Tuesday October 4, 2022
◾ The Financial Stability Oversight Council’s Report on Digital Asset Financial Stability Risks and Regulation 2022 recommends that Congress pass legislation and enforce existing laws to address the risks digital assets could pose to the stability of the US financial system. (Treasury.gov)
◾ Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his government will “promote efforts to expand the use of Web 3.0 services that utilize the metaverse and NFTs.” (Cointelegraph)
◾ A Federal court agreed that the CFTC can legally serve a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) using a help-bot and forum post on a website. (Coindesk)
Government & NGO Actions
◾ SEC Chair Gary Gensler stressed it is “important that the public understand if somebody is touting a crypto security token that are they getting paid and how much are they getting paid.” (CNBC)
◾ The Bank of Russia added the digital ruble to its recently published draft of the new banking chart of accounts. (News.bitcoin)
◾ Binance signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the government of Kazakhstan to provide crypto-focused law enforcement training. (Twitter)
◾ Argentina’s state-owned energy company, YPF (YPF), has been working with an unidentified international crypto miner on a 1MW pilot operation and plans to open a second 8MW pilot by the end of the year. (Coindesk)
◾ The European Securities and Markets Authority believes that crypto-assets are still small in size and their interlinkages to traditional markets are limited, however this situation could change suddenly due to market growth driving risk through various market channel. (ESMA)
Public Company Releases
◾ BitFarms (BITF) produced 481 bitcoin (4.2 EH/s) in September, selling 544 BTC to generate $10.6 million in proceeds and pay-down an additional $3.8 million in debt. (Bitfarms)
◾ Hut 8 Mining (HUT) generated 277 bitcoin (3.07 EH/s) in September hodling 100% of production. (Cision)
◾ DMG Blockchain Solutions (DMG) mined 77 bitcoin (0.65 EH/s) in September. (Globenewswire)
◾ Mastercard (MA) is launching a new product called Crypto Secure that helps banks identify and determine the risk of crime associated with crypto exchanges on the Mastercard payment network. (CNBC)
◾ Digihost (DGHI) mined 69 bitcoin (650 PH/s) selling “a portion of its BTC production during September to fund its energy costs.” (Digihost)
◾ Greenidge Generation (GREE) amended its previously announced market issuance agreement and will pay B. Riley Securities up to 5% of the gross proceeds from the sale of common shares in cash. (Greenidge)
Restructuring, Losses and Legal News
◾ Final bids for the bankrupt Celsius assets are due by October 17th; if an auction is necessary this will occur on October 20th, and a sale hearing will occur on November 1st. (Cases.stretto)
Protocols, Applications & Business News
◾ NYDIG has promoted Tejas Shah and Nate Conrad to the roles of CEO and President replacing Robert Gutmann and Yan Zhao who will remain with the digital asset manager’s parent, Stone Ridge Holdings Group. (Cision)
◾ Grayscale announced Grayscale Securities, a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary, and SEC registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA will begin to distribute and market the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) replacing fellow DCG’s operating company Genesis who offered similar services since 2019. (SEC)
◾ Tether (USDT) increased its US Treasury rserves in the third quarter by one-third, bringing its total t-bill holdings to 58.1% of assets; commercial paper exposure is now <$50 million. (Twitter)
◾ ARK Invest is offering two actively managed crypto strategies available as separately managed accounts for clients of RIA’s. (Cision)
◾ Reality TV star Kim Kardashian agreed to pay the SEC $1.2 million for failing to disclose $250,000 in compensation received for promoting the EthereumMax (EMAX) token. (WSJ)
◾ TRM Labs reports that pro-Russian military groups are raising funds to support paramilitary operations and using cryptocurrencies to evade US sanctions. (CNBC)
◾ FTX is launching a perpetual dollar spot index future that tracks the performance of a basket of 4 leading global currencies versus the USD. (FTX)
◾ Japanese video game publisher Sega announced plans to release its first blockchain game: a trading card game based on the theme of “Sangokushi” (Three Kingdoms). (Medium)