SSPOL

U.S. Chamber of Digital Commerce calls on Congress to create committee dedicated to encryption regulations

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Fri, 19 May 2023 10:05:20 GMT

The American Chamber of Digital Commerce, a blockchain lobby group backed by firms including Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Circle and Fidelity, has issued a call to action to Congress and the Senate to prioritize passage of a national approach to cryptocurrency regulation. The group added that it is asking Congress to organize a "Daylight Commission on Digital Assets and Blockchain Technology" to develop a "national strategic approach to digital assets and blockchain technology" in the United States. The group warned that failure to act would allow further activity by "hostile countries" in the field, "jeopardizing US leadership and dollar supremacy".

MicroStrategy is researching the Ordinals protocol and assessing its potential for app development

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Fri, 19 May 2023 05:41:15 GMT

Michael Saylor, co-founder and executive chairman of MicroStrategy, said in an interview at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami that the company not only understands the Ordinals protocol, but is also interested in how the Ordinals protocol, which has aroused heated discussions in the Bitcoin community, can lead to software innovation. The company is currently researching Ordinals and Assess its potential for application development.

According to Saylor, the development of applications based on the functionality of bitcoin can also promote the overall adoption of bitcoin among individuals, companies and governments. Saylor did not specify which use cases MicroStrategy could investigate, but he noted that the ability to submit data to the bitcoin blockchain has many potential applications beyond just transactions.

Singapore's Whampoa Group plans to set up a digital bank in Bahrain, which will be open to encrypted customers

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Fri, 19 May 2023 00:31:55 GMT

Singapore's Whampoa Group plans to set up a digital bank in Bahrain before the end of the year to provide banking services as well as digital token trading, custody and asset management services, as well as round-the-clock payment and settlement services for digital asset companies.

The Bahraini government spokesman said the country's central bank had approved in principle the joint venture, adding that the approval was tentative and that a full license would only be granted after all regulatory requirements had been met.

The online celebrity Grumpy Cat brand has sent lawyer letters to two Meme coin project parties, requesting to stop trademark infringement

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Thu, 18 May 2023 10:54:54 GMT

Nyanify, Inc. and Christopher Orlando Torres, the online celebrity Grumpy Cat brand owner, have sent lawyer letters to the two Meme coin project parties, "Nyan Meme Coin" and "GrumpyCat Coin", informing them of alleged trademark infringement and asking them to stop the infringement. "This infringing use has created actual confusion among consumers about the origin of the merchandise, leading them to believe that this coin is somehow related to our customer," the attorney's letter reads.

It is reported that Grumpy Cat became popular in 2012 with 14 million fans, but died in 2019.

Bitwise Has Withdrawn Ethereum Futures ETF Application

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Thu, 18 May 2023 06:05:13 GMT

Bitwise Asset Management has withdrawn its application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an ethereum futures ETF. Meanwhile, an amended SEC filing by Grayscale on Wednesday appears to indicate that the firm has also suspended plans to offer ethereum (ETH) futures products. Grayscale last week filed registration documents with the SEC for three new ETFs, the Grayscale Ethereum Futures ETF, the Grayscale Global Bitcoin Aggregate ETF, and the Grayscale Privacy ETF. But in a revised document dated May 17, only proposals for a global bitcoin composite ETF and a privacy ETF were revealed.

US House Speaker McCarthy: Ultimately we won't have a debt default

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Thu, 18 May 2023 00:27:29 GMT

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy told CNBC in an interview that he doesn't think the U.S. will eventually default on its debt as tensions over the debt ceiling continue. McCarthy did not say he was optimistic about the progress of the negotiations, but he said he was encouraged by Biden's willingness to negotiate. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he would cut short a trip to Asia to further his involvement in debt-ceiling negotiations. McCarthy said: "The only thing I have confidence in is that now we have a structure and we can find a way to come to a conclusion. There is no problem with the timetable. But we will make sure to come together and get the job done." House Republicans said , if Biden and lawmakers do not agree to future spending cuts, they will not lift the cap. Moody's recently predicted that if the US defaulted, US GDP would drop by 4%, and more than 7 million workers would lose their jobs. Even a brief default would cost 2 million jobs, the data showed.

Optimism Collective will conduct a fourth season of community governance experiments, introducing new concepts such as "collective intentions"

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Wed, 17 May 2023 14:00:04 GMT

Optimism, the second-layer solution of Ethereum, tweeted that the Optimism Collective is establishing community governance through experiments. In Season 4, the Collective will conduct several key experiments aimed at increasing community participation in the progressive decentralization of Optimism. This quarterly experiment introduced some new concepts: collective intent, mission and alliances, and collective trust levels.

According to reports, collective intentions are aimed at adjusting and concentrating collective directional goals, and these goals will have specific budgets. In missions and coalitions, missions are proposals for initiatives to achieve intent, and are of two types: 1. Proposed missions support broad-ranging initiatives through governance funds, 2. Foundation missions are similar to open RFPs for partner funds; coalitions A group of contributors with the goal of completing a task, either in a pre-established organization or specifically brought together. The collective trust layer allows setting funding limits based on contribution, reputation, and impact, and alliances can submit proposals based on trust levels.

Signature Bank executive: Signature is well capitalized and does not need to be closed

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Wed, 17 May 2023 05:47:41 GMT

Two Signature Bank executives reiterated at a Senate hearing on Tuesday that Signature does not need to be shut down. Signature is prepared to continue operating despite $16 billion in customer withdrawals following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature co-founder and former chairman Scott Shay said. It is believed that Signature can withstand the economic earthquake, that it is well capitalized and solvent. Eric Howell, the former president of Signature, agreed, saying the bank was "well capitalized, solvent and has sufficient borrowing capacity to sustain current and future withdrawals". According to previous news, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) denied that Signature Bank closed down because of its exposure to the encryption industry.

Auradine Closes $81M Series A Funding Led by Celesta Capital and Mayfield

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Wed, 17 May 2023 00:37:08 GMT

Silicon Valley-based privacy-focused blockchain and artificial intelligence startup Auradine announced it has closed an $81 million Series A round led by venture capital firms Celesta Capital and Mayfield. Other investors in the round included Cota Capital, DCVC and Stanford University. Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) is also among the supporters. As part of the investment, Celesta's Sriram Viswanathan and Mayfield's Navin Chaddha will join Auradine's board. Marathon CEO Fred Thiel sits on the network infrastructure startup's board of directors.

Founded in 2022, Auradine is developing a wide range of hardware and software infrastructure, including energy-efficient silicon, zero-knowledge proofs (a blockchain-based privacy tool), and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for decentralized applications . Auradine expects to release its first product this summer and will focus on serving clients in industries such as finance and healthcare.

Open Campus launches $10 million global educator fund

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Tue, 16 May 2023 10:47:18 GMT

Open Campus, the Web3 education protocol platform, announced the launch of a $10 million Global Educator Fund, which aims to reward teachers and creators around the world for developing K-12 educational content for Open Campus and its partner platforms. Applicants can be qualified teachers, educational institutions, and individuals or teams with subject matter knowledge. The OC community (EDU token holders) will be invited to vote and decide which applications should be selected.

BlockFi has applied to the court to liquidate its lending business

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Tue, 16 May 2023 05:30:17 GMT

BlockFi has asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to begin liquidating the lending platform and distribute the funds to creditors, according to a May 12 bankruptcy court filing. The company had previously tried unsuccessfully to sell its lending platform to raise funds and repay creditors, the documents show. BlockFi lawyers said the sale of the lending platform made very limited sense given recent regulatory developments. As such, BlockFi is self-liquidating the transaction and will distribute its assets to creditors in accordance with the terms of the liquidation plan. In November last year, BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following the collapse of FTX. The company has since struggled to sell valuable parts of its business, including crypto mining. BlockFi may still seek “alternative transactions to sell all or a substantial portion of its assets.” The plan must be approved by the bankruptcy court to move forward. According to previous news, the recovery of BlockFi's customers and creditors will depend largely on the company's claims against its commercial counterparties, including FTX and Alameda. It is reported that BlockFi froze about $355 million in cryptocurrencies on FTX and provided another $671 million in loans to Alameda Research, FTX's trading arm, adding up to more than a billion dollars.

EU antitrust watchdog approves Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Tue, 16 May 2023 00:50:31 GMT

EU antitrust regulators approve Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. EU regulators say Microsoft is offering European consumers a free 10-year license to stream all current and future Activision games through cloud services. Microsoft's solution completely solves the problem of competition in the cloud gaming market.

The US SEC applied to the court to change the $22 million fine against LBRY to about $110,000

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Mon, 15 May 2023 12:49:34 GMT

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a court filing on May 12 requesting amendments to its $22 million penalty against blockchain-based file-sharing network LBRY. The SEC believes that LBRY has ceased operations and does not have the funds to pay a higher fine, so it wants to reduce the fine to $111,614.

More than 700 U.S. banks are at risk because of large floating losses on their balance sheets

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Mon, 15 May 2023 00:18:08 GMT

More than 700 U.S. banks are facing “significant safety and solvency” risks because of large unrealized losses on their balance sheets, and these banks have reported losses of more than 50% of their capital, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve in recent days. The Fed pointed to higher interest rates as the catalyst for losses at these U.S. banks. Changes in monetary policy and rising interest rates have had a negative impact on banks' balance sheets, and the financial position of many banks has become more precarious. While the banks have been taking steps to prevent further losses over the past few months, large floating losses on banks' balance sheets have limited their ability to lend and meet obligations. In addition, higher-than-expected deposit outflows and limited emergency funding could force these banks to make difficult decisions, such as relying on more foreign exchange reserves. Therefore, Bank of America needs to take necessary measures to reduce risks and protect its own safety and solvency.

OKX is building infrastructure for BRC-20 and ORC-20

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Sun, 14 May 2023 00:33:02 GMT

OKX and partner Bitcoin Inscription Wallet UniSat Wallet aim to be a key contributor to the Bitcoin ecosystem. We are building the infrastructure for BRC-20 and ORC-20, including wallets, markets, liquidity swaps, and browsers. So far, we have no plans to list these tokens on OKX, but the decision to list depends on the development of technology, liquidity and community, and OKX will continue to track.

Binance to exit Canadian market

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Sat, 13 May 2023 15:19:21 GMT

Will join the ranks of other well-known encryption companies and voluntarily withdraw from the Canadian market. We would like to thank those regulators who have worked with us to address the needs of Canadian users. We have high hopes for the Canadian blockchain industry. Unfortunately, new regulations related to stablecoins and crypto exchanges make the Canadian market unsuitable for Binance at the moment. We postponed this decision as long as possible to explore other reasonable avenues to protect our Canadian users, but it became clear that we did not have such avenues. We are sending emails to Canadian users with information about how their accounts will be affected. While we disagree with the new regulations, we hope to continue working with Canadian regulators with the aim of establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework. We believe that we will one day return to the Canadian market when Canadian users can freely access digital assets again.

imToken: The reason for the short-term abnormality of the Ethereum beacon chain in the early morning is that the consensus layer Epoch votes did not reach 2/3

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Sat, 13 May 2023 04:23:36 GMT

Regarding the short-term abnormality of the Ethereum consensus layer (ie, the original beacon chain) in the early morning of this morning, imToken analyzed that the abnormality was mainly due to the fact that the Epoch vote of the consensus layer did not reach 2/3, resulting in the failure to confirm the finality for 30 consecutive minutes, but it returned to normal. imToken believes that this shows that the Ethereum PoS consensus algorithm is highly decentralized and resilient.

It is reported that the Ethereum consensus mechanism requires that the finality of the transaction needs to wait for 2 Epoch (about 12 minutes) to be confirmed. imToken believes that as long as the execution layer block production is normal and the Safe Head voting rate reaches the threshold, most scenarios can be satisfied, and the security level is equivalent to the 6-12 block confirmation required for main network transactions before the merger.

OKX: Users who use Google Authenticator are advised to turn off cloud sync

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Sat, 13 May 2023 01:06:13 GMT

Ouyi OKX issued a security reminder: "Users who use Google Authenticator are recommended to turn off cloud synchronization. The cloud synchronization function recently launched by Google Authenticator has not been end-to-end encrypted. If your Google account is attacked, your password/private key will be lost. Faced with security risks, hackers will be able to log in to your OKX account, it is recommended to turn off cloud synchronization and save the private key on your personal device, or choose a cloud-encrypted authenticator."

Digital bank Revolut CFO Mikko Salovaara has resigned

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Fri, 12 May 2023 15:10:04 GMT

British digital bank Revolut has announced that its chief financial officer, Mikko Salovaara, has resigned due to personal reasons, and an interim head will be announced in due course. A Revolut spokesman said Salovaara's decision had nothing to do with auditor BDO's concerns about the company's 2021 financial accounts. In March, BDO said it could not independently verify three-quarters of the £636 million ($795 million) in revenue the company reported in its delayed 2021 accounts.

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: Apologizes to the community for inaccurate reports about PEPE

sspol@newsletter.paragraph.com (SSPOL) — Fri, 12 May 2023 07:00:08 GMT

Paul Grewal, chief legal officer of the encryption exchange Coinbase, tweeted that "we messed up the report on PEPE, we are sorry." He said that yesterday we shared an introduction about PEPE, but this did not accurately reflect the whole picture, and we apologize to the community. According to previous news, Twitter user borovik.eth said that he received the latest customer email from Coinbase, which stated that the frog symbol of PEPE originated from an Internet meme and was considered a symbol of right-wing hatred. This ensued a flurry of confusion on Twitter, with the hashtag "deletecoinbase" trending on Twitter in the early hours of Thursday. According to CoinMarketCap, PEPE has fallen more than 21% in the past 24 hours, and Coinbase shares have fallen more than 4%.