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📣 Tether And Bitfinex Lawsuit Take A New Step As Judge Dismisses Class Action
In a decisive legal triumph, Tether and Bitfinex have emerged victorious as Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the “meritless” class action complaint lodged by Shawn Dolifka against the stablecoin issuer and its sister company. Following the denial of Dolifka’s motion to amend the complaint, he opted not to appeal the judgment. The dismissal, ruled in favor of Tether and Bitfinex, stands as conclusive.
The plaintiff’s allegations accused Tether and Bitfinex of false statements regarding the reserves backing their stablecoin, USDT. However, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to substantiate actual reliance on the alleged false statements, a crucial element for breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims. Despite the victory, the case continues, as the judge granted the plaintiffs 30 days to file an amended complaint. This development follows the Tether and Bitfinex lawsuit filed by U.S. citizens Matthew Anderson and Shawn Dolifka against Tether Holdings, accusing the stablecoin issuer of falsely disclosing USDT reserve information and misleading consumers about the properties of Tether tokens.
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🏦 Nana Murugesan Leaves Coinbase Amid Global Expansion Drive
The Vice president of international and business development, Nana Murugesan leaves Coinbase in the first quarter of next year. Nana Murugesan leaves Coinbase in the first quarter of next year but will stay on as an advisor until July. During his tenure, Murugesan worked with Brian, Emilie, and the team to establish international growth. Now, he is embarking on his next adventure while facilitating the transition at Coinbase.
The company has capable regional managing directors and country directors in place. Coinbase’s global expansion efforts come at a time when it faces regulatory challenges in the U.S. In June, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Coinbase for securities law violations. As part of its international expansion, Coinbase, co-authored by Murugesan, unveiled the second phase of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy. This blueprint outlines the company’s plans and recently led to the acquisition of a comprehensive license in Singapore. In an interview, Murugesan revealed Coinbase’s collaboration with finance ministries, central banks, and regulators in 24 countries, including G20 members and regions like Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, and Singapore.
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💰 Former FTX General Counsel To Launch New Crypto Exchange With Focus On Trust
In the aftermath of the FTX bankruptcy, a group of former FTX executives, led by Can Sun, the former FTX general counsel, is joining forces to establish a new cryptocurrency exchange. The initiative aims to address the issues that led to the downfall of their previous employer. Sun, a key witness in the criminal trial of ex-FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), testified against SBF under a no-prosecution agreement. The venture seeks to sell a 10% stake to investors at a valuation exceeding $100 million.
Sun’s involvement was not initially disclosed when Backpack, the Web3 digital wallet company founded by Armani Ferrante, announced the exchange last month. Claire Zhang, Ferrante’s wife and a former legal deputy of Sun’s, is also part of the executive board of Trek Labs, the Dubai-based entity operating as Backpack Exchange. Trek Labs has obtained a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), regulating digital assets in the region. Sun’s Trek Labs employs former FTX legal and compliance staff, with transparency being a key focus. The former FTX general counsel emphasized the importance of trust and transparency in the post-FTX landscape. Backpack Exchange plans to utilize Backpack’s technology to enable users to hold funds in their own “self-custody” crypto wallets.
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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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📈 Unlock a world of crypto insights at Charts | Signals & Trading with over 133,000 members. Discover technical analysis, swing, and scalp trades to elevate your trading journey. Don't miss out, join the channel now and become a part of this thriving community
/channel/+RS-e_5lUrDk3MThk
🆘 Monero’s CCS Wallet Was Exploited, Attacker Drains $460,000 in Nine Transactions
Monero’s CCS wallet was exploited on September 1, 2023, as revealed by the decentralized community-driven project. It has been reported that the attacker drained the wallet through nine transactions, depleting its entire balance of 2,675.73 XMR, which is valued at approximately $460,000. Chinese cryptocurrency reporter Colin Wu, known for his X page, Wu Blockchain, provided insights into the Monero CCS hack, which is still surrounded by mystery.
Wu also highlighted the theory by blockchain security firm SlowMist, which suggests a “loophole in the Monero privacy model” as the source of vulnerability. Monero’s disclosure revealed that the CCS, funded by donations, held a total balance of 2675.73 XMR until September 1. It was not until November that Monero developer Luigi noticed the complete theft of the wallet holdings. Moonstone Research meticulously tracked the attacker’s transactions and concluded that the exploiter was likely a user of the Monerujo wallet with the PocketChange feature enabled. Monerujo, an Android-based non-custodial Monero wallet, offers PocketChange to address Monero’s limitations by dividing funds into multiple “pockets” or “notes.”
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🇨🇭 Swiss bank launches bitcoin and ether custody and trading services, in partnership with SEBA
One of Switzerland’s largest cantonal banks has launched digital asset custody and brokerage services for its clients, in partnership with SEBA Bank. This week, St. Galler Kantonalbank announced the launch of custody and trading services for bitcoin and ether to a select group of clients. SGKB added that it has plans to expand its digital asset offerings with the addition of more cryptocurrencies, based on client demand. SGKB is using Swiss-based SEBA Bank to provide digital asset brokerage and custody services.
"St.Galler Kantonalbank and SEBA signed the contract earlier this year, after a short implementation project, SGKB is now ready to offer access to cryptocurrencies to a selected group of clients, in a first step bitcoin and ether, other currencies will follow shortly," Bieri told The Block. This week's launch marks the first step for SGKB into the digital asset space. The fifth-largest Swiss cantonal bank stated the partnership with SEBA Bank will help its clients integrate cryptocurrencies into their existing investment portfolios. "Thanks to our cooperation with SEBA Bank, we’ve implemented a straightforward initial setup, which allows us to learn and grow well aligned to our clients’ needs," St. Galler Kantonalbank Head of Market Services Falk Kohlmann said.
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📈 Unlock a world of crypto insights at Charts | Signals & Trading with over 133,000 members. Discover technical analysis, swing, and scalp trades to elevate your trading journey. Don't miss out, join the channel now and become a part of this thriving community
/channel/+RS-e_5lUrDk3MThk
🏦 Kraken To Suspend All USDT, WBTC Deposits In Canada
Kraken is the next major Canadian exchange to wind down support for stablecoins amid regulatory pressure. Crypto exchange Kraken has confirmed that it plans to close all trading, deposits, and withdrawals for Tether USD (USDT), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and other reserve-backed assets in Canada. According to an email received by CryptoPotato from Kraken on Friday, the firm is now “required” to suspend deposits, withdrawals, and trading in Canada for Tether (USDT), Dai (DAI), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Wrapped Ether (WETH), and Wrapped Axelar (WAXL).
As of November 30 at 12:00 p.m. EST, deposits and trading for each coin will end. Withdrawals will end on December 4 at 11:00 a.m. EST, with such assets remaining on the platform to be converted into USD at the prevailing market rate on December 5. “If you hold balances in any of USDT, DAI, WBTC, WETH, or WAXL we encourage you to consider one of our supported trading pairs or to withdraw prior to November 30th,” wrote Kraken. Back in April, rival exchange Coinbase also announced its cancellation of support in Canada for stablecoins including USDT, RAI, and DAI, for failing to meet the company’s listing standards. The suspension took effect last month. Crypto.com announced a similar stablecoin halt in January, specifically citing instructions from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC).
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🟣 Kraken to share user data with IRS next month following June court order
Crypto exchange Kraken is set to share select user information with the Internal Revenue Service next month after being mandated by a court order received in June. "Kraken expects to share this information covered by the court's order in early November 2023," reads an email the crypto exchange sent to affected U.S. users on Wednesday that was seen by The Block. Kraken confirmed the email and reiterated some of the comments made in it.
The IRS-Kraken battle began in May 2021 when a U.S. federal court authorized the tax agency to serve a John Doe summons on the crypto exchange and its subsidiaries in a bid to catch tax dodgers. The IRS at the time said that Kraken had failed to comply with the summons. Then in February of this year, the tax agency filed a court document seeking permission to enforce the summons, and in June, a federal court ordered Kraken to turn over user information to the IRS. The IRS had sought more extensive information, including users' IP addresses, employment details, sources of wealth, net worth, and banking information. However, Kraken said in Thursday’s email that it had successfully convinced the court to "substantially reduce" the number of affected clients and the amount of client data it must produce.
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🏦 Crypto Exchange Coinbase Chooses Ireland as EU MiCA Hub
America’s leading crypto exchange, Coinbase, announced it has chosen Ireland as its “MiCA hub” in the European Union. The trading platform said the decision is part of the realization of the second phase of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy for international expansion. Coinbase currently holds an e-money institution license and a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration in Ireland as well as licenses and registrations in other EU countries
When it’s granted, the latter will permit the exchange to offer its services across the Union, operating under a single license and regulator. MiCA, which was adopted earlier this year, is set to enter into force in the member states by the end of next year. In the U.S., Coinbase has been engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission which has accused it and other major crypto platforms like Binance of illegally trading unregistered securities. The exchange has been among those in the industry calling for introducing dedicated legislation rather than applying existing U.S. laws to crypto assets through courts. The American crypto giant has welcomed the adoption of MiCA, describing it as a pivotal moment for cryptocurrencies.
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🏦 Coinbase Advanced Customers Can Now Trade Derivatives
Crypto exchange Coinbase has extended its services to eligible non-U.S. retail customers, introducing perpetual contract trading through its Advanced platform. The platform now supports perpetual contracts for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, and XRP, all settled in USDC stablecoin. These contracts, accessible exclusively to non-U.S. retail customers meeting specific criteria, offer up to 5X leverage for Bitcoin, Ether, and Litecoin, while XRP contracts provide up to 3X leverage.
The move aims to tap into the derivatives market, providing traders with a seamless experience by integrating highly liquid spot markets with derivatives. Coinbase Advanced customers can employ advanced order types, TradingView charts, and APIs for automated trading, enhancing their trading strategies. Presently, perpetual futures trading is limited to the Coinbase Advanced webpage, but the company plans to expand its services to mobile platforms soon, according to a press release. This development follows regulatory approval from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, granting Coinbase International Exchange the green light to offer perpetual futures to Coinbase Advanced customers outside the U.S. To participate, non-U.S. retail customers must undergo standard assessment checks, ensuring eligibility and compliance.
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💰 Crypto funds recorded net inflows for third consecutive week led by Bitcoin
Digital asset investment products at asset managers such as CoinShares, Bitwise, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares recorded net inflows for the third consecutive week. The funds added a net $15 million — dominated by Bitcoin. Bitcoin products saw inflows of $16 million last week, pushing the year-to-date inflows to $260 million, according to CoinShares’ latest report. Short-Bitcoin funds also observed inflows of $1.7 million. The data, as of Friday’s close, is “unlikely to capture the positive news out of the U.S. regarding the SEC not appealing the Grayscale legal challenge.
Solana investment products added a further $3.7 million to the $24 million registered in the prior week. XRP funds also managed modest inflows of $0.42 million — the 25th consecutive week of positive inflows for the product. “The consistent inflows underscore the investment community’s support, especially considering successful legal challenges against the SEC,” Butterfill said. However, the flows weren’t all positive, with Ether funds witnessing outflows of $7.4 million — reversing most of the $10 million of inflows added following the launch of six Ether futures ETFs in the prior week. “This perhaps reflects ongoing protocol design concerns,” Butterfill said.
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📣 Perpetual Trading Protocol GMX Bags Biggest Chunk of $40M Arbitrum Grant
Several projects built on the Arbitrum blockchain have bagged a cumulative stash of $40 million in ARB tokens as part of a short-term incentives program (STIP) round that ended late Thursday. A tally shows 29 Arbitrum projects pitched their product and services to token holders over the past week, hoping to win votes for a chunk of the 50 million ARB tokens, worth nearly $40 million at current prices. The proposal for the grant was floated and approved earlier in September.
The STIP is a one-time distribution and grantees cannot convert ARB rewards to other tokens or participate in any governance activities. The proposal for the grant was floated and approved earlier in September. Perpetual trading protocol GMX bagged the most rewards at 12 million ARB, worth just over $10 million, followed by Gains Network at 7 million ARB. Ether staking powerhouse Lido Finance was among the surprise duds, failing to win approval amid concerns that it could control a third of all staked ether tokens. These projects are now expected to use the tokens to provide increased rewards for users that support those protocols, such as by supplying liquidity or using services, in a move that may attract funds to the blockchain as traders hunt for investment strategies.
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Today is Day 2 of Vertex Protocol’s 7-day Liquidity Bootstrap Auction (LBA)! Over $2 million has been supplied already.
Vertex offers some of the lowest fees in the industry for spot and perpetuals trading: 0.02-0.04% taker / FREE maker. It is currently a top 5 derivatives DEX by volume in DeFi.
VRTX is the protocol utility token that is launching via this week’s LBA. Here’s how you can participate: get onto the Vertex app at https://app.vertexprotocol.com/vrtx, connect your wallet, and deposit USDC.e.
Participants earn two sets of rewards: LP fees from the VRTX-USDC.e AMM and the VRTX trading rewards.
Visit the Vertex LBA docs to learn more:
https://vertex-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/community-and-tokenomics/the-vertex-lba
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to participate at a crucial time in the development of a leading DEX in crypto!
Trading crypto is risky, please consult Vertex’s Statement of Risk: https://vertex-protocol.gitbook.io/docs/more/statement-of-risk
📣 Crypto Fund Inflows of $293M Bring Yearly Total Above $1B: CoinShares
A third consecutive week of sizable net inflows into cryptocurrency funds has pushed the yearly total above $1 billion, according to digital asset manager Coinshares. Digital asset investment products saw net inflows of $293 million last week, bringing year-to-date inflows to a total of $1.14 billion. That makes 2023 as having the third highest yearly inflows on record, said Coinshares. Much of that is thanks to the last three weeks, which have witnessed nearly $900 million in net inflows.
Bitcoin funds accounted for $240 million of the $293 million of net inflows last week. This comes as the crypto market has been rallying on the back of optimism about possible imminent U.S. regulatory approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin (BTC) has gained about 37% since the start of October, bringing its year-to-date advance to roughly 122% Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) volumes made up 19.5% of total bitcoin trading volumes on exchanges, noted Coinshares. “This has rarely happened and suggests ETP investors are participating much more in this rally compared to 2020/21," the firm added. Ether (ETH) funds saw $49 million of net inflows last week – their largest such total since August 2022 – with the catalyst for this likely being last week's spot ether ETF application from BlackRock.
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💰 Solana's SOL Rallies 20% in a Day, Erasing Woes of Past 18 Months
Solana's native token SOL has rallied 20% in the last 24 hours, continuing a three-week upswing that erased the asset's yearly losses – and then some. The token was trading hands near $54 at press time according to CoinDesk market data. It had last held that level in the weeks following Terra Luna's market-shattering collapse in May 2022. The price surge comes on the heels of Solana's annual conference and in spite of market jitters over going-on at FTX Group, a major holder of the SOL token.
SOL's price jump could prove to be a win for the many creditors of FTX. The asset is now trading in a range that will make customers of the crypto exchange whole, according to Thomas Braziel, the CEO of 117 Partners, a company that closely follows the distressed asset markets. Sam Bankman-Fried was just convicted for stealing that customer money. Of course, that would require SOL to at the very least hold this level for possibly years. Much of FTX's SOL holdings are locked up until 2027 or later. The price surge comes on the heels of Solana's annual conference and in spite of market jitters over going-on at FTX Group, a major holder of the SOL token. That bankrupt company has sent mixed messages about what it plans to do with its sizable stake.
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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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💰 Magic Eden strengthens support for Polygon with new features
NFT marketplace Magic Eden is bolstering its support for Polygon with several new features including an aggregation tool that can consolidate listings across multiple marketplaces. "We feel like we're just scratching the surface for what’s possible on Polygon," said Magic Eden co-f0under and CEO Jack Lu. "We hope that by launching and opening up some of these new features, more collectors, creators and game developers will join us and we can keep growing the Polygon ecosystem together."
NFT platform Magic Eden is bolstering its Polygon support with new features including an aggregation tool and is publicly releasing its Polygon API. Magic Eden also implemented royalty enforcement on its Polygon PoS marketplace and is publicly releasing its Polygon API to let projects integrate marketplace features, the company said in a statement. Though Magic Eden had originally launched to serve as Solana's digital asset marketplace, the platform added support for the Layer 2 Ethereum scaling network Polygon in November of 2022. Magic Eden first added support for Polygon NFTs that already existed, then added Polygon NFT minting and trading support a month later to augment the platform's offering of web3 gaming assets.
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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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💰 Solana Drops 5% as FTX-Linked Address Moves SOL to Kraken, Binance
SOL is down almost 6% in the last 24 hours and is currently trading hands at around $39.82, per CoinGecko. The bearish move comes amid some hefty SOL transfers from FTX-linked Solana addresses, per data from Solana block explorer Solscan. In September, a court approved the liquidation of $3.4 billion worth of crypto assets, including $1.16 billion in SOL, belonging to the FTX estate—the remains of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire after its collapse last year.
The court-approved liquidation plan set a cap of $100 million worth of crypto assets per week, which is likely to produce continued sell pressure on Solana for as long as the process lasts. The broader picture still remains bullish for the token, as it continues to boast a whopping 23.9% increase over the last week, far outpacing the rest of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap. In the past 24 hours, roughly $10.31 million SOL has been liquidated. Of that sum, more than $7 million were levered-long traders. Per Solana block explorer Solscan, the address labeled "FTX Cold Storage #2" sent more than 250,000 SOL tokens, worth roughly $9.8 million at press time, to the crypto exchange Kraken late last night.
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🏦 Coinbase US Customers Can Now Expand Bitcoin Futures Trading
Coinbase Global has unveiled an exciting opportunity for its eligible retail Coinbase US customers, as they can now engage in futures trading tied to Bitcoin and Ether. This development, disclosed in a recent blog post, emphasizes that only US customers with advanced trader status will have the privilege of trading these futures contracts. Coinbase’s foray into the futures market follows its clearance in August to operate as a futures commission merchant (FCM) under the regulations of the National Futures Association.
Futures contracts, while offering unique trading opportunities, are generally considered riskier due to the inherent volatility of cryptocurrencies and the potential for amplified gains and losses through leverage, making risk management crucial for Coinbase US customers. According to Coinbase Financial Markets CEO Andrew Sears, futures provide Coinbase US customers with various benefits, including risk hedging, portfolio diversification, leveraging, and speculation on market direction. This initiative is a significant step toward expanding the trading horizons for Coinbase US customers in the rapidly evolving crypto market. Users can take advantage of the nano-Ether contract to manage risk, trade on margin, or speculate on Ether’s price.
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🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia's NEOM megaproject proposes investing $50 million in Animoca Brands
The strategic investment arm of Saudi Arabia's NEOM megaproject has proposed investing $50 million in crypto gaming investment company Animoca Brands. The NEOM Investment Fund plans to invest $25 million via the issuance of convertible notes at a conversion cap price of A$4.50 per share. The remaining $25 million will be invested in purchasing Animoca Brands' shares on the secondary market. The partnership has been proposed in a memorandum of understanding, according to a press release from both parties.
The goal of this partnership is to promote the development of web3 infrastructure in the NEOM region, in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 plan. "Web3 technology and infrastructure development will not only be an important foundation of NEOM’s tech stack and architecture but also has the potential to revolutionize global industries. By partnering with a market-leading company like Animoca Brands, we hope to accelerate web3 technology development and adoption," NEOM Investment Fund CEO Majid Mufti said. The NEOM infrastructure project is packaged as a futuristic eco-city, to attract inward investment and tourism. The scheme is part of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman's bid to diversify the Saudi economy away from its dependence on oil.
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🟠 Binance Appoints New Regional Head for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
Binance, the largest digital assets exchange by daily trading volume, has appointed Kyrylo Khomiakov as its new regional head for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Central Asia. Until now he was Binance’s General Manager for CEE. Khomiakov will manage the company’s teams, focus on enhancing products and services and optimizing user experience to grow its business, a press release detailed. He will also oversee Binance’s marketing strategy and contacts with governments.
“Having Kyrylo, who possesses a deep understanding of these local markets and plays an integral role in the Binance organization, taking responsibility for these regions is crucial. This appointment will ensure an effective allocation of our resources to uphold our position in this part of the world,” said Richard Teng, head of regional markets at Binance. Kyrylo Khomiakov joined the cryptocurrency exchange in January 2022 and was initially responsible for Ukraine before taking charge of the business in the entire CEE region. He will now lead Binance across 14 countries in both Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “We’re focused on building a local presence in CEE and Central Asian countries.
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🪙 Vodafone, Chainlink Show Blockchain Can Support Global Trade Processes
Vodafone's Digital Asset Broker (DAB) has demonstrated blockchain can be used for trade, according to a Tuesday announcement. The telecom giant ran a proof of concept on trade document transfer with Web3 services platform Chainlink Labs, Sumitomo Corporation and InnoWave to address "longstanding challenges in the $32 trillion global trade ecosystem," according to the announcement. The proof of concept enabled devices to act autonomously and produce information that could be translated by a computer to support trade processes.
The companies used Chainlink's cross-chain interoperability protocol (CCIP) to provide security and interoperability as data and tokens were shared across public and private blockchains. “Vodafone DAB and Chainlink are showing how their platforms can be combined to cut through this sea of incompatibility by bridging traditional markets with advanced decentralized platforms," said Jorge Bento, CEO of Vodafone DAB. For instance, cargo vessels detecting a fire could "autonomously relay data to smart contracts via DAB’s platform and CCIP, potentially triggering a marine cargo insurance process," the post said. Vodafone DAB also said it had joined the Chainlink network as a node operator to help developers fetch external data. Chainlink's (LINK) token climbed 7.5% in the 24 hours following the news, according to CoinGecko data.
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🇺🇸 US Treasury plans to designate international crypto mixers as money-laundering hubs: WSJ
The Treasury Department is planning to designate international crypto mixers as money-laundering hubs, citing Hamas' use of them along with other terrorist groups, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Today’s action underscores Treasury's commitment to combating the exploitation of Convertible Virtual Currency mixing by a broad range of illicit actors, including state-affiliated cyber actors, cyber criminals, and terrorist groups," said Wally Adeyemo, deputy Treasury secretary, according to the WSJ.
The designation comes shortly after a report from the WSJ that said that said Hamas, along with other militant groups, used crypto as a financing tool ahead of attacks in Israel earlier this month. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., along with more than a hundred other lawmakers including both Democrats and Republicans, said they were concerned about how Hamas raised millions of dollars through crypto in a letter sent to the Biden administration on Tuesday. "As Congress considers legislative proposals designed to mitigate crypto money laundering and illicit finance risks, we urge you to swiftly and categorically act to meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity and protect our national security and that of our allies," the letter stated.
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📣 Platypus Finance Hack recovers 90% of assets lost
According Cointelegraph, Platypus Finance Hack recovers successfully 90% of the assets stolen in the recent hack. In an announcement on October 17th, the developers disclosed a net loss of “18,000 Avalanche,” valued at $167,400 at the time. Interestingly, the hacker voluntarily returned the funds, and Platypus Finance confirmed that they will not pursue legal action. Thanks to hacker cooperation, Platypus Finance Hack recovers 90% of the assets that were stolen during a recent security breach.
The security breach took place on October 12th when the automated market maker operating. To enhance security, Platypus developers have suspended all liquidity pools and initiated a comprehensive security audit. Flash loan attacks involve hackers exploiting vulnerabilities to borrow cryptocurrencies without providing collateral. The hacker then withdraws these borrowed assets from the protocol, leaving either the users or the protocol treasury responsible for the debt. This incident marks the third attack on Platypus this year, with a previous occurrence in July resulting in a $157,000 loss due to a flash loan attack. Another attack, exploiting the DeFi protocol for $8.5 million, also utilized a flash loan. Following the incident in February, Platypus committed to returning at least 63% of the assets lost by users in the attack through its recovery plan.
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📊 Stablecoin Lender Liquity’s Token Gains 80% in Month as Activity Increases
Liquity, a decentralized borrowing protocol, has seen its native token LQTY rally 80% over the last month, contrasting with sluggish performance in the broader cryptocurrency markets. Liquity is a borrowing and lending platform where users can take out loans denominated in Liquity’s U.S. dollar stablecoin, LUSD, after staking ether (ETH) as collateral. LQTY was trading at $0.75 a month ago and is now around $1.35. Compared to the larger crypto assets, bitcoin has seen a 2% increase over the same time period.
The LQTY token has a market capitalization of about $120 million. And in a sign of just how volatile these smaller cryptocurrencies can be, the price was down 12% on Friday on no notable news. According to the company, the protocol has seen increased activity over the past month, which could be contributing to the price movement. Users who staked in the protocol were paid a collective of around $625,000 over the past month. Users can use the LQTY staking pool to stake LQTY tokens and earn protocol fees, which are paid out in LUSD and ETH. A spokesperson for Liquity said that Bluechip, an independent stablecoin agency, recently gave it an A rating, another factor that might have contributed to the price surge. Ethereum lost 3% and Solana’s SOL gained 20%.
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🇺🇸 BarnBridge DAO votes over response to SEC probe
BarnBridge DAO, which runs a small DeFi protocol, opened a voting process over how it should respond to a Securities and Exchange Commission probe. Voting opened on Tuesday on whether BarnBridge co-founders Tyler Ward and Troy Murray should have the "authority to undertake all actions necessary to comply with the Order of the Securities and Exchange Commission against BarnBridge.”. The move came after BarnBridge attorney Douglas Park told DAO members in July through Discord that the SEC was investigating.
BarnBridge is now asking whether it should pay disgorgement, as required by the SEC’s order, and whether it should “sell all tokens that it is permitted to sell and allow to Ward and Murray to distribute the tokens.” The U.S. regulator has taken legal actions before against decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs. The agency said earlier this year that American CryptoFed failed to provide required information about its business management and financial condition. It also had materially misleading statements and omissions, including inconsistencies on whether the tokens are securities, the SEC said. Park said that all work on BarnBridge-related products should be halted and that people shouldn’t be compensated for work they do for the DAO until further notice.
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