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| Hey Insider! Welcome to the week's third Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter! Today's issue covers some of the most prominent stories hitting the headlines in the middle of the week, including Coinbase's new institutional lending service, Justin Bieber's plans to turn his hit track from 2015 into an NFT, Binance Charity's recent survey revealing philanthropists' stance on crypto donations, and more. Enjoy your reading, and if you find this newsletter useful, please do not forget to share it with your friends and colleagues! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | El Salvador's Ministry of Education has announced its plans to add Bitcoin education to public schools' curriculum by 2024 in partnership with a nonprofit organization dubbed Mi Primer Bitcoin (My First Bitcoin). As part of the program, the students will receive a certificate after completing their education. More: - Mi Primer Bitcoin will begin training for the pilot program on Sept. 7 in collaboration with Bitcoin Beach, a community of more than 3,000 Bitcoin users in El Salvador.
- During the training, the organization will teach its educational program to 150 teachers from 75 public schools as primary source material to offer them a fundamental knowledge of Bitcoin.
- The teachers will start giving education from the curriculum created by the Ministry of Education to the students at their own schools after the initial training.
- If the program becomes successful, it will be introduced to every school in the country next year.
- Mi Primer Bitcoin's founder, John Dennehy, said they have dreamed about bringing Bitcoin education to the world since their launch two years ago, though their primary focus is currently on El Salvador.
- Dennehy also added that they have already entered into early talks with two other governments in Latin America seeking to give Bitcoin education to local students.
Zoom Out: - In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender.
Q: Do you think compulsory Bitcoin education is necessary in public schools in today's world? Join the conversation here. |     | |
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What the numbers say: A recent survey conducted by Binance Charity, the philanthropic arm of the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, in honor of the International Day of Charity has revealed the philanthropists' stance on crypto donations. The survey results show that 37% of the 1,126 respondents see transparency as the primary benefit of donating to charities with crypto. In the ranking, transparency was followed by efficiency and cost-effectiveness, accountability, and other benefits, respectively. Also, 43% of participants stated they still prefer conventional donation methods, such as cash, checks, and credit cards. However, a significant 32% portion indicated cryptocurrencies as their favorite method of donation. Relevance: Over the past few years, crypto has been increasingly used as a medium of donation for humanitarian aid causes many times on certain occasions, including the earthquake affecting Turkey and Syria, the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires, and the war between Ukraine and Russia. Most recently, The People's Fund of Maui, a relief fund launched by several high-profile celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson, added cryptocurrencies to its donation options to support those affected by the wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui financially. The fund confirmed that 100% of donations would go to the victims. Brands that should care: There are several other disaster relief organizations and charity platforms, such as All Hands and Hearts, Binance Charity, and The Giving Block, that accept crypto donations for the people affected by natural disasters and cultural incidents. | | | |
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| 3 | | Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has launched a new lending service catering to institutional clients in the U.S. The service will allow corporate customers using Coinbase's Prime service to lend their digital assets to the popular exchange. More: - Institutional investors can execute trades and custody of their funds in crypto through Coinbase Prime.
- Prime service users have already invested $57M in Coinbase's new lending program.
- The move came nearly four months after Coinbase halted the operations of its lending product serving retail customers, Coinbase Borrow, in May.
- Coinbase Borrow, launched in November 2021, allowed customers to show their Bitcoin (BTC) funds as collateral to receive cash loans of up to $1M in certain U.S. states, and users were able to borrow up to 40% of their BTC balances at an 8.7% annual interest rate.
- The new institutional lending service will be operated through Coinbase Credit, the same entity running the retail service.
Zoom Out: - Coinbase's new lending product is expected to fill a gap created by the consecutive bankruptcies of crypto lenders BlockFi, Celsius Network, and Genesis Global in the U.S. crypto market.
- All three crypto lenders filed for bankruptcy mainly due to their exposure to a prolonged crypto winter and the collapse of FTX, the previously third-largest crypto exchange.
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| 4 | | Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global has announced that it would halt the operations of its U.S.-focused spot crypto trading business, Genesis Global Trading (GGT), as of Sept. 18. A company spokesperson said the decision was made voluntarily for business reasons. More: - All the active trades on GGT will be settled by Sept. 21, and the company will close the remaining open accounts at the end of the day on Sept. 30.
- GGT was one of the several Genesis-related companies that have managed to escape the bankruptcy of the crypto lender.
- At the time of bankruptcy, Genesis Global stated that the trading operations at GGT would continue as usual.
- However, the company decided to shut down GGT's operations nearly eight months after Genesis' bankruptcy, underlining that they are working closely with regulatory authorities to discontinue the service properly.
- The firm also added that GGC International Ltd., another trading-focused unit owned by Genesis Bermuda Holdco Ltd., would continue its spot and derivative trading operations.
Zoom Out: - Genesis Global filed for bankruptcy in January after freezing withdrawals in November 2022, mainly due to its exposure to the collapses of the crypto exchange FTX and crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC).
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| 5 | | A recently unsealed court order has shown that the bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network's former CEO Alex Mashinsky's assets were frozen as the U.S. prosecutors' litigation against him continues. The order covers Mashinsky's assets in bank accounts and real estate assets. More: - In the order, U.S. Judge Jed Rakoff has blocked financial institutions from selling assets in several Goldman Sachs bank accounts and a residential property in Texas.
- The order, issued on Aug. 16, has been kept confidential and recently unsealed due to the court's concerns that the assets could be disposed of before being frozen.
- Mashinsky was arrested by U.S. law enforcement authorities in July with the charges of conducting fraud and attempting to manipulate the crypto market.
- Shortly after being arrested, the former CEO pleaded not guilty to charges brought by U.S. prosecutors against him in seven counts and was released on a $40M bail pending trial.
- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also simultaneously filed lawsuits against Celsius and Mashinsky in the U.S., in addition to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Zoom Out: - Celsius offered loans and paid high interest rates on crypto deposits.
- The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2022, mainly due to its liquidity issues and the crypto market downturn triggered by the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem's collapse that wiped over $60B off the crypto market.
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| 6 | | Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber has decided to turn his hit song from 2015, Company, into an NFT in partnership with the blockchain-focused music tech platform Anotherblock and the track's co-producer, Andreas Schuller, also known as Axident. The NFT will pave the way for the fans to invest in the digital collectible to receive a share of the royalties. More: - Anotherblock and Axident will release the NFT version of the track on Sept. 7.
- Only 2,000 NFTs will be available for sale for the fans.
- Holders of the track's NFT version will be able to join a 1% share of the royalties in the streams of the song.
- However, Axident will remain the only rights holder of the track.
- "Company" has surpassed 500 million streams since its release in 2015.
Zoom Out: - Anotherblock has also previously worked with some of the other most prominent figures in the music industry, such as The Weeknd and Rihanna, for new Web3-based projects.
- Justin Bieber has similarly become one of the most well-known celebrities with the affiliation of digital collectibles, especially after investing in Yuga Labs' famous Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.
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- Coinbase's Ethereum-powered Layer-2 blockchain network, Base, has experienced the first major outage since its public launch in August, resulting in a stall in the production of blocks for a few hours.
- Weibo, one of the most popular social media platforms in China, has proactively removed 80 influencer accounts promoting crypto activities.
- During her appearance at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Mumbai, India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said they are actively carrying out discussions around establishing a global framework for cryptocurrencies.
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Term of the Day Cost of goods sold (COGS): COGS refers to the direct costs of producing or acquiring the goods that a company sells to its customers. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
INSIDE CRYPTOCURRENCY LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
 | 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 | |
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