| |
| Here is a quick look at the hits from the week’s latest Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - SafeMoon's Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in the U.S.,
- Qredo's decision to shut down its hybrid crypto derivatives exchange,
- Russian Ministry of Finance's proposal to classify mined crypto as an exportable commodity, and more.
Enjoy your reading, and have a great weekend! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has denied a petition filed by Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, to force the agency to establish a regulatory framework for the digital asset market. In a letter, the agency said it disagrees with the view that current securities regulations and laws are unworkable for the crypto industry. More: - Coinbase first filed the petition last year, arguing that existing securities laws are inadequate for regulating the nascent crypto market.
- The rulemaking petition mainly urged the U.S. regulator to explain how securities laws apply to cryptocurrencies and create a new legal framework for the crypto industry.
- However, in April this year, the exchange had to file another petition asking the court to force the SEC to respond to its earlier petition since the agency had not provided any response for months.
- On the other hand, the SEC classifies all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) as securities in the light of current chair Gary Gensler's approach, claiming jurisdiction over the digital asset market.
- Gensler also previously stated several times that existing rules are clear, and firms offering digital asset services to U.S. customers should simply follow them, so there is no need for new crypto-specific regulations.
Zoom Out: - Coinbase entered another legal battle with the SEC this year when the agency filed a 101-page complaint against it over alleged securities law violations.
- Within the past year alone, many other crypto exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, also faced increased scrutiny by the SEC for allegedly violating securities laws.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The data compiled by CertiK has shown that 12 of the 50 largest crypto exploits in 2023 sent the stolen funds to the controversial coin-mixing service Tornado Cash. The figure represents 24% of all major exploits. CertiK's data also pointed out that the value of the funds sent to Tornado Cash through these exploits is $108M. In addition, the report underlined that $554M of stolen funds in these 50 crypto exploits were not moved from the exploiter's wallet, while another $318.4M portion ended up in Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Relevance: On the other hand, Tornado Cash makes it harder to track digital assets, claiming to provide untraceable financial transactions for the sake of anonymity and privacy. The service has come under scrutiny by regulators in various countries many times, especially in the U.S., since it is highly used by malevolent actors like terrorist groups and hackers. In 2022, the platform was even sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) with accusations of laundering billions of dollars of crypto assets since its launch in 2019. The Treasury Department recently proposed a new rulemaking to label international crypto mixers as money-laundering hubs, citing use cases by terrorist groups, including the Palestinian militant group Hamas. CertiK's latest report stressed that the use of Tornado Cash in crypto exploits significantly declined following the regulatory crackdown on the service. Brands that should care: Meanwhile, the crypto community has expressed hot and cold reactions to the U.S. sanctions on Tornado Cash. This year, a lawsuit funded by the largest U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase, argued that the Treasury Department exceeded its authority by sanctioning the service. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Vendry. |  | | Looking for the perfect agency to grow your business in 2024? Our team of marketing experts will help you match, vet and hire the right agency for your business. Through our network of 15k+ agencies, we match you based on 100’s of variables like: - Skill Mastery
- Existing Client Satisfaction
- Communication Skills
- Regional Knowledge
- Industry Exposure
- Past Client Profile
- Thought Leadership
Why go through the struggle of finding an agency alone when we’ll provide you a shortlist of 2-3 top picks in less than <7 days. And…. Vendry is 100% free. Forever. We get paid by our agencies, not you and we only get paid IF you hire one of our agencies. See why agencies partner with Vendry to scale companies like Uber, Zoom, Hubspot and Slack to help grow their business. Get Matched w/ Agencies. 100% Free. | |
|
| 3 | | SafeMoon US LLC, the firm behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol SafeMoon, has recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. The move will see the firm's assets being liquidated to repay creditors without any intention to restructure the company, unlike the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases. More: - In the filing, SafeMoon said it owes between $100,001 and $500,000 to its 50 to 99 creditors.
- The firm also reported $10M to $50M in assets.
- In a letter to employees, SafeMoon's chief restructuring officer, Kenneth Ehrler, stated that the company would no longer pay employee wages due to the bankruptcy proceedings, adding that the staff could file a claim in bankruptcy court for unpaid wages.
- The bankruptcy filing came around one and a half months after the firm and some of its executives faced legal challenges from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- The regulators accused SafeMoon's CEO John Karony, Chief Technology Officer Thomas Smith, and founder Kyle Nagy of violating securities laws by misappropriating customer funds for personal use, offering unregistered securities, and conducting fraud.
- Last month, Karony and Smith were arrested on securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy charges, though Nagy has yet to be arrested.
Zoom Out: - In March, SafeMoon also experienced a cybersecurity incident, which caused it to lose $8.9M of wrapped BNB (WBNB) due to a bug exploit.
| | | |
| 4 | | Russia's Ministry of Finance has proposed new legislation to allow local crypto miners to export their digital assets as an export commodity during a round table meeting. The Deputy Finance Minister, Ivan Chebeskov, said the legislation would resemble the export norms of natural gas. More: - If passed, the legislation will see the Russian government classifying mined crypto as an exportable commodity.
- Russia closed Q1 this year as the second country in terms of power generated for Bitcoin (BTC) mining behind the U.S.
- However, the local authorities have yet to legalize crypto-mining activities within Russian borders.
- Still, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation permits miners to sell their mined crypto tokens to non-residents or on foreign platforms.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, payments with digital assets, including crypto, for goods and services have been forbidden across Russia since July 2022.
- However, the country's Ministry of Finance unveiled a new payment system in April this year, which allows crypto use in cross-border transactions.
- The system also paves the way for the country to build special institutions that would operate crypto transfers to foreign entities and crypto mining.
- Besides, the country's central bank started piloting its central bank digital currency (CBDC), or the digital ruble, with real consumers in August after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially signed the related bill into law.
| | | |
| 5 | | Crypto custody infrastructure provider Qredo has announced that it decided to shut down its hybrid crypto derivatives exchange, Ankex, citing financial difficulties. The move came nearly three months after Ankex launched its public beta version. More: - Ankex aimed to combine features of centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges.
- The platform offered users a self-custody model to allow them to fully manage their funds without needing any third party while trying to replicate the user experience in centralized exchanges.
- The platform, first unveiled in November 2022, hired the bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global's former CEO, Michael Moro, as its CEO.
- Following the shutdown, Moro also left Ankex.
- Ankex's website is currently still active, though some parts of the platform, such as signup, login, and support pages, are not functional.
Zoom Out: - Qredo raised $80M in a Series A funding round at a valuation of $460M in February 2022.
- However, the firm has come under significant financial pressure over recent months and has had to conduct two mass layoffs this fall, citing its tight financial situation.
- Last month, a Qredo spokesperson said the firm would refocus on its core business of Web3 wallets and custody solutions.
| | | |
| 6 | | Nodle, a smartphone-powered decentralized network, has released a blockchain-based media authentication app dubbed Click to prove if media contents reflect the truth. The app aims to help combat AI-generated media and fake news as a source of truth for field-captured content. More: - Click will primarily serve photographers, citizen journalists, reporters, law enforcement agencies, sports fans, paparazzi, and content creators.
- The app is currently available in Apple's App Store, and its Android version is still under development.
- Click users need to capture the content through the app's camera without incorporating other editing or AI platforms into the process to authenticate an image or video.
- Then, the captured content is signed, added to the Nodle's underlying blockchain, and becomes available in the device's gallery and Click's public page, making attribution to the contributor.
- The app's infrastructure can currently store more than 20 million records a day, keeping content off-chain and saving only a record of it on the Nodle network.
- Nodle CEO Micha Anthenor Benoliel said the app will always feature a free version, though the upload volume available to users might be restricted in the future with the launch of a premium offering.
- Benoliel also underlined that Click jointly works with several anti-disinformation associations, such as the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) and the Content Authenticity Initiative (CAI).
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - The Kubernetes Cookbook is your comprehensive companion, equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to harness the full potential of Kubernetes.*
- Japanese electronics giant Casio, better known for wristwatches, has launched a new 2,000-piece NFT collection, marking its second foray into the NFT space.
- A recent survey conducted by Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has revealed that almost half of users invest in crypto to earn additional income.
- Goldman Sachs' global head of digital assets, Mathew McDermott, has stated that the investment banking giant expects a significant increase in trading volumes of blockchain-based assets within the next one or two years.
- Savvy billionaires are hedging their portfolios with farmland. New REIT goes public, and stock price increases 12.20% in its first quarter opening.*
*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 | |
| |
 | Vendry gets you matched with 3 vetted agencies in <7 days. 100% free. | |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment