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| These are our top stories today: - A court in Montenegro has approved the extradition of Terra co-founder Do Kwon.
- SBF used mackerel packs to pay for a haircut in jail.
- Singapore has tightened retail crypto trading regulations.
Enjoy today's newsletter and have a great weekend! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | A Montenegrin court has officially approved the extradition of Do Kwon, the co-founder of the collapsed Terra ecosystem. Kwon could be extradited to either the U.S. or his native South Korea after serving a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro for document forgery. More: - The final decision on the extradition destination will be made by Montenegro's Justice Minister Marko Kovač.
- Kwon was arrested in March at the Podgorica Airport in Montenegro with Han Chang Joon, the chief financial officer of Terraform Labs, while trying to fly to Dubai carrying falsified traveling documents.
- He was sentenced to four months in jail and the sentence was upheld by the Montenegro High Court in November, which rejected an appeal by Kwon's legal team.
- His extradition has now been approved, though neither the U.S. nor South Korea has a direct extradition treaty with Montenegro.
- Kwon currently faces lawsuits and investigations in both countries for alleged tax fraud, deceiving investors, building a Ponzi scheme, and forgery.
Zoom Out: - The multibillion-dollar Terra ecosystem collapsed last year after the prices of its native tokens, Luna and TerraUSD, plummeted to nearly zero, wiping over $60B off the crypto market.
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What the numbers say: Popular news platform Watcher.Guru has compiled the price data of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, on every Thanksgiving day from 2009 to 2023. The data show that BTC was worth $37,000 on Thanksgiving Day 2023, up from $0.28 in 2010, although the price fluctuated in certain years. Relevance: Bitcoin has surged 125% since the start of 2023. BTC recently crossed the $37,000 mark for the first time since May 2022, up from $16,000 at the beginning of the year. Brands that should care: The upward trend in Bitcoin was mainly triggered by positive expectations around spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the U.S. Many traditional financial firms ― including Grayscale Investments, BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, and Wise Origin ― have filed Bitcoin ETF applications with U.S. regulators. Analysts believe that the approval of these applications could bring significant amounts of capital to the crypto market, causing a surge in Bitcoin prices. | | | |
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| 3 | | X, formerly known as Twitter, has temporarily restricted the account of Binance's former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), on fears he may have violated the platform's rules. The move came shortly after Zhao changed his profile name from CZ Binance to CZ BNB as well as the bio section to describe himself as the co-founder and former CEO of Binance. Zhao's account was fully restored within a few hours. More: - In a post directed to platform owner Elon Musk, Zhao said X's bot detection algorithm sometimes "wrongly targets" humans. He said the algorithm probably blocked him when he changed his profile information.
- Zhao stepped down as CEO this week after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering requirements and U.S. sanctions by allowing terrorist groups to make crypto transactions on Binance.
- Under a settlement deal with U.S. regulators, CZ agreed to pay a $50M fine and not to engage in Binance's management for three years.
- He was later released on a $175M bond and allowed to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while awaiting sentencing in February.
Zoom Out: - CZ currently faces up to 10 years in prison, though he is expected to get no more than 18 months under the settlement agreement.
- Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, also agreed to pay a $4.3B fine to settle charges of money laundering, unlicensed money-transmitting business operations, and sanction violations ― one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history.
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| 4 | | Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), paid for a haircut with mackerel fish in jail, according to The Wall Street Journal. The report said mackerel has been regularly used in federal prisons as a currency after cigarettes were banned in 2004. More: - SBF was found guilty of all the seven criminal charges brought against him by U.S. prosecutors, including wire fraud, money laundering, and misappropriation of customer funds, in early November after a month-long trial process.
- The former CEO is currently waiting for sentencing scheduled for March 28, 2024, at the Metropolitan Detention Center in New York. He faces up to 115 years in prison.
- Prison consultant Bill Baroni said that when he was in prison, he paid four packs of mackerels for a haircut, adding that "the mack currency system is far more stable than crypto."
- One source told the WSJ that SBF offered crypto tips to prison guards.
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 reports that SBF used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at the sister company Alameda Research.
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| 5 | | The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state's financial market regulator, has tightened regulations for crypto service providers. The measures will come into effect gradually after mid-2024. More: - The rules ban individual investors from borrowing digital assets to trade. Digital asset service providers are now barred from offering incentives for retail trading, such as referrals, learn-to-earn programs, and promotions.
- Providing financing, margin, or leverage transactions in crypto will also be restricted under the new rules.
- Crypto service providers will not be allowed to accept payments through locally issued credit cards.
- MAS expanded the retail crypto trading rules to cover all investors regardless of residency instead of only those based in Singapore.
Zoom Out: - MAS is known for its strict crypto rules and stingy attitude toward approving a license.
- Several crypto-related firms have managed to obtain full or in-principle approval in the city-state so far, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Blockchain.com, Paxos, Upbit, Ripple, and Circle.
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| 6 | | Crypto-fiat payment solution Alchemy Pay has recently obtained a money services license in the U.S. state of Iowa to offer its services to local residents. The platform received a money transmitter license in Arkansas in September. More: - Iowa requires any entity or individual seeking to engage in currency exchange or money transmission business to obtain a license from state regulators.
- Alchemy Pay has applied for licenses in other states and says the applications should be processed in the coming months.
- The platform also plans to apply for licenses in the U.K. and Hong Kong.
Zoom Out: - Alchemy Pay currently caters to customers across 173 countries in partnership with payment processors, such as Mastercard, Visa, and regional digital wallets.
- The platform's infrastructure allows merchants and customers to make or accept payments in both crypto and fiat currencies.
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- Netherlands-based crypto exchange Bitvavo obtained regulatory approval to provide digital asset services in France.
- A Bitcoin (BTC) investor accidentally paid a record-breaking $3.1M fee for a single transaction.
- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, released his Autumn Statement and outlined 110 measures to grow the nation's economy, including an initiative to expand the digital asset industry.
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Term of the Day Long (position): A long position involves the purchase of a security from another party believing it will appreciate in value. Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation |
 | 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 Eduardo Garcia | |
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