Monday August 22, 2022
◾ South Korea is planning to impose a gift tax, on a case-by-case basis of up to 50%, on digital currency airdrops. (Beincrypto)
◾ The FDIC has issued cease and desist letters to five companies, including FTX.US, instructing the companies and its employees to refrain from making false and misleading statements that certain crypto–related products and/or that stocks held in brokerage accounts are FDIC–insured. (FDIC)
◾ The IMF says that crpto-equity correlations have increased across Asia and therefore requires greater need for regulation. (IMF)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ Australian plans to make “token mapping” a priority to provide clarity as to which digital assets are being used in the country and how they should be regulated. (Bloomberg)
◾ CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson called for her agency to “maintain high standards of enforcement and educational outreach to protect retail participants in the cryptocurrency market.” (CFTC)
◾ Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) believes crypto mining “is a net plays for the environment… [by] taking stranded natural gas and putting it to productive use” and having entrepreneurs develop new products and drive “prosperity.” (Finbold)
Public Company Releases
◾ Fully integrated Hong Kong-based crypto miner BIT Mining (BTCM) reported revenue of $195 million and an operating loss of $23 million in the second quarter. (BITMining)
◾ CleanSpark (CLSK) closed on the acquisition of a 86MW mining facility in Washington, Georgia. (CleanSpark)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ Celsius’ CFO says the firm expects to now have enough capital to maintain operations through the end of 2022. (CoinDesk)
◾ Brazilian crypto exchange Bluebenx said it was not actually hacked as it had reported last week, but instead was a victim of a listing scam in which the exchange had 25 million native Benx tokens stolen. (News.bitcoin)
◾ Singaporean exchange Hodlnaut reported a $193 million deficit. (TheBlock)
◾ Voyager Digital’s creditors have raised objections against a $1.9 million employee retention plan for 38 employees deemed vital to continue operations at the bankrupt crypto platform. (Courtlistener)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ CNBC is reporting that FTX’s revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2021 with net income coming in at $388 million compared to $89 million in revenue and $17 million of income in 2020. (CNBC)
◾ Huobi issued an explanation that the de-pegging of its HUSD stablecoin last week was caused by the closing of certain market maker accounts due to legal requirements and the resulting short-term impact on liquidity. (Twitter)
◾ Authorities have issued warnings about ‘pig butchering’ scams across social media in which con artists entice victims with promises of love and wealth before cutting them off and stealing all of their money. (Coincu)
◾ Hackers are stealing bitcoin from ATMs using a zero-day vulnerability in the company's Crypto Application Server (CAS). (Bleepingcomputer)
◾ FTX is reportedly freezing accounts that have sent tokens to the Aztec Connect zk.money mixing service calling it a ‘high-risk activity.’ (Twitter)
Market Data
◾ BDO’s audit report shows Tether (USDT) had assets ($66.4 billion) in excess of liabilities ($66.2 billion) and has continued to fulfill its promise to reduce commercial paper reserves. (BDO)