By Christopher Hamman
Things became pretty interesting in the decentralized space.
Paxos received more than its fair share of knocks from the US regulatory authorities.
OpenSea, in a bid to maintain its lead in the NFT space, cut trading fees down to zero.
SBF’s woes continued with increased scrutiny of his bail conditions, and subpoenas served to just about everybody he knows.
These are the decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin Hit $25k, Altcoins Remained Steady
Bitcoin prices hit a $25,074.39 high from a $21,728.82 low, with current prices at $24,943.31.
The Altcoins fared well. Ethereum prices are at $1,707.73, Polkadot at $7.50, Solana at $26.47, and Avalanche at $21.07.
Stablecoin volumes were readjusted with increased capitalizations across the board following BUSD’s exit.
Paxos was Ordered to Stop Minting the BUSD Stablecoin
Paxos trust company took multiple hits from the New York Department of Financial Services and the SEC, with the NYDFS ordering the crypto firm to stop minting the BUSD and the SEC classifying the stablecoin as an unregistered security via a Wells Notice.
Paxos disagreed with the SEC’s position.
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao reiterated that the BUSD was backed 1:1 to the dollar in securities. CZ maintained that the BUSD was owned and managed by Paxos.
Binance Prepared for Further US Regulatory Crackdowns
Following the SEC’s Wells Notice that shut down BUSD stablecoin minting, media reports indicate that Binance is ready for further hits from US authorities. The cryptocurrency exchange is working to resolve its compliance issues.
Binance officials remained optimistic about the resolution of issues, but the numbers in terms of fines and penalties were a grey area.
The FDIC Issued a “Cease and Desist” Notice to Cex.io
America’s top financial insurer warned cryptocurrency exchange Cex.io against misrepresentations regarding FDIC insurance of its fiat wallets.
The FDIC asserted that a section on Cex.io’s website indicated coverage of fiat deposits in wallets with a $250,00 limit.
The SEC Proposed Adding Crypto to Custody Rules
The SEC mulled adding other assets to Federal custody rules, including crypto assets. In a 4-1 vote, the regulator proposed changes that could see crypto firms and exchanges having to register with the SEC.
Current rules cover assets that include funds and securities. The new rules, if amended, will bring a wide range of assets under scrutiny.
The FTX Legal Dragnet got Widened, SBF’s Guarantors were Unsealed
As a part of the continuing legal issues faced by Sam Bankman-Fried, the embattled former CEO of FTX, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan revealed SBF’s unnamed bail bond guarantors.
Larry Kramer, a former dean at Stanford’s Law School, and Andreas Paepcke, a researcher at Stanford University, have workplace ties with SBF’s parents.
In related news, subpoenas flew in several directions, and several people with ties to the embattled CEO received theirs.
The targets of the summons included Caroline Ellison, the ex-CEO of Alameda Research, former FTX head of engineering, Nishad Singh, John Ray III, the current FTX CEO, and Joseph Bankman-Fried over a $16.4 million FTX-related property purchase in the Bahamas.
OpenSea Eliminated Trading Fees, Reduced Creator Earnings
NFT marketplace OpenSea, in response to changes in the NFT space, introduced 0% trading fees and cut creator earnings to a minimum of 0.5%.
The trading fee ban is temporary. Sellers can pay fees higher than the mandated 0.5%.
Bakkt Announced App Shutdown, to Focus on B2B Activities
Digital asset management firm Bakkt revealed it was shutting down its retail app after two years of operations. In an announcement, the firm revealed it was shifting focus to business-to-business solutions.
Users can view, store and transfer their tokens via a web interface until 16th March 2023, when retail operations shall end.
Two Avalanche DeFi Protocols Got Hacked in One Day
Two Avalanche-based DeFi projects faced attacks from hackers following the discovery of exploits on multichain DeFi protocol Dexible by PeckShield, a crypto security research company, and a flash loan attack against Platypus, a stablecoin project.
The Platypus stablecoin, USP, lost its peg to the dollar and fell to 48 cents. The hacker, whose Twitter account was identified, stole $8.5 million. Negotiations were ongoing in addition to other actions in concert with cryptocurrency exchangers.
Dexible lost $2 million.
KnownOrigin Introduced its Creator Smart Contract
Boutique NFT marketplace KnownOrigin launched its Creator smart contract.
Artists on the eBay-owned platform can mint their NFTs and share earnings and royalties. The beta-tested contract yielded 84 contracts and 250 NFT mints.
The Creator Contracts will go live on 24th February.
Compute North Got the Go-Ahead for its Restructuring Plans
Judge Marvin Isgur of the Southern District of Texas approved the restructuring plans for Compute North, the bankrupt crypto mining firm.
Per the approval, several creditor claims got settled with a few holdouts. Asset sales satisfied Compute North’s secured claims, and the plan allows for the formation of a litigation trust that will resolve other issues.
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