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| Hey Insider! Welcome back to the Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter! The week continues in the shadow of the ongoing criminal trial of the former FTX CEO that officially kicked off yesterday with the jury selection. Today’s issue covers the details from the first day of the trial as well as several of the other biggest stories from the crypto market, including Binance’s decision to halt the BUSD lending service, French fashion designer Christian Louboutin’s NFT collections launched in partnership with Marvel, India’s plans to launch a global database for crypto-crime detection, 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
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| 1 | | Officials from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have stated that some of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former executives are among the names of witnesses who could testify against the former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), in the prosecutors' criminal case against him. During the first day of SBF's trial, Assistant Attorney Danielle Sassoon revealed the former executives who agreed to testify in court. More: - The list includes former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang, FTX's former engineering director Nishad Singh, and former FTX chief operating officer (COO) Constance Wang.
- Caroline Ellison, Gary Wang, and Nishad Singh have already pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement in the collapse of FTX.
- On the other hand, the former FTX co-CEO Ryan Salame, the fifth person directly connected to the criminal case, did not agree to testify.
- SBF's criminal trial started on Oct. 3 with jury selection as Judge Lewis A. Kaplan asked prospective jurors questions about the case and warned them about avoiding media consumption related to the trial.
- In the courthouse, SBF appeared without his iconic messy hair for the first time.
- On the first day, Judge Kaplan also confirmed that prosecutors had never offered a plea deal to SBF.
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 SBF used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at the sister company Alameda Research.
- The 31-year-old former CEO currently faces seven charges, including money laundering and misappropriation of customer funds, to which he pleaded not guilty.
- The allegations against SBF confront him with a statutory maximum of 110 years in prison.
Q: Do you think the former FTX executives' testimonies will determine Sam Bankman-Fried's fate? Join the conversation here. |     | |
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What the numbers say: Payment protocol Ripple's native token, XRP, jumped by 7% in value within the day. The token's price increased to as much as $0.5441 from the $0.50 level a few hours earlier. Then, the figure started hovering around $0.53. The popular cryptocurrency's trading volume also saw a whopping surge, with a more than 100% rise. Relevance: The price jump in XRP came shortly after U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres denied a request from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to appeal to her ruling regarding its case against Ripple. In July, Torres ruled that XRP is not a security when sold to the general public. At the time, the ruling was considered a partial victory for Ripple since the SEC classified XRP as a security in a lawsuit filed in December 2020, accusing Ripple and some of its executives of the unregistered sale of nearly $1.3B of XRP tokens. Since Torres' ruling did not end the case against Ripple, the SEC had to seek permission from the judge to appeal. However, Torres denied the request for an interlocutory appeal, triggering a significant price increase in XRP. Brands that should care: The value increase followed a new license granted to Ripple in Singapore. The firm recently obtained a major payment institution license from the city-state's financial market regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), nearly four months after it received an in-principle approval. The license will allow the company to legally offer digital payment token services to users in Singapore. Over the past year, several other crypto-related firms, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Blockchain.com, and Circle, have also managed to obtain full approval in the region. | | | |
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| 3 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it would halt borrowing and lending services for its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD), as of Oct. 25. The move has become a part of a wider phase-out process announced in August for BUSD. More: - As part of the decision, the platform will close all BUSD loan and collateral positions by the specified deadline.
- The service allowed Binance customers to show their BUSD assets as collateral and lend them to earn a 3% annual yield.
- The latest move will see Binance users becoming unable to borrow or lend any BUSD tokens on the platform after Oct. 25.
- However, users will still be able to continue to borrow and lend other stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT), Dai (DAI), and USD Coin (USDC), on Binance.
- The latest announcement came more than a month after Binance stated that it would gradually halt support for BUSD by February 2024, urging users to convert their funds in BUSD into other available stablecoins on the platform.
- The phase-out process mainly stems from the legal challenges the issuer Paxos faced this year.
- The issuer had to stop minting new BUSD tokens as of Feb. 21 after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in the U.S. labeled the stablecoin as an unregistered derivative and securities product.
Zoom Out: - BUSD launched through a partnership between Binance and the stablecoin issuer Paxos in September 2019.
- Before the termination of its issuance, the token was one of the largest stablecoins and reached a peak of $23B in market cap in November last year.
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| 4 | | India has started developing a global database covering data from all crypto exchanges, including the ones on the dark web, to help the detection of crypto-related crimes. The country plans to launch the database in March 2024. More: - The data resource will mainly aim to provide law enforcement agencies worldwide with the tools to track and compile necessary data related to illegal crypto activities.
- The beneficiaries of the database will include both Indian and international law enforcement authorities.
- The move came shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for support for establishing a global framework for crypto regulations at the latest G20 summit in New Delhi.
Zoom Out: - India is currently the second-largest crypto market by transaction volume.
- The country also introduced a Crypto Intelligence and Analysis Tool to combat crypto-related crimes in September.
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| 5 | | Crypto-focused venture capital (VC) firm CMCC Global has recently raised $100M to launch a new fund dubbed Titan Fund that would support blockchain startups financially. The Hong Kong-based VC firm said it would invest in Asian startups through the new funding. More: - The fund was backed by more than 30 investors.
- The investors include Winklevoss Capital, Block.one, Pacific Century Group, Jebsen Capital, and Animoca Brands' founder, Yat Siu.
- The firm will distribute the capital into three investment categories, including blockchain infrastructure, consumer applications, and crypto-based financial services.
Zoom Out: - In April, Seychelles-based crypto exchange Bitget also launched a $100M fund to invest in Web3-focused firms and projects in Asia with experienced teams and a clear roadmap.
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| 6 | | French fashion designer Christian Louboutin, best known for its high-end heels, has launched two limited-edition NFT collections in partnership with comic book giant Marvel. The NFTs will be given to Louboutin customers as part of the sales of an exclusive physical shoe and accessory collection. More: - Buyers of the physical shoes and accessories of the Marvel-themed collection will receive an NFT from the Sea Warrior Special Edition collection as a gift.
- The NFT features a digital picture of the brand's gladiator sandals inspired by a classic Marvel character, Namor.
- The physical version of the sandals is currently sold for $3,495.
- The attendees of the collaboration's launch event will also receive a piece from the Sea Queen NFT collection as an appreciation.
- The Sea Queen NFTs include a hand-drawn illustration of a unique shoe sold at an auction alongside the signature of Christian Louboutin.
- Both NFT collections were built on the Ethereum blockchain network by VeVe.
- Besides, 1,500 of Louboutin's top clients will be gifted a physical limited-edition comic book that depicts the famous designer as a superhero.
Zoom Out: - Louboutin made its first foray into the Web3 space last year by distributing a Proof of Attendance Protocol (POAP), a digital collectible similar to the NFT tickets, to the guests of its September 2022 Loubi Show event.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - It's been 150 years since the last great leap in engine technology. Invest in LiquidPiston to be part of the next one.*
- Jaynti Kanani, the co-founder of the Polygon blockchain network, has stated that he stepped back from the project six months ago, adding that he would focus on new adventures and continue to support Polygon from the sidelines.
- The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged several China-based companies and their employees with producing and distributing drugs by using crypto to conceal identities and funds.
- Canada's largest exchange, TMX Group, has announced that it will soon start offering trading services for Bitcoin futures.
- Even the best engineers can run into challenges. Straight from the cloud experts at DoiT, here are 5 core strategies for cloud innovation.*
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Term of the Day January Effect: The January Effect is a seasonal increase in stock prices that tends to happen in January. 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 | |
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