Tuesday February 7, 2023
◾ Genesis and DCG reached a framework for a reorganization with its creditors. (Businesswire)
◾ The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority warned that unauthorized advertising promotions by crypto-asset firms could constitute a criminal offense punishable by up to 2-years in jail. (Fca.org)
◾ Binance is suspending US deposits and withdrawals – this does not impact Binance.US. (CNBC)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ Italy’s Central Bank Governor says volatility in crypto-asset markets highlights “the need for an appropriate set of rules and checks to prevent this sector from developing uncontrollably.” (Bis.org)
◾ The United Nations reports North Korean-linked hackers stole over $630 million in 2022. (Reuters)
◾ South Korean Justice officials traveled to Serbia to attempt to locate crypto fugitive Do Kwon. (Bloomberg)
Public Company Releases
◾ Hut 8 (HUT) is merging with US Bitcoin to create a preeminent digital asset mining, hosting, managed infrastructure operations, and high performance computing organization. (Cision)
◾ Riot Platforms mined 740 bitcoin (9.3 EH/s) in January selling 700 to fund operations. (Riotplatforms)
◾ Hive Blockchain (HIVE) produced 260 bitcoin (2.68 EH/s) plus generated $180,000 from “grid balancing” in January. (Newsfilecorp)
◾ BitDigital earned 134 bitcoin (1.25 EH/s) in January. (Bit-digital)
◾ Extended reality headset supplier Real Weak is going public through a merger with blank check company Cascadia Acquisition Corp (CCAI). (Businesswire)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ As part of the Genesis restructuring plan, Gemini agreed to contribute $100 million to help repay Earn clients. (Twitter)
◾ Sam Bankman-Fried reached an agreement with prosecutors on the use of text messaging services. (Bloomberg)
◾ FTX is arguing against the appointment of a court-ordered examiner claiming this position would merely duplicate work, add costs and delay efforts to repay creditors. (Reuters)
◾ Yuga Labs settled its copy right lawsuit accusing Ryder Ripps of tricking consumers into buying counterfeit versions of its Bored Ape NFTs. (Bloomberglaw)
◾ Lawyers for the ex-Coinbase employee accused of front running token listings is looking to dismiss his case on grounds that the tokens were not securities. (Courtlistener)
◾ Signature Bank (SBNY) is being sued for facilitating activities at FTX including the commingling of customer accounts. (Bloomberg)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ Digital Currency Group is selling shares in several of the Grayscale Trusts in an effort to raise capital as part of its settlement with Genesis creditors. (FT)
◾ Figure is considering plans to spin off its market and payments business from its HILOC lending business to generate working capital. (Bloomberg)
◾ UK fintech Revolut is launching crypto staking services to customers in the UK and Europe. (Altfi)
◾ Fox Sports reports that there is “zero representation” from crypto companies in this years Super Bowl commercials. (Apnews)
◾ File sharing platform WeTransfer is partnering with Minima to allow users to create and send NFTs on their phones. (Cryptopotato)
◾ Digital asset bank Juno has resumed its crypto services after a three-week pause with the appointment of Zero Hash as its new custodian. (Juno)
AI Announcements
◾ Microsoft (MSFT) is holding a surprise media event today that is expected to focus on its OpenAI partnership and ChatGPT for Bing. (Theverge)
◾ Google (GOOGL) is releasing a conversation AI service to compete with ChatGPT in the coming weeks” called “Bard.” (Bloomberg)
◾ Apple (AAPL) is holding an AI summit for all employees next week. (Twitter)
Market Data
◾ A study commissioned by CoinLedger finds 31% of cryptocurrency investors do not report cryptocurrency on their taxes. (Cision)
Thoughts on the Ecosystem
◾ Seven years after claiming “Craig Steven Wright is the person who invented Bitcoin” bitcoin developer Gavin Andresen added to his original blog explaining “it was a mistake to trust Craig Wright [and] regret[ing] getting sucked into the “who is (or isn’t) Satoshi” game .” (Gavinandresen)