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| Take a look at the hits from today's Inside Cryptocurrency briefing: - 🧑⚖️ A U.S. federal court's decision to postpone the sentencing hearing of former Binance CEO by two months to April 30,
- 💰 Founders Fund's $200M investment in Bitcoin and Ether,
- 🎮 A 20% jump in the OAS token's price following the Oasys blockchain's collaboration with South Korean gaming giant Com2uS, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | A U.S. federal court has postponed the criminal sentencing of former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) by two months to April 30 without citing any reason. The sentencing hearing had been originally scheduled for Feb. 23. More: - In November 2023, CZ pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering requirements and sanctions in the U.S. by allowing terrorist groups to make crypto transactions on Binance.
- Under a plea agreement, the co-founder was ordered to step down as Binance CEO, pay a $50M penalty, and not engage in the exchange's management for three years.
- However, CZ still has a significant economic interest in the company, as he holds 80% of the shares.
- Zhao 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.
- Besides, the former CEO is free in the U.S. under a $175M release bond.
- The co-founder's several attempts to obtain permission to return to his home in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) while awaiting his sentencing were denied by U.S. judicial authorities, citing his flight risk due to his enormous wealth and property abroad.
Zoom Out: - In November last year, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, also agreed to pay a $4.3B fine to settle money laundering, unlicensed money-transmitting business operations, and sanction violation charges.
- The settlement deal, which marks one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history, allowed the platform to continue its operations in the U.S.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The gaming-focused Oasys blockchain network's native token, OAS, recently reached an all-time high at the $0.14 level, jumping more than 20% in value. The token's price reached as much as $0.1421 on Tuesday, up from $0.1176 twelve hours earlier. The popular cryptocurrency later experienced a slight price decline and started hovering around $0.13, though it did not retreat to the levels seen in the previous day. Relevance: The all-time high in the OAS token's price came shortly after the Oasys blockchain announced its partnership with South Korean game developer and publisher Com2uS. As part of the partnership, Com2uS will integrate its popular game franchises, Summoners War: Chronicle and The Walking Dead: All-Stars, into the Oasys network. The collaboration will also help Com2uS expand its operations to Japan, the world's third-largest gaming market. The network's core team will offer technical support to Com2uS and its Web3 subsidiary, XPLA, to assist them in establishing a new Layer-2 network in compliance with local regulations in Japan. The South Korean gaming giant currently plans to launch two Web3-based games in Japan within H1 this year. The firm, founded in 1998, claims to be the first gaming company to develop a mobile game in South Korea, and its market cap currently stands at $454M. Brands that should care: The Oasys blockchain also previously worked with several other leading tech and gaming companies, such as SoftBank, Sega, and Ubisoft. The network is often confused with the Oasis blockchain. | | | |
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| 3 | | Founders Fund, the U.S.-based venture capital (VC) firm founded by the former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel, has invested $200M in crypto, according to a recent Reuters report citing sources familiar with the matter. The report pointed out that the $200M investment was made half in Bitcoin (BTC) and half in Ether (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. More: - The move marks a reversal in Founders Fund's recent investment strategy that saw the firm withdrawing its investments in crypto.
- The firm began aggressively buying Bitcoin in 2014 as one of the early investors in the digital asset space.
- However, the crypto market downturn in 2022, which was triggered by the collapses of high-profile crypto firms and projects like FTX and the Terra ecosystem, caused Founders Fund to liquidate its crypto holdings.
- At the time, the liquidation brought $1.8B in returns to the VC firm.
- Sources pointed out that the latest investment was made from late summer to early fall of 2023.
- The report also claimed that Bitcoin's price was below $30,000 when the firm started buying the popular cryptocurrency again.
- Bitcoin recently surpassed the key $50,000 level in value for the first time since December 2021, hitting a 26-month high.
Zoom Out: - Thiel has previously praised Bitcoin many times, defining it as a store of value like gold and a hedge against central banks' monetary policies.
- Founders Fund, established in 2005, currently has over $12B of assets under management (AUM).
- The firm was one of the early investors in major tech companies, including SpaceX, Meta, and Palantir Technologies.
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| 4 | | Bankrupt decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol firm SafeMoon's CEO, Braden John Karony, has recently been released on $3M bail more than three months after he was arrested in the U.S. The move will see Karony coming under detention in his parents' home in the U.S. state of Utah. More: - During his detention in his parents' home, Karony will also face cyber and electronic monitoring and be banned from engaging in promotional crypto activities.
- SafeMoon's CEO initially proposed a $1M bond, but the proposal was denied by Judge Taryn Merkl, who stated that it was insufficient considering Karony's access to millions of dollars of crypto.
- Meanwhile, Karony's lawyers have been looking to withdraw as his legal team since Jan. 22, citing his failure to pay for private counsel due to a lack of funds.
- Following a recent motion from Karony's lawyers, the judge has appointed a public defender.
- In 2023, SafeMoon 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 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.
- Karony and Smith were arrested on securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy charges in late October, though Nagy has yet to be arrested.
Zoom Out: - SafeMoon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. in December with owings between $100,001 and $500,000 to 50 to 99 creditors.
- The filing aims to liquidate the firm's assets to repay creditors without any intention to restructure the company, unlike the Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases.
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| 5 | | Speaking at a recent interview, the business intelligence firm MicroStrategy's crypto advocate co-founder and executive chairman, Michael Saylor, stated that MicroStrategy will rebrand as a Bitcoin (BTC) development company. The worldwide-known businessman pointed out that the rebranding reflects the firm's strategy to accumulate more Bitcoin and promote the growth of the Bitcoin blockchain network. More: - During the interview, Saylor also said the decision was natural for them following the success of the firm's Bitcoin strategy.
- Besides, the co-founder argued that their model allows MicroStrategy to develop software, generate cash flow, leverage the capital market, accumulate Bitcoin for their shareholders, and support the Bitcoin network.
- The executive chairman added that this model can also be seen in a real estate or petroleum development company.
- MicroStrategy is currently the largest corporate Bitcoin holder.
Zoom Out: - MicroStrategy began its Bitcoin purchases in 2020 and boosted its reserves, especially last year.
- The firm recently brought its total Bitcoin reserves to 190,000 by purchasing an additional $37.2M of Bitcoin.
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| 6 | | Switzerland-based crypto firm Crypto Finance's German subsidiary has obtained four licenses in Germany as its parent company, Deutsche Börse AG, prepares to launch a regulated crypto exchange this year. The licenses were granted by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), the country's financial market regulator. More: - Crypto Finance offers digital asset investment, custody, and trading services to institutional customers.
- German stock and securities trading firm Deutsche Börse AG acquired the company in 2021.
- The firm already has licenses from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and actively provides its services in Switzerland.
- The latest licenses will also allow the company to offer regulated digital asset trading, settlement, and custody services to institutional clients in Germany.
- Crypto Finance and digital asset securities issuance platform D7, founded by another Deutsche Börse AG subsidiary, Clearstream, are expected to play a key role in the upcoming crypto exchange.
Zoom Out: - Deutsche Börse AG announced its plans to launch a crypto exchange that would cater to both institutional and retail investors in November last year.
- Through the move, the company joined several other German traditional financial firms, including Deutsche Bank, DZ Bank, Commerzbank, and Stuttgart Stock Exchange, that launched or announced their plans to introduce crypto services.
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| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Visa and Mastercard have come to a historic $5B settlement, marking a pivotal moment for small business owners.*
- The U.S.-based crypto conglomerate Digital Currency Group (DCG) has reported that its quarterly revenue increased by 59% to $210M in Q4 last year.
- Investment management giant Franklin Templeton has applied to launch a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the U.S., joining other applicants from traditional finance.
- South Korea's Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has announced that it would start blocking crypto exchanges failing to meet stringent operational standards in the country.
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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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