Tuesday October 11, 2022
◾ The OECD issued a new transparency framework for crypto-assets to G20 leaders. (OECD)
◾ The European Council voted to send the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework to a full vote by the European Parliament. (Twitter)
◾ India is planning a phased introduction of the digital rupee but will first commence limited pilot launches targeting specific use cases. (RBI)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ Portugal plan to start taxing short-term digital currency gains at a rate of 28%. (Bloomberg)
◾ Iran security forces arrested Iranian bitcoin advocate and Youtuber Ziya Sadr. (Coindesk)
◾ The European Union issued a tender to develop, deploy and test a technological solution for embedded supervision of decentralized finance (DeFi) activity. (Europa.eu)
◾The Financial Stability Board’s Committee on Payment and Market Infrastructures is “considering … how the use of well-designed and risk-managed [stablecoin arrangements] could enhance cross-border payments by addressing existing frictions… and how this could impact central banks’ core functions.” (Pymnts)
◾ Brazilian law enforcement raided 20 addresses seizing assets linked to the “Bitcoin Sheikh” and the theft and laundering of $769 million. (Forkast)
Public Company Releases
◾ Bit Digital (BTBT) was ordered to cease mining operations a Niagara Falls, NY data center until the operator is able to comply with local zoning ordinances which could last “several months.” (Cision)
◾ Argo Blockchain (ARGO) mined 215 bitcoin and bitcoin equivalents (2.5 EH/s) in September and announced the departure of the company’s CTO. (Accesswire)
◾ Iris Energy (IREN) produced 325 bitcoin (2.7EH/s) last month. (Iris)
◾ Greenidge Generation (GREE) guided to 866 mined bitcoin (2.4 EH/s) and $29 million in expected revenue in Q3 and announced the appointment of a new company CEO. (Greenidge)
◾ BitNile (NILE) generated $49 million in preliminary revenue in Q3. (Bitnile)
◾ TeraWulf (WULF) increased its total operating capacity to more than 1.6 EH/s at its Lake Mariner, NY facility and added $17 million in new capital to its balance sheet. (Businesswire)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ The judge in the Celsius bankruptcy ruled the independent examiner in will need to produce an interim report detailing Celsius’ financial management and handling of customer accounts. (Coindesk)
◾ Decentralized lending protocol TrueFi said South Korea’s Blockwater Technologies defaulted on a $3.4 million loan. (Truefi)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ The founder of Huobi is selling his stake in the crypto exchange to Hong Kong- based About Capital Management. (Huobi)
◾ Crypto mining service Luxor Technologies is launching an OTC non-deliverable froward (NDF) that will provide investors direct exposure to the miners’ revenue. (Bloomberg)
◾ Dapper Labs halted services to Russia and Russian nationals based on new EU sanctions. (Dapper)
◾ Visa (V) is partnering with FTX offer debit cards in 40 countries with a focus on Latin America, Asia and Europe. (CNBC)
◾ The Web3 Foundation has partnered with online learning platform edX to launch a series of free foundational courses in blockchain technology and the Polkadot platform. (cointelegraph)
◾ Hong Kong Polytechnic University launched a one-year Master of Science in Metaverse Technology program. (SCMP)
◾ Binance achieved a Guinness World Record for holding the largest crypto class in the world with in-person 289 attendees. (Cision)
Market Data
◾ Bitcoin’s hashrate hit a new all-time-high of 292.79 EH/s. (Bitinfocharts)
◾ Bitcoin difficulty exceeded its 8% forecasted adjustment to jump 13.5%, its highest move since May 2021. (BTC.com)
◾ Based on the 10 day realized volatility, “the Dow Jones is now volatile than bitcoin.” (Twitter)
Exchange, Custody and Product Updates
◾ FTX is launching “V2” with a new order matching system with lower latency API pathways. (Twitter)
◾ Coinbase (COIN) received regulatory approval to operate in Singapore. (Coinbase)
Thoughts on the Ecosystem
◾ Investor Paul Tudor Jones believes this decade will be about “debt dynamics…[and] fiscal retrenchment” and “in a time where there is too much money, something like crypto…will have value.” (Twitter)