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Headlines / news

Latest news and developments in web3 space.

• 🔗Link: 🇰🇵 Blockchain data strongly suggests the $50+ million CoinEx hack was done by North Korea. 
• 🔗Link: Coinbase Prime has launched an institutional-grade Web3 Wallet, offering clients secure access to crypto, NFTs, dapps, and DeFi, fully integrated into Coinbase Prime.
• 🔗Link: A judge dismissed Sam Bankman-Fried's pretrial jail release request. 
• 🔗Link: MetaMask introduces support for Bitcoin, Solana and Cosmos Network with new ‘Snaps’ feature.
• 🔗Link: The creator of Stoner Cats, featuring actors Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, has agreed to pay $1 million to settle SEC charges that it offered unregistered NFTs.

Trouble ahead for Binance.US 🚨

In 2023, Binance.US faced a series of setbacks:

• Sued by the SEC
• Assets frozen via restraining order
• Transitioned to a "crypto-only exchange" after losing banking partners
• Gradual wind-down of stablecoin (BUSD) after losing Paxos partnership

As if that weren't enough:

1 - CEO Brian Scroder resigned.

2 - Binance.US laid off 100 employees.

The ship's captain bailed, and a third of the crew went overboard. 

Now, Norman Reed, the Chief Legal Officer, steps in as interim CEO. Binance.US claims it has a financial runway of over seven years to sustain operations.

We'll be closely monitoring developments at Binance.US HQ. 🧐. 🔗Read more

Crypto Fraud: OneCoin Scam

OneCoin, associated with the "Cryptoqueen," is back in the news for fraud. It pretended to be a cryptocurrency but was just a scam. A co-conspirator, Sebastian Karl Greenwood, got a 20-year prison sentence. The main figure, Ruja Ignatova, vanished in 2017. It wasn't a real cryptocurrency; it could only be exchanged for euros. Ignatova is likely gone. 🔗Read more

Singapore central bank bans Zhu, Davies over Three Arrows

Singapore's central bank has issued nine-year prohibition orders against Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, stemming from their involvement in the collapsed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital. The Monetary Authority of Singapore accused them of providing false information and failing to implement adequate risk management, barring them from regulated activities and capital market services companies under the Securities and Futures Act. 🔗Read more

Crypto firm Electric Capital raising $300 million for third fund

Crypto-focused venture firm Electric Capital is in the process of raising $300 million for its third investment fund, marking a subdued year for the crypto industry and venture capital compared to the euphoria of 2021. Unlike previous rounds, Electric Capital isn't planning to raise a similar vehicle this time, but with the crypto market facing a downturn, it may still have ample capital to deploy from its previous funds. Hurricane Lee is expected to pass dangerously close to Maine and the Canadian Maritimes, posing a threat to eastern Massachusetts, as per the National Hurricane Center. Computer models suggest the storm will take a northward path and then veer closer to the U.S. coast, transforming into a Nor'easter-type storm over the weekend. 🔗Read more

Telegram adds self-custodial crypto wallet worldwide, excluding the US

Telegram, boasting 800 million monthly active users, is set to expand its crypto footprint with a self-custodial wallet called TON Space, unveiled at Singapore’s Token2049 crypto conference. The move aims to tap into the growing crypto community that has sprouted from Telegram's chat platform and could potentially introduce a broader audience to the world of digital assets, excluding users in the U.S. for now due to regulatory concerns. 🔗Read more

What we're reading 💬

• 0xPass raises $1.8M from Balaji Srinivasan and others to build secure login systems for web3 - (TC)
• Coinbase ‘committed’ to India, but disables sign-ups amid regulatory roadblock - (TC)
• The Vogue Business 100 Innovators: Tech and Web3 innovators - (Vogue Business)