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| Here is a quick look at the hits from the year's first Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter: - U.S. prosecutors' decision to drop additional charges against the former FTX CEO,
- Crypto betting and gambling platform Stake's deal with Sauber F1 to secure the racing team's naming rights,
- The $45,000 mark in Bitcoin's price amid optimism around the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the U.S., and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | U.S. prosecutors have decided to drop additional charges against the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), citing the interest of expediency. The decision will prevent SBF from facing a second trial in March for the additional charges not included in the original indictment. More: - The dropped charges include bribery, bank fraud, unlicensed money-transmitting business operations, and illegal political campaign donations.
- The prosecutors pointed out that Bahamian officials have yet to consent to the U.S. proceeding with the additional charges, which is required by the obligations in the extradition treaty between the two countries.
- SBF was extradited by the Bahamas to the U.S. in December 2022.
- In November 2023, the former CEO was found guilty of all seven criminal charges related to the exchange's collapse, including money laundering and misappropriation of customer funds, in the U.S. after a month-long trial process.
- The former executive is currently awaiting his sentencing hearing on March 28 and faces a maximum sentence of 115 years in prison.
- U.S. prosecutors pointed out that much of the evidence related to the additional charges was already presented during the original trial and would be considered by the judge at the sentencing.
- The prosecution also underlined that the drop would cause a more timely and just resolution of the case without delay.
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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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, recently surpassed the $45,000 mark for the first time since April 2022. The token's price reached as much as $45,899 within the day, bringing its 24-hour value gain to around 7%. Then, the popular cryptocurrency managed to hold on to the $45,000 level without seeing any major decline. Bitcoin closed last year with a 156% yearly price increase, marking its strongest annual performance since 2020. However, its price is still 33% below the all-time high of almost $69,000 in November 2021. Relevance: The $45,000 mark in Bitcoin's price came amid increased optimism around the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications in the U.S. Last month, Bloomberg analysts confirmed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would approve the qualified applications by Jan. 10. The approaching deadline has created optimism across the crypto community, triggering a price jump in Bitcoin. The agency is expected to approve at least 13 applications by the specified date. Analysts believe that the approval of such applications could bring significant amounts of capital and millions more investors to the crypto market, causing a further price increase in Bitcoin. Brands that should care: The financial services giants waiting for the SEC to approve their Bitcoin ETF applications include Grayscale Investments, BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, and Wise Origin. The potential approvals are expected to pave the way for the first time traditional finance adopts crypto on such a scale. | | | |
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| 3 | | U.S. Judge Richard A. Jones has denied the request of the crypto exchange Binance's co-founder and former CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), to travel while waiting for his sentencing hearing on Feb. 23. The move marked the second denial of such a request. More: - In November, Zhao stepped down as Binance CEO after pleading guilty to violating anti-money laundering requirements and U.S. sanctions by allowing terrorist groups to make crypto transactions on Binance.
- As part of the plea deal, the co-founder was ordered to pay a $50M penalty and blocked from engaging in Binance's management for three years.
- At the time, the former CEO was released on a $175M bond and allowed to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while awaiting sentencing.
- However, Judge Jones overruled the decision last month, blocking CZ from traveling outside the U.S. and leaving the country until sentencing.
- The overturned decision came after the U.S. prosecutors requested a review of the earlier ruling, stating that if CZ decides not to come back, the government will not guarantee his return since the UAE does not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.
- However, the former CEO filed a second request by keeping the reasons for his trip and the destination under seal for the sake of his family's privacy, which was also denied at the latest court hearing.
Zoom Out: - CZ currently faces up to 10 years in prison, though he is expected to get no more than 18 months under a settlement agreement with U.S. regulators.
- Under the same deal, Binance also agreed to pay a $4.3B fine, one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history, to settle money laundering, unlicensed money-transmitting business operations, and sanction violations charges.
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| 4 | | Seychelles-based crypto exchange OKX has announced that it would enforce new rules for customers in the U.K. to meet the updated regulatory requirements of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the U.K.'s financial market regulator. The platform said U.K. customers would have to complete two investor questionnaires starting next week as part of the new rules. More: - The first questionnaire will require users to prove they understand the risks of buying and trading digital assets.
- The second one will evaluate whether investing in crypto is appropriate for the user.
- Those failing to complete the questionnaires will become unable to hold an account on OKX.
- The exchange also previously reduced its token offerings to around 40 in the U.K. and started displaying visible risk warnings on its website, demonstrating its commitment to complying with the new regulations.
- The FCA put its new rules on crypto promotions into force on Oct. 8, though it later postponed the deadline to Jan. 8 by giving crypto firms an additional four months to make their offerings compliant with the new rules.
- The new regulations classify crypto as restricted mass market investments, a category for high-risk investment products.
- The tightened rules also require crypto ads to contain clear risk warnings, prohibit incentives such as referrals and new joiner bonuses for crypto firms, and introduce a 24-hour cooling-off period that delays placing orders for investors engaging in crypto for the first time.
Zoom Out: - The FCA's new rules also forced several other crypto-related platforms, including Bybit, PayPal, Luno, CoinCorner, Binance, and Revolut, to restrict or halt their crypto trading services in the U.K.
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| 5 | | The Core Blockchain network-based crypto exchange, Ping Exchange, has recently launched its operations and trading services. The move followed the launch of the user authentication system CorePass ID on Core Blockchain. More: - The exchange has integrated CorePass ID to verify the identity of its users through blockchain, eliminating the login process, passwords, and traditional authentication methods.
- The system provides users with a decentralized digital identity for secure trading and protects their personal information on the blockchain in the form of an identity NFT.
- The exchange currently offers trading services for many popular cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and USD Coin (USDC).
- However, immediate withdrawals and deposits are only available for Ping Exchange's native tokens, Core Coin (XCB) and Core Token (CTN).
- The platform offers investors different tiers in which withdrawal limits and privileges vary based on the financial background and the level of verification.
- Users can purchase verification vouchers for CorePass ID through CTN and be redeemed in the same token when their data is requested for different purposes, including user registration, identity verification, and anti-money laundering procedures.
- The process allows users to maintain ownership of their data while being rewarded when they share their personal information with a third party rather than giving it for free.
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| 6 | | Crypto betting and gambling platform Stake has partnered with Swiss motorsport engineering company Sauber's Formula 1 (F1) team, securing naming rights to the racing team for two years. The move will see the team officially rebranding to Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber. More: - The platform has taken over the naming rights from Alfa Romeo.
- The betting site will fill a two-year gap on an interim basis until the F1 team is rebranded as German automotive manufacturer Audi's factory team in 2026.
- Stake's live-streaming platform, Kick.com, will also own the naming rights to the chassis of Sauber's car, the Kick Sauber C44.
- Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will continue as the team's drivers.
Zoom Out: - Stake and Kick.com first appeared on Sauber's F1 vehicles in 2023 after signing an initial sponsorship deal.
- Over the last several years, crypto has gained massive popularity in F1, as many other crypto-related firms, including OKX, Kraken, Crypto.com, Bybit, Mysten Labs, OpenSea, and Tezos, signed deals with racing teams.
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- A spokesperson for Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has confirmed that the firm's head of custody, Aaron Schnarch, departed in recent weeks and was replaced by Rick Schonberg.
- The team behind the decentralized cross-chain protocol Orbit Bridge has disclosed that it experienced a cyberattack that resulted in around $81.5M of losses in crypto.
- Singapore's prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has warned the city-state's residents to be careful about deepfake videos using his image and voice to promote crypto scams.
- The Ethereum blockchain's co-founder, Vitalik Buterin, has shared an updated 2024 roadmap for the network, outlining the core priorities of the ecosystem.
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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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