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💰 Celsius Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan Approved by Court; Implementation by Early 2024
Crypto lender Celsius secured approval for its reorganization plan from a bankruptcy court on Thursday, with the implementation expected to be completed by early 2024, the company said. The order marks Celsius' exit from bankruptcy, filed in July last year, a process that also saw it make a $4.7 billion settlement with U.S. authorities over fraud allegations. At the time of settlement in July, former CEO Alex Mashinsky – who had resigned in September, 2022. Chief Judge Martin Glenn of the United States Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court confirmed a modified plan that was mostly agreed upon in late September, when Celsius' creditors voted to approve a plan that would return 67%-85% of holdings back to them. Customers who had funds tied up in Celsius will be getting back about $0.25 per CEL token. CEL was a utility token and its underlying value was based on the utilities it offered on the Celsius Network. The judge's order also hands control of the implementation of the reorganization to Fahrenheit Holdings, a group that includes Arrington Capital and crypto miner U.S. Bitcoin Corp. Fahrenheit won a bid to acquire the insolvent lender in May 2023.
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🥇 Marathon Digital's Q3 revenues rise as Bitcoin mining production expands
Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. reported a net income of $64.1 million in its Q3 financial results — a significant turnaround from the $72.5 million net loss the bitcoin mining company witnessed in the same period last year. Marathon’s revenues were also up significantly year-over-year, posting $97.8 million during Q3 this year compared to $12.7 million in Q3 2022. The company attributed this recovery to a 467% surge in bitcoin production coupled with a 32% increase in average bitcoin prices during the period. Marathon sold 66% of the bitcoin it produced in Q3 to cover operational costs, realizing gains of $31.7 million, partially offset by impairment costs of $11.9 million. “This quarter also uniquely benefited from a $82.6 million gain from the extinguishment of debt while the year-ago period included a $29.8 million gain on sale of equipment, a $25 million legal reserve and a $39 million impairment due to vendor bankruptcy, all of which did not reoccur in 2023, “ the company noted. Thiel said Marathon took proactive measures to strengthen its financial position during the quarter, achieving a significant debt reduction and cash savings for shareholders in preparation for next year's bitcoin halving event — expected in April.
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🇺🇸 The SEC has opened talks with Grayscale over its bid for a spot bitcoin ETF conversion: report
The Securities and Exchange Commission has opened talks with Grayscale Investments over the firm's application to convert its flagship fund into a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, according to a report. Grayscale has been in contact with both the SEC's Division of Trading and Markets and the Division of Corporation Finance, following a court ruling that the agency has to re-review the firm's bid for a spot bitcoin ETF, CoinDesk reported on Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Three judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in August that the SEC has to re-review Grayscale's bid for a spot bitcoin ETF after the asset management firm sued the agency last year following the rejection of its plan for the conversion of its flagship GBTC fund. The court specifically addressed the SEC's differential treatment of spot bitcoin ETFs and similar funds based on futures contracts, which the regulator has approved. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said that the agency was still reviewing the court's decision during a Senate Banking Committee hearing in September. Multiple firms have filed for spot bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock and Fidelity. Some experts say the Grayscale court decision could tip a decision into their favor.
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🔵 Arbitrum DAO voting on $24 million 'backfund' for projects that missed out on grants
The Arbitrum DAO is currently voting on a proposal that could inject 21.4 million ARB tokens ($24 million) into projects that were approved but fell short of the 50 million ARB total funding cut-off in last month’s first round of grants for its Short-Term Incentive Program. Dubbed a one-time “backfund,” it outlines plans to increase the total STIP budget to 71.4 million ARB, funding a further 26 protocols in addition to the 29 initially successful projects. By nearly doubling the projects receiving support, the proposal, prepared by the Arbitrum STIP Inclusion Working Group following a series of community calls and workshops, argues it represents a critical opportunity to “support diverse, emerging builders” and “avoid potentially irreversible harm of crushing small, high potential builders.” The majority of temperature check voters, some 90.3% are currently in favor of the proposal, with 8.3% against and 1.4% abstaining. Voting began on Tuesday and is set to conclude on Nov. 14. If passed, the program is designed to maintain the timeline and process of STIP 1, approving funding of an additional 21.4M ARB through the end of Jan. 31, 2024.
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💰 The Graph set to roll out new blockchain data services, including AI-assisted querying
The Graph, an indexing and query protocol for organizing blockchain data, is rolling out a new suite of resources, including advanced data streaming services, Large Language Models for AI-assisted querying, new query languages and verifiable data into its network. Additionally, the roadmap presents a solution for accessing historical data on the Ethereum blockchain once EIP-4444 is implemented, which will limit the availability of such data on the network itself. The "New Era" was outlined in The Graph Foundation's research and development roadmap. It focuses on five key objectives, including expanding its data services, enhancing tooling and UX and delivering a more resilient, flexible and efficient protocol. New Era also aims to boost performance and reduce costs for node operators, and create tools for composable data and an organized knowledge graph, according to a statement. In conjunction with New Era, The Graph is also implementing its "Sunrise of Decentralized Data" initiative, featuring cost-free migration to the network and access to a new free query plan. Additionally, the upcoming Graph Horizon network upgrade aims to make the protocol easier to use, cost-effective and permissionless.
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🟣 Kraken follows Coinbase’s lead with plans to launch Layer 2 network: report
Kraken, the crypto exchange operator, is reportedly seeking a partner to help with the creation of a new Layer 2 blockchain — following the lead of rival exchange Coinbase. Kraken is now weighing working in partnership with Polygon, Matter Labs or Nil Foundation to build out a Layer 2 network of its own, according to a report published today by CoinDesk. Coinbase’s Base uses the OP Stack, from the team behind Optimism. Coinbase introduced Base, its Layer 2, in February of this year, and has quickly hoovered up market share while diversifying its revenue streams. Kraken did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told CoinDesk that the company is “always looking to identify and solve for new industry challenges and opportunities,” while declining to share further details. Kraken is currently advertising a job vacancy for a “Senior Cryptography Engineer” who could be tasked, among other things, with the “design and implementation of layer-2 solutions.”. Kraken is reportedly in talks with Polygon, Matter Labs and Nil Foundation about a potential partnership.
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🏦 Gemini CTO Pravjit Tiwana leaving company: Bloomberg
Crypto exchange Gemini, the company founded by entrepreneur brothers Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, is losing its chief technology officer, according to Bloomberg. Formerly at both Amazon and Disney, Pravjit Tiwana will be leaving his role as Gemini's CTO this month, the report said, citing two anonymous sources. Tiwana also served as CEO of Gemini APAC. Tiwana and Gemini did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chief Technology Officer and APAC CEO, Pravjit Tiwana, is leaving Gemini, according to a report citing two anonymous sources. The CTO worked to make Gemini's culture more similar to Amazon's in a move that resulted in some employees leaving, according to the report. Tiwana's responsibilities at the firm included overseeing product, engineering and design, the report also said. For months, Gemini has been engaged in a long, drawn out fight with Genesis and its parent company Digital Currency Group. The Securities and Exchange Commission has also sued Gemini. Formerly at both Amazon and Disney, Pravjit Tiwana will be leaving his role as Gemini's CTO this month, the report said, citing two anonymous sources.
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🇺🇸 SEC should consider proposing rules to regulate crypto, Republican commissioner says
Securities and Exchange Commission's Mark Uyeda said the agency needs to consider proposing rules or guidance to regulate cryptocurrencies instead of taking a more enforcement-like approach. The Republican commissioner said the SEC could have taken steps to aid in creating laws for cryptocurrencies, but didn't. "Unfortunately, the SEC did not take this approach and instead is pursuing a case-by-case approach through enforcement actions. SEC has been vigorous in charges against crypto firms including exchanges Binance and Coinbase. Cases have made their way through the courts this past year, where judges have had to take a role in figuring out how laws apply to the sector. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has stayed true to his views that most cryptocurrencies are securities, except for bitcoin, and that crypto firms need to register with the agency. In its charges against crypto firms, the SEC often cites the Howey Test, a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case involving citrus groves to determine whether transactions are investment contracts and thus subject to securities laws. Deciding what a security is can be complicated, Uyeda said on Monday.
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🪙 Tether’s USDT Supply Surpasses 84 Billion
As USDT’s market capitalization and supply increase, the asset has maintained its dominance in the stablecoin space. The market supply of the largest stablecoin, Tether (USDT), has soared to a new all-time high, surpassing the just-set milestone of 84 billion. USDT supply hit and surpassed the 84 billion threshold on October 22. This came two months after the leading stablecoin tapped the 83.76 billion mark. Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino took the X to celebrate the milestone with a tweet stating, “84B USDT.” Two weeks later, USDT supply has soared beyond the 85 billion mark. The supply growth has also affected the stablecoin’s market capitalization, bringing it to $85.45 billion at the time of writing, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The second-largest stablecoin, Circle USD (USDC), follo ws with a distant market cap of $23.98 billion. As USDT’s market capitalization and supply increase, the asset has maintained its dominance in the stablecoin space. Between Q1 and Q3 2023, stablecoins’ active addresses and transactions grew by 45% and 41%, with USDT leading the pack with an average of 337,000 daily active addresses and 680,000 daily transactions. Data from the decentralized finance analytics platform DefiLlama also shows that USDT has 68.47% of the total stablecoin market share.
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🆘 Bitfinex Alerts Users After Phishing Incident – Ensures Swift Protective Measures!
Bitfinex alerts recently released a statement detailing a “minor” information security breach that occurred within its systems. According to the company’s announcement, the intruder or intruders gained access through a phishing attack on a customer support channel with limited access to supporting tools and helpdesk tickets. Bitfinex alerts assured users that the majority of affected accounts were either empty or inactive, minimizing the potential impact of the breach on active users. Despite the relatively contained nature of the incident, Bitfinex alerts underscored its commitment to transparency and user protection by pledging to inform all affected users. The proactive approach of notifying potentially impacted users reflects the company’s emphasis on maintaining trust and accountability within the cryptocurrency community. Bitfinex announced its intention to collaborate with law enforcement authorities to identify and apprehend the perpetrators behind the attack. By prioritizing cooperation with legal authorities, Bitfinex alerts aims to not only track down the individuals responsible for the breach but also to prevent similar security lapses in the future. This collaborative effort aligns with the broader industry’s push for robust security measures.
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🇺🇸 US Supreme Court agrees to take up Coinbase case involving arbitration jurisdiction
The U.S. Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear a case involving Coinbase and whether a dispute involving a Dogecoin sweepstakes can be settled through arbitration. The move comes almost a year after Judge Sallie Kim, for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, denied Coinbase's motion to take the dispute to arbitration, according to an opinion from December 2022. Arbitration can be favored by companies because it can cost less and be resolved more quickly. The case involves two different contracts, one that would lead to arbitration and the other that would be required to be figured out in a California court. David Suski, a Coinbase user among others, opted into Coinbase's Dogecoin Sweepstakes in June 2021 and agreed to a user agreement, which included an arbitration provision. Suski then later opted into a separate "officials rules" for the sweepstakes, which included a clause that California courts would have "exclusive jurisdiction over any controversies regarding the sweepstakes," according to Kim's opinion. Coinbase argued that the user agreement should have superseded the official rules, but the California judge ultimately disagreed.
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💰 Prescient Bitcoin Whale Moves $244M in BTC to Crypto Exchange
A large bitcoin (BTC) investor sent 7,000 bitcoin – worth roughly $244 million – to crypto exchange Bitfinex late Thursday, potentially to realize profits from earlier purchases. Whales are crypto investors who control large amounts of digital assets. Their crypto purchases and sales may have a sizable impact on markets, thus crypto watchers closely follow their behavior to anticipate market movements. The moves of this whale are of particular note as whoever controls the wallet appears to have a good sense of timing. BitInfoCharts data shows the holder accumulated 46,500 bitcoin between November 2022 and January 2023 at prices under $20,000 per token versus the current price just under $35,000. The owner then moved to offload a total of 36,500 tokens onto Bitfinex in late March and early April at what was then roughly around the high for the year near $30,000. The holder then took advantage of bitcoin's decline to $26,000 in May to accumulate another 2,000 bitcoin. Blockchain data shows that those 46,500 bitcoins in March made the wallet the 14th-largest BTC owner globally.
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💰 Bitcoin could reach $47,000 by the end of November, SynFutures co-founder says
Bitcoin's price could reach $47,000 by the end of November, according to Rachel Lin, co-founder of the multi-chain decentralized exchange SynFutures. "Last week has cemented October's reputation as 'Uptober,' with bitcoin witnessing nearly a 29% increase in value," Lin said in a statement shared with The Block. "Even more interesting is that when we look at historical data, November tends to be even better than October, with an average return of over 35% in bitcoin. Beyond the price increase, the crypto market is also witnessing a rise in the number of users and transactions, according to Lin, a further positive sign for the ecosystem. Particularly noteworthy is a spike in spot volume, with a marked increase in large transactions exceeding $100,000, according to the SynFutures co-founder. "This is a clear indicator of heightened institutional interest, as big players are seemingly consolidating their positions in digital assets, specifically bitcoin," Lin said. "If we look at last week's asset inflow, we can see a massive increase, with nearly $325 million flowing into the sector, almost $300 million of which went into bitcoin." Options data also reflects the bullish market mood.
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🦊 MetaMask Security Alerts Feature Launched To Help Users Limit Hacks
MetaMask, the popular Web3 wallet, has joined forces with security company Blockaid to introduce an innovative security alerts feature through a desktop browser extension. This partnership marks a significant step in enhancing the security and user experience of cryptocurrency transactions. Starting today, MetaMask users can begin testing this cutting-edge MetaMask security alerts feature, which aims to proactively safeguard against malicious transactions and protect users from hacks and fraud in the crypto sector. Early adopters who participate in the testing phase will receive alerts when potentially toxic transactions are detected. The full rollout of this MetaMask security alerts feature is scheduled for Q1 2024, with an expected release on the MetaMask mobile app by the end of November. Notably, this collaboration positions the wallet company as one of the pioneering self-custodial Web3 wallets to integrate native MetaMask security alerts features, setting a precedent in the industry. Unlike most Web3 wallets that rely on sharing transaction data with third parties for validation, MetaMask and Blockaid have devised a unique privacy-preserving module. This module effectively simulates transactions without the need to share every transaction and signature request with external entities.
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📣 JPMorgan says 'crypto rally looks overdone'
JPMorgan analysts expressed doubt about the sustainability of the recent crypto market surge, stating that the "crypto rally looks overdone.". The first is the prospect of a spot bitcoin ETF approval in the U.S., which could bring in new money to crypto markets, and the potential for such an approval to be seen as a victory for the crypto industry and a loss for the Securities and Exchange Commission, potentially leading to a more lenient SEC approach in the future. "First, instead of fresh capital entering the crypto industry to be invested in the newly-approved ETFs, we see as a more likely scenario existing capital shifting from existing bitcoin products such as the Grayscale bitcoin trust, bitcoin futures ETFs and publicly listed bitcoin mining companies, into the newly-approved spot bitcoin ETFs," the JPMorgan analysts said. Further, they reiterated that spot bitcoin ETFs already exist in Canada and Europe and have garnered little interest from investors since their launch, and thus, they remain skeptical that fresh capital will enter the newly approved spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S.
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🇺🇸 OneCoin legal chief pleads guilty to money laundering and wire fraud: DOJ
OneCoin's head of legal and compliance pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges on Thursday after prosecutors said she participated in a scheme that caused investors to lose billions. Irina Dilkinska, 42 of Bulgaria, could face up to 10 years in prison for her participation in what prosecutors are calling a crypto pyramid scheme, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. OneCoin's so-called 'Head of Legal and Compliance' Irina Dilkinska accomplished the exact opposite goal of her position," said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. "As she has now admitted, Dilkinska facilitated the laundering of millions of dollars of illicit profits OneCoin accrued through its multi-level-marketing scheme. The dedicated prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue this important case until every defendant is brought to justice. OneCoin founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, 46, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after prosecutors accused him of cheating 3.5 million investors and using the money for five-star resorts, a private plane and a yacht.
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🪙 HSBC to launch tokenized securities custody service with Ripple-owned Metaco
HSBC is stepping firmly into the future of finance, announcing plans to offer a custody service for digital assets, including tokenized securities. Partnering with the Swiss-based institutional digital asset custody, trading and DeFi firm Metaco — owned by crypto payments company Ripple — HSBC’s latest blockchain initiative is set to debut in 2024 for its institutional clientele, according to a statement. “Through key partnerships, HSBC is delivering the next-generation custody infrastructure that will be scalable and secure.” The new service uses Metaco’s Harmonize solution and is an extension to HSBC's existing digital assets issuance platform, HSBC Orion. It also complements the banking giant’s new tokenized gold system launched last week, which leverages distributed ledger technology to digitize gold ownership. “I’m excited by the forthcoming launch of our new custody service for digital assets, which will complement HSBC Orion, our platform for issuing digital assets, as well as our recent launch of tokenized physical gold,” Global Head of Digital Assets Strategy, Markets and Securities Services John O’Neill added. “These services underscore HSBC’s commitment to the overall development of digital asset markets.”
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💰 Bitcoin long-term holder supply is at an all-time high
The circulating supply of bitcoin is historically tight, with coins held by long-term investors at an all-time high, according to Glassnode data. The data found that existing bitcoin investors are becoming increasingly unwilling to part with their holdings, with analysts at Glassnode observing "impressive rates of accumulation taking place.". "The bitcoin supply is quite tight with several measures of supply such as illiquid supply, coins HODLed, and long-term holder supply at historical highs," Glassnode analysts said in a note shared with The Block. The data revealed that 68% of the circulating supply of bitcoin has been held untouched for over one year. The bitcoin metric for coins held for over five years now sits at almost 30% of the total circulating amount. The Glassnode report described that this increase in illiquid supply has moved in tandem with investors withdrawing their digital assets from exchanges. "The data suggests investors are continuing to withdraw their coins into custody, with over 1.7 million bitcoin doing so since May 2021," Glassnode analysts said. "The illiquid supply metric, which measures the amount of supply held in wallets with minimal history of spending is also at an all-time high of 15.4 million bitcoin," Glassnode analysts added.
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🔴 Ava Labs lays off 12% of staff to ‘reallocate resources,’ CEO says
Ava Labs, the main developer of the Avalanche blockchain, laid off 12% of its workforce, its chief said today. Emin Gün Sirer, founder and CEO of Ava Labs, said in a post on X that the staff cuts allow the firm. “This reduction in force affected 12% of Ava Labs…Bear markets are difficult to navigate,” Sirer wrote. “Ava Labs is fortunate to have significant runway and resources at our disposal, and we will be focusing those resources on advancing the Avalanche ecosystem for years to come.” Sirer did not specify which company divisions had to reduce their headcounts, but Garrison Yang, Ava Labs’ VP of Growth and Strategy said today in a LinkedIn post that the company has laid off employees in the marketing team. “Today was the last day at Ava Labs for many people on our world class marketing team,” Yang said in the post. “These are the people who [brought] Avalanche's gaming brand from zero to top of the pack in less than a year… These people have helped Avalanche navigate multiple industry blow ups, a bear market, and countless other challenges.”. The layoff comes after the company said last month that it had hired two Polygon and OKX employees.
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💰 Proof Group one of potential bidders to relaunch FTX: reports
Investment firm Proof Group is one of three bidders looking to revive bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, according to multiple reports citing people familiar with the matter. The investment firm is familiar with the crypto sector and was part of the Fahrenheit Group, a consortium of firms including hedge fund Arrington Capital, that made the winning bid to acquire bankrupt crypto lender Celsius' assets in May. CoinDesk first reported the news on Proof Group's involvement on Monday. Proof Group has also approached other investors to see if they wanted to join the bid, a person familiar with the situation told Bloomberg News. Noah Jessop, managing partner of the Proof Group, was previously an advisor for blockchain mining firm Core Scientific and worked at the Libra Association, the group behind Meta's attempt at a stablecoin project, according to his LinkedIn profile. Jessop did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lawyers involved with FTX's bankruptcy planning are considering multiple proposals to figure out what's next for the exchange.
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💰 Bitcoin Mining Profitability Soars as 2023 Nears End: Daily Earnings Hit New Highs
As the year 2023 winds down with just 55 days remaining, bitcoin mining has surged in profitability, with a return of $76 in daily earnings for every petahash per second (PH/s) as of November 5. A mining device capable of 200 terahash per second (TH/s) with electricity expenses at $0.07 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is poised to net an estimated $14.12 over a full day at prevailing BTC rates. Per the insights from hashrateindex.com, the seven-day average for Bitcoin’s hashrate has soared to 474 exahash per second (EH/s). It’s important to remember that not all mining rigs maintain a steady 200 TH/s — actual outputs can significantly fluctuate by model, with some yielding much lower and others exceeding 200 TH/s. Take, for example, the veteran S9 Antminer, which has been in service since its release in May 2016 and operates at 12.93 TH/s. Even with its vintage status, at an electricity cost of $0.07 per kWh, this old-timer can still muster a modest daily profit of $0.91 based on the current BTC exchange rates. Unless you’re part of a significant mining enterprise, acquiring the latest Microbt M63S will be off the table until the coming year. In a similar vein, Bitmain’s latest offering, the S21 Hyd, which boasts a hashing power of 335 TH/s, won’t be available until February 2024.
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🇬🇧 UK Financial Watchdogs Publish Plans to Regulate Stablecoins
The Bank of England (BOE) will regulate “systemic stablecoins” that are in wide enough circulation to potentially disturb financial stability, while the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will oversee the wider crypto sector according to discussion papers published by the two regulators Monday. Proposals from Big Tech companies like Facebook, now Meta (META), and PayPal (PYPL) to issue stablecoins and last year's collapse of stablecoin empire Terraform Labs have propelled related regulation worldwide. EU's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation seeks to limit potentially wide-use stablecoins such as the one proposed by Meta, a person familiar with the matter said the BOE's proposals would allow companies to issue payments-focused, fiat-backed stablecoins in the U.K. if approved to do so. No existing stablecoin, however, qualifies as "systemic" under the proposals. The discussion papers published Monday represent "an exploratory phase in developing the new regime," and after regulators receive feedback from stakeholders on these proposals, they will consult on the final rules, the BOE said. The FCA and the central bank aim to consult on final rules by mid-2024, and implement the stablecoin regimes by 2025, according to a document published alongside the discussion papers.
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💰 Block’s Q3 Earnings Show $2.42 Billion Bitcoin Revenue, Marking 37% Annual Growth
Jack Dorsey’s Block, Inc. published a shareholders’ letter disclosing the firm’s Q3 earnings. The letter reveals that the Block has advanced its investment blueprint, noting an uptick in third-quarter profitability. The Block has revised its full-year 2023 forecasts upward for both Adjusted Operating Income and Adjusted EBITDA. The Block has also shared that Cash App Pay transactions have risen in recent months. By September, the service recorded over two million monthly active users, a figure that has doubled since June. Likewise, Bitcoin’s gross profit ascended to $45 million, marking a 22% year-over-year gain. The company is initiating a first-time authorization to buy back $1 billion of its shares, countering some dilutive effects of share-based compensation. The Block’s Q3 earnings follow Coinbase’s third-quarter financial disclosures which show the firm also prospered with net profit. Microstrategy also unveiled its Q3 earnings, revealing additional bitcoin purchases made in October. The Block’s shareholder letter further mentions a cap of staff members as the firm will not hire any more than 12,000 employees. The Block will not hire any more staff members until they feel the business has “meaningfully outpaced the growth of the company.”
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💰 Ripple (XRP) Dominates Ethereum (ETH) in Interest in Almost Every US State
Google Trends data shows that XRP is more popular than Ethereum in 47 US states, with the highest interest coming from Delaware, Nevada, Louisiana, Arizona, and Hawaii. Forecasting the future value of XRP varies greatly among analysts, with estimates ranging from a moderate increase to $0.90 by next summer to an extreme prediction of $500, which would require a market capitalization far exceeding the current total crypto market cap. with Ripple’s partial wins in court contributing to a positive trend. Ripple’s native token – XRP – seems to be a highly intriguing topic for many Americans. According to Google Trends data, the residents of 47 states have displayed higher interest in the asset than Ethereum (ETH). Delaware, Nevada, Louisiana, Arizona, and Hawaii are the regions where XRP is the most popular. On the other hand, Vermont, New York, Oregon, and the District of Columbia are the only areas where Ethereum has surpassed Ripple’s coin. The outcome of the legal battle, which has been ongoing since December 2020, is expected to be revealed in the spring of 2024 during a grand trial. Multiple analysts and experts have predicted that a decisive win for Ripple could propel a further jump for XRP.
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🆘 Microsoft App Store Users Lose $588,000 to Fake Ledger Live App
A substantial sum of nearly $600,000 in Bitcoin has been stolen due to individuals unknowingly downloading a fake Ledger Live application from Microsoft’s app store. The deceptive application, called “Ledger Live Web3,” tricks users into thinking they are installing the genuine Ledger Live interface for secure offline storage of cryptocurrency using Ledger hardware wallets. The scammer has managed to accumulate around 16.8 BTC, equivalent to $588,000, through 38 transactions using the wallet address “bc1q….y64q,” as reported by Blockchain.com. A total of approximately $115,200 has been withdrawn from the scammer’s wallet in two separate transactions, leaving a remaining balance of $473,800 or 13.5 BTC. It was later mentioned by ZachXBT that Microsoft may have removed the fraudulent Ledger Live app from its platform.The first transaction sent to the scammer’s wallet occurred on October 24, totaling $5,210. Prior to that, the wallet had been inactive. The majority of these transactions have occurred since November 2, with the largest transfer amounting to $81,200 on November 4. An investigation conducted by Cointelegraph revealed the existence of the fake “Ledger Live Web3” application in Microsoft’s app store as early as October 19. This is not the first time a counterfeit Ledger Live app has infiltrated Microsoft’s app store.
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💰 Ex-FTX Unit LedgerX in Gray Area Beyond CFTC Proposal on Customer Funds: Commissioner
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) proposed a rule change Friday on how customer funds should be invested by firms the agency oversees – futures commission merchants (FCMs) and derivative clearing organizations (DCOs). LedgerX has been bucking tradition, possibly most prominently, when it shook up the industry recently with its aborted push to directly settle margined crypto transactions for customers without intermediaries. Friday's proposal, which details how regulated firms must only put customer assets into an expanded list of the most liquid of investments, doesn't consider "the context of a non-intermediated clearing model where the DCO offers direct client access to its clearing services, without the FCM as an intermediary," said CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson. "Our current regulations do not reach the issues addressed by the conditions in the LedgerX order," Johnson said. "The Commission should consider regulation that closes this gap and ensures parallel retail customer protection for trading through intermediaries and non-intermediated DCOs."
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💰 FTX Is Handing Over Customer Crypto Trading Data to the FBI
Bankruptcy advisors to collapsed crypto exchange FTX passed customer information to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to court records. The documents reveal that feds made the request to sift through the data to “investigate all transactions and customer accounts.” But the court records, made public yesterday, do not show details of just how much information federal agents received. Customer privacy has been a hot topic since the collapse of FTX last year. Lawyers repeatedly blocked attempts from major news outlets—including the New York Times and Dow Jones & Company—to reveal customer names. They argued that former customers of the collapsed crypto platform could be subject to scams and identity theft if their names were revealed. The crypto brand’s co-founder and ex-boss Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested a month after the exchange collapsed and prosecutors said he criminally mismanaged the exchange and lost billions of dollars in client money in the process. FTX swiftly collapsed last November—sending shockwaves through an already battered crypto industry.
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📊 Total stablecoin supply growth signals increased capital inflow, analysts say
Total stablecoin supply increased shortly after the recent bitcoin rally began in earnest, according to The Block's Data Dashboard. On Oct. 16, a false report that a spot bitcoin ETF had been approved ignited what has become a sustained multi-week rally for the world's largest digital asset by market capitalization. Around the same date, data from The Block showed an increase in stablecoin supply, with most of the newly minted coins swelling into USDT. According to analysts at Glassnode, the increased total stablecoin supply is a signal for net capital inflow into the entire cryptocurrency sector. "Stablecoins represent investor demand for speculative capital," a Glassnode report sent to The Block stated. Glassnode analysts stated how "we are now seeing a break above Glassnode's Altseason Indicator, which shows all three assets, bitcoin, ether, and combined stabelcoins posting upticks." "Bitcoin is leading for net inflows, and stablecoins have had net outflows until very recently," the Glassnode analysts said. Until recently total stablecoin supply has declined throughout the year-to-date, following its peak in May 2022, just before the TerraUSD collapse.
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⚪️ PayPal PYUSD Stablecoin Is Noted By The SEC With Doubt From The Community
PayPal Holdings Inc., is currently facing scrutiny from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding its dollar-linked stablecoin, PYUSD. PayPal PYUSD stablecoin launched in August is pegged to the US dollar and is backed by US dollar deposits, short-term Treasury bonds, and similar cash equivalents. This development comes as the company seeks to enhance its offerings in the cryptocurrency market through a partnership with crypto firm Paxos. The SEC’s Division of Enforcement issued a subpoena on November 1, 2023, requesting documents related to the project. PayPal has stated that it is fully cooperating with the SEC’s request. It’s worth noting that SEC subpoenas are typically used for information gathering and may not necessarily lead to legal actions or enforcement measures. The SEC will determine its course of action based on the information it collects. Despite the SEC’s investigation, PayPal’s market value has continued to rise. According to Reuters, the company added nearly $4 billion to its market capitalization, with shares climbing nearly 7% to $55.12. This increase is attributed to investors’ enthusiasm following PayPal’s commitment to becoming a “leaner” organization, as well as a positive full-year profit forecast.
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