Weekly Crypto News Recap - Jan 6, 2023

January 6, 2023


TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK

Crypto lender Genesis lays off 30% more staff: Report

Cointelegraph

Wyre, EmpireDAO among latest casualties of crypto winter

The Block

US Federal Reserve, FDIC warn banks against crypto risks

CryptoSlate
The US Federal Reserve, FDIC, and OCC warned banks about the risks involved with crypto in a joint statement on January 3. The authorities noted that the risk of fraud and scams among crypto firms could potentially affect banks dealing with such companies. The statement said that banks should also beware of risks arising from legal uncertainty around crypto custody services, redemptions, and ownership rights. In addition, regulators cited the significant volatility of crypto markets, which can impact the deposit flows of crypto firms.

Silvergate in Trouble: Crypto Bank Cuts Staff by 40% Amid a 68% Decline in Crypto Deposits

Cryptonews
Crypto bank Silvergate Capital saw its deposits from digital asset customers fall from $11.9b at 3Q22 to $3.8b at 4Q22. As a result, Silvergate sold $5.2b of securities at a $718m loss to meet the withdrawal requests. Additionally, Silvergate wrote off the $196m it spent buying the technology behind Facebook's Diem. Lastly, Silvergate cut 40% of its staff to right-size the business for the current environment.

Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Charges

The Defiant
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried pled not guilty to all charges related to the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. His trial date was set for October 2, 2023.

BITCOIN

Mt.Gox repayment registration deadline moved to March 2023
Bitcoin mining difficulty falls 3.6% following winter freeze
Crypto ATM Count Increases by More Than 4,000 in 2022 Amid Ongoing Digital Asset Bear Market
Bitcoin Core Dev Loses At Least $3.6 Million in BTC to Hack
VanEck forecasts BTC price to hit $10K to 12K in Q1 – $30K by Q3
Lightning Network gets physical form in Australia with Bitcoin ATM

ETHEREUM

December 2022 – Ethereum Gas Price Decreased by 19.16%
Ethereum transactions 338% higher in 2022 but Bitcoin remains most popular
Ethereum's Upcoming Shanghai Upgrade Powers Lido DAO, SWISE, RPL Tokens Higher

ALTCOINS

Immunefi researcher saves $200 million from potential theft on three Polkadot parachains
Developers Burn 5 Trillion BONK as Solana-Based Meme Coin Slides
Fan tokens rise by 7% following UPbit listing
Fantom developers to receive up to 15% as revenue from gas monetization
Evmos adds auto-conversion for swaps between Ethereum and Cosmos tokens
Trader Joe’s DEX and NFT marketplace to expand to BNB Chain
Blockchain Project TON Enters Crypto Storage Market
MEXC launches $20M ecosystem fund to support Sei Network
Solana's SOL Token Surges 20% as Dog Coin Bonk Fires Up Community Interest
DeFi Tool Convex to Make Changes to Staking Service for Curve Token Rewards
DeFi auditor nets $40,000 for identifying Uniswap vulnerability
SushiSwap CEO proposes new tokenomics for liquidity, decentralization
Dogecoin Foundation announces new fund for core developers
Crypto exchange adoption boosts ENS registrations to over 2.2M
Dogecoin-rival Bonk records 380% gains since turn of year
DeFi Protocol Sushi to Shutter Lending Product to Focus on DEX

CRYPTO ECOSYSTEM

MetaMask removes Wyre from aggregators amid shutdown reports
Crypto Layoffs: Here's the Grim Count Since April
Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research Joins Chorus Objecting to Binance Voyager Buy
Vauld rejects Nexo’s ‘final’ acquisition proposal, questions company’s solvency
Chinese Researchers Claim They Cracked Encryption with Quantum Computers
Marex Issues Coinbase-Linked Structured Product Offering a 40% Coupon
StarkNet overhauls Cairo programming language to drive developer adoption
Crypto Infrastructure Firm Securrency Hires State Street's Nadine Chakar as CEO
Ethereum Builder ConsenSys and AMD SPAC Plows on Despite 95% of Shares Being Redeemed
Cake DeFi publishes Merkle tree-based proof of reserves
Genesis pleads for more time to sort ‘complex’ financial situation
DeFiLlama’s new DEX aggregator passes Metamask and Coinbase volume over past 24 hours
Judge Rules Celsius Earn Account Funds Belong to Estate, Not Users
Crypto Bank Juno Tells Customers to Self-Custody or Sell Amid Custodian Wyre's Turmoil
Blockchain fintech GammaRey signs $320M merger agreement
Web3 Co-Working Hub EmpireDAO Closes Amid Bear Market Woes
Cryptosat launches second satellite with 30 times faster computation
Celsius files motion to extend the Bar Date
Three Arrows Capital Co-Founder Su Zhu Says Digital Currency Group and FTX Conspired To Attack Terra (LUNA)
3AC co-founder claims DCG and FTX colluded to attack Terra LUNA, stETH
Zodia Custody Appoints Crypto Exchange Bitstamp’s Julian Sawyer as CEO
Gemini Earn Users Pursue Class-Action Arbitration Over Genesis-DCG 'Sham Transaction'

NFTS / GAMING / METAVERSE

HTC's New Mixed Reality Headset Is 'Gateway' to Metaverse: CES 2023
CME Group, CF Benchmarks to Launch Metaverse Indices
Illuvium kicks off 2023 with release of third blockchain game
NFT protocol Collection creates DEX for instant NFT trading: Exclusive
Magic Eden Issue Leads to Fake NFT Listings, Will Refund Affected Users
Fanatics Selling Its 60% Stake in Sports NFT Firm Candy Digital: Report
Magic Eden blames third-party cacher for ‘unsavory’ NFT images
NFT Research Tool NFT Inspect Is Shutting Down
Animoca Brands allowed deadline extension for filing results
OpenSea’s dominance shrank 23% in 2022
Major Game Publisher Square Enix Continues to Invest in Blockchain Games Despite Bear Market

MINING

Bitcoin Miner Marathon Digital Pays Off Silvergate Revolving Credit
Iranian Courts Order Return of Thousands of Seized Crypto Mining Machines: Reports
Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific Reaches Agreement To Shut Off Celsius Mining Rigs
Bitcoin Mining Firm Riot Ditches 'Blockchain' From Name in Rebrand
BlackRock Gives Bankrupt Bitcoin Miner Core Scientific New $17M Loan
Bitcoin Firm Compass Mining Wins $1.5M in Suit Against Dynamics Mining
Bitcoin miner revenue down 37.5% in 2022 YoY
Heatbit Is the First Space Heater That Mines Bitcoin, Founder Says

EXCHANGES

Gopax investors could face $471M loss if Binance acquisition fails
FTX customers want more info on FTX’s plans to sell subsidiaries
Alameda objects to debtors’ Plan in bankruptcy case
Huobi confirms 20% layoffs, denies insolvency rumors
Crypto Exchange Huobi Experiences Heavy Token Outflows: Nansen
Sam Bankman-Fried wants to retain ownership of Robinhood shares worth $450M
Crypto exchange Gemini is over three months late in filing its UK accounts
FTX engineering director Nishad Singh is being probed by U.S. authorities
Huobi's HT Token Turbulent as Exchange Confirms 20% Headcount Reduction
Ex-FTX Lawyer Cooperated With US Prosecutors, Reuters Reports, Citing Source Familiar
Pionex removes Huobi’s market-making funds
TradFi Fights for Tougher Crypto Rulebook in Wake of FTX Collapse
Binance Controlled 92% of Bitcoin Spot Trading Volume at End of 2022: Arcane Research
Coinbase Reaches $100M Settlement with NY Regulator for AML Failure
Regulators Seize Millions in Robinhood Shares from FTX
SEC files objection to Binance.US’s plans to acquire Voyager Digital
Crypto Exchange Upbit Strikes Deal with Italian Football Club Napoli
SBF asks judge to keep the identifies of his bail sureties confidential
SDNY Launches FTX Task Force To Investigate and Recover Victim Funds
Ukrainian pharmacies enable crypto payments via Binance Pay
FTX’s International Customers Lawyer Up, Ask Judge to Rule That Customer Assets Aren't Property of FTX Estate
Pi Network warns against Huobi’s unauthorized Pi token listing
Bithumb’s largest shareholder executive found dead following allegations of embezzlement
Crypto exchanges finish 2022 with the lowest volumes in two years
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research troubles predate FTX: Report
Sam Bankman-Fried Will Plead Not Guilty to Fraud Charges, Faces 115 Years if Convicted: Report
Gemini Co-Founder Accuses DCG’s Silbert of 'Bad Faith' Stalling in $900M Locked Funds Dispute
Coinbase Customers That Filed Lawsuit for Stolen Crypto Stalling Investigation: Report
Justin Sun denies that Huobi is planning layoffs
Binance Reportedly Close to Sealing Deal for South Korean Exchange Gopax
Bahamas Regulator Hits Back at ‘Cavalier’ New FTX Bosses
Bernstein Says Crypto Exchange Binance Not Likely to Fail
Former Bithumb Chairman Acquitted in $100M Fraud Case

CAPITAL RAISES

Aptos-based multisig wallet Msafe raises $5 million led by Jump Crypto
Web3 startups raised $7.1B in funding during 2022 – Gaming accounted for 62%

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

SEC probes FTX investors on due diligence procedures: Reuters
DCG Confirms Shutdown of Wealth Management Subsidiary HQ
Animoca Brands lowers Q1 fundraising target to $1B
Institutional Crypto Investments Dropped 95% to $433 Million in 2022
Crypto VC funding down by 82.5% YOY, lowest in 2 years
Grayscale Ethereum Trust Discount Reaches Record 60%, GBTC at 45%

TRADFI / TECH

JPMorgan Downgrades Silvergate Capital After 4Q Results, Shares Slump
Coinbase shares drop 10% as Cowen downgrades stock and slashes price target
CME Crypto Trading Volume Slumped to 2-Year Low in December
Shopify Merchants Can Now Design, Mint and Sell Avalanche NFTs
LG Electronics’ latest partnership seeks to bring interoperable metaverse platforms to TVs
Silvergate Capital hit with class action lawsuit for Securities Law violations
Crypto technology will shift toward ‘steadier hands’ in 2023: Circle CSO
Bernstein: Returns From Buying Crypto During Downturns Have Been Spectacular

CBDC

ECB official urges CBDC development for the good of cryptocurrency and consumers
Bank of England answers professionals’ questions about upcoming CBDC wallet
Hong Kong lawmaker wants to turn CBDC into stablecoin featuring DeFi

REGULATORY / COUNTRIES

Singapore’s lobbyists oppose proposed blanket ban on lending crypto tokens
European Central Bank Exec Wants Unbacked Crypto Treated as Gambling
Senator who spearheaded SBF-backed crypto bill to retire
Alex Mashinsky sued by NY AG for allegedly hiding Celsius’ ‘dire financial condition’
French central bank governor pushes for crypto licensing ahead of EU laws
Israeli securities regulator moves to establish crypto legal framework
Indonesia plans to launch its own crypto exchange: Bloomberg
India's Crypto Space Has Been "Crippled" Under Crypto Tax Laws: Report
UK looks for a crypto crime fighter willing to accept a $50K salary
CFIUS Plans to Review Any Deals Made By Bankrupt Crypto Lender Voyager
Hong Kong brokers line up for SFC approval ahead of new virtual asset trading legislation
UK Offers Crypto Tax Break to Non-Residents
Turkey to use blockchain-based digital identity for online public services
Italy approves 26% capital gains tax on cryptocurrencies
Morocco finalized crypto regulatory framework: Central Bank

SURVEYS, HACKS, MISC

DeFi security losses rose 47.4% in 2022 to hit $3.64B: Report
DOJ Files Charges Against Alleged Mutant Ape Planet NFT Rug Pull
U.S. Judge Issues Detention Order for Mango Markets Attacker
GMX Whale address loses $3.4M in hack, GMX falls 3%
'See You in Court': Logan Paul Threatens to Sue YouTuber Coffeezilla Over CryptoZoo Scam Claims
CoinDeal Scammers Nailed By SEC in $45 Million Fraud Case
DeFi user loses $3.4 million of GMX tokens in phishing attack
Logan Paul threatens to sue Coffeezilla over CryptoZoo scam accusations
RTFKT COO loses NFTs worth $170K to phishing attack
Defrost Finance Denies Rug Pull Allegations Amid $12M Exploit
Public filings reveal a $3B crypto trader who still lives with his mom






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