First EU-Wide Crypto Regulations Clear Final Parliament Vote (Bloomberg)
"European lawmakers on Thursday gave their final blessing to an ambitious law that will give the European Union its first rules to govern the crypto industry. The approval of the EU’s Markets in Cryptoassets, or MiCA, regulation is the first time that governments have tried to supervise the upstart industry on such a scale and follows the collapse of several big players including the crypto exchange FTX."
Gemini Has ‘Big Plans’ for Asia, Names Regional CEO, Opening India Office (The Block)
"Gemini, the U.S.-based crypto exchange founded by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, named a new chief executive officer for Asia-Pacific (APAC) and is set to open its first office in India as part of its "big plans" in the region. Pravjit Tiwana, Gemini's global chief technology officer, has taken additional responsibility as APAC CEO, the Winklevoss brothers said in a blog post shared with The Block. As APAC CEO, Tiwana will lead Gemini's new product launches from the region and ensure financial stability. "Gemini has big plans for international growth this year in APAC," the Winklevi said. “This initially involves building out product and engineering teams in India. We will also be expanding our business teams in both India and Singapore to execute GTM [go-to-market] strategies focused on growing our individual and institutional customer base in this region.”"
Societe Generale's Crypto Division Introduces Euro Stablecoin on Ethereum (CoinDesk)
"Societe Generale's (GLE) crypto division, SG Forge, has introduced a stablecoin pegged to the euro (EUR) on Ethereum, saying it is the first such asset deployed on a public blockchain. EUR CoinVertible (EURCV) will be offered to institutional clients as a means of bridging the gap between traditional capital markets and digital assets, the Paris-based bank's unit said on its website on Thursday. SG Forge said it is addressing increasing demand from clients for a robust settlement asset for on-chain transactions, as well as a means for on-chain liquidity funding and refinancing."
Credit Agency Giant TransUnion Will Deliver Credit Scores for Crypto Lending (CoinDesk)
"TransUnion, one of the three major credit agencies in the U.S., will deliver credit scores for decentralized finance (DeFi) lenders starting next week, the firm announced on Thursday. TransUnion will provide traditional (off-chain) credit scores for individuals when they apply for loans on blockchain-based protocols without compromising applicants’ privacy, according to the press release. The firm is teaming up with data security firm Spring Labs and DeFi identity and compliance software developer Quadrata to provide the service."
Berachain Raises $42 Million to Launch Yet Another Layer 1 Blockchain (The Block)
"Berachain, a bear-themed crypto project run by a group of pseudonymous co-founders known as Homme Bera, Dev Bear, Papa Bear and Smokey the Bera, has raised $42 million to launch a new Layer 1 blockchain. Polychain Capital led the funding, with Hack VC, Shima Capital, Robot Ventures, Goldentree Asset Management and others participating, Berachain said Thursday. Angel investors, including Tendermint co-founder Zaki Manian and Celestia co-founder Mustafa Al-Bassam, also backed the round. Startups building new Layer 1 blockchains and scaling networks have continued to gain traction from investors in recent months. Projects including Sei Labs, Dymension, VRRB Labs and Sovereign Labs have announced rounds since the start of the year."
Coinbase Gets Bermuda License, Could Launch Offshore Derivatives Exchange Next Week (The Block)
"Coinbase could launch an offshore derivatives exchange as soon as next week, after the crypto exchange received a license to operate in Bermuda. The company obtained a license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority, according to a company blog post published on Wednesday. Coinbase lauded Bermuda as “a highly respected and experienced financial regulator” in its announcement. Coinbase had been exploring launching an offshore platform to trade perpetual swaps tied to cryptocurrencies, The Block reported last month. That expansion could come as soon as next week, a source familiar told The Block. Fortune first reported the news."
Crypto Options Exchange Deribit Adding Zero-Fee Spot Trading (CoinDesk)
"Deribit, the world's largest crypto options exchange by open interest and trading volumes, will be introducing a new spot trading feature. The exchange, which accounted for 91% of global options open interest of over $13 billion in March, said the new platform would go live on April 24 and offer three pairs – BTC/USDC, ETH/USDC and ETH/BTC. The feature will have zero maker and taker fees, meaning there will be no margin for the exchange. Makers create orders and wait for them to be filled, while takers remove liquidity by taking available orders."
A16z Says It's Working on an Optimism-Based Rollup Client Called Magi (CoinDesk)
"A day after setting off a frenzy of Twitter speculation by tweeting out an orange dot, the crypto arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has revealed its blockchain infrastructure plans: Magi, a rollup client for Optimism. Magi is still in development and months away from being a production-ready offering, according to an announcement posted by crypto engineer Noah Citron. The project is a new client for OP Stack, the standardized, open-source development stack that powers Optimism. The system is written using the Rust programming language and is meant to serve as a faster alternative to op-node, the only existing rollup client that’s maintained by OP Labs and written in the Go programming language. A16z’s thesis is that more systems make for more robust decentralization for Optimism, and the addition of one based on Rust will attract more developers."
NFTs Tied Up in Three Arrows Collapse to Be Sold By Sotheby’s (Bloomberg)
"Sotheby’s is preparing to sell a collection of digital art recovered by liquidators unwinding failed cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Ltd. Auctions and private sales of nonfungible tokens in the “GRAILS” collection, assembled by Three Arrows mostly in 2021, will kick off next month in New York, according to a statement. Pieces up for grabs include “Chromie Squiggle #1780” by Snowfro and “The Golden Goose” by artist Dmitri Cherniak."
Crypto Lender Maple Finance Opens U.S. Treasury Bill Pool for Cash Management (CoinDesk)
"Blockchain-based lending protocol Maple Finance has started onboarding investors to its new cash management pool that invests in one-month U.S. Treasury bills (T-bill), the protocol announced in a blog post Wednesday. The facility offers investors the one-month T-bill yield less the 0.5% management fee on stablecoin deposits, the protocol said. Currently, the one-month T-bill rate is at around 3.7%, meaning that the investment would offer a 3.2% annual yield. Maple’s new offering comes as crypto investors have become increasingly keen to earn yields by investing in traditional financial (TradFi) assets. Stablecoins generally do not offer users yield, while crypto lending may come with outsized risks, as last year’s defaults and insolvencies among digital asset firms proved."
FTX Crypto Exchange Restart Plan Draws Possible Bid From Tribe Capital (Bloomberg)
"FTX’s potential plan to reboot its crypto exchange has attracted interest from Tribe Capital, a venture firm that invested in the platform before FTX collapsed and is now considering a fresh capital injection to jump-start the effort. Tribe co-founder Arjun Sethi met with FTX’s committee of unsecured creditors in January to discuss the informal proposal, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential talks. Tribe is considering leading a $250 million fund-raising campaign, anchored by $100 million from itself and its limited partners, one of the people said."
Gensler Grilled by Republicans Over SEC’s Approach to Cryptocurrencies (The Block)
"House Republicans grilled Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler over his agency’s handling of digital assets, especially a lack of clarity over whether or not ether is a security, stablecoins regulations and the agency's handling of FTX. Appearing before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, Gensler faced criticism from the outset of the hearing when the committee's chairman questioned him about whether or not he views the cryptocurrency with the second-largest market capitalization, ether, as a security. Gensler responded with previous statements about the amount of digital asset projects and tokens in violation of securities law."
A Mysterious a16z Tweet Sparked a Rally in Crypto Project Optimism's OP Token (CoinDesk)
"The native token of the Optimism blockchain, OP, rallied after an engineer at the crypto arm of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) tweeted out a picture of an orange circle, accompanied by “coming soon.” The color of the circle in the tweet matched that commonly associated with the a16z logo. Earlier this year, Coinbase teased the impending announcement of its Optimism-backed layer 2 network – called Base – by first tweeting out a blue circle."
Lido Deposits Surpass $12 Billion as Ethereum’s Shapella Boosts Liquid Staking (The Block)
"Liquid staking protocol Lido Finance has seen its total value locked (TVL) surpass 6 million ether (ETH), equivalent to more than $12 billion. Since January, Lido's TVL has risen by over 20% from 5 million ETH, according to DeFiLama — a trend expected to persist beyond the Shapella upgrade. A total 141,000 users have deposited their ETH into Lido Finance, Nansen data shows. Liquid staking, offered by Lido and other protocols, is a popular method that streamlines user deposits and stakes on Ethereum. Users receive a derivative token as proof of their deposit, which can be used as collateral within the DeFi ecosystem, enabling them to earn additional yields beyond what Ethereum staking alone provides."
SEC Sues Bittrex Crypto Exchange and Former CEO (WSJ)
"Securities regulators sued Bittrex, a crypto exchange that once ranked as the biggest U.S.-based platform for trading digital assets. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit, filed in Seattle federal court, accuses Bittrex Inc. of operating an illegal securities exchange, broker-dealer and clearinghouse. The lawsuit hinges on the claim that Bittrex listed digital assets that qualified as securities, which would have required the company to register with the SEC and follow its rules."
Thiel’s Founders Fund Hires Pantera’s Former Co-CIO Joey Krug (Bloomberg)
"Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund has hired Joey Krug, the former co-chief investment officer of crypto venture firm Pantera Capital, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Krug’s mandate at Founders Fund couldn’t immediately be learned. Krug who co-founded Eco, a fintech startup, joined Pantera as a partner in 2017. An executive committee comprising Pantera Chief Executive Officer Dan Morehead, partner Paul Veradittakit and President Jasper Lewitton took over Krug’s responsibilities, Bloomberg News has reported."
U.S. Congress to Tackle SEC Oversight, Stablecoin Legislation (Decrypt)
"SEC Chair Gary Gensler will be in the hot seat on Tuesday, the star witness before the full U.S. House Committee on Financial Services on the topic of "Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission." The next day, the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion will take up draft legislation relating to stablecoins. On the regulatory front, Gensler has found himself again under fire from within his own agency, with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce on Friday filing a robust dissent against Gensler's latest policy move, which changes the statutory definition of a securities exchange to include cryptocurrency and digital asset exchanges."
Crypto Exchange Bybit Opens Global HQ in Dubai (CoinDesk)
"Crypto exchange Bybit has opened its global headquarters in Dubai, the company announced on Monday. The launch comes nearly a year after Bybit revealed plans to establish itself in the emirate based on an in-principle approval to move its global headquarters to the city. "As one of the most progressive digital-assets hubs in MENA and the world, Dubai is optimally positioned to capture the opportunities in the sector," Ben Zhou, CEO and co-founder of Bybit, said in the press release, referring to the Middle East North Africa region."
Nike’s Multi-Million Dollar Crypto Push Is Here (The Block)
"It’s become a running theme: Massive brands are providing loyal customers with NFTs, but they're no longer calling them by that. Now, it’s a “collectible” or, in the case of Nike, a “creation.” The shoe and apparel juggernaut announced that it is dropping its “first digital-creation collection” on .Swoosh, the blockchain-powered platform Nike announced late last year. Consumers will be able to buy digital images of virtual show boxes for $19.82, the company said. Each box will eventually unlock various digital versions of Nike’s “iconic Air Force 1” sneakers, which were first sold in ... 1982."
SEC Poised to Increase Its Scrutiny of Decentralized Finance Exchanges (The Block)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission removed any doubt that they plan to police decentralized finance. The commission declared on Friday that rules governing trading exchanges in the U.S. also apply to decentralized finance. The procedural move isn’t a change to rules, but rather an effort to make explicit whether existing exchange rules apply to decentralized finance. The proposed clarification and amendments to the definition of an exchange are subject to a vote by the Democratic majority commission that leads the agency, making them likely to pass."
U.S. House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill (CoinDesk)
"The U.S. House Financial Services Committee published a draft version of a potential landmark stablecoin bill, with proposals including a moratorium on stablecoins backed by other cryptocurrencies and a request to study a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bill, available on the committee's hearing page, represents the first major piece of crypto legislation to move in 2023, and follows two key incidents over the past year involving stablecoins: the blowup of terraUSD (UST), which was backed by a token called LUNA, and the second-largest one, USD coin (USDC), temporarily becoming unmoored from $1."
Mysten Labs Buys Back Stake From FTX for $96 Million (The Block)
"Mysten Labs, creator of the Layer 1 blockchain Sui, has repurchased an equity stake bought by FTX less than a year ago. The total buyback price of $96 million also includes “all of FTX’s warrant rights to purchase Sui tokens,” Mysten said in a statement. The Sui blockchain, developed at Meta, has garnered a significant amount of interest from investors. Since late 2021, the company has raised a total of $336 million, according to The Block Pro's Deals Dashboard."
1 Million Ether Has Been Withdrawn Since Ethereum’s Shanghai Hard Fork (The Block)
The amount of ether withdrawn since Ethereum's Shanghai hard fork has surpassed one million coins. The Shanghai hard fork — part of an upgrade package called Shapella — went live just before 6:30 p.m. EDT on April 12 at block height 6209536. It allowed Ethereum stakers to withdraw their ether rewards for the first time since Beacon-chain deposits began in late 2020. The total amount of withdrawn ether currently stands at 1.02 million coins, according to data from token.unlocks. Deposited ether since the Shanghai hard fork, meanwhile, stands at 373,040 — creating a net staking balance of -646,210."
Crypto Market Maker DWF Labs’ More Than $200M in Deals Blur What ‘Investing’ Means (CoinDesk)
"The giants of crypto venture capital are mostly a well-known group of firms that've been around for years, companies such as A16Z, Paradigm, Pantera Capital and Digital Currency Group (CoinDesk's parent). So the quick and loud emergence of a firm called DWF Labs as a seemingly large player in the space over the past few months caught many by surprise. It announced through press releases and media organizations such as CoinDesk and The Block a slew of investments in projects including $40 million for internet alternative provider Tomi, $40 million for artificial intelligence-related token Fetch.AI and $10 million in AI-focused crypto data project CryptoGPT. But a closer examination reveals DWF, whose founders made their money as crypto high-frequency traders, isn't exactly a venture capital firm – not always, at least."