Blockchain This Week - Sep 16
BIS, FTX, Buterin, Franklin Bitcoin ETF, DCG Plan for Gemini Earn, HTX, CoinEx
Cryptoverse
Vitalik Buterin's X (Twitter) account was hacked to promote a phishing scam that stole $700,000 worth of crypto and NFTs from unsuspecting users.
Vitalik Buterin recovered his T-Mobile account after a SIM swap attack. He also highlighted an issue where a phone number would suffice to reset an X account.
A bitcoin power user accidentally set the record for the most expensive transaction fee when they paid a whopping $500,000 (20 bitcoin) as fees to move 0.008 bitcoin ($200).
The FTX estate is suing blockchain infra firm LayerZero Labs to undo a $45M deal that it claims was made in bad faith. FTX is also trying to claw back $40M in withdrawals, which it deems are fraudulent.
Steve Kokinos, the former CEO of Algorand, is set to take the reins of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius's successor. Alongside will be executives from WeWork, Lehman Brothers, and two members from Celsius's own creditor committee, who will serve on the board.
Meanwhile, Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky's banking and real estate assets have been frozen as his criminal case advances.
Crypto exchange Binance is giving $3 million worth of BNB tokens to users affected by the recent earthquake in the Marrakesh-Safi province, Morocco. Users who verified their location before Sep 9 are bound to get $100 in BNB, and those who confirmed later would receive $25 worth of tokens.
DCG proposes a new Genesis creditor agreement offering unsecured creditors 70-90% recovery, and Gemini Earn users could get as much as 110%.
Rhyming with the infamous exchange FTX is HTX, the new name of Huobi, in celebration of its tenth anniversary. H for Huobi, T for TRON, and X for Exchange, it means.
Crypto exchange CoinEx suspended deposits and withdrawals after a suspected hack of hot wallets drained $55 million in tokens. CoinEx assured users that their funds are safe. On chain data shows North Korea's Lazarus Group is likely the mastermind of the hack.
BNB Chain launched opBNB Layer 2 mainnet to scale decentralized apps on the BNB network.
In a flurry of exits, Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder left the company amid legal hassles and declining business. Also departed are Krishna Juvvadi, head of legal, and Sidney Majalya, chief risk officer of Binance's US entity. Meanwhile, it has also laid off one third of its staff.
BitMEX launched a prediction markets product to let traders bet on events, from crypto to pop culture.
Genesis halted digital asset derivatives trading, marking the end of its trading services.
Blockchain firm R3 laid off 20% of its workforce to preserve cash and weather industry lull.
FTX bankruptcy judge gave the green light to sell crypto holdings to pay back creditors.
Green Eco
To give institutions direct access to carbon credit projects and project managers to track and transact tokenized carbon credits, Northern Trust has launched a DLT solution.
ABN AMRO issues €5M tokenized green bond on public blockchain on behalf of real estate firm Vestada. It plans to refinance green assets with the fund.
Policy
The Bank of International Settlements is calling on developers to devise blockchain, AI, and IoT based sustainable finance solutions.
During his senate testimony, SEC Chair Gary Gensler doubled down on his crypto objections. He warned of the industry's wide-ranging noncompliance with securities laws.
Singapore's financial regulator, MAS, banned 3AC founders from being involved in any regulated business activities. It claims they violated the country's securities laws.
Synergists
PayPal launches "off ramp" service to let users seamlessly convert crypto to dollars.
Eleox, a new DLT gas joint venture from BP, CCI, Koch, Macquarie, Mercuria, and Shell, launched Ox Pair for trade confirmations.
Franklin Templeton is the latest asset manager filing for a spot bitcoin ETF with the SEC. As per its S-1 form, Franklin Templeton has filed for the Franklin Bitcoin ETF, which primarily holds bitcoin held in custody by Coinbase Custody Trust Company.
Telegram integrated the self custodial crypto wallet, TON Space, for 800M users, bringing crypto ownership to the mainstream.
Nasdaq filed to list Ethereum ETF from Hashdex that will hold both spot and futures contracts.
Zodia Custody launched institutional digital asset services in Singapore.
Crypto payments firm Ramp integrates with Brazil's digital payments platform Pix to make crypto buying easier for Brazilians.
Deutsche Bank is building digital asset tokenization and custody services in partnership with Swiss fintech firm Taurus.
As an oracle provider, Google Cloud now verifies LayerZero's cross chain messaging, boosting security and reliability.
Funds and Investments
Animoca raised $20 million in a funding round led by CMCC Global. Animoca issued new ordinary shares of its Mocaverse project to secure this fund.
Crypto derivatives exchange Bitget launches $100M EmpowerX Fund. It plans to invest in regional exchanges, data analytics firms, media organizations, and other entities to expand its ecosystem.
Thailand's Kasikorn Bank unveiled a $100 million fund to invest in web3 infra and AI startups.
VC firm Reverie launches a $20 million crypto fund to back pre-seed and seed stage startups.Blockchain infra startup Movement Labs raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed round from investors, including dao5 and Varys Capital. It plans to launch a network of modular Move based blockchains with the money.