Weekly Crypto News Recap - Apr 21, 2023

EU Lauds 'Comprehensive Regulation' as MiCA Crypto Law Passes

The European Parliament voted through the landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation. MiCA means that the EU will have a unified approach to crypto asset regulation across all 27 member states, making it possible for firms approved in one country to “passport” their business into others with minimal additional paperwork. But to achieve initial approval, firms will face much higher standards of disclosure, including the preparation of a detailed white paper for each asset offered. Stablecoin issuers, meanwhile, are subject to even tighter rules, including holding sufficient cash to back up customer funds. While concerns have been raised about the possible administrative burden of MiCA on small firms, many crypto companies like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken have welcomed the European Union’s recognition of the industry.

SEC Chair Gensler Declines to Say if Ether Is a Security in Contentious Congressional Hearing

CoinDesk

SEC Chair Gary Gensler appeared before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday for the first time since the current Congress took over, and indeed his first in over a year. Over the course of the nearly five-hour hearing, Gensler fended off various questions, but one of the most contentious points came early on, when Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry asked Gensler to say if he thought ether (ETH) was a security or a commodity. McHenry pointed to 2018 statements from then-SEC Corporation Finance Director Bill Hinman stating he believed ETH was not a security, as well as similar views expressed by the CFTC more recently, but also opposing views from the DoJ asserting that ETH is a security in a recent court filing. The question highlighted the lack of regulatory clarity in crypto as Gensler danced around the question and failed to provide a yes or no response.

Coinbase Goes Offshore with New Bermuda License

CryptoCurrency – Finance Magnates

Coinbase has expanded its international presence by obtaining a new regulatory license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), signaling that the company is doubling down on its international plans as regulatory hostility increases in the U.S. The Class F License under the Digital Asset Business Act will allow Coinbase to offer crypto exchange services from the offshore island and other services like token sales and issuance. According to Fortune, Coinbase plans to launch a Bermuda-based crypto derivatives exchange as early as next week, enabling it to compete with the likes of Binance and other offshore crypto derivative exchanges.

Three Arrows Capital's NFT Collection Set for Sotheby's Auction in Attempt to Repay Creditors

Cryptonews

Sotheby's revealed that it would auction the Grails collection, which is comprised of digital artwork that belongs to defunct crypto hedge fund 3AC and its prized Starry Night Capital NFT collection. The auction will list several of the most prized NFTs for sale, including Dmitri Cherniak’s Ringers #879, Snowfro’s full spectrum Chromie Squiggle #1780, Tyler Hobbs’ small-scale Fidenza #725, Larva Labs’ Zombie CryptoPunk #6649 and Autoglyphs. The sale aims to recoup a portion of the $3b the collapsed crypto fund owes to creditors.

A16z’s hyped-up orange balls revealed to be an L2 rollup client

Cointelegraph

A series of cryptic tweets depicting orange balls were revealed to be building up hype for a new rollup client for Optimism (OP) called "Magi" from the crypto arm of venture capital firm a16z. a16z engineer Noah Citron explained Magi is written in the programming language Rust and will “help improve the client diversity and resilience of the entire OP Stack ecosystem." The OP Stack refers to the set of software that powers the Ethereum layer-2 solution Optimism, as well as Coinbase's newly announced L2, Base. Among the other benefits it provides, it helps simplify the process of creating new layer-2 blockchains.

Crypto Options Exchange Deribit Adding Zero-Fee Spot Trading

CoinDesk

Deribit, the world's largest crypto options exchange by open interest and trading volumes, will be introducing a new spot trading feature. The exchange, which accounted for ~91% of global options open interest of over $13b in March, said the new platform would go live on April 24 and offer three pairs – BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC and ETH/BTC. The availability of the spot market means traders no longer have to go elsewhere to exchange major cryptocurrencies and can set up multi-leg complex strategies at one place.

BITCOIN

Dormant bitcoin whale transfers $60 million after nine years
Tesla kept $184M Bitcoin balance in Q1 2023
Bitcoin Core Developer Dhruvkaran Mehta Steps Away, Teases New Startup Idea
MicroStrategy’s Saylor Integrates Bitcoin Lightning Address Into Corporate Email
Bitcoin Beach’s Pioneering Circular Economy Is Making a Global Impact

ETHEREUM

Flashbots rolls out MEV-Share to distribute profits with Ethereum users
ApeCoin community approves $1M donation to Ethereum development
Shapella, a week later: Deposits start outpacing withdrawals as Ethereum’s burn-rate increases
Ethereum Fees Spike as Bots Spend Millions to Frontrun Punters of PEPE, CHAD
ETH staking passes withdrawals for the first time since Shapella upgrade
One million ether has been withdrawn since Ethereum’s Shanghai hard fork
$598M in Ethereum Still Waiting on Updated Withdrawal Credentials: Nansen
BlockSec launches collaborative testing toolkit for private forked chains
Ethereum Researcher Predicts Solo Stakers May Get Airdrops

ALTCOINS

Synthetix Volume Surges on Optimism Incentive Program
Crypto Lending Protocol MakerDAO Approves Transferring a Maximum of $500M in USDC to Coinbase Custody for 2.6% Yield
1inch, Aggregator of Decentralized Crypto Exchanges, to Launch on Ethereum Rollup zkSync Era
Decentralized Exchange Bancor Starts On-Chain Trading Platform Carbon
A16z-backed Iron Fish launches privacy-focused blockchain on mainnet
Ethereum Name Service adds fiat payments for ENS domain registrations
Blockchain Infrastructure Provider 0x Rolls Out New Suite of APIs
Euler’s Head of Risk resigns saying ‘not much I can help them with’
Crypto Lender Maple Finance Opens U.S. Treasury Bill Pool for Cash Management
Optimism’s OP Token Rallies After Cryptic Tweet From A16Z Engineer
Lido Considers Using Its ARB Airdrop to Boost Activity on Arbitrum
Rocket Pool Made It Cheaper to Stake ETH Through Its Platform Following Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade
Lido deposits surpass $12 billion as Ethereum’s Shapella boosts liquid staking
Decentralized Wireless Project Helium Begins Move to Solana Blockchain
Gnosis Chain spends $5M on validator incentive program for decentralization
Radix surges over 120% in a week after Babylon upgrade announcement
Gala Games to Airdrop Version 2 Tokens in May
Uniswap V3 To Launch On Polygon zkEVM
Total Arbitrum accounts surpass 5M after airdrop hype: Report
Attractive Yields Drive Millions Into DeFi Liquidity Manager Gamma
Olympus DAO Votes to Buy More ETH for Treasury Backing OHM Token
Conflux To Bring Uniswap Version Three and Curve to China’s Public Blockchain
NovaWulf Plans to Tokenize Equity of Celsius’ New Firm With $2B Assets, After Takeover
XCH Token Soars 12% After Chia Signals Interest in Going Public

STABLECOINS

BoE Considers Limits on Stablecoin Payments as Parliament Debates New Crypto Rules
Crypto developers expose ‘absolutely horrible’ flaws in Societe Generale euro stablecoin
Societe Generale's Crypto Division Introduces Euro Stablecoin on Ethereum
Tether market cap eyes record high after regaining 65% stablecoin dominance
Circle exec to join US Congressional committee hearing on stablecoin payments, legislation
US Congress to introduce new draft bill for stablecoins
TUSD Announces Integration With BNB Chain as a Native Token

CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM

Crypto Trading Firm Wintermute Plugs Into CoinRoutes Smart-Order Routing System
Credit Agency Giant TransUnion Will Deliver Credit Scores for Crypto Lending
Censorship concerns grow as Trezor integrates ‘CoinJoin’
MetaMask Says Recent Hacking of Ethereum Wallets Has Nothing To Do With Its Wallet Software
Coinbase’s Base network gets OpenZeppelin security integration
Chainstack launches Subgraphs, an on-chain indexing tool for 13 blockchains
Hard-Wallet Maker Ledger, Crypto Custodian Etana Target Institutions With Regulated Custody
Central Banks Successfully Test DLT in Linking Financial Settlement Systems
Blockdaemon Sets Sights on Large Institutions With New Wallet App
eToro-Twitter Deal is 'Marketing Only' Agreement, Says UK MD
Cubist Launches Bank-Grade Ethereum Key Management Service
Crypto Lender Amber Group Weighs Selling Japan Unit: Bloomberg
MetaMask email address leak affects 7,000 users
Crypto Market Maker DWF Labs’ More Than $200M in Deals Blur What ‘Investing’ Means
Crypto Derivative Volumes Rose in March for Third Straight Month

NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE

Pokemon cards stolen off the production line highlight how NFTs ‘remove the need for trust’
Heavy Demand for Madlads NFT Breaks Internet, Delays Mint
Solana Monkey Business IP Acquired by DAO of NFT Holders
Starbucks Odyssey Brews Smoother Second Serving of NFTs With 'First Store' Collection
Trump’s Second NFT Collection Sells Out While Prices on First Collection Plunge
Square Enix Teams With Elixir to Bring Web3 Games to Mainstream Audiences
Nike Unveils First .Swoosh NFT Digital Sneaker Drop
Starbucks Odyssey Launch ‘Getting Closer’ With New NFTs, Rewards
Sotheby's Auction House Revives Glitch Art Auction, New Gamer Uncovers $50,000 NFT
Immutable Passport Opens Borders for Web3 Games
Roblox Adds Rare, Resellable Digital Items—But They’re Not NFTs
Binance and Brazilian Football Federation launch free NFT aimed at wooing new customers

MINING

Bitcoin Miner Mawson to Sell Texas Sites for $8.5M to Singapore Fund Manager
Intel Bitcoin mining chips discontinued despite chip efficiency, $63M revenue boost in 2022
Arizona Governor Shuts Down Bill Favoring Crypto Mining Industry
Sweden Drives Final Nail Into Its Bitcoin Mining Industry With Tax Hike
Bitcoin Miner Bitdeer Stock Slumps Nearly 30% at Trading Debut

EXCHANGES

Crypto exchange Roqqu receives South African approval to expand operations
U.S. Government Allows the Bulk of Voyager-Binance.US Deal to Proceed
Crypto Trading Exchange Bitget Expands into Lithuanian Market
Coinbase CEO says leaving the US for UK is ‘on the table’
Luno Closes Curtain on Singapore as Kraken Secures Irish Registration
Binance reportedly lifts €10,000 limit on Russian accounts
Bybit Reports 50% Increase in Users, Establishes Global Headquarters in Dubai
CME Group to expand Bitcoin and Ether option expiries after record daily volume
SEC Warned Bittrex of Legal Action Before Firm Announced U.S. Exit: WSJ

CAPITAL RAISES

Staking Provider P2P.org Raises $23M From Big-Name Investors to Drive Institutional Offering
Former Ethereum miner CoreWeave raises $221M in Series B
Berachain raises $42 million to launch yet another Layer 1 blockchain
Bitcoin financial services company Unchained raising $60 million in ongoing Series B funding
Aleph Zero launches $50M ecosystem funding program
Bitget Dedicates $200 Million Fund for DApps Innovation
Crypto transparency: Fractal raises $6 million to reshape market structure after FTX, 3AC

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

$190B Ontario pension says no to crypto after FTX investment loss
Crypto Wealth Manager Onramp Taps CoinDesk Indices to Create Customized Portfolios
African blockchain ventures outpace global funding growth: Report
Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund taps former Pantera exec Krug as partner
Crypto Investments Report Positive Flows for Fourth Consecutive Week: CoinShares
Bhutan’s sovereign investment arm quietly invests millions in crypto: Report
Onramp Launches Spot Bitcoin Trust With Multi-Party Custody

TRADFI / TECH

Metropolitan Commercial Bank Is Almost Done Exiting Crypto Business
Bluesky, Jack Dorsey's Decentralized Twitter Rival, Launches An Android App
Microsoft building in-house AI chip “Athena”
BNY Mellon expands digital asset team with former Zodia Custody CEO, talent from BlockFi
Blockchain platform for trading securities OTC moves forward with SEC approval
Here’s why GPT-4 outperforms GPT3.5, LLMs in code debugging
TradFi Remains the Counterparty of Choice for Institutional Crypto Investors: Bank of America

CBDC

Fed board member says CBDC risks outweigh benefits
Israel Ties Digital Shekel Launch to US and EU
Hong Kong's Central Bank Digital Currency Could Be on Permissioned Blockchain: Source

REGULATORY / COUNTRIES

Abu Dhabi's Financial Free Zone Proposes Legal Framework for Decentralized Economy
Brazil investigating Binance over illegal derivatives offerings
Belgium’s FSMA to Police Crypto Ads with Upcoming Regulation
Judge Says DOJ Can Call OpenSea NFT Case 'Insider Trading', Sets Trial Date
Bank of Russia to set up entities for crypto mining and cross-border settlement: Report
Hong Kong court recognizes crypto as property in Gatecoin case
US judge rejects Do Kwon’s request to block SEC from accessing documents
UK may have crypto regulation within a year, says senior minister
Gary Gensler refuses to answer if ETH is a security: SEC hearing
UAE Securities Regulator to Start Accepting License Applications From Crypto Firms
Gary Gensler’s old pro-Algorand video ignites debate amid unregistered security claims
Crypto lender Babel gets extended creditor protection in Singapore
Coinbase to help UK on Web3 hub as Treasury reportedly revives blockchain taskforce
SEC’s Bittrex Lawsuit Says ALGO, DASH are Unregistered Securities
NYDFS will charge cryptocurrency companies for supervision
US Congressman Declares Plan to Fire SEC Chair Gary Gensler for Crypto Overreach – Here's the Latest
Bittrex Faces Potential Enforcement Action From The SEC: Report
Blockchain Association files further FOIA requests over banking closures
SEC’s Hester Peirce Says Gensler’s Plan to Target DeFi Undermines First Amendment
SEC reopens comments on proposed changes to “exchange” definition
U.S. SEC Poised to Move Toward DeFi Oversight As It Reopens Proposed Regulations

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE

Unleashing the Green Economy: How Blockchain Can Transform Climate-Friendly Investment Opportunities
Dfinity Foundation says ICP consumes less energy than Cardano, launches proof of green initiative
Gridless Is Extending Power to Rural Africa
Machankura Lets Africans Use Bitcoin With Basic Mobile Phones
The Future of Energy Supply Chains: Blockchain-Enabled Smart Grids and Microgrids

SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC

Terraform Labs Co-founder Do Kwon and CFO Charged with Forgery by Montenegro Prosecutors
Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev freed pending trial
S Korean President Calls for ‘War’ on Crypto-powered Drug Trafficking
Did Gary Gensler Pull a Kim Kardashian by 'Shilling' Algorand?
SafeMoon hacker agrees to return 80% of stolen funds, says development team
Apple crypto users potentially exposed to iOS, macOS vulnerabilities
Exploit targets crypto veterans, drains over $10M across 11 blockchains
KyberSwap announces potential vulnerability, tells LPs to withdraw ASAP
Shaq Finally Served in FTX Lawsuit After Months of ‘Running’, Say Lawyers
Hundred Finance Suffers $7 Million Loss in Optimism Hack – Here's What Happened
Silk Road Bitcoin Thief, Once Worth $3.4 Billion, Receives One-Year Prison Sentence
Mysten Labs buys back stake from FTX for $96 million

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