Weekly Crypto News Recap - May 26, 2023

May 26, 2023

TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

FTX CEO Considering Reboot of Disgraced Crypto Exchange, According to a New Court Filing

Newly filed court documents suggest FTX CEO John J. Ray III is considering restarting the bankrupt exchange’s operations. In April, Ray appeared to take part in multiple activities centered on an FTX reboot, according to a monthly compensation report filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Those activities include descriptions like “Review 2.0 next steps summary from PWP (purchase with purchase),” “Review next steps and comment on FTX restart,” “Review and finalize 2.0 reboot of exchange material for distribution,” and “Review and comment on 2.0 bidder list,” among others.

Hong Kong Securities Regulator to Accept License Applications for Crypto Exchanges Starting June 1

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will begin accepting applications for crypto trading platform licenses on June 1. The regulator has agreed to allow licensed virtual asset providers to serve retail investors, provided that operators assess understanding of the risks involved. The regulator also proposed stablecoins "should not be admitted for retail trading" until the jurisdiction's planned regulations for the asset class kick in.

Demand for Tokenized Treasury Bonds Soars as Crypto Investors Chase TradFi Yield

Demand for tokenized versions of U.S. Treasury bonds is soaring as rising yields in traditional financial markets attract fresh capital from crypto investors. The combined market capitalization of tokenized money market funds nears $500m, and has quadrupled in size this year. The first and largest offering, investment giant Franklin Templeton’s Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX) – which gives a BENJI token on the Stellar blockchain representing one share – grew to $276m in assets as of the end of April. New challengers are quickly catching up in market share, and include Ondo Finance’s OUSG and Matrixdock’s STBT tokenized products, among others.

Ordinals sends LTC and DOGE network activity surging for 3 straight weeks

What began with developer Casey Rodarmor creating the Ordinals protocol to “inscribe” text and imagery on the Bitcoin network on has now made its way to Litecoin and Dogecoin, with both networks setting daily transaction records.

Coinbase-backed Base targets mainnet launch after Optimism’s Bedrock upgrade

The core team at Base, a blockchain network backed by Coinbase, said it is gearing up for an upcoming mainnet launch after several conditions are met, including demonstrated testnet stability, Optimism’s successful upgrade of Bedrock, and the completion of reviews and audits.

Crypto giant Binance commingled customer funds and company revenue, former insiders say

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, commingled customer funds with company revenue in 2020 and 2021, in breach of U.S. financial rules that require customer money to be kept separate, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. One of the sources, a person with direct knowledge of Binance’s group finances, said the sums ran into billions of dollars and commingling happened almost daily in accounts the exchange held at U.S. lender Silvergate Bank.

BITCOIN

About 85,000 Bitcoin Options Contracts Set to Expire This Friday
Bitcoin Network’s First-Ever BRC20 Stablecoin Launched: Stably USD
Passing Fad? Bitcoin Ordinals Inscriptions Just Hit a New Milestone
Bitcoin is now the second largest chain by NFT volume

ETHEREUM

No ETH to trade? Ethereum exchange balance drops to a 5-year low
Matter Labs hires Activision Blizzard exec to boost zkSync gaming plans
Vitalik Buterin urges caution when it comes to re-staking on Ethereum
DeFi Projects Built on Ethereum Scaling Solution Starknet Hit $10M

ALTCOINS

IoT Devices Can Now Connect to Both Helium Network and Amazon Sidewalk
One of Ripple Labs' Top Defense Lawyers Calls it Quits in U.S. SEC Lawsuit
AiDoge.com's Presale Nears $14 Million Raised – 90% Sold Out
Memecoin Trading Bot Maestro is Raking in Millions
Alameda-Backed ‘Samcoins’ CEO Alex Grebnev Sued by Cointelegraph Owner Gregory Fishman
Panic Over $1.5 Billion DeFi Bridge Multichain Shifts to Fantom
EOS Network Participants Should Consider Legal Action Against Block.one: EOS Foundation CEO
Ripple Acquires Undisclosed Stake in Crypto Exchange Bitstamp
BitDAO Approves Rebrand and Token Swap
Millions of Synthetix (SNX) Tokens Could be Burned in New Proposal From Founder
Tensions Rise Between SushiSwap, Lido Over Return of Exploited Funds
Celer Network patches code vulnerability discovered by Jump Crypto
Multichain token plunges 30% on backend upgrade delay
0x Releases Latest Version of DEX Aggregator Matcha
Layer 1 blockchain Vega Protocol activates on-chain futures after mainnet rollout
Polkadot Project Manta Network Rolls Out Privacy-Centric Soulbound Tokens
BNB Chain records highest transaction count since last May
Aave V2 Users Temporarily Unable to Access $120M on Polygon After Governance Bug
Dash blockchain down for hours after hard fork fail, devs to try upgrade again June 14
Seeking Grants Deal with Osmosis, Privacy Blockchain Namada Proposes Airdrop
Departed Evmos co-founder sells thousands of tokens, the team claims
Apple’s crypto policy softens as Stepn offers in-app digital asset trading
Tokenized Bonds Surpass $200M In Market Capitalization
Tornado Cash attacker to potentially give back governance control, proposal reveals
Bug in Aave v2 Polygon causes some assets to become stuck in contracts
Vega Token Rallies Ahead of Protocol Possibly Going Live Monday

STABLECOINS

EU watchdog warns about the risk of a bank run on stablecoins
Circle launches euro-backed stablecoin on Avalanche
Circle CEO says that AI bots are transacting USDC, creating wallets
Hong Kong will not allow retail customers to trade stablecoins
Tether Trading Volume Falls to Multi-Year Lows, Market Cap Rise Is ‘Questionable:’ Kaiko
Stablecoin exchange balance drops below $20B
Strike integrates Tether’s USDT for payments

CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM

Ankr Partners With Mirage To Revolutionize the Web 3.0 Gaming Landscape
Etonec and Mina Foundation to Create ZK-Powered Compliance Tool By Year’s End
Fed Data Shows Most Crypto Holders Stuck Around in 2022 Bear Market
DCG’s Subsidiary TradeBlock Is Shutting Its Doors: Bloomberg News
Unbanked shuts down crypto services, says US regulations prevented fundraising
Trezor Sales Spike 900% Even as Exploit of “T” Model is Revealed
Fahrenheit wins bid to acquire assets of crypto lender Celsius
Web3-Friendly Browser Brave Introduces NFT-Gated Video Calls
Ava Labs Launches 'No-Code' Web3 Launchpad AvaCloud
Prometheum subsidiary receives FINRA approval for digital asset qualified custody
TRON Collaborates With Nansen To Deliver In-Depth Insights From Blockchain Activity
Ledger CEO: Government subpoena to access user funds is the ‘only concern’
MicroStrategy says it supports FASB’s proposed accounting rules for crypto
Gemini Says DCG Missed $630M Genesis Loan Payment
MetaMask ‘Does Not Collect Taxes On Crypto Transactions' Says ConsenSys in Push Back
Strike moves global headquarters to El Salvador, expands to 65 countries
Jack Dorsey’s TBD announces new Web5 toolkit

NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE

Chinese city releases policy draft for metaverse industry development
Ex-Sushi CTO Led NFT Lending Platform Astaria Rolls Out to Public
Nike OF1 NFT Sale Surpasses $1M Despite Delays, Tech Issues
Ubisoft's Rabbids Invade Reddit as Free NFTs
Reddit the Only Big Tech Firm That 'Cracked the NFT Code': Polygon Co-founder
Magic Eden Will Pay You to Buy and Sell Solana NFTs
Streetwear Brand The Hundreds Opens Metaverse Shop With Exclusive Drops
Binance enters NFT lending space, starting with ETH loans
NFT marketplace enables cross-chain purchases on multiple networks
GameFi developer Gala Games to launch Web3 poker platform with PokerGO
Pudgy Penguins Smash Amazon Debut, Sells Over 20,000 Toys
Monero community lashes out against ‘Mordinals’ amid privacy concerns
Bankrupt crypto hedge fund 3AC’s NFT auction fetches $2.5M
Paraspace NFT protocol ‘usurper’ resigns after failing to overthrow CEO

MINING

USBTC Aims to Become Bitcoin Mining Giant After Deal to Buy Celsius Assets
Upstream Data Sues Crusoe Energy Over Waste Gas Mining Patent
USA Bitcoin mining pools surge to over 50% of hash rate
Core Scientific Hopes to Emerge from Bankruptcy by September, Lawyers Say
Bitcoin miner revenue derived from fees drops to 7%
Crypto Miner Marathon Pledges $500K in Matching Funds to Brink for Bitcoin Development

EXCHANGES

Coinbase Launches New Advertising Campaign To Highlight Importance of Cryptocurrency in the US
AI deepfakes are getting better at spoofing KYC verification — Binance exec
Crypto Exchange Coincheck's Nasdaq Listing Could Be Delayed Again
Binance suspends deposits for 10 bridged tokens over Multichain situation
Coinbase and Bitpanda reveal EU partnership
Gate Group launches new virtual asset trading platform in Hong Kong
TP ICAP’s Institutional Crypto Exchange Finally Goes Live for Spot Trading
Deribit nears expiry of $3.6 billion in crypto options contracts amid ‘rock bottom’ volatility regime
Gemini eyes UK as ‘second headquarters’
Bitget secures regulatory license in Poland, reserve funds up $80M in Q1
Crossover Markets Teams With Credit Network Hidden Road to Enable Crypto Trading
Crypto Exchange OKX Targets France as Regional Hub With Plan to Hire 100 People
Crypto traders flock to DEXes amid memecoin mania
Huobi Global ordered to halt operations in Malaysia
Hotbit Shutters Crypto Exchange, Urges Users to Withdraw Funds
Binance Australia to Allow AUD Withdrawals Until June 1

CAPITAL RAISES

Hong Kong Asset Manager Metalpha Secures $5M from Bitmain for Grayscale-Based Fund
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin raises $115M in Series C round
Multicoin Leads $2.3M FastLane VC Deal, Continuing Its Bet on MEV Infrastructure
LabDAO Raises $3.6M to Decentralize Drug Discovery
TON Foundation Launches $25 Million Accelerator Program for Emerging Crypto Projects
Web3 App Development Platform Sort Raises $3.5M to Further Product Growth

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

Paradigm broadening crypto-only focus to areas including AI
Bitcoin’s Declining Correlation With Stocks Revives Its Appeal for Investors: K33 Research
Fred Wilson’s USV to ‘double down’ on web3 investing amid regulatory pressure
TradFi Hedge Fund Hunting Hill Starts Crypto Arm
Dispersion Capital launches $40M venture fund to ‘bring Web3 to the masses’
VanEck CEO Says “No Chance” on the Future of a Spot Bitcoin ETF in the US
Bitcoin-focused trading fund is being launched by hedge fund BXB Capital

TRADFI / TECH

Governments Need to 'Move Faster' on AI Rules, Says Microsoft President
Nvidia Stock Soars Double-Digits Following Revenue Uptick Amid AI Frenzy
Apple Takes Its 30% Bite From AI Innovation, Costing OpenAI Millions
Treasury Secretary Yellen repeats warning of US debt default
Banks Will Likely Consolidate Further Into Bigger Giants: Fed's Yellen
Instagram to reportedly launch text-based app to rival Twitter

CBDC

7 central banks and BIS continue examination of ongoing policy issues for retail CBDC
Brazil's Central Bank Selects 14 Participants for CBDC Pilot
Seven Central Banks Contemplate the Future of Retail CBDCs in Latest Report
Nigeria CBDC experiment stumbles amid public resistance: Report
Russian lawmakers propose amendments to digital ruble bill
NY Fed and MAS publish joint CBDC cross-border payment project results
Ripple CTO confirms its CBDC Platform’s ability to use XRP token

REGULATORY / COUNTRIES

EU Investment Firms Should Clearly State Crypto Is Unregulated, Watchdog Says
French Lawmakers Strike Softer Deal on Crypto Influencer Law
EU watchdog does not deem crypto link to TradFi ‘significant’ to pose systemic risk yet
Norway could go its own way on crypto asset regulation, central bank suggests
WEF publishes crypto asset regulation recommendations for government, industry
South Korea passes bill to make officials disclose Bitcoin holdings
Ripple CEO expects court ruling on SEC’s case in ‘weeks’
Japan to Enforce Tougher Crypto Anti-Money Laundering Laws Next Month: Report
FATF Did Not Require Pakistan to Ban Crypto to Stay Off Its 'Grey List'
'SEC Has No Intention' of Providing Clear Rules for Crypto: Coinbase
EU Banks Could Access Stablecoins More Easily Under Leaked Plans
South Korea's Ruling Party Calls to Expedite Bill on Lawmakers' Crypto Disclosures: Report
International Securities Regulator IOSCO Proposes Policy Recommendations for Crypto
Philippines SEC Says Gemini’s Derivatives Exchange Is ‘Unregistered’
Coinbase takes lobbying effort to DC airwaves with new TV ad
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vows to defend Bitcoin against 'invasive surveillance'
Biden Slams Wealthy Crypto Traders as U.S. Budget Talks Resume
Congressman Emmer Introduces ‘Securities Clarity Act’
Bank of Korea Preaches Legacy Financial Regulation for Crypto Market
Swiss canton Zug increases bitcoin, ether tax payment threshold above $1.6 million

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE

What's the Environmental Impact of Generative AI Tools?
Non-Profit Organization Energy Web Starts Sustainability Registry for Bitcoin Miners

SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC

Crypto Exchange Coinone's Former Exec Acknowledges Bribery Charges in South Korea: Report
DeFi protocol WDZD Swap exploited for $1.1M: CertiK
Do Kwon's Detention in Montenegro Extended After High Court Decision to Revoke Bail
Tornado Cash DAO Attacker Starts to Move Ether, TORN Tokens
Ron DeSantis Twitter Spaces Event Experiences 'Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly'
U.S. Charges Russian In Ransomware Scheme Worth Up To $200 Million
Black Market for Worldcoin Credentials Pops Up in China
Crypto’s Fentanyl Trade Worth Tens of Millions: Security Researchers
Crypto project disappears with $32 million of funds in likely exit scam
Tornado Cash Dev Facing Dutch Charges to Question Chainalysis Data Alleging Criminal Links
Attackers Left Empty-Handed as Crypto Hacks Drop 70% in Q1 2023
The pizza bought with Bitcoin 13 years ago would have cost $365M today
Wife finds husband’s Bitcoin stash amid divorce proceedings
‘Big Short’ author Michael Lewis almost ready to publish book on SBF
Law firm threatens class action suit against disastrous $PSYOP memecoin
Las Vegas Man Charged in CoinDeal $45M Crypto Fraud Case
Worldcoin faces privacy concerns as iris scan black market emerges for biometric verification
NY Attorney General Secures $4.3 Million Refund for Coin Cafe Customers Misled by Hidden Fees
Swaprum DEX team disappears with $3 million in apparent exit scam on Arbitrum network

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