Circle Begins Putting Reserves Into New Blackrock Fund (CoinDesk)
"Circle Internet Financial has begun moving the reserves for its USDC stablecoin into a dedicated fund set up by BlackRock and registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company disclosed Thursday. The Circle Reserve Fund – a government money market fund managed by BlackRock Advisors – has been in the works for months after BlackRock initially sought to register it in May. Circle will be its only eligible investor, and the stablecoin issuer has already started putting its reserves there, expecting to be ‘fully transitioned’ by the end of March."
EU’s Mica Regulation Vote Deferred to February 2023: Spokesperson (The Block)
"The European Union is now expected to adopt a benchmark framework for regulating crypto assets early next year. The European Parliament was to take its final vote on the Markets in Crypto-Assets legislation in an upcoming plenary session in November. But the draft needs to be translated into the 24 official EU languages. But since the text is technical and lengthy, the regulation’s adoption is now anticipated for February 2023, according to a parliament spokesperson. Once adopted by the Parliament and the European Council, the text will be added into the EU’s Official Journal, which launches a lengthy rulemaking process."
Coinbase Cuts Q3 Losses in Half, Sees Crypto Headwinds Continuing Into 2023 (CoinDesk)
"Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) cut its third-quarter losses by 50% to $545 million from $1.1 billion in the second quarter, the company reported Thursday, as the company reined in costs and cut workers, and also increased its interest income. However, its transaction revenue continued to be significantly impacted by macroeconomic and crypto market headwinds, which it expects to continue into 2023, as well as trading volume moving offshore, the company said in its shareholder letter."
Bakkt to Acquire Apex Crypto for up to $200 Million (The Block)
"Bakkt is set to acquire Apex Crypto from Apex Fintech Solutions for up to $200 million in an effort to bolster its cryptocurrency product. Bakkt will pay $55 million in cash when the deal closes, according to a statement. The crypto platform will also pay $45 million in stock, dependent on fourth-quarter financial targets set for Apex Crypto. An additional $100 million in stock and seller notes may also be paid, dependent on 2025 financial targets. The deal is expected to finalize in the first half of 2023 and is subject to regulatory approval."
Instagram to Support Polygon-Powered NFT Marketplace (The Block)
"In Meta’s latest bid to expand into the crypto ecosystem, Instagram will soon host a marketplace for NFTs starting with support for Polygon, the company announced. The features are live with a small group of creators in the U.S. and will be expanded to other countries soon. Support is also live for Solana’s Phantom wallet, Meta said, adding that information for collections from OpenSea can now be viewed on the platform."
Binance, With Over $1 Billion to Spend, Weighs Buying a Bank (Bloomberg)
"Binance Holdings Ltd. founder and CEO Zhao 'CZ' Changpeng, who last month said the crypto exchange may spend more than $1 billion on deals this year, is considering targets including banks as the boundary between the digital-asset industry and traditional finance blurs. 'There are people who hold certain types of local licenses, traditional banking, payment-service providers, even banks. We’re looking at those things,' Zhao said in an interview at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, without identifying a target."
Divisions in Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Blur on His Trading Titan Alameda’s Balance Sheet (CoinDesk)
"Billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency empire is officially broken into two main parts: FTX (his exchange) and Alameda Research (his trading firm), both giants in their respective industries. But even though they are two separate businesses, the division breaks down in a key place: on Alameda’s balance sheet, according to a private financial document reviewed by CoinDesk. (It is conceivable the document represents just part of Alameda.)."
1,000 Solana Validators Go Offline as Hetzner Blocks Server Access (The Block)
"More than 1,000 Solana validators currently are offline causing more than one-fifth of the Solana stake that secures the network to be delinquent. The downtime is because Hetzner, a cloud service provider, has blocked all Solana network activity on its servers. Data from the RockawayX infrastructure dashboard show the Solana network delinquent stake ratio at 22% — the highest since May. This ratio refers to the percentage of the Solana stake that is currently delinquent."
Decentralized Storage Solution Arweave's Native Token Surges 60% on Meta Integration (CoinDesk)
"AR, the native token of blockchain-based data storage solution Arweave, surged as Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta (FB) said it will utilize the Web3 platform to archive their creators' digital collectibles. The cryptocurrency has jumped more than 60% from $10.5 to $16.6 in the past 24 hours, according to data source Messari. The rally has boosted the cryptocurrency's market cap to $838 million, making it the third-largest Web3 token worldwide. Stephane Kasriel, head of commerce and financial technologies at Meta, disclosed the Arweave integration on Twitter late Thursday."
Crypto Exchange Coinbase's Chief Product Officer Steps Down Amid Restructuring (CoinDesk)
"Crypto exchange Coinbase's (COIN) chief product officer, Surojit Chatterjee, stepped down as the company restructures its product, engineering and design teams. Chatterjee's resignation was 'mutually agreed' upon and he will continue to serve Coinbase in an advisory role through at least Feb. 3, 2023, according to an Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Chatterjee was with Coinbase for almost three years, according to his LinkedIn profile."
Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital Explores Job Cuts of About 20% (Bloomberg)
"Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., the crypto financial services firm founded by billionaire Michael Novogratz, is exploring eliminating as much as 20% of its workforce against the backdrop of a digital-assets market downturn. The plan under consideration could still be changed and the final number could be in a range of 15% to 20%, according to people familiar with the matter. New York-based Galaxy reported 375 employees globally as of the end of the second quarter, which would mean as many as 75 positions could be eliminated."
WEB3 VC Firm Coinfund Eyes $250 Million for Seed Investments (The Block)
"CoinFund, a New York-based web3 investment firm, is looking to raise $250 million to invest in seed-stage startups just three months after announcing its previous fund. CoinDesk first reported the news. The company's Cayman Islands-domiciled funds are looking to raise $130 million and $20 million, while its Delaware-incorporated vehicle is seeking $100 million, according to three separate filings on Monday. The documents indicate that the sales have yet to occur, meaning that the funds are at a very early stage."
Bitwise Jumps Into Active Strategies, Names Alternatives Team (The Block)
"Crypto-focused fund manager Bitwise Asset Management announced a move into active strategies amid growing institutional demand for liquid crypto strategies. Bitwise has focused on how to open up access to the opportunities emerging in crypto over the past five years, though passively, CEO Hunter Horsely said. 'The addition of active strategies to our services is a huge step forward in our ability to do that,' he said."
Singapore Grants Stablecoin Issuer Circle In-Principle License to Offer Payment Products (CoinDesk)
"Stablecoin issuer Circle has received an in-principle license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), allowing it to operate as a payments company in the country. Circle, which sought a Major Payments Institution License from the Singapore central bank, can now offer cross-border and domestic payment services, according to a press release. The company, which is behind the USDC stablecoin, can also offer token products."
Microstrategy Misses Third Quarter Revenue Estimates (The Block)
"MicroStrategy narrowly missed on its third quarter revenue, while reporting just $700,000 in impairment losses related to bitcoin holdings. The software firm said that revenue came in at $125.4 million for the third quarter, compared to the $125.8 million average analyst estimate, SeekingAlpha reported. It posted $128 million a year earlier. The third quarter was Phong Le's first as CEO , having taken over the position from Michael Saylor on Aug. 8. Despite the change at the top, MicroStrategy has maintained the course when it comes to bitcoin, purchasing an additional $6 million worth between Aug. 2 and Sept. 19 — which took its total to an even 130,000 BTC."
Tether Bank-Fraud Probe Gets Fresh Look by Justice Department (Bloomberg)
"A Justice Department probe into a controversial corner of the crypto world -- Tether -- has been struggling to reach a conclusion. Now a new team is taking a crack at investigating whether executives behind the popular stablecoin committed a crime. Last year, federal prosecutors in Washington warned top officials at Tether that they could be charged for allegedly deceiving banks they used to move cash, people familiar with the situation said at the time. But after months of legal wrangling, the case has been transferred within the department, according to people familiar with the matter."
Apollo Expands Crypto Offering for Clients via Partnership With Anchorage (The Block)
"Private equity firm Apollo Global Management has expanded its crypto offering through a partnership with crypto custodian platform Anchorage Digital. Anchorage, a federally charted crypto bank in the U.S., will store the large majority of the digital assets the firm handles for its clients, according to a release Monday. Apollo participated in Anchorage's $350 million Series D funding round in December 2021, with its custody relationship beginning in the middle of last year, per a Reuters report. It follows previous Anchorage partnerships with institutions in Asia."
Vitalik Buterin Shares the Kind of Defi Regulation He Would Like to See (The Block)
"With debates raging about potential DeFi regulation, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has broken down what he sees as productive solutions. Buterin noted that the two main regulatory goals are protecting consumers and making it harder for bad actors to move money around, according to a tweet thread. He suggested three ways of achieving this — such as limiting leverage on DeFi protocol front-end websites, requiring transparency about what audits have been done and restricting access to tools through the use of knowledge tests."
Gamestop Officially Launches NFT Marketplace (The Block)
"GameStop's NFT marketplace is live on Immutable X, a Layer 2 Ethereum scaling protocol. The video game stores’s business is in decline but it now stands to be a major player in the NFT gaming industry, rivalling crypto-native gaming NFT platforms like Fractal, founded by Twitch’s Justin Kan. GameStop’s marketplace will offer assets for Immutable X games, such as Gods Unchained, Guild of Guardians and Illuvium, in addition to other web3 games. All transactions will forgo fees and offer carbon-neutral minting using Immutable X’s Ethereum scaling."
Singapore Pilots Tokenized Fiat With Smart Contract Capabilities (The Block)
"Singapore-based financial services group DBS is partnering with Open Government Products, a tech team within the Singapore government, to launch a live pilot for the issuance of purpose-bound money-based vouchers. Notably, the vouchers are issued using tokenized Singapore dollars on a blockchain, according to an email from DBS. The pilot is part of Project Orchid, led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which aims to enable a programmable digital Singapore dollar. DBS will issue digital Singapore dollars, while Open Government Products will enable smart contract capabilities."
Crypto Exchange Binance, Musk’s Co-investor, to Help Twitter With Blockchain (Reuters)
"Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange that has invested $500 million into Elon Musk's buyout of Twitter Inc, is creating a team to work on how blockchain and crypto could be helpful to Twitter, the company's spokesperson said on Friday. As one of Elon Musk's equity co-investors to fund his $44 billion deal, Binance said it will brainstorm plans and strategies that could help Elon Musk run the platform. The newly-formed team will explore how to build on-chain solutions to address Twitter's issues including proliferation of bot accounts, a problem Musk has repeatedly complained about and almost reneged his offer on."
How Elon Musk Could Put More Crypto Into Twitter (Bloomberg)
"After months of dramatic back-and-forth, Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter Inc., igniting emotions ranging from hope to anxiety among users who are bracing themselves for how the billionaire will put his stamp on the social-media platform. Crypto Twitter is no exception. Digital-asset enthusiasts have long congregated on Twitter, where they’ve changed their profile pictures to images of themselves with 'laser eyes' as a signal of their crypto support, posted irreverent memes about rising (and then falling) coin prices and re-tweeted threads from their favorite founders."
Visa Files Trademark Applications for Crypto Wallets, NFTs and the Metaverse (CoinDesk)
"Payments giant Visa (V) filed two trademark applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to digital wallets, non-fungible tokens and the metaverse. Part of one of the applications applies for trademarks related to software for 'management of digital transactions; use as a digital currency wallet and storage services software; use as a cryptocurrency wallet; and managing and verifying cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology,' while another one is an application related to 'providing temporary use of non-downloadable software for users to view, access, store, monitor, manage, trade, send, receive, transmit, and exchange digital currency, virtual currency, cryptocurrency, digital and blockchain assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFT).'"
Maker Founder Uses Influence to Pass Vote That Breaks up the DAO (The Block)
"Maker founder Rune Christensen was at the heart of a governance vote that aims to shake things up with the way the DAI stablecoin issuer operates, but some critics claim the founder put his thumb on the scale to pass the measure. The MakerDAO community on Monday passed Christensen’s 'Endgame' proposal and with it set the stage for a new governance architecture for the DAO. Endgame, when implemented, will break up MakerDAO into smaller clusters called 'MetaDAOs.' MakerDAO currently operates along a number of strategic core units tasked with different functions. These units are all under the governance of the DAO."
Bakkt to Report Charges of up to $1.4 Billion in Q3 (The Block)
"Digital asset management platform Bakkt will take a $1.3 billion-$1.4 billion impairment in the third quarter, an Oct. 28 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing shows. Its majority stakeholder, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), said in the filing that it plans to have brought down its investment in Bakkt from $1.5 billion at the end of June to about $400 million at the end of September. The resulting charge will not affect adjusted earnings, ICE said. Bakkt also plans to record a charge of between $150 million-$160 million on 'certain indefinite-lived intangible assets,' according to the filing."