| Here is a quick look at the hits from the week's latest Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - Binance's new pilot program that allows institutional investors to hold collateral at a third-party bank to trade on the exchange,
- Swiss crypto bank Seba Bank's rebranding to Amina,
- The United Nations Development Programme's plans to launch a blockchain academy in partnership with Algorand, and more.
Enjoy your reading, and have a great weekend! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has started piloting a new custody program that allows institutional investors to hold collateral at a third-party bank to trade on the platform instead of depositing their funds on the exchange. The firm said the program aims to reduce counterparty risk and address corporate clients' concerns around it. More: - The pilot program allows investors to hold the collateral in cash or Treasury bonds, earning yields while they trade.
- Binance's head of VIP and institutional, Catherine Chen, stated that the exchange has been working on the program for at least a year and plans to expand it even more.
- Chen also underlined that an array of banking partners and institutional investors have already shown strong interest in participating in the program.
- The initial reports on the program pointed out that Binance evaluated Swiss-based FlowBank and Liechtenstein-based Bank Frick as potential intermediaries for the service.
- The program was launched amid a time when Binance faced increased regulatory scrutiny in many countries, including the U.S., Australia, France, Belgium, and Brazil.
- The exchange also recently had to withdraw from several markets worldwide, such as Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, Cyprus, the U.K., Russia, and Germany, mainly due to compliance issues.
Zoom Out: - Counterparty risk is defined as the potential that one of the participants of a transaction defaults on its contractual obligation.
- In the context of centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs), it refers to the possibility that traders who deposit their crypto or cash on the exchange before trading lose their assets if the platform collapses or halts withdrawals.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: OX, the native token of the crypto exchange OPNX launched by co-founders of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), briefly jumped in value within the day. The token's price increased to as much as $0.0214, with a 70% spike from the previous day's low of $0.01255. Then, the cryptocurrency experienced a slight price decline again, retreating to the $0.017 level. Relevance: The jump in OX's price came right after OPNX co-founder Su Zhu posted a new tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter. The tweet simply included the phrase "gm," an abbreviation for "good morning." The move marked Zhu's first X post since Sept. 29, when he was arrested at Changi Airport in Singapore while trying to leave the country. Singaporean officials had issued an arrest request, accusing Zhu of failing to comply with a court order urging him to cooperate with the ongoing investigation over the 3AC's liquidation process. Zhu had also been heavily held responsible for the 3AC's bankruptcy in July 2022 with the other co-founder, Kyle Davies. The arrest order was expected to see Zhu serving four months in prison, meaning he would not be free until 2024. However, the crypto community recently speculated that he has been released since a crypto wallet belonging to him became active in November. Brands that should care: On the other hand, Zhu and Davies launched OPNX as a Dubai-based bankruptcy claims platform in April. The exchange was established with a $25M investment by being rebranded from the derivatives platform CoinFLEX in collaboration with its CEO, Mark Lamb. The platform mainly aims to help trade user assets in the form of tokens stuck on bankrupt crypto platforms. | | | |
| 3 | | Switzerland-based crypto bank Seba Bank has recently rebranded to Amina Bank. The firm said the new name stems from the term "transamination," making reference to its mission to gather various elements of traditional, digital, and crypto banking. More: - Transamination means the transference of one compound to another.
- The company stated that the name change mainly stems from the similarities of its previous name with SEB Bank in Sweden.
- Amina Bank CEO Franz Bergmueller pointed out that they agreed on a name change with SEB Bank earlier this year.
- Swiss crypto bank underlined that its existing clients would not be affected by the rebranding, and its operations would continue as usual.
- The move came after the firm obtained approvals in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi as part of its global expansion plans.
- Bergmueller said they currently focus on three regions, including Switzerland, Abu Dhabi, and Asia-Pacific (APAC), which covers Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Amina's Abu Dhabi branch and subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Singapore will also apply for a name change later.
Zoom Out: - Amina Bank, launched in 2018, aims to build a bridge between digital and traditional assets and help financial institutions offer crypto-related services.
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| 4 | | The U.S.-based investment firm Tiger Global has marked down its stakes in some NFT projects, according to a recent report from Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter. The report pointed out that the firm cut its stakes in NFT firm Yuga Labs' Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection by 69% and in NFT marketplace OpenSea by 94%. More: - All the figures represent how much Tiger Global has reduced the valuations since first investing in the NFT projects.
- In November, American tech-focused investment firm Coatue Management also reduced its stake in OpenSea by 90%, causing the platform's valuation to decline to $1.4B from its $13.3B valuation in 2022.
- At the time, the firm marked down its investment in the crypto payment service provider MoonPay by 90%, too.
Zoom Out: - Leading investment firms' decision to mark down their stakes in NFT projects came amid a broader market downturn, which saw that the floor prices of many high-profile NFT collections, including BAYC, Azuki, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Pudgy Penguins, experienced a strong decline.
- The downturn further caused many NFT-related companies, including OpenSea, Yuga Labs, DapperLabs, Magic Eden, Candy, Metaplex, Autograph, and SuperRare, to conduct mass layoffs.
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| 5 | | The Brazilian Senate's Chamber of Deputies has approved a new regulation that would require citizens to pay up to 15% of earnings from cryptocurrencies held on foreign exchanges as tax. The legislation needs the signature of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before coming into force. More: - The Chamber of Deputies is the federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil.
- If signed by the president, the new regulation will take effect as of Jan. 1, 2024.
- The tax rule will apply to citizens earning more than $1,200 from foreign exchanges and investment funds with a single shareholder.
- The government aims to generate a $4B revenue from these taxes next year.
- Brazil is considered the crypto hub of South America and is one of the largest markets in the region.
Zoom Out: - Spain also recently cracked down on the crypto assets held with foreign platforms, publishing a tax declaration form requiring its citizens to report these holdings by March 31, 2024.
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| 6 | | The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has partnered with the Algorand Foundation, the software company behind the Algorand blockchain network, to launch a blockchain academy in 2024. The academy will educate the UNDP's 22,000 staff across 170 countries in blockchain technology. More: - The UNDP is a United Nations (U.N.) agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty, achieve sustainable economic growth, and support human development.
- The education will mainly focus on how blockchain-based technologies could be used for financial inclusion, supply chain transparency, real-world asset tokenization, and digital identity applications.
- The curriculum will include lectures, workshops, and hands-on assignments.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, the U.N. has been exploring blockchain-related applications and use cases for several years.
- In 2018, the UNDP similarly collaborated with the Blockchain Charity Foundation (BCF) to support the use of blockchain technologies for social good.
- The same year, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also established a High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation focusing on blockchain technology.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Competitors are killing your efficiency. Read how Greenhouse gained $85mil in revenue from reps who used Klue over non-Klue users.*
- Stablecoin issuer Circle has denied the rumors that it has ties with the blockchain platform Tron's founder, Justin Sun, and that it helps terrorist groups launder money.
- Business intelligence firm MicroStrategy has purchased an additional $600M of Bitcoin (BTC), taking its total Bitcoin reserves to 174,530.
- Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's new management has requested the court to reduce a $24B claim by the U.S. tax watchdog, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to zero.
- U.S. Judge Martin Glenn has stated that bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network should make the creditors vote on its modified restructuring plan since it reduced the original plan's scale after the voting.
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
 | 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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