Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

CoinDesk Confirms Layoffs This Week, Including Reporter Who Sparks FTX Breaking News

Key Points:　　CoinDesk trims its editorial team by 20 amidst cost-cutting efforts.　　Tracy Wang, one of the people who brought the FTX event to light, was also among these employees.　　Blockchain investors lead acquisition talks for CoinDesk at $125 million.　　CoinDesk, a prominent cryptocurrency media outlet, has recently undertaken staff layoffs, as reported by Marc Hochstein, the event planner of the encrypted media company.　　The cutbacks were confirmed by CoinDesk officials, who echoed Hochsteins sentiments about the journalistic contributions of the affected employees.　　Tracy Wang, who won The George Polk Awards in Journalism, and other editors and reporters are among these staff members. Wang is a journalist with great merit for revealing the shadiness of the billion-dollar FTX empire last year.　　Hochstein cited the former employees contributions to journalism and called on other companies to recruit them. CoinDesk officials also confirmed the matter by reposting the post.　　These developments emerged after sources familiar with the matter indicated that CoinDesks parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), intended to introduce strategic investors.　　Approximately 45% of its editorial team, equating to 20 individuals, were affected by the layoffs, part of DCGs broader strategy to optimize expenditures and enhance profitability, according to a report by The Block.　　An investor consortium led by blockchain investors

2023-08-18Deep Dive

Bitcoin Drops Below $28,000, Over $220 Million Liquidated In The Last 24 Hours

Key Points:　　Bitcoins value falls below $28,000, with a 4% drop in 24 hours.　　$31.33 million in liquidation was reported, with BTC leading at $21.08 million.　　Market uncertainty grows as the SEC delays decisions on Bitcoin ETFs; the broader market follows suit with declines.　　The value of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, has slipped beneath the $28,000 mark, hitting a current trading price of $27,928, signifying a decrease of over 4% within a 24-hour span.　　Recent data from Coinglass has revealed substantial liquidation activity across the market in the last hour, totaling $31.33 million.　　Among these, BTC‘s liquidation amounted to approximately $21.08 million, while Ethereum’s liquidation stood at around $3.75 million. Notably, Binance and OKX exchanges contributed nearly 50% of these liquidation figures, with Bitmex accounting for almost 18%.Source: CoinGlass　　This occurrence marks the first instance in nearly two months that Bitcoin has registered a value below $28,000. Interestingly, throughout July, Bitcoin remained relatively stable, but todays sharp decline has piqued attention.BTC price chart. Source: TradingView　　Analysts are attributing this sell-off to the deliberation process of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the key regulator for Wall Street.　　The SEC‘s review of several high-profile Bitcoin ETF applications is believed to have contributed to the market’s uncertainty. There is

2023-08-18Deep Dive

Dubai Slaps $2.8 Million Fines On OPNX Exchange And Founders

Key Points:　　Dubai fines the OPNX exchange and its founders $2.8 million for market rule breaches.　　OPNX was hit with a $2.7 million fine; the founders smaller penalties were paid.　　VARA to take further steps against founders for unpaid fines and compliance.　　Dubais Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has imposed fines totaling nearly $2.8 million on the founders of the crypto exchange OPNX and the exchange itself as part of the ongoing crackdown on cryptocurrency-related activities.　　The co-founders, Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, who also played roles in the failed crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), faced penalties due to violations of market regulations.　　VARA issued a notice on Wednesday detailing the fines, indicating that the co-founders and their exchange were fined for multiple infringements.　　The regulator fined OPNX a significant amount of 10 million dirhams (approximately $2.7 million) for failing to adhere to market regulations. Notably, this fine remains unpaid at the time of the notices publication.　　Furthermore, Davies and Zhu, OPNX co-founder Mark Lamb, and CEO Leslie Lamb faced separate penalties of $54,000 each. These fines were related to their failure to meet the standards set by the regulator for marketing, advertising, and promotional activities.　　However, these penalties were promptly paid by the parties involved.　　Despite the

2023-08-17Deep Dive

Proposed Revision of Spark Protocol Revenue Sharing Agreement by MakerDAO Founder to Ensure 10% Quar

On August 17th, Rune Christensen, the founder of MakerDAO, recently introduced multiple MIP sub-proposals to the community. Among these proposals is the formalization of the income-sharing mechanism between the Spark Protocol and Aave. This initiative aims to address shortcomings within the Maker ecosystem protocol and align it with intended behavior.　　According to the proposal, the Spark Protocol is required to pay 10% of the revenue generated from its lending functionality operated based on the Aave codebase. These payments are to be manually calculated by the coordinators of SparkDAO at the end of each quarter and manually transferred from SparkDAOs surplus buffer to DAI within the smart contracts governed by Aave governance.　　Furthermore, prior to the release of SubDAO tokens, Maker Governance will temporarily assume the responsibility of representing the Spark Protocol in paying the “virtual revenue share.” Once the SubDAO tokens are issued, the virtual revenue sharing mechanism will no longer be in effect, and the standard rules of the Spark Protocol Aave income-sharing ecosystem agreement will be implemented instead.　　

2023-08-17Deep Dive

Dubai Regulatory Authority Imposes Fines of Approximately $2.7 Million on OPNX and Around $55,000 on

According to a report by Bloomberg, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority has indicated that in the latest enforcement action against OPNX, a newly established digital asset trading platform founded by co-founders of the bankrupt Three Arrows Capital, a fine of 10 million dirhams (approximately 2.7 million USD) was imposed on the company in May, but remains unpaid.　　Furthermore, the regulatory body in Dubai has stated that Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, along with the two co-founders of OPNX, have been individually fined 200,000 dirhams (approximately 54,451 USD) for non-compliance with marketing, advertising, and promotional rules.　　

2023-08-17Deep Dive

ConsenSys Establishes Linea Ecosystem Investment Alliance (EIA)

On August 17th, ConsenSys announced the establishment of the Linea Ecosystem Investment Alliance (EIA). The alliance boasts a membership of over 30 venture capital firms, including notable names like Amber Group, Animoca Brands, BlockTower Capital, Fenbushi Capital, Huobi Ventures, and IOSG Ventures. This collaborative initiative is set to provide support for projects that leverage Linea to reimagine applications in various sectors such as finance and payments, gaming and entertainment, as well as community and identity.　　Linea (formerly known as ConsenSys zkEVM) was developed and designed by ConsenSys and is operated under their purview. It offers full compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Lineas primary objective is to become a “bytecode-compatible level” zkEVM, enabling developers to build and maintain applications more seamlessly on Layer 2.　　

2023-08-17Deep Dive

Singapore Police Arrest Over 10 People For $1 Billion Money Laundering Scheme

Key Points:　　Singapore police arrested more than 10 people for money laundering and forgery.　　94 real estate properties and a large amount of cash and cryptocurrency were seized, totaling over $1 billion USD.　　Most of those arrested were Chinese and Cambodian nationals involved in organized crime activities, including scams and online gambling.　　Singapore police recently announced the arrest of more than ten people and the search for eight suspects on suspicion of money laundering, forgery, and other offenses. Most of those arrested were Chinese and Cambodian nationals, and the police seized 94 real estate properties and a large amount of cash and cryptocurrency, involving more than $1 billion USD.　　The police received information about possible illicit activities that included the use of suspected forged documents to substantiate the source of funds in Singapore bank accounts.　　Through extensive investigations and follow-up from intelligence – including the analysis of Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) – the police identified a group of foreign nationals suspected to be involved in laundering the proceeds of crime from their overseas organized crime activities including scams and online gambling.　　On August 15th, 2023, more than 400 officers from various departments conducted simultaneous raids at multiple locations islandwide, including residences such as Good Class Bungalows (GCB)

2023-08-17Deep Dive

New Shibarium Mainnet Transactions Suspended, $1.7 Million Currently Locked

Key Points:　　Transactions on the Shibarium mainnet are stuck in a pending state.　　There are currently more than 954 ETH, equivalent to $1.7 million, locked in a bridging contract that cannot be withdrawn.　　After months of testing with millions of users, layer-2 Shibarium has officially entered todays mainnet phase.　　The warning from Twitter @shroom_daddy received much attention from the community about his suspicions about the hit layer 2. This person questioned what Shibarium was doing, from RPC to how bridging works…　　On-chain detective ZachXBT also commented on the comments and said that there are currently more than 954 ETH, equivalent to about $1.7 million, locked in bridging contracts that cannot be withdrawn.　　For the current state of the network, users are advised to stop using Shibarium for now temporarily.　　After months of testing with millions of users, the game development-oriented layer-2, and metaverse Shibarium has officially entered the mainnet phase following todays announcement by the developers.　　The network impressed when it attracted more than 21 million wallets participating in the beta testing phase. This helps it position Shiba Inu as a DeFi heavyweight by providing enhanced throughput and reduced transaction fees, even lower than Polygon (MATIC). Shibarium aims to improve the efficiency and user experience of decentralized application

2023-08-17Deep Dive

SwirlLend Rugged Both on Base and Linea - SWI Token and TVL Almost Completely Depleted

According to DefiLlama data, the Total Value Locked (TVL) of the Base ecosystems lending protocol SwirlLend has dropped from $784,300 to $49,200. Additionally, on-chain information indicates that the price of the SwirlLend protocol token SWI has nearly reached zero around 10 AM today. Furthermore, the official SwirlLend Twitter account has been deactivated.　　As per findings from PandoShield monitoring, the lending protocol SwirlLend has also experienced a Rug Pull on Linea. The deployer has utilized Orbiter Finance to move around 94 Ethereum tokens cross-chain from Linea to the Ethereum mainnet. The fraudulent activity is ongoing in transferring funds from Linea to the Base network. The scammers address on #Ethereum currently holds a balance of 165.6 $ETH and 32,641 $USDC.　　

2023-08-16Deep Dive

$140 Million Dispute between DeFiance Capital and 3AC Liquidators to be Heard in Singapore; DeFiance

The $140 million dispute between DeFiance Capital and the asset liquidator Teneo of Three Arrows Capital will be heard in Singapore, against the wishes of the liquidators.　　The controversy involves assets managed by DeFiance Capital, a fund independent from 3ACs operations but part of its corporate structure. According to court documents, the liquidators claim these funds should be held and distributed to creditors as part of 3ACs assets, while DeFiance Capital argues that the funds should be treated separately and returned to its own investors.　　While the liquidators have denied the case should be heard at all, they have indicated that any trial should take place in the British Virgin Islands, where the fund is domiciled. DeFiance Capital argues that the trial should be held in Singapore since its founder, Arthur Cheong, and the funds investors are based there.　　According to court records from the hearing on August 8th, Singaporean Judge Chua Lee Ming has decided to proceed with the case in Singapore.　　DeFiance Capital founder Arthur0x has issued a statement and update regarding the dispute with Three Arrows Capital Limited (3AC). He stated that DeFiance Capitals position is consistent with the industrys broader understanding and all evidence supporting the exclusive, unrestricted control and

2023-08-16Deep Dive

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