Government interventions did little to stifle innovation and consumer interest. Interestingly, institutional participation looks set to continue for the rest of the year.
The headlines:
- The SEC went after OpenSea;
- Coinbase revealed AI-sourced crypto transactions;
- Wells Fargo will wade into Bitcoin ETFs this month;
- New Bitcoin mining centers are springing up;
- Plus, scammers have a new tactic (read on to find out);
- And much more!
As always, these are your decentralized diaries!
Bitcoin is at $58k
From a high of $63,870.18, Bitcoin prices slid to a $57,217.82 low to settle at $58,201.04 (as of 9/2/24). The altcoins are marginal, too.
Ethereum (ETH) is at $2,508.01, Solana (SOL) at $130.56, Avalanche (AVAX) at $21.99, Chainlink (LINK) at $10.66, and Polkadot (DOT) at $4.15.
The SEC Objected to FTX‘s Reorganization Plan Details
Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX’s drama is far from over. In an August 30 court filing, the SEC said the debtors should delete the discharge provision from the order and make certain changes to the plan (and confirmation order).
In related news, former FTX exec Ryan Salame filed to reverse the petition, canceling his guilty plea. The move followed Salame’s accusations against the government of reneging on an alleged previous non-prosecutorial deal for his partner.
On their part, prosecutors accused Salame of attempting to escape his sentencing. Salame’s partner, Michelle Bond, intends to resolve the issue in her (own) case.
Tokenized Treasuries Hit $2 Billion
The tokenization sector continued to break boundaries, with treasuries crossing the $2 billion mark. According to August 26 data from RWA.xyz, the industry grew 164% this year following an initial takeoff point of $769 million.
The SEC Sent a Wells Notice to OpenSea
America’s top regulator came out with all guns blazing. This time round, the popular marketplace OpenSea was the target. According to a post on X/Twitter by OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer, the regulator sent the notice intending to sue because it identified NFTs as securities.
Moreover, Finzer indicated that the marketplace will fight back.
Securitize–Tokenized Securities Will Topple Stablecoins
Still on the tokenization front, during a podcast interview at the recently concluded SALT conference in Wyoming, Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo indicated that tokenized treasuries and other securities will dethrone stablecoins as choice collateral.
Securitize collaborated with BlackRock early in the year to launch the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL).
A Ton of Crypto Hearings are Coming to Capitol Hill in the Fall
The House Financial Services Committee will (expectedly) have a lot of hearings this month. Crypto, blockchains, and digital assets will have their day in the sun.
Additionally, the DeFi sector will be discussed extensively alongside the rise of pig butchering and other related scams.
Coinbase Managed its First AI-to-AI Transaction
On the AI end, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase revealed the (first) successful AI transaction on the Base Sepolia Network. The cryptocurrency exchange deployed Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology to create the source wallet.
Consequently, after receiving tokens via a faucet, the AI agent in the experiment (successfully) transferred tokens to another wallet.
Frax Finance Launched a Decentralized ID Name Service
Premier DeFi ecosystem Frax Finance revealed the launch of Frax Name Service (FNS), a decentralized identity service. The Frax Name Service (FNS) is a hard fork of the (popular) Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
In addition, 1 million Frax shares (FXS) are burned for every thousand 3-letter FNS domain names users register.
Wells Fargo Unveiled September Bitcoin ETF Pitch Plans
Banking behemoth Wells Fargo will (reportedly) start introducing Bitcoin ETFs to their wealthy clients this month. The move follows reports that advisors will begin to offer the investment option to high-net-worth clients.
Consequently, Wells Fargo has a little below $1,200 in the ProShares Bitcoin ETF and $141,817 in the Grayscale BTC Trust.
Nasdaq Filed for SEC Approval to Launch Bitcoin Index Options
Popular exchange Nasdaq continued to push for further Bitcoin adoption with an application with the SEC to introduce Bitcoin Index Options (XBTX). The proposed Nasdaq Bitcoin Index Options will also have CME CF Bitcoin Real-Time Index (BRTI) (by CF Benchmarks) as its pricing basis.
Genesis Digital Assets Introduced its Texas Data Center with Expansion Plans
Popular crypto mining firm GDA announced the availability of its Rowdy mining center. The firm revealed that the data center is live, has a 60 MW capacity, and is located in Vernon City.
Furthermore, GDA plans to increase its capacity up to 400 MW. The Oklaunion power plant supports the facility alongside a wind energy installation in Wilbarger County.
Bitfarms Took Over a Sharon, Pennsylvania Site
Similarly, mining behemoth Bitfarms revealed the takeover of a Sharon, Pennsylvania mining facility. The site is Bitfarm’s largest data center, with up to 110 MW in power capacity. 30 MW will be ready before the end of 2024.
Washington’s State Regulator Issued an Alert Linked to Fake Nasdaq Exchange
Bad actors continued to invent new ways to steal from victims. This time, a Washington State resident lost $200,000 after falling for a Facebook-based investment scam (allegedly) linked to a false version of the Nasdaq Exchange.
According to an August 28 announcement from the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), the victim lost the amount after the scammer shifted the conversation from Facebook to WhatsApp. Furthermore, the regulator warned the public about unsolicited messages that may present investment opportunities, especially through social media and messaging platforms.
