TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
NY AG sues KuCoin for selling securities and commodities without registration
CointelegraphNew York state Attorney General Letitia James announced that she has filed suit against cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin. The complaint alleges that Seychelles-based KuCoin violated securities law when it “sold, offered to sell, purchased and offered to purchase cryptocurrencies that are commodities and securities” to New Yorkers, without being registered with the attorney general’s office. Beyond that, the suit alleges that ETH is a security despite the CFTC’s contrary view that it’s a commodity. “This action is one of the first times a regulator is claiming in court that ETH, one of the largest cryptocurrencies available, is a security,” her office said in a statement.
US Court Approves Binance.US’s $1.3B Bid For Voyager Client Assets
The DefiantU.S. bankruptcy judge Michael Wiles has approved Binance.US’s bid to purchase the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital for $1.3b. Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July after it was brought down by its exposure to failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. Binance.US won an auction for the lender’s assets with a $1.02b bid in November after FTX, the original winner, also ended up going bankrupt. Binance.US’s bid would enable 51% of customer funds to be repaid, offering Voyager’s users some form of respite. However, the deal is not a sure thing despite the approval. Voyager still has time to potentially walk away under certain conditions, the deal may face an investigation from CFIUS over national security risks, and lastly the DoJ is appealing the judge’s decision.
Silvergate will liquidate bank, wind down operations
The BlockPowell Warns Fed Could Get Aggressive With Rates Hikes Again
Crypto BriefingFederal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced in his congressional testimony this week that the central bank was likely to raise federal interest rates higher than previously thought, and at a faster pace than initially believed, due to signs of persistent inflation in the U.S. economy. Market expectations for future hikes shifted meaningfully in response, and Fed Funds futures briefly priced in an ~80% chance of a 50 bp hike at the March FOMC meeting, an increase from less than 30% the week prior. The 2y10y U.S. Treasury yield curve spread also inverted to its steepest level in four decades. Fed Funds futures probabilities have already shifted meaningfully again in the wake of yesterday’s meltdown in bank stocks led by Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB). Fed Funds futures currently price in an even chance of a 25 or 50 bp hike at the March FOMC meeting.
Kraken is on track to launch bank ‘very soon’ despite regulatory ‘weird place’
The BlockKraken is moving ahead with plans to launch its own bank despite a challenging regulatory environment and the recent shuttering of its on-chain staking services for U.S. clients to settle SEC charges that it violated securities laws. “Kraken Bank is very much on track to launch, very soon,” Kraken’s chief legal officer Marco Santori. Notably, these statements were made early in the week before Silvergate announced its liquidation and SIVB experienced a bank run yesterday, so it remains to be seen if recent developments impact Kraken’s plans in any way.
BITCOIN
Mt. Gox pushes deadline for BTC repayment registration to April
Celestia Introduces Bitcoin Rollups With New Framework
Feds consolidate 40k BTC, prompting fears of imminent sell-off
ETHEREUM
Stablecoins inflow to Ethereum L2s rise 5% to over $2B
Just 16% of Ethereum Stakers Are in Profit Ahead of Shanghai Upgrade
Flashbots Makes Privacy-Enhanced Block Builder Open Source on Ethereum Testnet Sepolia
ConsenSys, Developer of Ethereum Software, Says zkEVM Public Testnet to Go Live March 28
ALTCOINS
Lost and found: Aave begins first phase of token recovery rescue mission
Huobi’s HT Token Suddenly Falls 93%, Then Rebounds Just as Quickly
Gitcoin Launches gtcETH Index Token To Bolster Funding
Hedera blockchain undergoing technical irregularities, HBAR Foundation says
Audius Implements NFT-Gating for Exclusive Artist Access
Kwenta DEX Lures Traders to Capture Bitcoin, Ether Returns Regardless of Direction
Lido Finance Weighs Sunsetting Liquid Staking on Polkadot, Kusama
Shibarium set for public beta rollout – BONE token sees 23% spike
Mizar Launches MZR Token on Arbitrum and Unveils DeFi Roadmap
Cardano’s DeFi ADA tokens TVL touches new all-time high of 341M
Stargate Finance Token Down 8% on Coinbase Delisting
Ethereum Name Service Unveils Subdomain Feature
Sui Blockchain Developer Signs Deal With Alibaba Cloud
Stablecoin Issuer MakerDAO Proposes Additional $750M U.S. Treasury Purchase
FLEX Token Rises 21% After CoinFLEX Restructuring Plan Approved
DeFi Protocol Tender.fi’s TND Token Plunges and Then Rebounds After White Hat Hack
Algorand blasted over inaction on ongoing wallet drain hack
Rocket Pool To Launch 8 ETH Minipools
Voyager token rises 11% following firm counter of SEC claim that VGX is a security
Early Contributor of Banned Tornado.Cash Announces Launch of New and Improved Version of Mixing Service
Uniswap Labs Reveals New Crypto Wallet, Says Apple Won’t Green Light iOS Launch
‘Sorry for spreading a rumor,’ says podcaster on Lido’s FUD
Lido’s LDO Token Sinks 10% Following Rumors Crypto Staking Service Received SEC Notice
PancakeSwap V3 upgrade set to go live on BNB Chain in first week of April
Gitcoin, a Crowdfunding Platform for Open-Source Software Votes to Seed Staked ETH Index
STABLECOINS
BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes proposes Bitcoin-based stablecoin
Tether Responds to Allegations of Fake Documents, Says Reports Wholly Inaccurate and Misleading
Silvergate’s Struggles Will Likely Boost Stablecoins’ Role in Crypto Trading: Kaiko
Stablecoins have plentiful machine-payment use cases in absence of euro CBDC: Report
Here’s how Binance is mitigating its stablecoin needs after BUSD ban
Babel Finance Mulls Crypto-Backed Stablecoin to Repay $766M: Report
BUSD exchange balance drops below 9B as USDT dominance reaches 55%
CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM
New feature by H&R Block, CoinTracker automatically adds taxes for crypto trades
Silvergate troubles affecting crypto’s USD market depth
OpenSea, ConsenSys among prized crypto startups with shares available at big discounts
Nansen officially releases Query product for on-chain analytics
Latin American Travel Agency Despegar Begins Accepting Crypto Payments
Alameda Sues Grayscale and DCG to Allow Redemptions, Reduce Fees
Silvergate suspends its crypto payments network
ETHDenver Teases Spin-off Plans as Conference Winds Down
Crypto Bank Silvergate Forced to Return $9.85M Deposit to BlockFi in Ongoing Bankruptcy Dispute
Base integrates Chainlink for secure off-chain price feeds
NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE
People Are Minting ‘BRC-20’ Meme Tokens on Bitcoin via Ordinals
Starbucks Odyssey Releases ‘The Siren Collection,’ Its First Limited-Edition NFT Drop
CryptoPunk NFT bid funded with 527,000 once worthless testnet ether tokens
Yuga Labs’ Otherside Metaverse to Launch ‘Second Trip’ on March 25
Vitalik Buterin Has an NFT Collection? Quadratic Funding Drop Pulls In Millions
Amazon To Reportedly Launch NFT Marketplace Next Month
Immutable makes C-suite hires from Meta, Ava Labs
Generative Art NFTs Are Coming to Solana With Code Canvas
Binance NFT adds Polygon network support to its marketplace
Blur bid incentives appear to skew market, offers on NFTs above ‘buy now’ prices
Esports Giant TSM Enters Into Web3 Gaming Partnership With Avalanche
Blur captures 84% of ETH-based NFT transactions in first week of March
Blockasset Athlete NFTs Expand Beyond Solana to Chiliz Sports Platform
Animoca-backed Forkast Labs creates S&P 500 of NFTs
Dapper Removes ACH Withdrawal Option, Citing Circle
Yuga Twelvefold Bitcoin NFT Auction Raises $16.5 Million
Gordon Ramsay’s Sandbox avatar NFTs coming to the metaverse
Critic Says Yuga Labs Bitcoin NFTs Auction Sets ‘Really Bad Precedent’
Warner Bros backs Ethereum ecosystem as it migrates Blocklete Golf to ImmutableX
MINING
Marathon Digital terminates credit facilities with Silvergate Bank
Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block seeks input on mining kit
Canadian Crypto Miner Pow.re Lands 100 MW Contract in Paraguay
Canaan reveals tough fourth quarter with revenue down 60%
TeraWulf goes nuclear: 8,000 rigs spool up in Nautilus mining facility
Bitcoin Miners Prepare for Upcoming Difficulty Increase in the Face of Market Uncertainty
Russia Unveils Mutual Fund for Financing Crypto Mining Operations
EXCHANGES
Justin Sun Completes $100 Million USDC Transfer to Create Huobi Liquidity Fund
FTX Reaches $45M Deal to Sell Interest in Sequoia to Abu Dhabi’s Investment Arm
Crypto.com Faces Difficulty Maintaining Fiat On-Ramps in the Face of Crypto Banking Crisis
FTX Proposes $4M Bonus Program as It Seeks to Retain Staff
Gate.io launching Visa crypto debit card in Europe
Gemini’s banking relationship with JPMorgan ‘remains intact’
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s crypto trading proposal a ‘closed-loop system’
Binance Reaches Highest Market Share in History despite BUSD Issues
Bitstamp US partners with Prove Identity to offer document-free, rapid onboarding
3AC founders are back with OPNX exchange’s tokenized bankruptcy claims
Coinbase CEO hints its new layer-2 network could include AML measures
Bitget Integrates With TradingView for Crypto Derivatives Trading
Bybit introduces Mastercard-powered debit card days after halting USD transfers
Binance once sought to hire Gensler as an adviser: WSJ
CAPITAL RAISES
Former Jane Street, PIMCO traders raise $15M for ZK proof-of-solvency protocol
Crypto Payroll Firm Toku Raises $20 Million Amid Industry-Wide Shift Towards Compliance
Lionel Messi Backs Web3 Soccer Game Startup Matchday in $21M Round
Web3 app Kresus raises $25M to bridge consumers to blockchain
Bitcoin investment platform Relai reaches $20 million valuation in new funding round
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Pension Fund-Backed Parataxis Capital Shakes Off Crypto Winter With New Fund
Investment Firm Republic Purchases 10M Astra Protocol Tokens in New Deal
GBTC Discount Narrows to 42% Ahead of Grayscale’s ETF Hearing Tuesday
Coinbase Bolsters Institutional Platform with One River Acquisition
Investor Letter Shocker: Multicoin Capital’s Hedge Fund Reports 91.4% Loss in 2022 – Here’s What Happened
TRADFI / TECH
Is SVB to big to fail? Will it get rescued? Bill Ackman already calling for bail-outs
Sygnum Bank sees influx in client inquiries as Silvergate winds down
Brazilian Unicorn Nubank Hires Ex-Meta Crypto Chief David Marcus
Mastercard Teams Up With Bybit To Introduce New Crypto-Powered Debit Card
AXA Investment Managers Gains French Crypto Registration
WeChat integrates digital yuan into its payment platform
Crypto Banking Firm BCB Prepares U.S. Dollar Payments to Plug Silvergate Gap
CBDC
JD.com & Bank of China Join Mainland China-Hong Kong Digital Yuan Pilot
Nigerians’ Rejection of Their CBDC Is a Cautionary Tale for Other Countries
BIS develops cross-border retail CBDC payment system
Iran completes pre-pilot phase of central bank digital currency
REGULATORY / COUNTRIES
New legal opinion paper looks into the legality of staking services
U.S. Treasury Department Proposes 30% Excise Tax on Crypto Mining Firms
US Fed Standing Up New Squad of Crypto Specialists, Says Supervision Chief Barr
India’s Crypto Regulation Now Has Teeth, Experts Say
Biden wants to double capital gains and clamp down on crypto wash sales: Reports
Stablecoins and Ether are ‘going to be commodities,’ reaffirms CFTC chair
FCA officials tell UK parliamentary committee crypto regulation is unavoidable
FATF holds second Plenary in Paris, updates on worldwide crypto adoption
Senator Lummis questions government’s role in regulating energy use in crypto mining
SEC snubbed as Voyager wins court approval for sale to Binance.US
FCA Cracks Down on Unregulated Cryptocurrency ATM Providers in London
Silvergate reportedly talks with FDIC on ways to avoid shutdown
Federal Reserve’s Powell: We Don’t Want to Strangle Crypto Innovation, but Sector Is a Mess
US lawmakers planning to reintroduce bill aimed at fixing crypto reporting requirements: Report
US Judge Shuts Down SEC, Says Agency Will Not Be Allowed to Interfere With Crypto Bankruptcy Proceedings
Thailand Offers $1B Tax Break for Firms Issuing Investment Tokens: Reuters
China announces plans for new national financial regulator
DAO gets legal recognition in the US as Utah DAO Act passes
SEC Busts BKCoin for Running $100M ‘Ponzi-Like Scheme’
SEC accuses Utah firm of ‘fraudulent’ $18M crypto mining scheme
Justice Department Pushes for Independent Investigation of FTX Collapse
Singapore Police Probing Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs: Bloomberg
Pakistan banks agree on blockchain-based KYC system development
Internal documents reveal Australia’s potential timeline for crypto legislation: Report
SEC lawyer says Binance.US runs unregistered exchange, Voyager tokens should be regulated
U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Force Crypto Miners to Disclose Emissions
EU keeps focus on NFTs in latest anti-money laundering bill draft
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE
Vitalik Buterin’s philanthropic fund donates 15M USDC to UC San Diego
Crypto Could Help Flatten the Digital Gender Gap
Environmental Impact of Bitcoin Mining ‘Deserves the Spotlight’: US Senator Markey
SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC
Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Dumps Altcoins Worth 220ETH That Have ‘No Moral Value’
ZachXBT bids adieu to crypto community requests
Whitehat hackers focus on Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche: Immunefi
SBF’s lawyers signal need to push back October criminal trial
AirBit Club execs face decades in prison after pleading guilty to $100M fraud
89% still trust centralized custodians despite 2022’s collapses: Survey
Debate over 2FA using SMS after SIM-swapping victim sues Coinbase
Hacker returns stolen funds to Tender.fi, gets $97K bounty reward
FTX Bankruptcy Special Counsel, Advisers Bill $38M for January
Israeli duo found guilty of large NFT tax evasion scheme worth $2.2M
Crypto Scam in Egypt Defrauds Thousands of Investors of $620K: Report
DOJ seeks to narrow Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail terms, use only flip phones
This material is provided by GSR (the “Firm”) solely for informational purposes, is intended only for sophisticated, institutional investors and does not constitute an offer or commitment, a solicitation of an offer or commitment, or any advice or recommendation, to enter into or conclude any transaction (whether on the terms shown or otherwise), or to provide investment services in any state or country where such an offer or solicitation or provision would be illegal. The Firm is not and does not act as an advisor or fiduciary in providing this material.
This material is not a research report, and not subject to any of the independence and disclosure standards applicable to research reports prepared pursuant to FINRA or CFTC research rules. This material is not independent of the Firm’s proprietary interests, which may conflict with the interests of any counterparty of the Firm. The Firm trades instruments discussed in this material for its own account, may trade contrary to the views expressed in this material, and may have positions in other related instruments.
Information contained herein is based on sources considered to be reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. Any opinions or estimates expressed herein reflect a judgment made by the author(s) as of the date of publication, and are subject to change without notice. Trading and investing in digital assets involves significant risks including price volatility and illiquidity and may not be suitable for all investors. The Firm is not liable whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this material. Copyright of this material belongs to GSR. Neither this material nor any copy thereof may be taken, reproduced or redistributed, directly or indirectly, without prior written permission of GSR.