By Christopher Hamman
The crypto space remained indifferent to moves by the regulatory agencies to stifle growth and adoption.
Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s CEO, hit back at the SEC.
It might not be all swimsuit models and sports for Sports Illustrated as its NFT event ticketing platform takes center stage and will launch on Polygon.
Several states have differing views on how CBDCs should work and operate within their borders (we will have to see about that).
Plus, the offshore “crypto exodus” has started!
Gemini led the charge.
These are your decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin Remained at $27k Despite Selling Pressure
Following an overheated market, Bitcoin prices slid to $27,952.50 from a $28k high. Volatility kicked in, and prices tested the waters at a high of $29,647.8. Then the Fed rate hike announcement pushed prices to $27,902.33 (as of 5/8/2023)
The Altcoins remained similarly resilient, with Ethereum (ETH) at $1,865.6, Polkadot (DOT) at $5.43, Solana (SOL) at $21.11, and Avalanche (AVAX) at $15.7.
The SEC Announced the Settlement of Coinme Charges
Following a tug-of-war between Bitcoin kiosk company Coinme, Up Global SEZC, Neil Bergquist, the CEO of both companies and the SEC, a settlement worth almost $4 million was announced by the regulator.
The SEC charged the three parties for misrepresentations during the 2017 “UpToken” Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
Coinme agreed to pay $250,000, Up Global, $3,250,000, and Bergquist $150,000.
Bergquist got barred from holding any executive position in a public company for three years.
In related news, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the regulator to respond to Coinbase’s complaint over the SEC’s interpretation of securities laws within ten days from Wednesday last week.
Coinbase Shuttered its Loan Product
Coinbase announced the end of days for its “Coinbase Borrow”, a product that allows customers to take loans of up to $1 million in fiat currency with as much as 30% of in-wallet Bitcoins as collateral.
Coinbase Borrow launched in November 2021, and 10th May 2023 will be the last day of operations for the service.
Gemini Launched its Offshore “Non-US” Derivatives Platform
Gemini Foundation, the offshore derivatives trading platform for the Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange, launched.
The platform is available in 29 jurisdictions. Residents in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union are excluded from joining.
Gemini Foundation offers BTC perpetual contracts with up to 100x leverage in Gemini Dollars (GUSD).
An Ethereum perpetual contract (ETH/GUSD) product is in the works.
Voyager Digital to Self-Liquidate
Following a walkout by Binance.US from previous acquisition discussions, bankrupt crypto lender Voyager indicated via a court filing that it would liquidate with a 36% initial recovery rate.
Should efforts by Alameda Research, the subsidiary of the defunct FTX to recover $446 million fail, the rate could be higher.
Creditors who own any of the 67 supported tokens will withdraw a portion of their holding. Holders of the 38 unsupported tokens will get paid after conversion into USDC stablecoin tokens.
FTX Received Court Approval to Sell LedgerX
In related news, the Bankruptcy Court of Delaware approved the sale of LedgerX, an FTX derivatives trading subsidiary, to M7 Holdings LLC.
M7 Holdings LLC is an affiliate of Miami International Holdings, which owns other exchanges, including the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX), the Bermuda Stock Exchange, and the Miami International Exchange.
The $50 million deal received approval from Judge John Dorsey after several bids from interested parties.
In related news, and according to a New York Bankruptcy Court filing, FTX’s lawyers tried to reclaim $1.8 billion in loans and a $273 million collateral given by Alameda Research to Genesis, another bankrupt crypto lender.
Other “clawback” attempts include another $1.6 billion and $213 million in withdrawals to Genesis and GGC International, a BVI-linked subsidiary.
Iress Partnered with Kaiko to Offer Digital Asset Price Data to Institutions
Leading financial industry solutions firm Iress announced its partnership with Kaiko, a premier digital asset data provider, to extend its services in Iress’s FeedOS format to institutional clients.
Kaiko has been providing crypto asset data services since 2013.
Crosschain Primitive Opened its Doors to Developers
Qsign, a new kid on the self-custody block, was launched by Web 3 solutions upstart Qredo with an invite to developers to its discord channel.
The crosschain solution allows for the programmatic creation of wallet addresses and remote control from within the smart contract with all kinds of capabilities, including contract signing and decentralized data broadcasting across multiple blockchains.
Sports Illustrated Partnered to Develop Ticketing Platform on Polygon
To compete against and possibly outshine Ticketmaster, SI Ticketing, a subsidiary of the all-American sports magazine Sports Illustrated, partnered with leading blockchain solutions firm ConsenSys to develop a Non-Fungible Token (NFT)-powered platform on the Polygon Layer-2 sidechain.
SI Ticket executives indicated the platform will allow users to mint NFT tickets and set royalties, which will occur on a 50-50 basis.
The platform is also available on both iPhone and Android devices.
Several State Legislatures Approved Different CBDC Bills
The Federal Government will have a tough time implementing the “digital dollar” (when the time comes) because of the differing responses across the country per Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) issuance.
Florida’s legislature almost unanimously voted to ban CBDC use within state borders and even amended its Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to include CBDCs per definition.
North Carolina’s State House of Representatives voted unanimously on a similar bill.
This time, “HB 690” went as far as banning the Federal Reserve from using the State as a testing ground for a CBDC pilot.
On the other hand, bill HB4903, presented to the Texas State House of Representatives, seeks to create a gold-backed “state-issued” CBDC.
Then again, per the constitution, “Federal supremacy” might prevail.
Montana’s Governor Signed Pro-Crypto Bill into Law
Montana’s Governor, Greg Gianforte (R), signed S.B 178, a “pro-crypto” bill that prevents prejudicial utility payments for crypto miners and disallows crypto taxes as a means of payment, paving the way for further inclusion and bypassing local statutes.
