FTX has entered initial talks to acquire Bithumb, a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange. Vidente, the owner of Bithumb, confirmed talks with FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's interest in having a possible stake in the firm or a full acquisition. More: - Bithumb is one of the largest crypto exchanges in South Korea. It has generated over $500M in trades in 24 hours at its peak.
- If FTX is successful in acquiring this firm, then it will give the company a strong foothold in the Asian markets.
- FTX is reviewing its options to either fully acquire the South Korean firm or enter joint management of the exchange; however, no agreement has been reached.
- Bankman-Fried has an aggressive acquisition approach during the crypto winter. Some of the acquisitions include:
- FTX acquired BlockFi for $240M, which was lower than the firm's previous valuation of $4.8B.
- FTX has also entered an agreement to buy Liquid, a Japanese crypto exchange.
- FTX had also offered Voyager Digital a loan before the company filed for bankruptcy. Last week, Bankman-Fried offered to buy out Voyager digital, which was dismissed as a "low ball" offer.
- Bankman-Fried says the offer to buy out Voyager will give its customers back 100% of the remaining assets. However, Voyager's lawyers argue that this deal benefits FTX but is "subject to negotiation with AlamedaFTX."
Zoom out: - In June, FTX.US acquired Embed Financial Technologies to start offering brokerage services on its platform.
- FTX.US has also opened stock trading that will allow users to trade hundreds of stocks and ETFs either online or FTX.US. The service will be available in all 50 U.S. states.
CNBC 
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Root Labs raised $9M to develop a zero-fee decentralized marketplace despite sister protocol Beanstalk being hacked for $140M in April. The round was led by Road Capital, Nima Capital, Soma Capital, and Manifest Crypto and will be used for Root's protocol and not Beanstalk. More: - The Beanstalk Ethereum-native stablecoin was hacked for $180M in April and has not resumed operations due to challenges with financing.
- A hacker used a flash attack to steal millions by taking out a flash loan that allows people to borrow assets and make quick trades and repay the asset.
- The flash loan let the hacker gather enough assets to temporarily control the protocol's governance. They approved a proposal to donate funds to Ukraine, then ran off with the collateral.
- Despite undergoing a massive hack, investors still have confidence in Beanstalk, which still holds a $100M market cap without venture capital. Beanstalk market had grown to $100M, with a TVL of $200M in just nine months.
- The $9M seed funding will be allocated towards the Root Protocol that enables prediction, financial, and commerce markets on the Beanstalk stablecoin protocol.
- Root will use the funds to build a zero-fee, positive-carry market structure with accounts transactions in the Bean-Denominated Value (BDV).
Blockworks
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 A message from FEW AND FAR Few and Far is a next-generation marketplace that superpowers NFT 2.0 applications for Gaming and DeFi. What is NFT 2.0 and what does it look like? Look no further than Few and Far, a new NFT marketplace backed by FTX Ventures and Pantera Capital which recently launched on NEAR, and third-gen layer-1. How Few and Far powers NFTs across the blockchain: - Advanced NFT functionality powering Gaming and DeFi
- Rewards users 30% APR as a revenue share of trading fees
- Frictionless user onboarding through easy-to-use web wallets
Are you ready to explore NFT 2.0? Head to Few and Far to start your journey and stay tuned on Twitter. Explore NFT 2.0
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The U.K. Law Commission is optimistic about the future of NFTs and is looking to classify them into a new category called "data objects." The legal agency aims to regulate crypto by keeping it dynamic, competitive, and flexible. More: - The commission proposed changes relating to digital assets in England and Wales and is reviewing the legality behind these assets as they rapidly evolve in today's society as forms of payments, equity, or debt securities.
- Professor Sarah Green, the Law Commissioner for Commercial and Common Law, said, "Digital assets such as NFTs and other crypto-tokens have evolved and proliferated at great speed, so it's vital that our laws are adaptable enough to be able to accommodate them."
- New regulations will aim to set awards and fines in the crypto industry for the delivery of wider recognition and legal protections over digital asset ownership.
Decrypt
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Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to ask the company heads what steps they take to protect app users from fraudulent crypto scams. Brown sent the emails hours before today's Senate Banking Committee meeting. Brown, who chairs the Committee, wants to protect crypto investors from accidentally sending their money to fraudulent phishing schemes run by "cyber criminals" using "stolen company logos" to create "fake mobile apps" that look like they belong to "legitimate crypto firm[s]." More: - During today's Senate Banking Committee meeting, Brown and his colleagues will meet with crypto experts to impose rules that would "mitigate scams in the crypto and securities markets."
- A recent FBI report found that in 2022, some 224 investors lost $42.7M to phony crypto investment applications.
- Earlier today, Brown wrote, "While cryptocurrency apps have offered investors easy and convenient ways to trade cryptocurrency, reports have emerged of fake crypto apps that have scammed hundreds of investors."
- Brown asked the CEOs what steps their companies are taking to prevent future phishing attacks.
- The CEOs have until Aug. 10 to respond to Brown's inquiries.
The Verge
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Solana has opened its first physical store at a New York City mall called "Solana Spaces." The store's goal is to educate visitors about Web3. Guests can also purchase Solana-branded merch, open a crypto wallet, and purchase NFTs. More: - Solana representatives described the store as an "embassy" or "cultural center."
- The store's various stations include real-time visualizations of the Solana blockchain, NFT mints, play-to-earn gaming tutorials, Magic Eden, and more.
- In 2021, Solana's cryptocurrency "SOL" rose up the ranks to become one of the sector's most valuable currencies.
- The group offers "smart contracts" for NFTs and considers itself the "faster alternative to the Ethereum blockchain."
Fortune
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The crypto-investment firm Variant raised $450M to invest in Web3. The venture is divided into two parts: a $150M seed purse and a $300M "opportunities vehicle." The "full-stack" venture is not focused on any one kind of Web3 program. The group is expected to invest in various decentralized, Wed3 projects. More: - This is Variant's third Web3 fund.
- The group's last two funds raised $22.5M and $110M, respectively.
- They have invested in well-known Web3 projects, including Uniswap, Mirror, Magic Eden, and Polygon.
- The group has doubled its staff to allocate monies from its latest and largest fund.
- One representative explained why the group is focusing on Web3 despite the recent "crypto winter:" "I think most people would agree [capitalism] is an improvement over feudalism. This trend empowers the individual over large corporations that can unilaterally decide on the policy of their platforms."
Coin Desk
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
Few and Far, a new NFT marketplace which recently launched on NEAR. | |
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