Crypto Weekly 10/29/2023
A weekly summary of the latest crypto news...
Crypto weekly is co-authored by @serdave
PRICE CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- BTC ($34,503): +16% / +109%
- ETH ($1,797): +10% / +50%
- SOL ($32.82): +14% / +237%
- UNI ($4.19): +1% / -19%
- MATIC ($0.64): +8% / -15%
MARKET CAP CHANGE: WTD/YTD
- Crypto Market Cap ($1.3T): +12% / +58%
- BTC Dominance: 51%
- ETH Dominance: 16%
- Tether ($85B): +1% / +28%
- USDC ($25B): -2% / -44%
NFT 3M TRADING VOLUMES
THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- The price of Bitcoin and the total crypto market cap reached 16 month highs of $35,000 and $1.27 trillion respectively, amid speculation that an SEC approval of multiple Bitcoin spot ETFs will occur in the next 3-6 months. Link.
- Sam Bankman-Fried took the stand in his own defense Friday, telling jurors that he didn’t commit fraud, and that he believed the crypto exchange’s expenditures were coming out of company profits. His testimony will continue this week. Link. Link. Link.
- SEC commissioner Hester Pierce criticized the agency’s handling of LBRY case, arguing the enforcement action was misguided and disproportionate. The SEC originally requested remedies of $44 million from LBRY for offering unregistered securities, but the court reduced penalties to $111,614 given the lack of fraud allegations and general uncertainty in securities laws. LBRY is not appealing the ruling and plans to shut down. Link. Statement.
- Crypto forensic firm Elliptic penned a blog post calling out the Wall Street Journal and Senator Elizabeth Warren for misrepresenting its research by claiming that Hamas had raised $93 million in cryptocurrencies to fund its recent attack against Israel. The report led 105 members of US Congress to sign a letter to the US Treasury urging it to investigate the use of cryptocurrency to finance terrorism. Link. Link. WSJ Report. Elliptic Response.
- A new report shows the percentage of tokens from circulating supply that are being staked in a particular crypto network hit an all-time high of 52.4% in Q3 2023. Link.
- A judge awarded Yuga Labs over $1.5 million in damages and to-be-determined legal fees in its trademark infringement case against Ryder Ripps and his imitation Bored Ape Yacht Club project. Yuga Labs will also get control of all property, including smart contracts and domains. Link. Judgement (PDF).
- Crypto exchange Kraken is set to share data on tens of thousands of its users with the IRS, in compliance with a June court order. Link.
- Crypto adoption in Nigeria has surged 9% during the bear market, largely due to the country’s native currency Naira losing 65% of its value to the US dollar over the same period. Link.
- Polygon deployed the token contracts for its new POL token on Ethereum mainnet. POL will replace the network’s current MATIC token. Link.
- Bridging protocol LayerZero met with backlash when it announced support for a wrapped version of Lido’s staked Ethereum token in its cross-chain infrastructure, without prior approval from the Lido DAO. Link.
- Crypto exchange Gemini sued digital asset lender Genesis for $1.6 billion in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares. Gemini wants to use the shares to pay back clients of its Earn program. Link.
- Trading fees on decentralized derivatives platform dYdX will now be denominated in USDC or DYDX, the platform’s native token. Link.
- Coinbase filed its final response in its lawsuit with the SEC, arguing the suit should be thrown out because the regulator is attempting to expand its scope in a way not authorized by Congress. Link. Filing (PDF).
- FTX is reviewing offers from three bidders to restart the bankrupt crypto exchange. FTX creditor claims have risen to 50 cents on the dollar after reports that Anthropic, an AI startup the exchange invested in, is raising at a $30 billion valuation. Link. Link.
- Crypto lender Genesis Global filed for a plan to exit from chapter 11 without a resolution of its claims against its parent company, DCG, which it had extended $1.7 billion in loans prior to bankruptcy. Link.
- Blockchain security startup Blockaid raised a $33 million Series A round led by Ribbit Capital and Variant. Link.
- The former virtual currency head of the NY Department of Financial Services joined Fireblocks as its director of digital identity. Link.
- Pro-bitcoin candidate Javier Milei advanced to Argentina’s run off election for president. The election will take place on November 19. Link.
- Taiwan’s legislature introduced a crypto regulation bill that defines virtual assets and how exchanges should operate in the country. Link.
- According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Binance founder CZ’s net worth has fallen 82% from its peak and is now estimated to be $17.2 billion. Link. Link.
- Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Congressman French Hill (R-AK) urged the DOJ to continue its investigation into Binance and Tether to see if either organization helped facilitate funding to Hamas. A WSJ article reported that Hamas used Tether to move funds through its organization. Link.