Weekly Crypto News Recap – October 13, 2023

Ellison: Alameda took FTX customer money for ‘whatever we needed’

The US government called Caroline Ellison — perhaps the most highly anticipated witness yet in the trial of ex-FTX boss Sam Bankman-Fried — to the stand this week. Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research and Bankman-Fried’s on-again-off-again girlfriend, admitted to defrauding FTX customers and stated that SBF directed her to do so. Ellison also stated that SBF paid a $150m bribe to Chinese government officials to access $1b in frozen funds in the country, and that she and SBF conspired to keep BTC below $20,000.

Crypto lending invalidated by Chinese court in second landmark ruling

Cointelegraph

A second Chinese court has ruled that crypto lending is an activity outside the protection of the country's legal system. The issue at hand arose from an unpaid stablecoin loan between two individuals. However, the Nanchang People's Court ruled that the plaintiff was required to prove that Tether is a legally issued fiat currency to bring judicial relief, which the plaintiff was unable to do.

Lido's Arbitrum Proposal Splits Community Over Grant Size, Centralization Concerns

Decrypt

Lido Finance's $4m ARB grant proposal on Snapshot has become a battleground over the project's purported centralization concerns. While some argued that the grant would increase wstETH liquidity and bring more users to Arbitrum, opponents pushed back against Lido's dominance of Ethereum staking, where its validators control 32% of staked ether, close to the 33% threshold where it could pose a threat to Ethereum. The vote closed and Lido ultimately did not secure the grant.

Bitcoin research expands on design space for smart contracts

Blockworks

Bitcoin researcher Robin Linus published a paper on BitVM, which enhances Bitcoin's smart contract capabilities. The proposal allows for the expression of Turing-complete Bitcoin contracts through fraud proofs and a challenge-response protocol, and it can be implemented without the need for a soft fork. Others, however, called the proposal overhyped, given certain limitations such as the protocol only working between two parties.

BITCOIN

Blockstream’s new service aims to make Lightning integration a breeze
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Plans Raise Concerns About Centralization, Notes Arthur Hayes
BitVM wasn’t created to make Bitcoin a pseudo-Ethereum, says developer
Mammoth $200M Bitcoin single-day inflow to exchanges mirrors key 2023 moments
Bitcoin’s hash rate surges as 2024 halving draws near
Bitcoin Ordinals Marketplace Ordswap Hit With Phishing Attack
Bitcoin Lightning Network growth jumps 1,200% in 2 years
Bitcoin’s exchange balance plummets to five-year low

ETHEREUM

Scroll zkEVM Launches, Blockchain Data Shows, Competing With Polygon, Matter Labs
Ethereum Has Nearly Cleared Out Validator Queue, a Sign of Weak Staking Demand
Lido Finance Faces Slashing Penalty of More Than $30,000 in Ethereum
Ether Could Hit $8K by End of 2026: Standard Chartered
Ethereum Gas Price Hits All-Time Low
Layer 2 Networks Account For Nearly Two-Thirds of Ethereum Transactions: Report
Ether-Bitcoin Ratio Drops to 15-Month Low as ETFs Fail to Uplift Sentiment
The Ethereum Foundation Just Sold $2.76 Million in ETH
JPMorgan Report: Ethereum's Centralization Increased Post Merge and Shanghai Upgrades
Vitalik Buterin proposes two-tier model to address ‘centralization challenges’ in Ethereum staking
Ethereum Inflation? ETH Supply Has Grown by $47 Million in 30 Days

ALTCOINS

Perpetual Trading Protocol GMX Bags Biggest Chunk of $40M Arbitrum Grant
THORChain Soars 8% as DeFi Exchange Lifts Trading Pause
Flare Network Will Burn 2.1B FLR to Support Ecosystem Health
Frax Finance's Fed Yield-Matching Staking Vault Attracts $30M, FXS Steady
LayerZero’s ‘Gas Station’ will simplify cross-chain NFT swaps
Uniswap v3 Deployed on ZkSync Era Via Oku
Polygon L2 Proposal Roils ApeCoin Community
Uniswap Launches Mobile Ethereum Wallet on Android
BarnBridge DAO votes to comply with SEC order
TON Foundation Aims to Secure Guinness World Record as the World's Fastest Blockchain
Axelar prepares tokenomic overhaul for AXL
Stellar Partners With Certora for Security Checks on Soroban Smart Contracts
WOO Network Buys Back Shares and Tokens From Bankrupt Three Arrows Capital
IoTeX launches confidential computing hardware stack
Real-World Asset Loan Worth $20M at Risk of Losing $7M on DeFi Platform Goldfinch
Tornado Cash Processed Over $77 Million in Past 30 Days: Arkham
FRAX taps Treasury yields with new staking vault
Ripple loses CFO Campbell amid ditched acquisition of Fortress Trust
Gitcoin DAO gaffe sees $500,000 in GTC tokens lost forever
Nexo Responds to FCA: Ending Crypto Card Transactions in the UK
$88M in Arbitrum grant proposals are competing for a $44M pot
Ripple in Preliminary Talks with Australian Freight & Trade Alliance for Future Partnership
Ripple CTO seeks community consensus for XRPL AMM feature adoption
Investor Disagreements Force FloorDAO to Send $2.5 Million to Splinter Faction – What's Going On?

STABLECOINS

Tether stablecoin firm appoints CTO Paolo Ardoino as CEO
Terraform targets Citadel Securities alleging potential connection to UST depeg
Japanese yen-backed digital currency, DCJPY, to go live in July 2024
USDR Issuer to Salvage Failed Property-Backed Stablecoin’s Assets, ‘Make Users Whole’
USDR stablecoin depegs to $0.53, but team vows to provide solutions
Circle Begins Native Minting of USDC Stablecoin on Layer-2 Scaling Solution Polygon
Circle denies claim it copied Maple’s code for smart contracts
Uranium-Backed Stablecoin? Maker Proposal Goes Nuclear
Stablecoin Market Cap Hits 18 Months of Decline–But All Is Not Lost

CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM

FTX Hackers Move $124 Million to Bitcoin After THORSwap Halt
Taurus expands Europe footprint after Deutsche Bank link-up
Contango Launches Decentralized Perpetuals Leveraging Aave
Spark Protocol Launches On Gnosis Chain
Farcaster Launches Permissionless Onboarding
Voyager settles with FTC for $1.65B while CFTC charges former CEO with fraud
MetaMask expands crypto on-ramp options with Stripe integration
Trezor Launches New Hardware Wallets, Metal Seed Backup for Crypto Beginners
Court approves Genesis settlement of $175M to FTX, expunges billions in claims
Crypto Bank Xapo Snags European Broker License, Will Offer Stocks Like Apple
CoinMarketCap launches ChatGPT plugin
Stars Arena Exploiter: ‘I Want to Cooperate’
Circle Targets Cross-Border Remittances in the Philippines in Partnership with Coins.ph
BlockFi Bankruptcy Judge Says He Wants 3AC’s $284M Claim Resolved in Mediation
Archax Expands Services: Introduces Crypto/ Money-Market-Fund Trading Pairs
Blocknative Reduces Headcount by Third, After Suspending Work on Relay Project
3Commas on ‘heightened alert’ after several user accounts hacked
FriendTech rolls out two-factor authentication in response to sim-swap attacks
MoonPay Unveils Cryptocurrency Swapping Feature in Its App – Here's the Latest
Deribit to List XRP, SOL, MATIC Options; Seeks License in EU
Backed Finance Rolls Out Crypto-Backed BlackRock ETF on Base Protocol
Crypto Custody Firm Komainu Receives Custodial Approval from UK's FCA
Friend.tech Developers Amass Nearly $20 Million Since August Debut

NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE

NFT Publishing Platform Mirror Revamps Front-End
NBA's LaMelo and Lonzo Ball—And Their Dad—Star in NFT Game 'StrayShot'
Reddit's Fortnite Token BRICK More Than Doubles After Two-Months of Decline
UK sports committee wants football to tackle fan tokens, NFTs
Rocket League Players Revolt Over Item Trading Ban—Do NFTs Fix This?
Nothing to see here: OpenSea denies exec involved in $60M rug pull: Nifty Newsletter
3AC fire sale: Spencer Ventures to buy 144 Pudgy Penguins for ‘mid six figures’
Nouns DAO is forking again 
Ethereum DeFi Exchange AirSwap Rolls Out NFT Marketplace
Amazon and Immutable Want to Make it Easier to Launch Crypto Games
Rage Quit? Unity CEO Departs After New Fees Pissed Off Game Developers
Mistake or money laundering? User pays $1.6 million for CrypToadz NFT
Chinese government-owned newspaper to launch NFT platform
Just One Game on Solana Is Doing More Daily Transactions Than All of Polygon
Why NFL Alumni Are Turning to NFTs to Support Retired Football Players
Yuga Labs cuts staff as part of larger restructuring
Why NFT Artist John Hamon Set 3 Years of Work on Fire in Paris
Steven Soderbergh-Backed, NFT-Funded Film Lands Global Sales Deal
Allegations of running pump and dump schemes surface against former head of OpenSea Ventures

MINING

Bitcoin Hashrate to Drop by 20% After Next Halving Event: JPMorgan
Bitcoin Mining Industry Is at a ‘Crucible Moment,’ JPMorgan Says
As the Halving Approaches, Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Is Selling Zero BTC
Bitmain suspends employee pay amid financial turmoil
Bitcoin Miner Iris Energy Jumps 9% as It Boosts Mining Capacity Ahead of Bitcoin Halving

EXCHANGES

Sam Bankman-Fried Wrote a Draft Twitter Thread For Alameda Closure Two Months Before FTX Collapse
Coinbase Trading Volume Plunges 52% to $76 Billion, Marks Lowest Quarter After Public Listing
Binance rebrands feed feature as Binance Square, a social platform with monetization tools
Bankman-Fried Stopped Former Alameda CEO from Quitting, Star Witness Testimony Concludes
Caroline Ellison testimony: SBF bribed Chinese officials for $150M to unfreeze funds
Circle admitted by judge as amicus curiae in SEC vs. Binance lawsuit: Report
Hata receives in-principle approval to be fifth Malaysian digital exchange
Bitfinex Unveils Zero-Fee Trading for Latin America in Pricing War
Binance rolls out self-trade prevention for spot and margin trading
SBF’s lawyers ask court to allow introduction of Anthropic evidence
Bitfinex parent company looking to buyback 15M shares at $1.7B valuation
OK Group sunsets ‘Okcoin’ for a global transition to ‘OKX’
Gemini Appoints Sachin Ranlani as Vice President and Head of India for Market Expansion
Bitstamp to exit Canada in January
Changpeng Zhao and other Binance executives facing possible indictments in Brazil
Gemini exchange taps veteran fintech exec in India expansion
Binance tight-lipped on projects funded by $1B crypto recovery fund
Breaking: Bitstamp Resumes XRP Trading After Temporary Suspension
Binance Bets on Copy Trading to Expand Crypto Futures Offering
South Korean UPbit counters 1,800% surge in hacking attempts with AI-driven security measures
FTX CTO Testifies Against SBF, Admits Alameda Used Customer Funds
Binance launches special UK domain designed to align with new FCA regulations
Huobi Reclaims $8 Million In Stolen Ethereum After Offering Bounty to Hacker

CAPITAL RAISES

Republik's $6 Million Funding Boosts Valuation to $75 Million in Web3 Quest – Crypto Funding Making a Comeback?
Crypto Prime Broker Membrane Labs Raises $20M From Brevan Howard, Point72 and Jane Street
Parsec Crypto Analytics Firm Raises $4 Million in Investment Round Led by Uniswap and Billionaire Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital
Tokenized RWA Platform Untangled Goes Live, Gets $13.5M Funding to Bring Private Credit On-Chain
Stars Arena secures funding to plug $3M shortfall following exploit, will reopen after security audit

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

What happens if SEC doesn’t appeal Grayscale spot Bitcoin ETF ruling?
Will SEC file appeal by deadline as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust discount hits yearly low?
Ethereum ETF launch fizzles as traders ‘distracted’ by SBF trial
21.co adds US leader as SEC mulls over proposed crypto ETFs
Crypto Gaming Attracted $600M Worth of Q3 Investment Despite Bear Market
BlackRock seeks court crackdown on 44 copycat sites, some crypto adjacent
WisdomTree extends reach of Prime app, plots new features
ARK Invest updates spot Bitcoin ETF proposal in response to SEC criticisms
Venture funding for crypto hits lows last seen in 2020 due to SBF trial fallout
Bitcoin 'Main Beneficiary' as Crypto Investment Hits High Not Seen Since July
To appeal or not to appeal the Grayscale ruling — that’s the SEC’s question
ProShares Launches Six Ether Futures ETFs, Expanding Crypto ETF Market

TRADFI / TECH

S Korean Prosecutors to Probe ex-Kakao CEO Over Crypto ‘Embezzlement’ Allegations
Chinese IT Giant Tencent Launches Digital Yuan Smart Contract Services
First Abu Dhabi Bank completes cross-border payments testing on JPMorgan Onyx
JPMorgan debuts tokenization platform, BlackRock among key clients: Report
X Takes Center Stage in Web3 Marketing for Crypto Projects
TP ICAP taps former Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan alum to lead digital asset sales
Trader Joe’s grocery chain sues DEX of the same name
Bitstamp Courts European Banks as Region's Incoming Crypto Rules Boost Confidence
This San Diego bank’s client list is a who’s-who of questionable characters in crypto and beyond
Elon Musk calls for overhaul of SEC after agency issues order against him
X ‘everything app’ push continues as Elon Musk tests video game streaming

CBDC

Chinese FX Regulator Highlights Programmable Features in CBDCs
Mastercard Announces Successful Wrapped CBDC Trial in Partnership with Reserve Bank of Australia
Russia Could Use Digital Ruble to Evade SWIFT, Wants Foreign Banks to Use its CBDC
China’s Shenzhen Launches Digital Yuan Industrial Park
More Russian Banks Say They’ll Join Digital Ruble Pilot – CBDC Advances?
Central Bank of Nigeria: eNaira no threat to financial stability
Rise in Chinese Banks Issuing Digital Yuan Corporate Loans
China Says Overseas Visitors Are Using e-CNY, Paying More Salaries with CBDC
Zimbabwe turns gold-backed digital token into payment method
Italy’s Cipollone Defends Digital Euro as He Seeks ECB Role
Exclusive: Reserve Bank of Australia’s Approach Towards Issuing eAUD is “Multifaceted,” Says Canvas Head David Lavecky
Digital Yuan Giveaways Driving Adoption, Chinese Central Bank Claims

REGULATORY / COUNTRIES

Gary Gensler’s SEC threatened with forced compliance over alleged obstruction by House committee
G20 adopts IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper on crypto regulation
UK FCA Working on Blue Print for Fund Tokenization Due This Year
Indonesia to conduct blockchain trials for public services
North Korean hackers have abandoned Tornado Cash for Bitcoin Mixers: TRM Labs
US bill aims to ban SEC rule that makes crypto custody ‘completely non-viable as a business model’
US lawmakers urge IRS to implement crypto tax reporting requirements before 2026
European regulator: DeFi comes with significant risks as well as benefits
Pro-Crypto Advocate RFK Jr. Shifts to Independent Presidential Campaign – What Does That Mean for The Industry?
FCA Sanctions Binance's UK Partner RebuildingSociety.com for Financial Promotions
State Regulators Back SEC in Coinbase Lawsuit
Brazilian securities regulator plans sandbox for tokenization in 2024
Cyprus to Impose Strict Penalties on Unlicensed Crypto Service Providers – Report
Israeli authorities redirects frozen Hamas cryptocurrency funding to state treasury
India to Push Crypto Regulation Talks at Final FMCBG Meet in Morocco
EU mulls more restrictive regulations for large AI models: Report
Basel Committee to consider disclosure requirements for banks’ crypto assets
Canada’s Regulators Clarify Interim Stablecoin Regulations Amid Market Concerns
Dubai Regulator Halts Sale and Distribution of Islamic Coin – What's Going On?
Taiwanese Lawmakers Target November for First Crypto Regulatory Draft Bill: Report
US considering application of Electronic Fund Transfer Act to crypto accounts
Crypto Has ‘No Innate or Inherent Value’, SEC Argues in Coinbase Case

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE

Israel's Crypto Community Rallies in Humanitarian Effort amid Gaza War
Environmental Groups Need to Dig Deeper Into AI Energy Use, Researcher Says
'Crypto Aid Israel' Launches to Raise Funds Amid Gaza Conflict

SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC

DeFi User Mistakenly Swaps $131,350 in USDR for $0 in USDC
Alameda Research Lost $200M to Several Phishing Attacks Due to “Poor Security Practices”: Ex-FTX Engineer
Platypus DeFi loses $2.2M in another flash loan exploit
Russian Attackers May Have Been Behind Hack of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX, Elliptic Says
Consultant's Heroic Act: How a Personal Wallet Saved $400 Million During the FTX Hack
Meet the guerilla artist who staged a crypto ‘rug pull’ in front of the SEC
Galxe replacing 110% of funds users lost in recent front-end hack, over $400K
$500M FTX exploit is swapping millions in ETH for BTC. Why?
BNB Chain-Based Altcoin LSC Faces Rug Pull Draining $1.1 Million, Token Slumps 98%
Astrology NFT project Lucky Star Currency rugged for over $1M — CertiK
Michael Lewis' new book puts a positive spin on Sam Bankman-Fried
SBF trial turns into naptime for one sleepy juror

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