Weekly Update: 22 Dec 2022
1) Alibaba Cloud fault on Sunday hampered crypto transactions [Yahoo Finance]
– Alibaba Cloud suffered a system failure on Dec 18, which led to suspending cryptocurrency withdrawals on the OKX exchange and disabling of websites at Macau’s monetary authority.
2) Binance buys bankrupt Voyager Digital’s assets in $1bn deal [Financial Times]
– Binance swooped in to purchase the defunct lender’s holdings after Voyager’s deal with FTX fell apart Binance US, the group’s American arm, agreed to a deal worth $1.02bn.
3) Binance’s proof-of-reserves auditor suspends work for crypto firms[CNBC]
– Mazars Group has suspended all work with its crypto clients, including Binance, KuCoin and Crypto.com after releasing “proof of reserve” reports for digital asset exchanges.
4) Binance acquires Indonesian crypto exchange Tokocrypto [CoinDesk]
– Tokocrypto became the first regulated crypto trading platform in Indonesia in 2019. Binance’s acquisition followed its record net outflow of over US$3.6 billion last Tuesday.
5) Crypto.com receives a license as a payment institution in Brazil [CoinDesk]
– Crypto.com has obtained a Payment Institution License from the Central Bank of Brazil, allowing the company to continue offering regulated fiat wallet services in the country.
6) Crypto trading firm Amber Group raises $300m Series C after FTX contagion [CoinDesk]
– Amber Group changed its fundraising strategy to raise a $300 million Series C round. The round was led by Fenbushi Capital U.S., other crypto investors, and family offices.
7) Donald Trump NFT collection sells out, price surges [CoinDesk]
– Donald Trump’s NFT digital trading card collection sold out after its initial release. OpenSea says the collection’s floor price is more than double the original price.
8) Japan to exempt token issuers from corporate tax on unrealized gains [CoinDesk]
– Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) tax committee approved a proposal to exempt crypto start-ups that issue their own tokens from paying corporate taxes on unrealized gains.
9) Sam Bankman-Fried to agree to US extradition after Bahamas court hearing [Financial Times]
– Sam Bankman-Fried appeared in court on Monday as his lawyers said he will agree to be extradited to the US to face fraud charges related to the collapse of FTX.
10) Visa proposes automatic payments using Ethereum Layer 2 system StarkNet [Yahoo News]
-Visa recently proposed a system known as “account abstraction” that uses smart contracts can be used to enable automated programmable payments on Ethereum.
