Author: vasdc

The Ethereum ecosystem will continue its ongoing metamorphosis as the highly anticipated Shanghai upgrade draws near. The latest preeminent smart contract blockchain protocol improvement will activate Ether (ETH) withdrawals from Ethereum’s Beacon Chain.The Merge marked a significant milestone for the Ethereum network in 2022, with the blockchain platform shifting from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake consensus. That change introduced validators as the new “miners” of the network, with staking ETH becoming a key component in maintaining the network.While full validators were required to stake 32 ETH to process transactions and add new blocks to the network, the broader ecosystem could stake smaller amounts…

Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has recently released a manifesto that, if enacted, would enable the use of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the nation’s banking and finance sector. The manifesto suggests reviewing existing Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations on digital assets to make them more business-friendly. The new regulation provides a framework for regulating digital assets like cryptocurrencies and other digital tokens in Nigeria.The suggested regulations would require digital asset companies to register with the SEC and mandate that all digital asset offerings and investments comply with SEC regulations. Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu.In the manifesto, Tinubu said: “We will reform the…

Dogecoin (DOGE) pared some losses versus Bitcoin (BTC) on March 10, a day after the DOGE/BTC pair fell to its lowest level since October 2022. Can DOGE price see an extended rebound ahead? On the daily chart, the DOGE/BTC pair reached 331 sats, up 4.75% compared to the previous day’s low of 316 sats. The bounce occurred around a multi-month descending trendline, which has capped the pair’s downside moves since November 2022.DOGE/BTC daily price chart. Source: TradingViewDOGE price vs. BTCInterestingly, the DOGE/BTC descending trendline appears part of a prevailing falling wedge pattern. Traditional chart analysts consider the falling wedge a bullish…

Amid Coinbase (COIN) stock tumbling about 8% on Thursday, Cathie Wood’s investment manager ARK Invest has bought the biggest amount of the stock since the start of 2023.On March 9, ARK purchased 301,437 Coinbase shares ($17.5 million) for its ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund, known as ARKK, according to an investor notification seen by Cointelegraph. The company has also bought 52,525 COIN shares ($3 million) for its ARK Next Generation Internet ETF, referred to as ARKW.ARK’s latest investments in Coinbase make up the largest single COIN stock acquisition in 2023 so far, accounting for roughly 30% of all COIN purchases in…

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly creating a separate text-based content app that will support ActivityPub — the decentralized social networking protocol that powers Mastodon and other decentralized apps that compete with Twitter. The upcoming app — codenamed P92 — will be Instagram-branded and allow users to log in with their existing Instagram credentials, according to a report by TechCrunch.The P92 team plans to follow the “fork” approach in the initial product version, with users’ profiles populated with their Instagram account details, such as name, username, bio, profile photo and followers.According to the product brief, the app…

The biggest crypto heists to date are MT Gox, Linode, BitFloor, Bitfinex, Bitgrail, Coincheck, KuCoin, PancakeBunny, Poly Network, Cream Finance, BadgerDAO, Bitmart, Wormhole, Ronin network, Beanstalk, Harmony Bridge, and FTX. MT Gox Mt. Gox remains the greatest cryptocurrency robbery in history, with over 850k Bitcoin stolen between 2011 and 2014. Mt. Gox claimed that a fault that caused the loss is due to an underlying bug in Bitcoin, known as transaction malleability. Transaction malleability is the process of altering a transaction’s unique identifier by altering the digital signature that was used to produce it. In September 2011, it was discovered…

A federal judge in Florida, United States, is considering dismissing NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal and tennis athlete Naomi Osaka from the FTX lawsuit, pointing out that it’s unclear whether the two have been served. In a paperless order, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore reportedly told the plaintiffs to provide cause on why O’Neal and Osaka shouldn’t be dismissed from the suit. According to Moore, it’s unclear whether the two sports stars have been served. The judge gave the FTX customers until December to show cause.The show cause order was one of the several paperless orders that the judge issued on…

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is preparing to hold a new public hearing on a potential ban on staking and lending services in the country.Thailand’s SEC officially announced on March 8 that the authority is seeking public comments on a draft regulation prohibiting virtual asset service providers (VASPs) from providing or getting involved in any type of crypto staking and lending transactions.According to the SEC’s policy, VASPs should not be allowed to deploy users’ deposits and provide lending services in order to prevent possible damage to investors in a possible event of services’ termination. Additionally, the draft regulation is…

A crypto startup backed by the American rapper Jayceon Terrell Taylor, better known as “The Game,” had its registration revoked by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for violating securities laws after failing to file periodic reports.ParagonCoin Limited, a crypto firm focusing on the marijuana industry, had its license revoked by the SEC after confirming its allegations against the company and finding that the firm is in default. The SEC started the proceedings against the firm in February 2022 and pointed out that the company’s last filing was from March 2019, which states that it lost over $10…

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an appeal against the latest decision in the case for the selling of assets between Voyager Digital and Binance.US. On March 8, the U.S. Trustee for Region 2 made the appeal to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the approval of Voyager Digital’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.The chapter 11 plan was confirmed only a day prior, on March 7, by U.S. bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles. This plan would have allowed the former crypto brokerage company to go forward with selling billions of dollars in assets…

Hedera, the team behind distributed ledger Hedera Hashgraph, has confirmed a smart contract exploit on the Hedera Mainnet that has led to the theft of several liquidity pool tokens.Hedera said the attacker targeted liquidity pool tokens on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) that derived its code from Uniswap v2 on Ethereum, which was ported over to use on the Hedera Token Service.Today, attackers exploited the Smart Contract Service code of the Hedera mainnet to transfer Hedera Token Service tokens held by victims’ accounts to their own account. (1/6)— Hedera (@hedera) March 10, 2023 The Hedera team explained that the suspicious activity was…

The United States Federal Reserve is set to create a “specialized team of experts” to keep up with developments in the cryptocurrency industry,  according to a Fed official, amid concerns from the Fed of “unregulated” stablecoins.Speaking at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington on Mar. 9, Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr admitted that crypto could have a “transformative effect” on the financial system, but added that “the benefits of innovation can only be realized if appropriate guardrails are in place.”According to Barr, the new crypto team will help the Federal Reserve “learn from new developments and make…

A Twitter hashtag relating to a purported artificial intelligence (AI) crypto token called “CryptoGPT” has been trending on Twitter. Alongside it, a number of very similar-looking Twitter accounts have also sprung up — some of which have been touting likely fake giveaways.As of the time of writing, “Download CryptoGPT” is trending with 6,185 tweets associated with it. GPT-4 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4), an unreleased neural network created by OpenAI, is also trending with 4,683 tweets. Trending topics on Twitter. Source: TwitterMeanwhile, dozens of Twitter accounts sporting the name “CryptoGPT” can also be found on Twitter, with some offering likely fake…

Fears have been heightened over the future of another United States bank this week after Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) announced a significant sale of assets and stocks aimed at raising additional capital. However, some investors may be concerned that not all is well at the tech startup and VC-focused bank, particularly given the closure of crypto bank Silvergate just a day earlier. Shares in Silicon Valley Bank collapsed over 60%, wiping some $80 billion in value from the bank’s shares.SVB is one of the top 20 largest banks in the United States and provides banking services to the likes of…

Bitcoin (BTC) briefly slipped below $20,000 for the first time in nearly two months, following the latest budget from United States President Joe Biden and the collapse of “crypto-bank” Silvergate.The price of BTC dipped to $19,945 on March 10 before recovering to hover just above $20,000, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin had a stellar start to 2023 but fell as much as 5% in an hour on March 3 amid uncertainty at Silvergate. The price doesn’t appear to have been able to lift since.Price chart of Bitcoin over the last seven days. Source: Cointelegraph Markets ProThe announcement that Silvergate Bank,…

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s latest salvo against “shitcoins” has ended up with him simply being sent more of it.Only days ago, the Ethereum developer made moves to sell over $700,000 of tokens previously airdropped to him, causing the price of these tokens to fall. Buterin has since continued his war on apparent “shitcoins.” In a Mar. 9 post on a small subreddit, Buterin labeled crypto token Bite (BITE) and most of the other coins discussed on the r/Testingtesting62831 subreddit were “shitcoins” which have “no redeeming cultural or moral value, and will probably lose you most of the money you put into…

United States Congressman Tom Emmer believes the launch of programmable central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the country could strip American citizens of their financial privacy.Speaking at the Cato Institute, a Washington DC-based libertarian think tank on Mar. 9, Emmer explained that the programmable CBDC would be “easily weaponized” as a spying tool to “choke out politically unpopular activity,” among other things:As the federal government seeks to maintain and expand financial control to which it has grown accustomed, the idea of the central bank digital currency has gained traction within the institutions of power in the United States as a…

Bitcoin mining company Compass Mining claims to have found “three issues” in the ASIC design of the two new Antminer S19 miners, units that are primarily used to mine Bitcoin (BTC).These issues could result in the machines overheating and in some cases, completely breaking down.The firm’s mining operations team warned in its Mar. 6 post that “Miners need to be ready,” particularly those who purchased the S19 90T and S19 XP Antminers manufactured from 2022 onwards.Bitmain changed its ASIC design. Miners need to be readyhttps://t.co/cs8z96lR1L pic.twitter.com/2NN4O3sEfP— Will Foxley (@wsfoxley) March 7, 2023 While the firm stated that “other versions could…

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. South Korea invests another $51M in metaverse tech South Korea’s plans for metaverse domination are gathering pace. A Mar. 8 document prepared by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, and the Korea Radio Promotion Association, says the three entities will invest a total of 27.7 billion Korean won ($21 million) in metaverse projects across 13 sectors such as healthcare, tourism, and education. One example use case is about telemedicine in the metaverse: “Establish a virtual counseling…

March started off on a low due to a resurrection of inflationary fears. On March 7, hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell amplified the market’s expectation of a 50-basis point hike in the upcoming policy rate meeting on March 22 to March 23. On March 8, the U.S. government’s $1 billion Bitcoin (BTC) transfer of assets seized from Silk Road sparked fears of a sell-off. Later on the same day, the largest crypto-friendly bank confirmed its collapse and planned to liquidate its crypto positions voluntarily. The week’s events sent Bitcoin’s price to a two-week low of $20,050. A…

New York state Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has filed suit against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin after she was able to buy and sell crypto on the exchange, which is not registered in New York. “This action is one of the first times a regulator is claiming in court that ETH, one of the largest cryptocurrencies available, is a security,” her office said in a statement.  The complaint, filed on March 9 in the Supreme Court of the State Of New York County, alleges that Seychelles-based KuCoin violated securities law when it “sold, offered to sell, purchased and offered to purchase…

A phased-in 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining electricity costs has been proposed by United States president Joe Biden in his administration’s 2024 fiscal year budget. A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released Mar. 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be “subject to an excise tax equal to 30 percent of the costs of electricity used in digital asset mining.”One of the few surprises in the Biden budget. A proposed excise tax on electricity usage from crypto mining. Phasing in at 10% in year one and climbing to 30%.…

The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and other bearish events in the space were at the center of discussions among lawmakers and witnesses at the inaugural hearing of the United States House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion.Addressing lawmakers at the March 9 hearing, BitGo co-founder and CEO Mike Belshe criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, for enforcement actions against crypto firms “trying to do it right” — i.e. communicating with regulators and pursuing a path to operate in the country. He cited BitGo’s experience going through the process of approaching…

Bitcoin (BTC) traders saw continued downward pressure after the 5.5% decline in BTC price on March 7. Increased odds of further interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and regulatory pressure in cryptocurrencies explain some of the movement.Financial markets showed signs of stress as the inverted bond curve reached its highest level since the 1980s. Longer-term dated yields have stalled at 4%, while two-year treasury notes traded above 5% yield in March.Since July, longer-dated treasury yields have failed to keep pace with the surging two-year benchmark, resulting in the inverted curve distortion that typically precedes economic downturns. According to Bloomberg,…

Cryptocurrency financial services company Blockchain.com will suspend operations of its asset management subsidiary, according to a Bloomberg report published March 9. The service had existed less than a year and appears to be the latest casualty of the crypto winter.The subsidiary, known as Blockchain.com Asset Management, is based in London. It applied to be removed from the U.K. companies register on March 5. The application itself is dated Feb. 15. The company had not yet filed its first annual account. Blockchain.com Asset Management was opened in April 2022 in partnership with Altis Partners, which was to manage its portfolios using…

Silvergate is not a systematic risk for the United States banking system, but it could have a significant impact on the crypto markets, multiple sources told Cointelegraph. These may include increasing banking concentration in a few partners and challenges for venture capital firms seeking to establish banking relationships in the country.The bank was a crypto-fiat gateway network for financial institutions and one of the major on-ramps for cryptocurrencies in the United States until March 8, when its parent company, Silvergate Capital Corporation, disclosed plans to “voluntarily liquidate” assets and shut down operations. The move affects a “huge number of market…

If the development of blockchain technology was a financial revolution, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are the counter-revolution. Their development has intensified in 2023 across the globe, and it’s now more important than ever for the world to know what could lay behind the acronym.While there are some who think central banks can be trusted to proceed, the facts stand against them. This technology would give central banks unprecedented control, could pose serious security risks and is also entirely unnecessary. If you understand blockchain, you also understand the privacy dangers inherent in government-issued digital currencies. Every detail of every transaction…

Although the Web3 ecosystem is rapidly evolving, the industry still faces many challenges, one of which is its lack of diversity. The underrepresentation of women in the field remains a significant concern, as their involvement is indispensable in addressing some of the critical challenges in the sector.Web3, the next generation of the internet, is an exciting new space creating opportunities for entrepreneurs across various industries. While the field is still somewhat male-dominated, several influential women entrepreneurs are significantly impacting the Web3 space.— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 8, 2023 In a recent interview, several women in the Web3 industry shared their experiences…

Statements from Republican lawmakers ahead of the inaugural hearing of the United States House of Representatives subcommittee focused on digital assets, financial technology and inclusion suggest partisan divides on crypto regulation.In a March 6 memo, House Financial Services Committee Republicans said the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion would focus on the Biden administration’s “attack on the digital asset ecosystem”. The hearing is scheduled to take place on March 9 as one of the first since Representative Patrick McHenry became committee chair at the start of the 118th Congress.“Over the last two years, the…

Crypto wallet maker Trezor recently decided to start manufacturing its own hardware wallet chips to respond quickly to demand-triggering events like the FTX collapse.Trezor announced on Feb. 27 that it would begin producing the chip wrapper, a crucial component for the Trezor Model T — its flagship device. The move will reportedly cut the supply cycle lead times from two years to a few months in the production of Trezor wallets.According to Trezor, the decision will also address shipment delays of finished products and shield customers from price swings caused by component supply and demand changes. After the FTX crash in…

The United States Treasury has announced deputies of the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs, or REPO, Task Force have targeted crypto in Russian entities’ attempts to evade sanctions.In a March 9 announcement, the U.S. Treasury said the task force had blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of assets subject to sanctions since Russia’s military invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Members of the REPO team have worked to “counter Russian sanctions evasion”, which included illicit crypto transactions.“As Russia’s war of aggression continues, REPO members remain determined in their commitment to impose steep costs on Russia,” said the task…

The new year began with the news that notable Web3 entrepreneur Kevin Rose fell victim to a phishing scam in which he lost over $1 million worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs). As mainstream financial institutions begin to provide services related to Web3, crypto and NFTs, they would be custodians of client assets. They must protect their clients from bad actors and identify whether client assets have been obtained through illicit activities.The crypto industry hasn’t made it easy for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) functions within organizations. The sector has innovated constructs like cross-chain bridges, mixers and privacy chains, which hackers and crypto thieves…

XRP price extended its gains on March 9, rising around 1.5% to $0.40, despite a general downturn in the cryptocurrency market.  XRP price four-day winning streakThe rally in the XRP/USD pair started on March 5 with the XRP market capitalization gaining over 10% in the past four days.XRP/USD daily price chart. Source: TradingViewIn contrast, the entire crypto market’s cap has dropped by about 5% in the same period, with top coins Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) losing by 4.5% and 4%, respectively.Ripple scores early win versus SEC XRP’s gains appear as investors pin their hopes on Ripple winning its long-running courtroom battle against…

According to a statement on Mar. 9, bank messaging platform Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, disclosed that the financial institution witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).During a 12-week testing period, SWIFT simulated nearly 5,000 transactions between two different blockchain networks and existing fiat payment systems. Over 18 financial institutions worldwide participated in the study, including the Royal Bank of Canada, Banque de France, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Monetary Authority of Singapore, HSBC, Deutsche Bundesbank, NatWest, and more. As told by SWIFT:”Overall, the results of the sandbox testing found…

Local communities are always in the business of attracting businesses. A diverse foundation of companies in a region brings many things with it, including new residents, higher tax receipts, and more and better educational, recreational and health amenities. Forward-looking communities may well be looking for ways to become magnets for the next generation of tech businesses, including blockchain and crypto firms. As pioneers in the space, the members of Cointelegraph Innovation Circle know exactly what the industry’s entrepreneurs are looking for. Below, they share 10 tips to help community leaders persuade Web3 businesses to open their doors in their locale.…

Bitcoin (BTC) rested at multi-week support at the March 9 Wall Street open as concerns over a deeper BTC price drop increased.BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewTrader: $19,700 “on the table”Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD circling $21,800 on Bitstamp.With $22,000 in danger of flipping from support to resistance, popular trader Pentoshi was among those warning that further undoing of support may come next.“We made it. Best r/r currently however not a fan of the slow bleed. Would have liked a SFP (one may still come),” he wrote in an update on a prior BTC price…

Clara Bullrich must have cloned herself or possibly invoked dark forces that shouldn’t be meddled with. Somehow, she’s managed to cram about four careers into one life. Her main gig is leading her own financial entity, AlTi, managing a whopping investment fund, which grew to $54 billion under management following a recent merger. That’s a big enough job in itself. A member of Women in Blockchain, she also runs a women-only DAO, Komorebi, that concentrates on funding female and non-gender-specific projects.“I’ve seen in crypto that there’s very few women, and I really want to push that as much as I…

Countries lead blockchain adoption for various reasons, including recognizing its potential to transform multiple sectors of the economy, promoting innovation and economic growth, and creating a favorable regulatory environment to attract blockchain businesses.Types of blockchain communities that lead blockchain adoptionBlockchain communities refer to groups of individuals, organizations and companies involved in developing and using blockchain technology. These communities form to share knowledge, collaborate on projects and advance the adoption of blockchain technology.There are different types of blockchain communities, including:Developer communities: These groups of blockchain developers work together to create protocols, programs, smart contracts and other blockchain-based projects.Industry communities: Communities developed…

Cassava Network, an African Web3 platform focused on NFTs, gaming and loyalty rewards, has launched the third version of its platform, featuring an integration with non-custodial smart contract wallet Unipass to lets users use email addresses instead of seed phrase and gas.In a move to onboard Africans from Web2 into Web3, the partnership enables users who create Cassava accounts to automatically sign up on UniPass and have access to holding, sending and receiving on-chain digital assets across multiple EVM blockchains. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Benjamin Obenze, a business developer for Cassava Network, explained how African users and businesses can…

A team of former Jane Street and PIMCO traders have raised $15 million to produce a proof-of-solvency protocol for centralized exchanges, stablecoin issuers and other asset managers in the crypto space, according to a press release from the team shown to Cointelegraph. Called “Proven,” the new protocol allegedly uses zero-knowledge proofs to reveal an institution’s assets and liabilities without revealing the personal data of customers.According to the press release, the Proven team consists of quantitative traders, portfolio managers, and researchers from Wall Street firms Two Sigma, Elm Partners, Pimco, Jane Street and others. The initial $15 million seed round was…

Certain multisignature (multisig) wallets can be exploited by Web3 apps that use the Starknet protocol, according to a March 9 press release provided to Cointelegraph by Multi-Party Computation (MPC) wallet developer Safeheron. The vulnerability affects MPC wallets that interact with Starknet apps such as dYdX. According to the press release, Safeheron is working with app developers to patch the vulnerability.According to Safeheron’s protocol documentation, MPC wallets are sometimes used by financial institutions and Web3 app developers to secure crypto assets they own. Similar to a standard multisig wallet, they require multiple signatures for each transaction. But unlike standard multisigs, they…

The latest update in the FTX bankruptcy case comes as a new deal was struck between the defunct cryptocurrency exchange and Abu Dhabi.A court document from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on March 8 revealed that Alameda Research, the investment branch of FTX, will sell its remaining interest in venture capital firm Sequoia Capital to the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund.According to the document, FTX “decided to enter into the Agreement with Purchaser based on its superior offer and ability to execute the Sale Transaction within a short time frame.” This was after interest in…

Bitcoin (BTC) traders remain sensitive even to small price movements as data shows liquidations climbing.As BTC/USD approaches $21,600 on March 9, those who are long BTC are seeing positions evaporate.Longs begin to disappear with BTC at three-week lowsDespite consensus forming around Bitcoin retesting $20,000, small shifts in price are still taking their toll on traders.According to data from monitoring resource Coinglass, March 8 alone saw $24.4 million of BTC longs liquidated, the highest tally in almost a week.Bitcoin liquidations chart. Source: CoinglassThis coincided with BTC/USD heading to three-week lows, abandoning $22,000 as support. At the time of writing, the downtrend…

Ordinals are different from traditional NFTs from a technical design perspective. There are several features that make the pricing for ordinals a different exercise.  Bitcoin ordinals, as mentioned before, help identify sats uniquely and have content or art stored on-chain. Ethereum’s ERC-721 standard, which is used to create NFTs, typically holds the metadata or a pointer to the art, which is generally held off-chain. Some Ethereum NFTs are experimenting with on-chain storage, but they are more of an exception. The other key difference with Bitcoin ordinals is the way rarity is derived and how pricing around the NFTs would work.…

A federal judge has refused to consolidate several proposed class-action lawsuits against the FTX exchange by investors. According to the judge, the exchange and its defendants have not yet been heard. Excerpt from the order denying the motion to consolidate. Source: Law360On March 8, United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley laid down the order that denied plaintiffs a request to consolidate five proposed class-action lawsuits against the bankrupt crypto exchange. Despite no defendants opposing the motion, the judge pointed out that not all defendants had the opportunity to respond yet. The order stated: “While Plaintiffs state that no Defendant has filed an…

Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) is not ready to classify nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as securities yet. The Agency suggests classifying the NFTs on a case-by-case basis. On March 8, the BaFin journal published an explanatory note considering NFTs and their legal classification. At this point, the regulators don’t see how NFTs correspond to the criteria of tradeability and standardization, which define securities. However, in the future, BaFin may consider NFTs as securities. For example, if 1,000 NFTs embody the same repayment and interest claims.According to another reservation, if an NFT contains documentation of exploitation rights or ownership, such as…

The registration dates for Mt. Gox creditors have been pushed back by another month. According to the announcement, the deadline has been pushed from March 10 to April 10, allowing creditors to file their claim for another month.Along with the extension for the registration deadline, the distribution deadline has been pushed back by another month as well. The distribution of assets to creditors will now take place starting from Oct. 30 instead of Sept. 30. BREAKING: MT GOX REGISTRATION DEADLINE PUSHED FROM MARCH 10TH TO APRIL 6DISTRIBUTION DEADLINE PUSHED BACK FROM SEPTEMBER 30TH TO OCTOBER 31ST— Craig B (@altbender0x) March 9,…

Amid the United States regulators increasingly scrutinizing stablecoins, the community continues to pitch new ideas of stablecoins independent from the U.S. dollar.Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, has proposed creating a new stablecoin with a value pegged to the sum of $1 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and one inverse perpetual swap of BTC against USD. He outlined the idea of the potential Satoshi Nakamoto Dollar (NUSD), or NakaDollar, in a blog post titled “Dust on Crust” on March 8.Unlike major reserve-backed USD stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), the proposed NakaDollar will not depend…

Lawyers of Jimmy Fallon, star of NBC’s long-running comedy and variety series The Tonight Show, have filed a petition to “quash” a subpoena requiring him to testify in the Yuga Labs Inc. v. Ripps et al. case. The lawyers claim that Fallon has no connection to the dispute, is not a party to the Ripps litigation, and has never met or interacted with Ryder Ripps, creative director of OKFocus and Jeremy Cahen, one of the founders of the alleged Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) “copycat.”Yuga Labs is suing Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen for issuing a “copycat” nonfungible token (NFT) collection…

The voluntary liquidation of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate has sparked many to share their thoughts about the source of its troubles and the broader impact of the bank’s collapse on crypto. From lawmakers to crypto analysts, crypto firm executives to commentators — nearly everyone’s had something to say regarding the recent announcement from Silvergate. Some United States lawmakers have used the moment to make a comment about the state of the crypto industry, labeling it a “risky, volatile sector,” which “spreads risk across the financial system.” Senator Elizabeth Warren called Silvergate’s failure “disappointing, but predictable,” calling for regulators to “step up against…

Lawyers representing FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried have flagged it may be necessary to delay the criminal trial for the former crypto exchange executive — to give him more time to prepare his defense. In a Mar. 8 letter to United States District Judge Lewis Kaplan, Bankman-Fried’s lawyers said they weren’t formally requesting a date change just yet, but it may be needed as they’re still awaiting a “substantial portion” of evidence to be turned over to them and more charges had been laid against the FTX founder in late February.The criminal trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 2 and…

Stablecoins and Ether (ETH) are commodities and should come under the purview of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), its chairman has again asserted at a recent Senate hearing.At the Mar. 8 Senate Agricultural hearing, CFTC chair, Rostin Behnam, was asked by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about the differing views held by the regulator and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the CFTC’s 2021 settlement with stablecoin issuer Tether, Behnam said:“Notwithstanding a regulatory framework around stablecoins, they’re going to be commodities in my view.”“It was clear to our enforcement team and the commission that Tether, a stablecoin, was…

U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal has a few surprises for crypto traders and investors, including a proposed doubling of capital gains and a crackdown on crypto wash sales. The Biden administration is set to release its fiscal 2024 budget plan on Mar. 9 which is reportedly aimed at reducing the deficit by almost $3 trillion over the next decade. It also includes changes to crypto tax treatment with the aim of raising around $24 billion, according to reports.One of these proposals includes an end to a strategy in which a crypto trader sells assets at a loss for tax…

Six people involved in a cryptocurrency “Ponzi scheme” that raked in about $100 million over five years have pled guilty to a series of fraud and money laundering charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 to 30 years of prison.One of the founders of “AirBit Club,” Pablo Renato Rodriguez, was the latest to plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges on Mar. 8.According to a Mar. 8 statement from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), AirBit Club was a fake cryptocurrency mining and trading company operating between 2015 to 2020, where executives and promoters induced victim investors into…

Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital has paid off its term loan and terminated its credit facilities with crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank, just as the bank announced it will be winding down operations.Marathon announced on Mar. 8 that it had prepaid its outstanding loan balance earlier that day, and would be terminating the revolving line of credit facility between the firms after providing Silvergate Bank with the required 30-day notice in early February.Marathon Digital Holdings has repaid its term loan and terminated its credit facilities with Silvergate Bank, reducing Marathon’s debt by $50 million and increasing the Company’s unrestricted bitcoin holdings by…

The strength in the U.S. dollar suggests that the risky assets may remain under pressure in the near term, but Bitcoin and select are showing signs of resilience. Source link

The parent company of Silvergate Bank, known to many in the space as one of the major crypto banks, has announced plans to “wind down operations” and liquidate the bank.In a March 8 announcement, Silvergate Capital Corporation said the decision to shutter operations was “in light of recent industry and regulatory developments.” According to the company, the Silvergate Bank liquidation plan included “full repayment of all deposits”.Many crypto firms, including Coinbase, Paxos, Gemini, BitStamp and Galaxy Digital, announced in March they would cut ties to the bank following an investigation into Silvergate’s alleged involvement in the collapse of FTX. The…

Officials of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) appeared before the House of Common’s Treasury Committee on March 8 to discuss the agency’s work. Among the issues raised was cryptocurrency regulation, which the officials approached with a clear lack of enthusiasm.FCA chair Ashley Alder, who took that position in February after serving as CEO of the Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission, told the committee the FCA is “midway through a quite ambitious reset,” as the Financial Services and Markets bill makes its way through the Parliament. He and CEO Nikhil Rathi answered questions on predatory lending, mortgage rates…

Women have been part of the crypto space since its genesis, developing projects, communities and brands, as well as tackling many trenches that this emerging industry demands.Yet, they have been less involved in starting Web3 businesses. According to the Web3 Career Market report by crypto exchange KuCoin, 27% of female professionals in the field have been involved in starting a crypto startup, against 41% of males in the survey. For many, the “bro culture” in Web3 poses career challenges and barriers to onboarding more women into the space, the same report shows. Diversity has been a hurdle in other industries…

Crypto exchange Gemini took to Twitter on March 8 to deny rumors about terminating its banking relationship with United States financial conglomerate JPMorgan. In a brief and straightforward message, Gemini stated that “despite reporting to the contrary, Gemini’s banking relationship remains intact with JPMorgan.”The comments came in response to a previous report that claimed without naming a source that the banking ties between the two companies were ending.Despite reporting to the contrary, Gemini’s banking relationship remains intact with JPMorgan.— Gemini (@Gemini) March 8, 2023 The rumors surfaced amid uncertainty about the future relationship between the banking system and the crypto industry…

According to United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a new draft of the bipartisan crypto bill pioneered by herself and Senator Cynthia Lummis will be released to the new Congress after being deferred in 2022.In a March 8 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Senator Gillibrand asked CFTC chair Rostin Behnam for his opinion on the crypto bill she had previously drafted with Senator Lummis aimed at creating a regulatory framework for the crypto industry. According to Gillibrand, the next draft of the bill will be available in mid-April.“Our ambition is to make sure that…

In this week’s newsletter, read about how Yuga Labs’ first Bitcoin-based nonfungible tokens (NFTs) earned $16.5 million in 24 hours, and how the Bitcoin NFT market can reach $4.5 billion by 2025. Check out how Binance’s artificial intelligence NFT generator got 10,000 mints 2.5 hours after its launch, and find out how the Flare blockchain got its own NFT marketplace. And don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring Square Enix’s NFT-friendly CEO stepping down.Yuga Labs’ first Bitcoin NFT auction nets $16.5M in 24 hoursIn the first 24 hours of Yuga Labs’ NFT auction on Bitcoin Ordinals, the firm earned 735…

The world of Web3 has opened up new opportunities for individuals to participate in a more open and transparent internet, and to create wealth. However, despite the potential benefits of this emerging technology, women face unique challenges in the Web3 space. From the lack of diversity in the industry to the gender bias in funding, women encounter significant obstacles that make it difficult for them to thrive in the decentralized web.To better understand these challenges, Cointelegraph interviewed several women in Web3. Devon Martens, Principal Blockchain Engineer at Sweet NFTs, shared her observations that the crypto industry, like many other technology…

Bitcoin’s price (BTC) fell below a four-day narrow trading range near $22,400 on March 7 following comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as he sat before a Senate banking committee. During the congressional appearance, the Fed chairman warned that the bank is prepared to tame inflation by pushing for more significant interest rate increases.Fed Chair Powell added that “the ultimate level of interest rates is likely to be higher than previously anticipated,” and that recent economic data was “stronger than expected.” These remarks significantly increased investors’ expectations of a 50 basis point interest rate hike on March 22,…

Cointelegraph goes to Senegal, West Africa. The medium-sized African nation recently hosted a Bitcoin conference (BTC) and more and more merchants and customers are joining the Lightning Network. Armed with a camera, a lightning wallet and a microphone, Reporter Joe Hall took to the streets of Senegal to peer under the surface of Bitcoin adoption in the capital city, Dakar.As the Cointelegraph Youtube video highlights, Senegal has a young, digitally native population and in recent years, its become second nature for people to send money via mobile phones rather than banks. A mobile money provider called Wave, for example, began in…

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, was a part of discussions on a regulatory framework for digital assets as well as use cases for blockchain technology.In a March 8 meeting of the CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee, commissioners, regulators, and industry representatives were scheduled to discuss “critical policy considerations” as part of the commission’s efforts to develop a regulatory framework for digital assets. In addition, industry leaders including Uniswap Labs CEO Hayden Adams and Chainalysis’ global head of public policy Caroline Malcolm were part of a panel focused on use cases of DeFi, distributed ledgers, and blockchain.“Consistent…

On March 8, addresses linked to the United States government moved 49,000 Bitcoin seized from the Silk Road, worth $1 billion. The transfer was accompanied by Bitcoin’s (BTC) price slipping below $22,000 and a noticeable spike in a key holder metric.But does this mean that traders should brace for potential BTC price volatility ahead?Bitcoin’s CDD metric suddenly spikesThe BTC transfer likely caused a significant spike in Glassnode’s coin days destroyed (CDD) metric. It measures the weighted movement of Bitcoin based on the time it was last moved from an address. The CDD is calculated by multiplying the amount of Bitcoin transferred by the…

Like it or not, for crypto investors, the U.S. Federal Reserve policy on interest rate hikes and high inflation is the single most relevant measure for gauging demand for risk assets. By increasing the cost of capital, the Fed boosts the profitability of fixed-income instruments, but this is detrimental to the stock market, real estate, commodities and cryptocurrencies.One positive aspect of the Fed’s meetings is that they are scheduled well in advance, so Bitcoin (BTC) traders can prepare for those. Federal Reserve policy decisions historically cause extreme intraday volatility in risk assets, but traders can use derivatives instruments to yield…

Binance NFT, the nonfungible token (NFT) arm of crypto exchange Binance, has announced that the Polygon network has been included in its supported blockchains within the marketplace. According to the announcement, the move further expands the NFT ecosystem within the Binance community. With the new integration, users of the Binance NFT marketplace can trade NFTs on various blockchains like Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain and Polygon using their Binance accounts. We’ve now added support for Polygon on the #Binance NFT Marketplace!Users can now buy, sell, deposit and withdraw NFTs on the Polygon network Find out how to get started ⤵️— Binance NFT (@TheBinanceNFT)…

The world of Web3 offers users the opportunity to recreate their digital identity and explore new avenues of creative expression and individuality. This is more so as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) become more dynamic and personalizable.On March 8, a new project from Snark.art and OG.Art called, Heterosis, launched a collection of dynamic NFT flowers, which are breedable and customizable by holders.After the initial mint of the NFT flower, users are able to look into the greater catalog of flowers available and begin to “breed” flowers to create a hybrid species. According to the project’s announcement, when a new flower trait is discovered, it…

The ongoing cryptocurrency winter and massive collapses in the industry do not mean that digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) are doomed to fail, according to a major European asset manager.Despite BTC failing to protect investors against rising inflation in 2021 and 2022, Bitcoin’s limited supply may still attract more attention if inflation remains above the central banks’ targets, according to investment executives at Paris-based investment manager Amundi.Amundi’s chief investment officer Mortier Vincent and macroeconomist Perrier Tristan on March 2 released a thematic paper analyzing the state and the perspectives of the crypto market. The exec argued that Bitcoin has failed…

According to a Mar. 7 announcement from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the post-secondary institution has received a 15 million USD Coin (USDC) donation from the Balvi Filantropic Fund. The foundation is currently directed by Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin and “is a scientific investment and direct gifting fund for deploying quickly to high-value COVID projects that traditional institutional or commercial funding sources tend to overlook.” As told by UCSD, the donation is the largest gift of its kind to a U.S. university and will be used to establish the Meta-Institute for Airborne Disease in a Changing Climate,…

Crypto exchange Coinbase has launched a new business solution for enterprises looking to offer Web3 wallets to their customers — a move it says will help streamline the adoption of Web3 products and services. Coinbase’s wallet-as-a-service, or WaaS, provides enterprises with the technical infrastructure to create and launch customizable on-chain wallets, the exchange announced on March 8. Specifically, WaaS provides a wallet application programming interface (API) that allows businesses to create wallets for simple customer onboarding, loyalty programs or in-game purchases. According to Coinbase, Web3 wallets have struggled to gain wider mainstream acceptance because of their complexity, poor user experience and…

When the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), the only public stock exchange in Israel, announced that it drafted a proposal for regulation-friendly crypto trading on Feb. 27, it echoed across the crypto industry as a step forward for crypto adoption. However, some experts have framed the proposal as a somewhat underwhelming update to the current crypto landscape in Israel. In short, the TASE proposes that only authorized brokerages act as fiat-to-crypto onramps, aided by licensed crypto trading providers. The stock exchange said that it designed the framework to mitigate risks and enhance consumer protection. Without a specific timeframe, the proposal will…

Bitcoin (BTC) fell to three-week lows on March 8 as stronger-than-expected employment data from the United States dampened risk assets.BTC/USD 1-day candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewEmployment stats boost Fed hawks, BTC price dipsData from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD dipping to $21,858 on Bitstamp.The pair was attempting to preserve $22,000 as support at the time of writing, with traders’ downside targets still a way off at $21,300.“Bitcoin not showing the strength I initially wanted to see (slight bounce yesterday taking place),” Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of trading firm Eight, summarized. “In that case,…

Artist: Terrell Jones, MichiganDate minted first NFT: March 28, 2021Which blockchains? Ethereum, TezosInfluenced by classic gangster films, Terrell Jones has a distinctive style that captures imagination and nostalgia. He is about to auction a second piece at Sotheby’s and has a patented “soft-shell taco method” to garner the attention of notable collectors.  Who is he? From childhood aspirations of being a cartoonist to now being one of the hottest new NFT artists capturing the attention of elite collectors and Sotheby’s, Terrell Jones is well into his launch trajectory. Born in Ann Arbour, Michigan, Jones has a visually distinct style. But…

The age-old question of “what happens after we die” is one humanity has grappled with for millennia. Religions, philosophers and thought leaders have put forth theories about each person’s fate beyond life on earth. Until now, no factual, science-based conclusion has provided a satisfying answer.Psychologists have understood that the fear of death — or the realization of mortality — is a major motivator of human action. Developments such as cloning and creating virtual worlds, which were previously science fiction, have come to reality, perhaps as another scramble to answer this question — or even defeat death.Now, in the age of…

The world of crypto and decentralized technologies is no longer an internet niche, home to a few pioneers on the frontier of fintech. It is now a blossoming sector for people of all backgrounds, interests – and genders.Women have been entering the space in droves to find financial freedom from traditional systems and help create the future of digital interactions.In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph Binance co-founder and chief communication strategy officer He Ytouched on what it’s like to be a woman the head of one of the crypto industry’s biggest organizations.Prior to her conversation with Cointelegraph He Yi tweeted…

Ordinals are here to stay. Ordinals, or the ability to permanently ink the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain with data, typically in the format of a picture or jpeg, are a controversial topic among some members of the Bitcoin and wider crypto community. Not so for the builders and the CEOs of Bitcoin-focused companies who were present at the Bitcoin conference, Advancing Bitcoin in London. Cointelegraph asked several CEOs, builders and key opinion leaders for their views on ordinals throughout the conference. The overarching sentiment was that of curiosity, indifference or deference. Alex Leishman, CEO of River, told Cointelegraph that he doesn’t have a…

Transform Ventures has co-invested in a new holding company in what it states is an effort to accelerate blockchain investment and innovation. Alpha Transform Holdings (ATH) aims to support the blockchain ecosystem through investments via two new funds.ATH was created by merging select assets from Transform Ventures and Alpha Sigma Capital’s parent company, which will include two funds amounting to $100 million in assets under management.According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the new assets include majority ownership in Content Syndicate, a Transform Ventures-backed content services company. Moreover, the investments will fund the creation of two funds: the Alpha Liquid…

One of the oldest and most effective ways to earn a crypto passive income is by running masternodes, contributing the computer power necessary to drive a blockchain. A masternode is a type of full node in a blockchain network that performs additional functions beyond simply validating transactions. Masternodes typically require a significant amount of collateral in the form of the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency in order to operate, which incentivizes their owners to act in the best interest of the network. That said, by operating a masternode, the investor will be rewarded with the blockchain’s native currency. In contrast with regular…

Web3, the next generation of the internet, is an exciting new space creating opportunities for entrepreneurs across various industries. While the field is still somewhat male-dominated, several influential women entrepreneurs are significantly impacting the Web3 space. Here are fifteen influential women entrepreneurs in Web3 to celebrate this International Women’s Day — along with their contributions and achievements.Nicole MunizNicole Muniz is an entrepreneur and CEO of Yuga Labs, the creator of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club nonfungible token (NFT) collection. She has a background in advertising and marketing, having worked as a producer at J. Walter Thompson and managed accounts at B-Reel,…

The healthcare industry, like many other industries, has begun implementing Web3 technologies to serve those in need better. Now healthcare services are even showing up in the metaverse, specifically for those seeking mental health care. Cointelegraph spoke with two executives of the metaverse peer-to-peer mental health support group program Innerworld, about how the metaverse can change the next generation of mental health care services.Connectivity is a trait inherently built into virtual environments, as is the ability to connect with more anonymity via the use of avatars and usernames. Noah Robinson, the platform’s CEO and founder, said in the mental health care scene, “this…

Bitcoin (BTC) exchange Coinbase has remained a firm “buy” for ARK Invest throughout its recent price drop.The latest data shows ARK continuing to buy COIN shares despite bankruptcy concerns over Silvergate bank, a major Coinbase partner.ARK ETF keeps topping up on Coinbase stockIn the latest demonstration of its fearless approach to the crypto space, ARK purchased another 47,568 shares of Coinbase on March 7.These join the around 6 million shares already held in ARK’s ARKK exchange-traded fund (ETF) at the start of the month, and are already its third purchase of the week.COIN itself, however, has been under pressure since…

As Russia continues to delay the adoption of cryptocurrency regulations, local advocates have appealed to Russian president Vladimir Putin to change the government’s approach to regulating the market.The Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain (RACIB), a major group of crypto and blockchain enthusiasts in Russia, issued an open letter to Putin on March 6, urging the president to address the risks of ignoring the global development of the crypto industry.In the letter, the RACIB argued that Russia has been too slow to implement experimental legal regimes targeting the adoption of crypto despite enforcing its first crypto law, “On Digital…

While there’s nothing new in imposing anti-money laundering (AML) standards on crypto, it is only now that the Indian government has decided to notify all interested parties of the obligation to comply with the national AML law. On March 7, The Gazette of India published a notification from the Ministry of Finance, subjecting a range of transactions with crypto to the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PLMA) 2002 — namely the exchange, transfers, safekeeping and administration of virtual assets. Financial services related to an issuer’s offer and sale of virtual assets also fall under the PMLA. The notification doesn’t provide many details,…

50,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $1 billion United States dollars were moved from multiple wallets related to U.S. Government law enforcement seizures and were transferred to new addresses, and a few were moved to Coinbase on March 8. According to data shared by on-chain analytics firm PackShield, there were three transfers made from the U.S. law enforcement agencies’ wallets. These wallets held nearly 51,000 BTC seized by U.S. agencies from the Silk Road marketplace in November 2021. The confiscated BTC was consolidated in two wallet addresses: bc1q5s…0ch and bc1q2ra…cx7. Silk Road Bitcoin moved to three different addresses. Source: TwitterOut of these three transfers,…

Considering the regulatory struggle to keep up with ever-evolving innovations, Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition since 2014, recommended a headstart into brainstorming implications of technologies such as the metaverse and ChatGPT.Vestager highlighted how digital transition and the shift to a digital economy have brought about risk and opportunities for the masses while speaking at the Keystone Conference about competition policy. She believes that legislations lag behind technological advancements, adding:“We have certainly not been too quick to act – and this can be an important lesson for us in the future.”While the enforcement and legislative process will continue to…

Poised in the world market as a technology-first economy, Indian firms are rapidly investing in blockchain technologies to create new job opportunities. Cryptocurrency exchange WazirX on March 2, 2023, published its survey of 400 female crypto holders in India and concluded an uptrend among women entering crypto investing.  However, this uptrend is not limited solely to investing. Women in India are actively joining career opportunities in Web3, crypto and blockchain platforms as creators, builders, influencers, founders, developers and more. Blockchain-related jobs are opening new and much-needed job avenues for the young demographic in this fast-growing decentralized web world.  The annual…

Payments company Block, formerly known as Square, is delving deeper into the crypto mining industry with potential plans to build a “mining development kit.”A Mar. 7 blog post revealed that the Jack Dorsey-founded multinational technology firm was mulling its latest vision for advancing its Bitcoin (BTC) mining ambitions. Senior product lead for mining hardware, Naoise Irwin, asked for feedback on the concept via email.The mining development kit (MDK), if it goes ahead, will provide a “suite of tools” to developers with the aim of increasing the “accessibility and openness” of Bitcoin mining.Block noted the kit would deliver several components including…

The crypto community is debating whether SMS two-factor authentication (2FA) should ever be used for account security following news that a Coinbase customer is suing the cryptocurrency exchange for $96,000.On Mar. 6 Jared Ferguson filed a lawsuit against Coinbase in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming he lost “90% of his life savings” after funds were withdrawn from his account by identity thieves and Coinbase had refused to reimburse him. Ferguson is said to have fallen prey to a type of identity theft known as “sim-swapping,” which allows fraudsters to gain control of a…

American crypto users haven’t lost their trust in “intermediaries” to hold their crypto, with a January survey from Paxos suggesting a majority of United States crypto hodlers still trust banks, exchanges and mobile payment apps to custody their assets.An annual online survey published on Mar. 7 by the stablecoin issuer conducted between Jan. 5 and Jan. 6 sought to understand how the crypto winter and “large industry fallouts” in 2022 — including FTX and Alameda Research — impacted consumer behavior and confidence in the crypto ecosystem. Paxos noted: “2022 was a rollercoaster year for the crypto industry.”“Ranging from some of…

The law firms, investment banks and consulting companies working with FTX on its bankruptcy case billed the crypto exchange a combined $34.18 million in January, court documents reveal.FTX’s chief restructuring officer and new CEO, John J. Ray III, also received a hefty pay package, charging $1,300 an hour to a total of $305,000 in February according to a Mar. 6 filing.Fee breakdown of FTX CEO John J. Ray III over the month of February. Source: KrollSeparate court filings on Mar. 6 show United States law firms Sullivan & Cromwell, Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Landis Rath & Cobb invoiced…

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has gone on a shitcoin selling spree, exchanging nearly $700,000 worth of tokens previously airdropped to him for Ether (ETH).According to Etherscan, on Mar. 7 a wallet belonging to Buterin offloaded 500 trillion SHIKOKU (SHIK) for 380.3 ETH ($595,448), nearly 10 billion Cult DAO (CULT) for 58.1 ETH ($91,021), and 50 billion Mops (MOPS) for 1.25 ETH ($1,950).A screenshot of token transactions from Vitalik’s wallet. Source: EtherscanDue to the low liquidity of the tokens the sales had a huge effect on their prices. The largest price drop from the tokens was SHIK, which recorded an 86%…

Regulators are reportedly in urgent talks with Silvergate to find ways to save the crypto-friendly bank from a possible shutdown. A Mar. 7 Bloomberg report citing “people familiar with the matter” said Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officials have been discussing ways to salvage the company with management. The FDIC is an independent government agency in the U.S. tasked with supervising financial institutions for safety, soundness and consumer protection, its website states. US regulators have been sent to the headquarters of Silvergate Capital, as the troubled crypto-friendly bank looks for a way to stay in business https://t.co/fq2sPWS7nV— Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) March 7,…

The hacker behind the exploit of the decentralized finance (DeFi) lending platform Tender.fi has returned the stolen funds for a $97,000 bounty reward in Ether (ETH). The exploit was executed at 10:28 am UTC on Mar. 7, with Tender.fi confirming the incident on Twitter soon after citing “an unusual amount of borrows,” and adding it has paused all borrowing. Blockchain data showed the exploiter used a price oracle glitch to borrow $1.59 million worth of assets from the protocol by depositing 1 GMX token, valued at around $71.“It looks like your oracle was misconfigured. contact me to sort this out,” wrote the hacker…

Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital has won court approval to sell over $1 billion of its assets to Binance US.The approval was granted by United States Bankruptcy Judge Michael Wiles on Mar. 7, which came after four days of arguments presented by Voyager and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC).Wiles said he would give the trading platform permission to close the Binance US sale and issue repayment tokens to impacted Voyager customers, which would give them back approximately 73% of what they’re owed. Wiles rejected a series of arguments by the SEC that the redistribution of the funds from Voyager…

A panel of judges heard oral arguments in the Grayscale Investments suit against the United States Securities and Trade Commission (SEC) on March 7. Grayscale is challenging the SEC order not to approve Grayscale’s application to create a Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC issued its order on July 6, 2022.Former solicitor general Donald Verrilli Jr. represented Grayscale and SEC senior counsel Emily Parise spoke for the SEC before Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judges Neomi Rao and Harry Edwards in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. Verrilli opened, saying:“The fundamental problem with the order is…

Creditors from Mt. Gox have until the end of the week to register and select a repayment method as part of the plan by which they will be compensated for their losses with the defunct crypto exchange.In a March 7 announcement, Mt. Gox trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi reiterated a January notice reminding creditors who had not registered for repayment they had until March 10 to do so — two additional months as part of the rehabilitation plan proposed in October 2022. Kobayashi did not provide a reason for the extension, which would allow individuals who suffered losses at Mt. Gox to…

The price of Ether (ETH) declined 6% between March 2-3, followed by a tight range trading near $1,560. Still, analyzing a wider time frame provides no clear trend, as its chart can point to a descending channel or a slightly longer seven-week bullish pattern.Ether (ETH) price index in USD, 1-day. Source: TradingViewEther’s recent lack of volatility can be partially explained by the upcoming Shanghai hard fork, an implementation aimed at allowing ETH staking withdrawals. Those participants were each required to lock 32 ETH staked on the Beacon Chain to support the network consensus protocol.After a series of delays, typical for…