| Take a look at the hits from today’s Inside Cryptocurrency briefing: - The troubled crypto exchange Bitzlato’s suspension of certain withdrawals,
- GBA Capital’s new $10B Web3 fund,
- Tencent’s patent for a blockchain-based vehicle management system, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Troubled crypto exchange Bitzlato has temporarily suspended certain withdrawals and technical support. The platform has underlined that the move is a temporary measure to prepare for the upcoming court hearings related to the seizure of its users' assets in France. More: - The suspension of withdrawals came around 20 days after Bitzlato's co-founder, Anatoly Legkodymov, pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business that processed $700M in illicit funds in the U.S.
- As part of the plea deal, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve the exchange and pay a $23M fine in crypto to U.S. authorities.
- The founder was initially arrested in Miami in January as part of a joint investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Treasury Department, and French law enforcement agencies.
- At the time, the firm's senior management was also simultaneously arrested in Europe, and its assets were seized by French authorities.
- Since then, the exchange was able to partially restore access to user funds, and in November, it announced that users could withdraw 70% of their assets stuck on the platform.
- Anatoly Legkodymov currently faces up to five years in prison.
- Bitzlato's website is also currently closed and displays a message from authorities.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The data compiled by The Block has shown that 2023 became the third-highest year in terms of the total amount of venture capital (VC) funding invested in crypto and blockchain startups. The Web3 startup environment has managed to raise $10.68B in funding during the year. However, the figure represents a 68% decline from the $33.27B funding raised in 2022. Most of the $10.68B investments were made in H1 of the year, while H2 took a nosedive in funding. Startups focusing on NFT, gaming, infrastructure, and Web3 took the lead in deal count throughout the year, with other categories like data and trading witnessing fewer deals. Relevance: VC funding to the Web3 space has experienced an explosion in 2021, with an 801% increase to $29B from the previous year's $3.22B. The boom mainly stemmed from the upward trend in the crypto industry in 2021, which saw many cryptocurrencies experiencing significant surges in their prices. Both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, reached their all-time highs in the same year. However, 2022 witnessed a prolonged crypto winter mainly due to the collapses of high-profile crypto firms and projects, such as the previously third-largest crypto exchange FTX and the multi-billion dollar Terra ecosystem. These collapses caused a loss of trust in the industry for investors, paving the way for a significant drop in VC funding to the market within the following year. The market downturn also directed many investors to AI and more traditional sectors as they withdrew their investments in the digital asset space. Brands that should care: On the other hand, Web3 firms raising millions of dollars in 2023 despite the decline in overall funding include Fnality, Line Next, BitGo, Wormhole, and Blockchain.com. | | | |
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| 3 | | The data compiled by the blockchain data platform Arkham Intelligence has revealed that former U.S. President Donald Trump initiated to cash out his earnings from NFTs. According to the on-chain data, Trump moved $2.4M of Ether (ETH) to the U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase in the last few weeks. More: - Arkham Intelligence pointed out that Trump started sending his ETH holdings to Coinbase three weeks ago after accumulating royalty fees from his NFT collections for months.
- The platform also said the peak balance of the wallet belonging to Trump was $4M.
- These ETH holdings are generated as royalty and licensing fees from Trump's NFT collections on OpenSea.
- The former president is expected to sell his crypto tokens for U.S. dollars (USD) on Coinbase.
Zoom Out: - Trump dropped his first NFT collection, Trump Digital Trading Cards, in December 2022 with a floor price of $99, and the collection sold out within hours of its debut.
- The former president also released a second edition of his NFT collection in April this year after the first collection saw a massive increase in sales amid his indictment.
- Earlier in December, a MugShot edition was similarly integrated into the collection, with a theme centered around Trump's ongoing criminal indictments paving the way for the first-ever mugshot of a former U.S. president.
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| 4 | | China-based venture capital (VC) firm GBA Capital has announced that it would launch a $10B accelerator fund to invest in the Web3 space. The GBA Capital Web3 Fund will prioritize startups focusing on virtual reality (VR), metaverse, and NFTs. More: - The fund will also aim to transform the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao economic area into the world's meta-asset capital.
- GBA Capital, established by China Europe International Financial Group in Hong Kong, has strategic partnerships with leading financial institutions, including the Asia Pacific Investment Bank and the Chinese state-owned National Engineering Laboratory.
- The firm primarily focuses on investment and incubation in the field of digital economy.
- In May, the company's subsidiary, Zhongrong Global, also raised financing in an angel funding round at a valuation of $14M to invest in Web3 and AI projects.
Zoom Out: - Meta-assets refer to virtual items, properties, and digital assets in the metaverse environment.
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| 5 | | The Indonesian government has tightened its rules for crypto exchanges to be able to track asset liquidity in the country and record digital asset transactions for tax purposes. Under the new regulations, the country will require all crypto exchanges to register with its national crypto exchange, the Commodity Future Exchange (CFX), to continue operating. More: - As part of the new rules, all digital asset trading platforms operating in Indonesia since 2014 will be categorized as prospective crypto exchanges.
- Then, they will have to go through strict checks by the country's regulators to be authorized as legitimate enterprises linked to the CFX.
- If the prospective crypto exchanges cannot meet the new requirements, they will be obliged to halt their operations in Indonesia.
- The prospective crypto exchanges will have to register by Aug. 17, 2024.
- Currently, there are 29 prospective crypto exchanges in Indonesia.
- The country also plans to shift its classification of crypto from commodities to securities through a regulatory overhaul in 2025, which could pave the way for lower tax rates for the crypto industry.
Zoom Out: - Indonesia launched the CFX in July this year as the only platform allowing crypto trading for the public in the country.
- There are currently more than 18 million registered crypto traders in Indonesia, around six million more than stock traders.
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| 6 | | Chinese tech giant Tencent has recently received a patent for a comprehensive blockchain-based vehicle management system. The approval came more than four years after the company first submitted its application. More: - The system gathers information about a parked vehicle based on its license plate using blockchain technology.
- Then, it identifies nearby service points, sends service orders to the user, and collects reservation details and user signatures.
- After that point, the reservation information is added to the blockchain.
- The system mainly aims to simplify the process of getting vehicle services and improve the accuracy of service recommendations.
Zoom Out: - Tencent is an early adopter of blockchain technology and has already developed several Web3-related projects.
- Last year, the tech giant also obtained a patent for a blockchain-based missing person's poster technology.
- The company's cloud computing unit partnered with a bunch of Web3 giants, including MultiversX, Ankr, Avalanche, Scroll, and Sui, earlier this year to expand and strengthen its Web3 strategy.
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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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