Weekly Update: 22 Sep 2022
1) Alameda to Repay $200M Loan to Voyager that just months ago were worth double as Asset Auction Nears [Blockworks]
– In July, Alameda owed the lender $377 million in loans, which were denominated in raw tokens rather than US dollars. The value of Alameda’s loans has almost halved since then.
2) Binance’s attempt to buy Voyager Digital’s Assets is complicated by national security concerns [Coindesk]
– CoinDesk reported Thursday that FTX currently has the highest bid for Voyager, though additional offers could come in soon.
3) China digital currency: Beijing to expand e-CNY trials to four entire provinces including Guangdong [South China Morning Post]
– The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will expand e-CNY trials to Guangdong, Hebei Jiangsu, and Sichuan provinces, an official said on Monday.
4) Crypto market maker Wintermute hacked for $160M, OTC services unaffected [Coindesk]
– Wintermute trades billions of dollars across crypto market daily as it provides liquidity across multiple venues. Last week it was named as the official DeFi market maker for the Tron network.
5) Ethereum merge attracts SEC chair’s attention, ETH drops 8% [Blockworks]
– Now that Ethereum requires validators to stake their holdings to secure the network, alongside many other blockchains questions regarding the role of intermediates in these systems are taking precedent.
6) Hong Kong plans to launch the trial of e-HKD in the fourth quarter, paving way for full digital currency roll-out [South China Morning Post]
– The pilot scheme, which will be accompanied by law changes and digital infrastructure to support the e-HKD
7) Nasdaq starts crypto custody service for institutional clients [Coindesk]
– Nasdaq will compete with crypto exchange Coinbase and crypto custodians Anchorage Digital and BitGo in holding bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) for institutional clients in the U.S.
8) South Korea asks Interpol to Issue ‘Red Notice’ for Terra Do Kwon [Coindesk]
– Singapore Police Force confirmed to the press that Kwon was no longer in the city-state.
9) SEC, Ripple call for immediate ruling in suit over whether XRP sales violated securities laws [Coindesk]
– Both parties are asking the court to decide whether either the SEC or Ripple has provided enough to prove one way or another whether there was a violation.
10) SEC charges crypto influencer for promoting Unregistered ICO [Blockworks]
– Sparkster, a project that promised a “no-code” software creation platform, raised over $30 million from its initial coin offering in July 2018. After raising the funds, the project never materialized, as far as investors were concerned.
11) UK financial watchdog issues warning against crypto exchange FTX [FT]
– FCA says group led by Sam Bankman-Fried is ‘targeting’ consumers without authorisation.
