experiences can be used as a force for good.
- Players will try to complete a series of activities in DBS BetterWorld to combat and reduce food waste.
- The bank will open its metaverse experience to the public by the end of 2023 once The Sandbox's Alpha Season 4 becomes available later this year.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Toptal's no-risk trial offers flexible engagements with world-class talent, letting you confidently scale your teams.*
- U.S. presidential candidate and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has stated that he would receive his salary in Bitcoin (BTC) if elected president in the 2024 U.S. election race.
- U.S. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan has allowed the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), to access his legal team outside of jail if he notifies prosecutors and the U.S. Marshals Service 48 hours before the meeting.
- Blockchain development platform Alchemy has hired the financial services firm Stripe's former head of Web3, Guillaume Poncin, as its new head of engineering.
- Start your Babbel journey today and set the stage for an autumn filled with discovery, connection, and unforgettable memories. Get 55% off when you join.*
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | OCT
10 | | Optimizely is bringing back its annual conference, Opticon, to San Diego! Inside readers get a discount by using the code InsideDeal.* | | | | | | | OCT
16 | | Meet Our Fund 5, Building and Investing in AI | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Search engine optimization: Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website for search engine visibility. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? 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 | |
| |
| |
|
 | Join 790,000+ people on the premier blue-chip art investing platform, Masterworks. Skip the waitlist.
| |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment