Monday June 3, 2024
Return of the MEME stock.
◾ President Biden stated he would veto bipartisan efforts to repeal SEC Accounting Bulletin 121, which mandates that banks list customers' crypto assets as liabilities on their own balance sheets. (WhiteHouse.gov)
◾ The price of GameStop ($GME) is up much as 100% over night on news that Redditer DeepF— Value bought 5 million shares at $21.27 and 120,000 call options worth $65.7 million. (Bloomberg)
◾ 21 Shares dropped ARK Invest as its partner for a co-branded spot ether ETF. (SECfiling)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ Hong Kong's securities regulator announced that 11 cryptocurrency exchanges are working towards obtaining a virtual asset license and are therefore "deemed to be licensed." (Bloomberg)
◾ Authorities in Paraguay seized a container operating 2,738 illegal crypto mining rigs. (Cointelegraph)
◾ Australia will launch the first spot bitcoin ETF to hold bitcoin directly on Tuesday. (CoinDesk)
Financial Notices & Public Company Releases
◾ Franklin Templeton ($BEN) issued the first announced management fee for the spot ether ETF ($EZET) at 19 bps. (SECfiling)
◾ Tether acquired 18.5 million shares of Bitdeer Technologies ($BTDR) for $100 million through a private placement with an option to purchase up to 5 million additional shares. (Bitdeer)
◾ The9 ($NCTY) signed a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire 19% of AI edtech company WeiXiang. (SECfiling)
◾ ClearSpark ($CLSK) revised the payment terms to acquire the MineOne Wyoming Data Center. (SECfiling)
◾ Applied Digital ($APLD) filed to issue up to 20 million shares of common stock. (AppliedDigital)
◾ S&P Global Ratings ($SPGI) revised its rating outlook on Coinbase Global ($COIN) to stable from negative and affirmed the 'BB-' rating on its credit and senior unsecured debt. (SPGlobal)
Restructuring, Losses & Legal News
◾ FTX sold its remaining shares in AI startup Anthropic for $450 million. (TheBlock)
◾ Two Estonians are being extradited to the US to face charges on running a $575 million crypto Ponzi scheme. (Justice.gov)
◾ Binance founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhau reported to prison at the low security federal correctional institution in Lompoc, CA. (Bop.gov)
AI Announcements
◾ Nvidia ($NVDA) introduced its 2026 line of AI chips, which will be called "Rubin." (Bloomberg)
◾ Microsoft Corp ($MSFT)is planning to invest $3.2 billion in Sweden to develop AI and cloud infrastructure. (Bloomberg)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ Japanese exchange DMM Bitcoin reported that over $300 million was stolen due to an "unauthorized leak." (DMMBitcoin)
◾ Coinbase ($COIN) announced a $25 million donation to the Fairshake pro-crypto Super PAC. (FoxBusiness)
◾ Crypto exchange Bybit is making leadership changes. (Telegram)
◾ Crypto investor Brock Pierce teased that he is looking to introduce a new project in Hong Kong. (SCMP)
Metaverse & Gaming Briefings & Activations
◾ Magic Leap is partnering with Google ($GOOGL) to collaborate on AR solutions. (MagicLeap)
Exchange, Custody & Product Updates
◾ OKE is launching a crypto exchange and web3 wallet in the Netherlands. (X)