TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK
Kraken Agreed to Shutter US Crypto-Staking Operations to Settle SEC Charges: Source
CoinDesk
Kraken has agreed to pay $30m in penalties and shut its cryptocurrency-staking operations servicing U.S. customers to settle charges with the SEC. The settlement marks the SEC’s first crackdown on staking, a common service offered at centralized crypto exchanges, including most of the major exchanges in the United States such as Coinbase and Binance US. In a statement, Kraken said its agreement to end its on-chain staking services would affect only U.S. clients, and that most assets enrolled in its program by U.S. users would be automatically “unstaked” starting on Thursday.
Banks under pressure from U.S. authorities to cut ties with crypto firms
Cointelegraph
United States authorities appear to be resurrecting past techniques to crack down on crypto firms and banks offering services to the industry, several sources told Cointelegraph. The alleged strategy consists of isolating the traditional financial system from the crypto market by spanning “multiple agencies to discourage banks from dealing with crypto firms,” aiming to lead crypto businesses to become “completely unbanked,” according to Nic Carter — co-founder of venture firm Castle Island. According to Carter: “Regulators threaten and bully bank leadership behind the scenes, then publish public ‘guidance’ stressing that banks are still free to custody crypto or service crypto clients. In reality, they’re not free to do this, by any means.” One recent example was a joint statement released on Jan. 3 by the Fed, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency warning about the risks of banks engaging in crypto and encouraging them to refrain from doing so due to “safety and soundness” concerns.
MakerDAO Contributors Propose First Native Liquidity Market Focused on DAI Stablecoin
CoinDeskLeading MakerDAO community participants have proposed creating a liquidity market called Spark Protocol for lending and borrowing crypto assets focused on DAI, Maker’s $5 billion stablecoin. The first product will be Spark Lend, which will allow users to borrow DAI at a set DAI Savings Rate, which currently stands at 1%. According to the proposal, Spark Lend will support highly liquid decentralized assets as collateral such as ETH, DAI and wrapped derivatives of staked ETH (wstETH) and BTC (wBTC). Spark would use the smart contract system of Aave v3, the recently upgraded third version of the DeFi lending giant. In exchange, the developer team Phoenix Labs intends to send 10% of the protocol’s profits earned on the Spark Protocol’s DAI market in the next two years to Aave DAO.
Binance to Suspend USD Bank Transfers from Wednesday
CryptoCurrency – Finance Magnates
Crypto exchange giant Binance is temporarily suspending US dollar deposits and withdrawals using bank transfers on its global platform. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) hinted that some banks are withdrawing support from the cryptocurrency industry due to last year’s challenges. CZ further noted that USD bank transfers are leveraged by only 0.01% of its monthly active users, but he acknowledged the poor user experience of this suspension and aims to remediate it quickly. The service limitations notably will not affect the customers of Binance US.
Genesis creditors to expect 80% recovery under proposed restructuring plan
Cointelegraph
Genesis Global has announced it has reached an “agreement in principle” with Digital Currency Group (DCG), which will eventually see its crypto lending and trading arm sold as part of restructuring efforts. A Genesis creditor revealed the new proposed restructuring plan between Genesis, Digital Currency Group, Gemini, and other creditors will see creditors getting back at least 80% of their funds. Genesis’s bankruptcy was recently covered in our January Monthly Commentary.
BITCOIN
Satoshi-Era Bitcoin Address Moves $9.6 Million in BTC After 11 Years
Former Bitcoin Dev Gavin Andresen Regrets Previous Support for Craig Wright, Calls it a ‘Mistake’ – Here’s Why
Average BTC block size reaches new ATH at over 2 MB
How Bitcoin NFTs Might Accidentally Fix Bitcoin’s Security Budget
Lightning Network reaches all-time high in bitcoin capacity
ETHEREUM
More than 100,000 ETH has gone through MEV-Boost since The Merge
Discounts, premiums narrow for Ethereum liquid staking derivatives ahead of Shanghai
Ethereum Testnet Processes First ETH Staking Withdrawals
Lido’s staked Ethereum crosses 5M, Frax Ethereum on the rise
ALTCOINS
OP Token Falls After Surprise Optimism Airdrop
Celsius‘ motion to extend timeline for restructuring plan faces objection from creditors
Chiliz launches layer-1 blockchain to expand fan token ecosystem
DeFi Giant MakerDAO to Introduce Aave Rival Dubbed Spark Protocol
Value locked in Rocketpool doubles in two months, rises to $1 billion
Flux Finance Launches Lending Token Collateralized by U.S. Treasurys
Brave Adds Support For Solana on iOS and Android
ConsenSys adds 7.03M votes to Uniswap BNB Chain migration proposal amid VC battle
TRON DAO Establishes Artificial Intelligence Development Fund
Aptos Plans Network Upgrade, ‘More Clarity’ Around Token Distribution
The Graph’s Token Doubles in 24 Hours
Cryptex Finance’s New Index Token to Track Top 10 NFT Collections
Aave integrates Chainlink’s proof of reserves on Avalanche via BGD Labs
Lido presents plan for Version 2, adding staking withdrawals and more
ENS DAO votes to sell $16.5 million of ETH for USDC via CoW Swap
Aave Opens Door for Lido Rewards Across Three Networks
Decentralized Lending Protocol Clearpool to Start Institutional Borrowing Platform
Aave CEO: New Security Upgrades ‘Silo the Risk Away’
DeFi Lender Alchemix Approves ALCX Token Buyback Plan
Community votes to deploy Uniswap v3 on Boba Network
Trader Joe’s native token ‘joe’ goes omni-chain with LayerZero partnership
Chainlink oracle, data feeds coming to StarkNet ecosystem
BitMEX CEO owns largest GMX holdings – over 200K tokens
A16z 15M bloc vote against Uniswap BNB Chain deployment raises decentralization concerns
Decentralized Lending Protocol Centrifuge Accrues $6M Unpaid Debt
Options Automated Market Maker Lyra Deploys to Arbitrum Network
MakerDAO revenue fell 42% in 2022 amid shrinking crypto lending market
STABLECOINS
Tether’s assets exceed liabilities in new reserves report by BDO
FTM Soars 35% on the Week as Fantom Preps Stablecoin Relaunch
CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM
Getting rid of crypto staking would be a ‘terrible path’ for the US — Coinbase CEO
Crypto ATM Provider Coin Cloud Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
MetaMask adds Onramp.money to streamline crypto purchases in India
CoinGecko and 21Shares propose global crypto classification standard
NYU to launch Web3 learning workshop in partnership with Near Protocol
Chorus One brings MEV protocol to Solana
‘Multichain future is very clear’ — MetaMask to support all tokens via Snaps
Barry Silbert’s DCG Sells Grayscale Assets to Raise Funds
Damus to lure in Crypto Twitter with Bitcoin revenue payout option
Crypto Bank Juno Resumes Services After Pause
Gemini, Genesis Reach $100 Million Agreement Over Earn Program
‘Decentralized Infura’ may help prevent Ethereum app crashes: Interview
DeFi Giants Join Forces on Twitter to Promote Decentralization
Several Buyers Indicate Interest In Hodlnaut: Report
Genesis unsecured creditors’ committee appointed
Filecoin’s Protocol Labs lays off one-fifth of staff
Zodia Custody Teams Up With SBI Digital Asset Holdings to Form Crypto Custodian in Japan
NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE
NFT Market Shows Signs Recovery After Rough Year: Report
Popular Rihanna Song Offered as NFT With Royalty Sharing Ahead of Super Bowl
OnChain Monkey NFTs Double in Price After Creators Put Them on Bitcoin
Ordinal Punks emerge as leading Bitcoin NFT collection
Was the MetaBirkin Verdict Bad for NFTs, or Just for Knockoffs?
Bitcoin NFTs Explode in Popularity as BitMEX Research Shows 13,000 Ordinals
BAYC freezes Dookey Dash leaderboard with nearly $73 million in trading volume
Gamers Are Paying Thousands for High Scores in Yuga Labs’ Dookey Dash
OpenSea Accused of Theft, Negligence and Extortion by User Suing NFT Marketplace for $500,000
ChatGPT.ens domain name sells for over $10k
From $8 Mint to $4K Flip: Open Edition NFTs Are Reenergizing the Market
Saudi Arabia, The Sandbox agree to collaborate on metaverse projects
NFT Market Share Battle Ramps Up Between OpenSea and Blur
MMA bruiser Jon Jones gets cuddly with cute panda NFTs
Giannis Antetokounmpo NFT Sells for Record-Breaking $187K on Sorare NBA
Yuga Labs Settles With Ryder Ripps Collaborator in Trademark Suit
W3E announces a new series of Web3 Esport tournaments
Bill Murray Walks Into a Members-Only NFT Party: I Thought It Was the ‘National Federation of Tennis’
NFTfi Processes Record Number Of Loans In January
Web3 Community NounsDAO Is Creating an NFT Comic Book Series
MINING
Mississippi Senate passes bill to protect cryptocurrency miners from discrimination
Abkhazia Police Seize 396 Crypto Mining Rigs in 48 Hours as Electricity Woes Continue
Bankrupt Crypto Lender BlockFi Takes Two-Thirds Loss to Settle Bitcoin Miner Bitfarms’ Debt
Russian government subsidizes crypto mining facility in Siberia
Argo Blockchain CEO, Interim Chairman Peter Wall steps down
Bitcoin Miner Digihost Completes Controversial Power Plant Acquisition, Doubling Energy Capacity
Kazakhstan’s President Signs Legislation to Limit Energy Usage of Crypto Mining
Cloud Mining Firm BitFuFu to Delay SPAC IPO as Appetite for Crypto Stocks Languishes
Decentralized Identity Network Space ID Raises $10M
Bitcoin Miner Stronghold Digital Restructures Remaining $55M of Debt
Shares of Bitcoin Miner Hut 8 Slump on Merger With US Bitcoin Corp.
Riot reports 17K miners offline due to Texas weather
EXCHANGES
Voyager Users Will Need Binance US Accounts to Get Their Money Back
Su Zhu unveils new OPNX exchange for trading trapped crypto funds
Binance Seeks Lobbyist as EU Finalizes Crypto Rules
Binance Is Organizing a Consortium to Try to Rebuild Trust in Crypto: Source
Crypto Exchange Bitstamp Registers in France
FTX Lawyers Sullivan & Cromwell Bill $7.5M for First 19 Day’s Bankruptcy Work
Kraken’s team is flush with IPO talent, even if it’s not quite the right time
FTX Being Advised by Cybersecurity Firm Sygnia on Hack Inquiry, CEO Ray Says
New FTX CEO Charged Crypto Exchange $690K Last Year: Hearing
Crypto Exchanges Made up 84% of Job Cuts Last Month: CoinGecko
Crypto Exchange Binance Introduces Tool for Calculating Taxes on Transactions
FTX Japan Bidding Deadline Extended
Single whale withdraws over $120M in Bitcoin from crypto exchange Gate.io
FTX Asks Politicians Who Received Bankman-Fried Donations to Return Money
Justin Sun backs FTX Debt token ‘FUD’ in possible securities law breach
TZero to Sunset tZero Crypto App Amid Regulatory Challenges
CAPITAL RAISES
FanDuel Co-Founders Raise $4M for Digital Music Collectible Startup Vault
VRRB Labs raises pre-seed round at $20 million valuation as it builds its own Layer 1
Crypto Lender SALT Raises $64.4M to Resume Operations
Ethereum restaking protocol EigenLayer is raising $50 million
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Paradigm shift as crypto VC firm names general partners for first time
Venture crypto investing down 75%, but ‘native-VCs’ continue staying course
Grayscale continues to challenge SEC for spot Bitcoin ETF conversion
Coinshares reports fourth consecutive week of inflows
Crypto VC Firm Pantera Loses Co-CIO Joey Krug
TRADFI / TECH
Microsoft Disbands Industrial Metaverse Project: Report
90% of BNY Mellon’s Institutional Clients are Interested in Digital Assets: Report
German DekaBank plans to launch tokenization platform by 2024
Payments provider Affirm to sunset crypto program after 19% staff cut
Microsoft, Google chatbot frenzy prompts rally in AI, big data tokens
Dell Joins Hedera Governing Council to Explore Developing Decentralized Applications
Signature Bank Sued for ‘Substantially Facilitating’ FTX Comingling
Digital bank Revolut launches crypto staking for UK and EEA customers: Report
Visa’s crypto strategy targets stablecoin settlements
Elon Musk Says Twitter Will Share Ad Revenue With Creators
CBDC
BIS to launch stablecoin monitoring project and up focus on CBDC experiments
Unpacking India’s CBDC Pilots as Country Prepares for Digital Rupee
Laotian CBDC proof-of-concept project to launch using system pioneered in Cambodia
UK government and central bank tease CBDC consultation
Chinese cities gives away $26.6M in Digital Yuan to drive adoption
Kazakhstan’s digital currency in pilot stage, per Binance, national bank joint report
REGULATORY / COUNTRIES
China to launch national blockchain research center
Stablecoin Issuer Paxos Faces NYDFS Probe
IRS Seeks Court Approval to Identify Kraken Crypto Customers
US authorities allegedly using banks to crack down on crypto – Nic Carter
Paxos attempts to quash speculation of trouble with the OCC
Proposed Israeli law to classify crypto as securities will hurt the industry, says crypto exec
Dubai Prohibits Privacy Coins Like Monero Under New Crypto Rules
Argentina’s National Securities Commission to Set Requirements and Rules for Crypto Companies
South Korean officials traveled to Serbia to find Do Kwon
Voyager subpoenas FTX and Alameda execs as judge orders fee examiner
SEC Directs Examiners to Focus on How US Broker-Dealers Are Pitching Crypto
US prosecutors seek postponement of fraud charges by CFTC, SEC against SBF
Former Coinbase product manager pleads guilty in insider trading case
ConsenSys releases statement of support for continuation of the Jarrett tax case
SBF lawyers reach agreement on messaging apps usage
Dubai Mandates Licensing for Crypto Companies as It Sets Out Regulatory Requirements
Did dYdX violate the law by changing its tokenomics?
Bank of Italy selectively encouraging DLT, preparing for MiCA, governor says
Hong Kong Regulator Wants to Beef Up Its Staff Covering Virtual Assets
Italy Setting Up Crypto Environment That Meets EU’s New Laws, Central Bank Governor Says
Brazil to Grant Prosecutors, Police New Crypto Confiscation Powers
South Korea broadens rules defining which tokens are securities
Jack Dorsey-Backed Decentralized Twitter Alternative Damus Banned in China
US CFTC Chief Promises More ‘Precedent-Setting’ Crypto Enforcement Cases
US Senate Banking Committee to Hold ‘Crypto Crash’ Hearing This Month
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE
Binance to support users in Turkey’s earthquake region with $100 airdrops in BNB tokens
Global Crypto Industry Pledges Aid to Turkey Following Deadly Earthquakes
SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC
Darknet Revenues Fell After Hydra’s Shutdown: Chainalysis
Robinhood board gives nod to buy Sam Bankman-Fried’s $578M stake
Craig Wright loses U.K. case as judge rules Bitcoin file format can’t be copyrighted
FTX debtors can issue subpoenas to company ‘insiders,’ court says
3AC Liquidators Ask Judge to Intervene, Say Co-Founder Is ‘Withholding Information’
Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Judge’s Decision to Reveal Names of His $250M Bond Backers
‘Solver’ Hacks CoW Swap
Uniswap founder denies swindling Balance.io co-founder
Judge Rejects Request to Ease Restrictions on Sam Bankman-Fried’s Communications
Luxury Rehab Centers Introduce Treatment for Crypto Addiction – Here’s Why
Dingo crypto token flagged as scam over 99% transaction fee backdoor
FTX-linked townhouse in Washington DC unlisted: Report
YouTuber baits MMA fighter into secretly shilling fake NFTs for $1K
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Emergent Fidelity Technologies Files for Bankruptcy
Elon Musk cleared in trial over Tesla tweets
FTX-backed NFT company airing $6.5 million Super Bowl commercial
Craig Wright’s UK Case Against 16 Bitcoin Developers to Go to Full Trial
Balance CEO alleges betrayal at hands of Uniswap founder
U.S. Trustee Opposes FTX Subpoenas Aimed at Sam-Bankman Fried’s Inner Circle
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