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| Take a quick look at the hits from the week's first Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - A lawsuit filed by FTX's new management against Bybit,
- South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb's plans to go public in 2025,
- Marathon Digital's new crypto mining operation using renewable hydro energy in Paraguay, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's new management has filed a lawsuit against Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange Bybit and two of its affiliates to recover nearly $1B withdrawn by the latter right before the collapse. The claimed funds cover $953M worth of cash and digital assets. More: - Bybit, its investment arm Mirana Corp., and an affiliated crypto trading firm dubbed Time Research Ltd. were all named as defendants in the lawsuit.
- The case accused Mirana Corp. of withdrawing most of its assets from FTX before the bankruptcy using its VIP privileges, which most customers did not have.
- The lawsuit also claimed that Bybit pressured FTX employees to meet its withdrawal requests while other customers were waiting for hours to get money off the exchange as it collapsed.
- The $953M figure includes more than $327M Mirana Corp. withdrew between Nov. 7 and 8, 2022, when FTX halted withdrawals.
- The bankruptcy rules allow a company to recover transfers that occur within 90 days before going bankrupt.
- On the other hand, FTX's new management revealed its plans to relaunch the exchange in April, and since then, the firm has made multiple attempts to recover funds given before the collapse, including the ones to the former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), his parents, and former ambassadors Naomi Osaka and Shaquille O'Neal.
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.
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What the numbers say: The data compiled by BitInfoCharts has shown that Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has made more than 60,000 investors millionaires since the beginning of the year. The Bitcoin addresses holding at least $1M surpassed 88,366 as of November, with a nearly 215% increase from 28,084 on Jan. 1, 2023. The millionaire wallets include 6,649 holding more than $10M, while the rest possess at least $1M. Relevance: The increase in the number of millionaire Bitcoin investors mainly stemmed from the massive price surge experienced by the popular cryptocurrency since the beginning of the year. The token increased its value by almost 125% year-to-date. Significantly, the latest rally created a significant upward trend in Bitcoin's price. The trend caused the value to reach as much as $37,000 for the first time since May 2022, up from the $16,000 level at the beginning of 2023. Brands that should care: On the other hand, the upward trend in Bitcoin was mainly triggered by positive expectations around the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. There are currently many traditional financial firms, including Grayscale Investments, BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, and Wise Origin, waiting for regulators to approve their Bitcoin ETF applications in the U.S. Analysts believe that the approval of such applications could bring significant amounts of capital to the crypto market, causing a much stronger price increase in Bitcoin. | | | |
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| 3 | | Terraform Labs, the firm behind the collapsed Terra ecosystem, has acquired a cross-chain portfolio management and analytics startup dubbed Pulsar Finance. Financial details of the sales deal have yet to be disclosed. More: - Terraform Labs CEO Chris Amani, who replaced co-founder Do Kwon in July, said the acquisition of Pulsar Finance would allow the firm to bring cross-chain apps to the market quickly.
- Amani also underlined that the acquisition would integrate an incredibly talented team led by three innovative entrepreneurs into Terraform Labs.
- Pulsar Finance's analytics platform currently supports 96 blockchain networks and more than 700 protocols.
- Through the firm's products, users can track performance across various tokens, decentralized finance (DeFi) positions, and NFTs.
- As part of the acquisition, Terraform Labs will integrate Pulsar Finance's products into some of its services.
Zoom Out: - The multibillion-dollar Terra ecosystem collapsed last year after the prices of its native tokens, Luna and TerraUSD, plummeted nearly to zero in May and lost all their value against the U.S. dollar (USD), triggering a prolonged crypto winter.
- The downfall caused over $60B to be wiped off the crypto market.
- Do Kwon, who is currently under arrest in Montenegro, faces many lawsuits and investigations in several countries, such as his native South Korea, the U.S., and Montenegro, with allegations including tax fraud, deceiving investors, racket collecting, building a Ponzi scheme, and forgery.
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| 4 | | The U.S.-based crypto mining firm Marathon Digital has recently launched a new Bitcoin (BTC) mining project in Paraguay. The project aims to produce electricity needed for mining operations using renewable hydro energy in the country's Itaipu Dam. More: - Marathon Digital has partnered with Penguin Infrastructure for the project.
- The move marked Marathon Digital's second attempt to expand into markets outside the U.S. after the project in Abu Dhabi.
- The project will help Paraguay monetize its excess energy without the need for expensive transmission lines and additional infrastructure by converting it into a source for Bitcoin mining operations.
- Itaipu Dam is the world's second-largest hydroelectric dam by annual production.
Zoom Out: - Marathon Digital also recently launched another project in the U.S. state of Utah to mine Bitcoin using methane gas generated from landfill waste in collaboration with Nodal Power, a renewable energy asset developer and operator.
- As part of the project, the company captures methane gas emitted from landfills, converts it into electricity, and uses the generated power to offer energy to Bitcoin miners.
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| 5 | | Seychelles-based crypto exchange Bitget has announced that it would permanently shut down its Hong Kong unit, BitgetX HK, as of Dec. 13, citing business and market-related considerations. The firm also pointed out that it abandoned its plans to apply for a virtual asset trading platform license in the region. More: - BitgetX HK launched its operations as a crypto platform for spot trading and peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers in April.
- The company advised its users to withdraw their existing crypto assets on the platform until Dec. 13, underlining that they will not be able to manage or access their assets after this date.
- The exchange also halted offering trading services and accepting new users immediately.
- Besides, the firm added that it would permanently exit from the Hong Kong market.
Zoom Out: - Hong Kong officially approved its long-awaited licensing regime for crypto exchanges in May, allowing retail investors to trade major tokens such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on licensed platforms.
- As part of the new regime, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) started accepting applications for digital asset trading platform licenses on June 1, with HashKey and OSL becoming the first crypto exchanges to obtain a crypto license.
- Bitget was among the several leading crypto firms, such as OKX, HTX, and Amber Group, revealing their plans to apply for a license under Hong Kong's new regime.
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| 6 | | South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has started preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) to go public in 2025. If the platform's plans for a potential IPO materialize, the privately-owned company will list its shares on the South Korean stock exchange, Kosdaq, making them available for purchase by the general public. More: - The listing on the exchange is expected to happen in H2 2025.
- Bithumb confirmed that it selected Samsung Securities as its potential IPO underwriter, which would be tasked with guaranteeing the exchange's financial security before it goes public.
- If it proceeds with an IPO, Bithumb will be the first crypto exchange in South Korea to go public, being listed on the country's stock exchange market.
Zoom Out: - Bithumb, launched in 2014, is currently the second-largest crypto exchange in South Korea by daily trading volume behind Upbit.
- The platform has around 8 million registered users.
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- Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former general counsel, Can Sun, has joined forces with other former FTX executives to launch a new crypto trading platform.
- Singaporean startup dtcpay has launched a new system that allows customers to make online and in-store payments through fiat currencies and crypto.
- Speaking at a recent conference in Dubai, payment protocol Ripple's CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, has stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's enforcement actions aimed at regulating the crypto industry only hindered growth in the market.
- Chinese hackers have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto using a fake Skype app.
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 | 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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