Stories by Liam Frost
DeFi Community Blasts Compound CEO for ‘Doxxed’ Comment
Robert Leshner, founder and CEO of decentralized finance (DeFi) staking protocol Compound, today tweeted asking that users who erroneously received large amounts of COMP tokens due to a bug return it to the Compound Timelock, or it would be "reported as income to the IRS, and most of you are doxxed." If you received a large, incorrect amount of COMP from the Compound protocol error: Please return it to the Compound Timelock (0x6d903f6003cca6255D85CcA4D3B5E5146dC33925). Keep 10% as a white-hat....
SEC Pushes Deadlines on Four Bitcoin ETF Applications to Late 2021
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has pushed back the deadlines for four Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund) applications to late 2021. They include applications for the Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund (extended to December 8), the Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF (December 24), the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust (December 11), and the Global X Bitcoin Trust (November 21). They are among at least a dozen outstanding Bitcoin ETF applications on the SEC's desk, filed by various high-profile companies....
Bitcoin Leads Crypto Market Rebound With 10% Surge
As the fourth quarter of the year kicks off, cryptocurrencies are enjoying a mini-boom, with Bitcoin leading the charge. At the time of writing, the prices of the top ten largest digital assets (with the exception of stablecoins) have surged by between 7% and 13% over the past 24 hours, according to crypto metrics platform CoinGecko. The price of Bitcoin, the largest crypto with a market capitalization of $897 billion, jumped by 10.2% on the day, reaching about $47,760. Ethereum was close behind...
MiamiCoin Nets $7.8 Million for City of Miami
MiamiCoin (MIA), a “city-centric” cryptocurrency launched by CityCoins in early August, has already generated nearly $8 million for the City of Miami. The current Miami City Wallet balance is valued at $7,861,590.09 (6,415,317.93 STX): https://t.co/Q3okJhAubi pic.twitter.com/ZaIhHYSwsm — MiamiCoin City Wallet (@MiamiCoinWallet) October 1, 2021 CityCoins is a blockchain project that allows people to invest in cities by buying or mining their corresponding tokens. In return, users can earn yield...
Canada Gets Its First Multi-Crypto ETF Pegged to Both Bitcoin and Ethereum
Canadian exchange-traded funds (ETF) provider Evolve Funds Group has launched the country’s first multi-crypto ETF on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the Evolve Cryptocurrencies ETF. Trading under the tickers ETC (CAD Unhedged Units) and ETC.U (USD Unhedged Units), the Evolve Cryptocurrencies ETF will initially invest in Bitcoin ETF ("EBIT") and Ether ETF ("ETHR"). An ETF is a type of security that is pegged to various assets (or baskets of them), shares of which can be listed and traded on exchange...
Billionaire Investor Chamath Palihapitiya: ‘Bitcoin Has Effectively Replaced Gold’
Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya, chairman of spaceflight company Virgin Galactic and owner of NBA team the Golden State Warriors, has argued that Bitcoin has “effectively replaced gold.” "It's very hard for me sitting here to give you a price prediction, but I can pretty confidently say that Bitcoin, I think, has effectively replaced gold," Palihapitiya opined, speaking to CNBC’s Scott Wapner at the Delivering Alpha conference on Wednesday. He added that, "it will continue to do so. An...
European Institutional Investors Are Embracing Ethereum DeFi: Chainalysis
The region of Central, Northern, and Western Europe (CNWE) has become the world’s largest cryptocurrency economy thanks to the proliferation of decentralized finance (DeFi), according to the latest report by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis. Per the report, CNWE has received more than $1 trillion worth of crypto in the past 12 months which amounts to 25% of the corresponding global activity in total. “Having ranked second last year, CNWE’s new position in the top spot is the result of tremendou...
Elon Musk: 'It's Not Possible to Destroy Crypto' But Governments Can Slow It Down
While speaking at the Code 2021 conference in Beverly Hills yesterday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk argued that governments shouldn’t try to regulate cryptocurrencies. According to CNBC, when asked whether the U.S. should be involved in regulating the crypto space, Musk replied, “I would say, ‘Do nothing.’” “It is not possible to, I think, destroy crypto, but it is possible for governments to slow down its advancement,” he said. Musk’s statements also come on the heels of China ramping up its...
Ethereum Miner Returns ‘Erroneously High’ $22 Million Gas Fee to Bitfinex’s Wallet
Yesterday, a transaction stemming from a crypto wallet attached to the exchange Bitfinex mistakenly paid a fee of around $22.3 million, or 7,626 Ethereum, for a $100,000 transaction. Shortly after, the mining pool has returned the erroneous fee back to Bitfinex’s wallet via three transactions of 1 ETH, 7,385 ETH, and 240 ETH, respectively. While the mining pool that received the enormous gas fee is anonymous, it is currently ranked 9th among the largest Ethereum miners and is responsible for r...
‘Inclusive DeFi’ Startup Angle Labs Announces $5 Million Seed Round Led By a16z
Angle Labs, a decentralized finance (DeFi) startup that aims to build "derivatives-backed stablecoins for a more inclusive DeFi," has announced a $5 million funding round led by venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). “This funding will help us bring our protocol to market, grow the Angle Core Team and Community, and facilitate the adoption and integration of agTokens (Angle stablecoins) in Decentralized Finance,” Angle Labs explained in an announcement shared with Decrypt. Investors i...
Ethereum Dev Virgil Griffith Pleads Guilty on North Korea Sanctions Charge
Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith has today pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy in an agreement with federal prosecutors. His trial was to begin today in New York. Griffith was arrested in November 2019 after traveling to the North Korean capital Pyongyang and giving a talk at a blockchain conference there. Facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison over conspiracy to violate the Emergency Economy Powers Act, Griffith reportedly took a plea deal that would see him face a maximum of...
Canadian Regulators Warn Against Misleading, ‘Gambling-style’ Crypto Ads
Canadian financial regulators, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), have published a joint guidance letter to remind crypto trading platforms about the importance of “requirements relating to advertising, marketing, and social media use.” In the document published last Thursday, the regulators outlined the three main areas of concern: ads and marketing materials that “could be considered false or misleading,” the use...
Bitcoin, Ethereum Drop as China Intensifies Crypto Crackdown
The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies across the industry—essentially the combined price of all tokens in circulation—decreased by nearly 5% today after the Chinese government again made clear its negative stance toward digital assets. “Recently, virtual currency trading hype activities have risen, disrupting economic and financial order, breeding illegal and criminal activities such as gambling, illegal fundraising, fraud, pyramid schemes, and money laundering,” the Chinese go...
Kentucky Files Emergency Cease and Desist Order Against Crypto Lender Celsius
The Kentucky Department of Financial Institutions has filed an emergency cease and desist order against cryptocurrency lending company Celsius Network, barring the firm from "soliciting or selling" its earn interest accounts (EIAs) in the state. Celsius Network offers its clients to deposit their cryptocurrencies—which can then be loaned out to institutions—to earn returns of up to 17%. “Get paid new coins every week and borrow cash at 1%. Buy coins, earn yield, borrow, and transfer with no fees...
DEX Aggregator 1inch Adds Support for Ethereum Scaling Solution Arbitrum
Decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch has officially added support for Ethereum’s scaling solution Arbitrum, according to an announcement shared with Decrypt today. “Arbitrum’s advantages are definitely set to be attractive for 1inch users, as they are getting more diversity when it comes to cheaper transactions and withdrawal options,” said Anton Bukov, co-founder of 1inch Network, in a prepared statement. Arbitrum uses a technology called roll-up, a second-layer scaling solution...
Bitcoin Mining Firm Genesis Digital Assets Raises $431M to Boost ‘Aggressive Expansion’
American Bitcoin mining firm Genesis Digital Assets has continued its rapid expansion by closing a $431 million funding round led by crypto investment company Paradigm, Genesis announced today. It’s important to remain focused and diligent: https://t.co/TpGacbCaRA Thanks to all the great investors who joined us! — Marco Streng (@Marco_Streng) September 21, 2021 Other participants in the round included New York Digital Investment Group, crypto exchange FTX, venture companies Ribbit Capital and...
OpenSea CEO: Exec's NFT Trades Were 'Misframed' as Insider Trading
Last week, NFT marketplace OpenSea parted ways with a top executive who was discovered using inside information to personally profit from trading non-fungible token collections on the site. But the platform's CEO tells Decrypt that the debate that erupted around alleged "insider trading" at OpenSea was "misframing." Speaking to Decrypt editor-in-chief Daniel Roberts and executive editor Jeff John Roberts at the Messari Mainnet conference, OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer argued, "I do think there was a...
Coinbase Joins $8.5M Raise in Crypto Project Bringing DeFi to Bitcoin
Portal, a decentralized finance (DeFi) project that’s looking to build out a DeFi ecosystem on the Bitcoin blockchain, today announced that it has raised $8.5 million. Coinbase Ventures participated in the round. DeFi, or decentralized finance, is the collective name of a system of interconnected smart contracts that allows users to act as financial institutions, rather than relying on banks or brokers. DeFi comprises a wide array of financial platforms focused on lending, yield farming, crypto...
Over $1 Billion in Crypto Futures Liquidated Amid Evergrande Concerns
A total of $1.2 billion worth of crypto futures got liquidated over the last 24 hours as global markets continue to slide across the board, according to analytics platform Bybt. At the time of writing, the vast majority of top cryptocurrencies remain in the red zone. Bitcoin, for example, is down 10% since Saturday, trading at around $43,550, per crypto metrics platform CoinGecko. The price of Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset by its market capitalization, has similarly shed 12% since...
DeFi Bridging Protocol pNetwork Suffers $12 Million Hack
An unidentified hacker has stolen 277 wrapped Bitcoin, currently worth around $12.5 million, by exploiting a bug in decentralized finance (DeFi) interoperability protocol pNetwork, its developers disclosed on Sunday. According to the platform’s Twitter account, a bug in the protocol’s codebase was used to attack pBTC tokens—pNetwork’s version of wrapped Bitcoin—that were stored on Binance Smart Chain (BSC). 1/N We're sorry to inform the community that an attacker was able to leverage a bug in o...
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