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| Hey Insider! Welcome to the Inside Cryptocurrency newsletter! Today's issue covers several eye-opening news from the crypto industry, including former FTX users' deadline to submit claims, Mastercard's new app store powered by blockchain technologies, the collaboration between Warner Music Group and Polygon Labs, and more. Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The largest U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has filed a motion asking the court to dismiss the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) charges against it. In the filing, the firm described the SEC's move as an extraordinary abuse of process. More: - The move came nearly three weeks after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Coinbase over alleged U.S. securities law violations.
- In its charges, the agency labeled 12 tokens listed on Coinbase as unregistered securities.
- As part of the recent legal motion, Coinbase argued that the SEC approved the exchange going public in 2021 without requiring it to register with the agency or classify any tokens listed on the exchange as securities.
- The company also underlined that it underwent an extensive review process for several months before going public and involved in-depth discussions with the SEC.
- Besides, the exchange cited the SEC Chair Gary Gensler's testimony from 2021 when he said only Congress had the power to regulate the crypto industry.
- Coinbase's legal team has stated that even if all the allegations in the lawsuit are true, they are beyond the SEC's legal authority.
- The firm added that the shift in the SEC's approach toward the crypto industry confused market participants.
Zoom Out: - One day before Coinbase, Binance was also sued by the SEC through a 136-page complaint over U.S. law violations.
- Over the last several months, many other crypto exchanges, including Kraken, Gemini, and Bittrex, came under increased scrutiny by the SEC.
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What the numbers say: The popular NFT collection Azuki's floor price plummeted by more than 45% over the last three days. The figure declined to as much as 8.50 Ether (ETH) yesterday, down from the three-day peak of 16.39 ETH on June 26. The popular NFT marketplace OpenSea's data also showed that Azuki NFT sales jumped by almost 400% compared to the previous week. Relevance: The drop in Azuki NFTs' floor price followed the launch of a new NFT collection dubbed Elementals by Chiru Labs, the firm behind Azuki NFTs. The firm first introduced Elementals at an exclusive event in Las Vegas before releasing it on June 26, hitting $38M in just 15 minutes. However, the new collection failed to meet expectations as many users found the visuals in Elementals identical to the ones in Azuki. The similarities between the two collections caused many holders to sell off the main Azuki NFTs within a few days of the Elementals' launch. The presale buyers of the new collection also dumped the digital collectibles, leading to a 55% drop in floor prices. Brands that should care: On the other hand, Azuki is still the fifth-largest NFT collection by market cap after the popular CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, Mutant Ape Yacht Club, and Chromie Squiggle by Snowfro NFTs. The first three spots are dominated by the collections developed by Yuga Labs, Chiru Labs' one of the most powerful rivals. In the top 10, Azuki was followed by DeGods, Captainz, LAND, Decentraland, and Wrapped Cryptopunks, respectively. | | | |
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| 3 | | Binance's European banking partner, Paysafe Payment Solutions, has announced that it would halt supporting the popular crypto exchange as of Sept. 25. After this date, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, will have no access to Paysafe's wallet solution. More: - Paysafe served as an intermediary banking partner for customers' euro deposits and withdrawals.
- Binance must change the provider for these services by the specified deadline.
- Users will also need to update the banking details used to deposit euros to their Binance accounts.
- In addition, clients will have to accept new terms and conditions to continue using bank transfers in euros after Sept. 25.
- Paysafe said they are also preparing to withdraw the support in the U.K.
- The two companies first partnered in 2022 to enable pound deposits.
- The exchange has recently withdrawn from several markets where the legal tender is the euro, including Cyprus and the Netherlands.
Zoom Out: - The move followed the heightened regulatory scrutiny against Binance in the U.S. as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a 136-page complaint against the exchange and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) over alleged U.S. law violations.
- The firm also recently started being investigated in France on allegations of illegally canvassing customers and severe money laundering and was ordered to halt its operations in Belgium.
- In early June, the platform had to suspend Australian dollar (AUD) deposits and withdrawals through bank transfer since its local banking partner, Westpac, stopped supporting the exchange.
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| 4 | | The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has set a date for the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's former customers seeking to recover their funds from the collapsed platform. The firm said users will have time until Sept. 29 to submit their claims against FTX and its affiliated companies, including Alameda Research. More: - Former clients must also vote on the Chapter 11 restructuring plan by the specified deadline.
- Each user will receive an email containing a link to the Customer Claims Portal, where they can submit their claims.
- The creditors must specify the asset type, such as cryptocurrency, fiat currency, or NFT, and claim it in a U.S. dollar (USD)-denominated amount.
- FTX's European and Japanese arms were excluded from the list of debtors eligible for the claims since they maintain separate accounts.
- A recent report from FTX's new management pointed out that the firm recovered around $7B in liquid assets so far and owed its customers $8.7B.
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 the former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) used customer funds in FTX to compensate for losses at Alameda Research.
- Most recently, the firm's new CEO and chief restructuring officer, John J. Ray III, said they started talks with investors about a potential relaunch of the exchange.
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| 5 | | The payment processing giant Mastercard has announced its plans to launch a blockchain-based platform dubbed Multi Token Network (MTN) over the next few months. The firm's head of crypto and blockchain, Raj Dhamodharan, defined the platform as a blockchain-powered app store for building regulated financial apps. More: - MTN will launch as a beta version in the U.K, with plans for further expansions to additional markets over time.
- Developers will be able to build applications on the new app store using the Ethereum programming language, Solidity.
- During the beta testing phase, Mastercard will give developers access to tools it has been developing this year.
- These tools include a private version of the Ethereum network on which developers can build new applications.
- Plus, the platform will allow developers to experiment with tokenized commercial bank deposits and blockchain data showing the amount of cash in a bank account.
Zoom Out: - Over the last few years, Mastercard has launched many initiatives targeting the crypto industry, demonstrating its commitment to the digital asset market.
- Most recently, the company filed a trademark application for various tools related to crypto and blockchain technology, hinting at its efforts to develop downloadable software that enables crypto transactions.
- The firm also previously collaborated with many crypto-related firms, including Bitso, Gemini, and Binance, to make crypto mainstream.
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| 6 | | Polygon Labs, the entity behind the popular Polygon blockchain, has partnered with the American multinational entertainment conglomerate Warner Music Group. The collaboration will see the pair launching a music accelerator program to ignite a new era of innovation in the music industry. More: - The program will prioritize companies and initiatives operating at the intersection of music, technology, and Web3 space.
- The project will also require candidates to focus on areas like creating decentralized music production and distribution platforms, encouraging artist-fan communities, developing ticketing solutions, exploring music-related products and digital or physical collectibles, and integrating music with interactive technologies and gaming.
- The accelerator program will ultimately onboard the new blockchain-based music projects and decentralized applications (dApps) on Polygon.
- The selected projects will receive funding from both Warner Music Group and Polygon Labs.
- They will also be able to access mentorship and networking opportunities from professionals in the blockchain and music industries.
Zoom Out: - Warner Music Group and Polygon Labs also released a series of music NFTs on the NFT marketplace LGND in December last year.
- Polygon Labs has partnered with many other mainstream brands, including Starbucks, Nike, and Reddit, over the last several years to integrate Web3 technologies into their services.
- The firm also most recently launched an artist accelerator program for musicians that could be only joined through an NFT member pass in collaboration with the payment processing giant Mastercard.
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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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