KuCoin sees nearly $800 million in net outflow following DOJ indictment

KuCoin saw a net outflow of over $780 million across multiple chains over the past 24 hours after the U.S. Department of Justice lodged charges against it on Tuesday, according to on-chain data.  Data from crypto analytics firm Nansen showed that KuCoin experienced a total outflow of $882 million in the last 24 hours as of Wednesday noon in Asia on several networks and inflow of $99 million, with a net outflow of $783 million. The data set covers flows on Ethereum, BNB Chain, Avalanche, Fantom, and Polygon chains.  The notable exodus from KuCoin comes after the DOJ unveiled the indictment on Tuesday against KuCoin and two of its founders, alleging that they violated anti-money laundering laws. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also reiterated in the KuCoin complaint that ether and several other cryptocurrencies are commodities.  “Given past incidents, its expected that any large regulatory crackdown would result in a surge in outflows, but as long as the exchange has held customer deposits and funds 1:1, it should remain solvent even under such stress,” Martin Lee, Content and Communications Lead of Nansen, told The Block.  The exchange has crypto holdings of $5.1 billion, according to Nansen.  

2024-03-27Deep Dive

Blast On-Chain Protocol Munchables Stolen $62.5 Million

Event Details  Blast ecosystem project Munchables has announced on the X platform that it has been attacked. The project is currently tracing the flow of funds, attempting to halt transactions, and will update relevant information as soon as possible.  According to data from Defillama, Munchables had a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $96.16 million before the theft. In this hacking incident, all the ETH in the protocol was stolen, resulting in a loss of over 17.4K ETH, which is approximately $62.5 million at the current price.  Slowmist founder Cos commented on the Munchables attack on Blast, stating, “The Munchables protocol on Blast was stolen $62.5 million, a significant loss. According to the investigation by on-chain detective ZachXBT, it was because one of their developers is a North Korean hacker... This is at least the second DeFi project we have encountered with such a situation. The core developer disguised themselves and lurked for a long time, gaining the trust of the entire team. Once the time was right, they struck without mercy. There are likely many victims, and we will closely follow up.”  On-chain analyst @SomaXBT posted that the Blast ecosystem project Munchables, which was hacked, had previously hired an unknown security team @EntersoftTeam to

2024-03-27Deep Dive

El Salvador Doubles Down on Bitcoin

In a series of strategic moves that underline its commitment to cryptocurrency, El Salvador continues to deepen its engagement with the digital currency market, particularly bitcoin (BTC). President Nayib Bukele recently announced El Salvadors plan to buy one bitcoin every day, aiming to continue this practice until it becomes unaffordable with fiat currencies. This initiative has pushed the nations bitcoin holdings to a substantial total of 5,690 BTC, valued at approximately $400 million.  In tandem with its cryptocurrency endeavors, El Salvador has made a bold statement in the global investment landscape by eliminating income tax for international investments and money transfers. This tax cut, from 30%-0%, is designed to attract foreign investors and boost economic growth.  The countrys commitment to bitcoin was further highlighted this week as it transferred more than 5,000 BTC into a cold wallet. President Bukele disclosed that a significant portion of these assets, amounting to $400 million worth of bitcoin, has been moved to an offline device stored in a physical vault within the nations territory. This move to secure the digital assets in a “Bitcoin piggy bank” marks a significant step in El Salvadors financial strategy, offering a higher level of security and signaling strong faith in

2024-03-26Deep Dive

SEC plans to ask judge for $2 billion in fines and penalties from Ripple Labs

The Securities and Exchange Commission has requested a New York judge impose $2 billion in fines and penalties on Ripple Labs Inc., according to the companys chief legal officer.  The filings, which Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty said will be made public on Tuesday, are part of the continuing saga of its years-long case with the SEC.  “Our response will be filed next month, but as we all have seen time and again, this is a regulator that trades in statements that are false, mischaracterized and designed to mislead,” Alderoty posted on X on Monday. “They stayed true to form here. Rather than faithfully apply the law, the SEC remains bent on wanting to punish and intimidate Ripple - and the industry at large.”  Ripples CEO also took to X to chastise the regulator, citing recent court decisions that ruled against the SEC in favor of crypto companies it sued.  “Gensler‘s SEC has repeatedly acted outside the law – not going unnoticed by Judges admonishing the agency for a gross abuse of the power entrusted to it by Congress (DEBT Box case) and for acting without faithful allegiance to the law (Ripple case). Let’s not also forget Genslers lack of attention to SBFraud,”

2024-03-26Deep Dive

A Quick Overview of the 10 Winning Projects at the ETHGlobal Farcaster Frames Hackathon

The three-day Farcaster Frames hackathon “Frameworks” hosted by ETHGlobal has come to a close, with the announcement of the 10 winning projects.  Farcaster is a decentralized social protocol. Ethereums founder, Vitalik, left Twitter and moved to Farcaster, maintaining a high level of activity. He stated at the ETHTaipei event, “I think one interesting aspect of the social field is that it has network effects, but at the same time, it also has anti-network effects. Twitter is a platform that gathers various groups of people, but it is also a gathering place for those who are genuinely annoying. I find that Farcaster has already accumulated a sufficient number of users and is interesting. On this platform, I can get higher-quality interactions, although it still needs improvement.”  Frames on Farcaster is a special feature with properties similar to social media embeds, equipped with Open Graph tags. It can display images and text as previews and can promote interactive elements through buttons, achieving dynamic user responses. In short, Frames gives posts richer interactive features, including various functions like NFT minting, voting, trading, subscribing, and more. Since the official launch of the Frames feature, it has ignited great enthusiasm and creativity among developers, and the development

2024-03-26Deep Dive

FTX to offload $1B Anthropic stake to pay off bankruptcy debts within weeks

Defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX will soon offload its stake in artificial intelligence firm Anthropic worth around $1 billion as part of a deal to pay off its bankruptcy debts, according to a report from CNBC on March 22.  Anthropic is currently considering a slate of investors to purchase the stake, per the article, with a deal expected to occur in a time period of “within a couple of weeks.” The report cites sources familiar with the matter whove asked to remain anonymous due to the ongoing nature of the financial negotiations.  The shares are being shopped through a special purpose vehicle (SPV), according to CNBCs sources. This is likely due to the fact that FTX is bankrupt, as SPVs are essentially separate corporate legal entities that exist to ensure a parent company can meet its legal obligations in the event of insolvency.  CNBC‘s sources also claim that Saudi Arabia has been locked out of contention over alleged national security concerns, however the article doesn’t specify whether this refers only to state investors or if individual or corporate investors from Saudi Arabia or citizens operating companies in foreign territories will be similarly barred. This, despite the fact that the shares are considered “Class B”

2024-03-25Deep Dive

Singapore’s DigiFT launches US T-Bill RWA tokens

announced today the launch of new tokens based on the U.S. Treasury Bills.  The new product adopts the structure of depository receipts, which traditionally involves a certificate reflecting shares of a company outside the local stock market. Using this structure, DigiFT said it offers users direct beneficial ownership of AA+ rated and short-term T-Bills, and will provide a legal stream of returns from underlying securities.  “Presently, the majority of RWA tokens in circulation are wrapped tokens that represent interest in a special purpose vehicle, feeder fund or derivative instrument which holds or mirrors the underlying assets,” the company said in the announcement. “These wrapped tokens are often structured in complex legal arrangements, making it challenging for investors to fully comprehend the legal implications.”  The company stated that its depository receipt structure addresses this issue by providing a “more straightforward” legal framework that would be easier for investors to understand.  DigiFT added that its new RWA token will be suited for stablecoin issuers and Web3 product developers that are looking for regulatory-compliant treasury, as well as cash management solutions. Institutional and accredited investors can also access the new product from authorized self-custodial wallets using fiat currency or stablecoins, according to the announcement.  DigiFT holds a Capital

2024-03-25Deep Dive

This Week Noteworthy Events(March 25, 2024 - March 31, 2024)

Postponement of SEC v. Do Kwon and Terraform Case Trial to March 25th  According to the latest court documents, due to the expected extradition of Do Kwon, former CEO of Terraform Labs, from Montenegro to the United States, the trial of the SEC v. Terraform Labs and Do Kwon case will be postponed to 9:30 local time on March 25.  Previously, the SEC agreed to postpone the trial date of Do Kwon, but opposed the separation of his case from the Terraform case. The SEC stated, Holding two trials would unnecessarily require witnesses, including SEC whistleblowers and retail investors with limited financial resources, to testify twice on the same facts in different trials.Circle: CCTP Set to Go Live on Solana Mainnet on March 26th, Pre-Minting Addresses Added  According to official information, Circle cross-chain transfer protocol CCTP will be launched on the Solana mainnet on March 26th. Circle said that a new pre-mint address has been added to enable CCTP to mint USDC on Solana.CardsAhoy to Commence Public Beta Testing on March 27th, Launching Core Asset Genesis Airdrop  According to official information, the 60-second fast-paced card game Cards Ahoy, released by MetalistGame, will officially enter public beta testing on March 27th.  During this public beta, the

2024-03-25Deep Dive

Embrace Easter: Deco Your Egg with WikiBit

To celebrate the upcoming Easter, WikiBit is hosting a Creative Easter Egg Design Contest. We cordially invite you to participate in this event by integrating blockchain and cryptocurrency elements into your Easter egg designs, showcasing your creativity and understanding of Easter. Exciting rewards await the winners!Event Details  Participation and Timeline:  Submission Period: March 25th, 00:00 - March 29th, 23:59 (UTC+8)  We will select 20 images that best represent the theme and choose the top 10 for public voting.  Voting and Selection: March 30th - April 1st  The 10 selected images will be ranked in a new thread based on the number of likes.  Event End: April 1st, 24:00 (UTC+8)  Stay tuned to our official Twitter account for prize distribution updates.  How to Participate:  Follow WikiBits official social media accounts.  Create an Easter design incorporating elements from the WikiBit logo, showcasing various styles and scenes of Easter eggs.  Share your design in the comments section of the designated WikiBit social media post, using the event hashtag #WikiBit.  Top 10 selected images will be put up for public voting.  Winners will be determined through social media voting.  Results will be announced on social media and our official website, showcasing the winning designs.Prizes  We will select 20 designs that best represent the theme and display the top 10

2024-03-25Deep Dive

Vitalik Talks About Cancun Upgrade, Quantum Threats, AI & Crypto, and Social on Farcaster

At the ETHTaipei 2024 conference, Vitalik Buterin participated in interviews with several media outlets, sharing his views on hot topics such as the Cancun upgrade, addressing potential quantum threats, AI s response to media questions:  Q: Your activity on Farcaster seems to be higher than on Twitter. Can decentralized social applications like Farcaster really compete with Web2 social applications? Or can they disrupt social patterns?  Vitalik Buterin: Yes, I think one interesting aspect of the social space is that it has network effects but also anti-network effects. Twitter is a platform that aggregates various demographics but also tends to attract those who are genuinely annoying. Ive found that Farcaster has accumulated a sufficient number of users and is quite interesting. On this platform, I can engage in higher-quality interactions, although it still needs improvement.  I believe that while Twitter may differentiate between high-quality content and users, and low-quality content and users, many criticize these mechanisms, including management and blue check verification, as they could become a centralized tool or privilege serving specific viewpoints and groups. However, the crypto space, including many non-financial applications like Ethereum, fundamentally addresses this issue and attempts to solve trust problems of this nature. Decentralized social networking can truly

2024-03-22Deep Dive
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