Cointime

Download App
iOS & Android

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Goes Live; US Court Summons Justin Sun Over SEC Charges | Cointime Weekly Apr.9 – Apr.15

Top stories

Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Goes Live, Unlocking $34B Staked ETH

Ethereum's years-long transition to proof of stake is now complete, as the withdrawal of staked ETH becomes possible with the successful implementation of the Shanghai upgrade.

With participants having deposited over $34.56 billion worth of ETH with the network, the funds and rewards generated by them were not accessible to users until this upgrade. 

U.S. Court Summons Justin Sun Over SEC Charges

A U.S. district court has summoned former TRON CEO Justin Sun over charges previously filed by the U.S. SEC, according to a court document filed April 12.

Crypto Miner Bitdeer Went Public on Nasdaq via SPAC Deal

Bitdeer Technologies, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency mining firm founded by Chinese crypto tycoon Jihan Wu, went public on Nasdaq on April 14 via a SPAC merger with Blue Safari Group Acquisition.

Twitter Will Be Added to Dogecoin Ponzi Scheme Litigation

Twitter may be added as a defendant in a class action lawsuit alleging that dogecoin is a Ponzi scheme being manipulated by Elon Musk, according to a lawyer in the case. 

Weekly Hack: GdacBittrueTerraportYearn Finance Exploit

Bitrue, a Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has been exploited for roughly $24.4 million in tokens.

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Gdac has reported a hack that resulted in the loss of nearly $13 million on April 9. 

Data from Terra Finder suggests that almost $4 million worth of Terra Classic (LUNC), TerraClassicUSD (USTC), and TERRA has been drained.

There was a $10 million exploit involving the DeFi protocols Aave V1 and Yearn Finance. 

Global regulations

Japanese Government Mulls Promoting NFTs in Sport

The Japanese government may consider adopting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the sports industry, with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Web3 "Digital Society Promotion" team set to publish a white paper on the matter. 

China's Douyin Displays Bitcoin Prices in Search Results

This move could be seen as a signal that Beijing is warming up to crypto and loosening its control over the digital asset ecosystem, especially given the tight control over social media within China.

G-7 Will Focus on Helping Developing Nations Introduce CBDCs

The Group of Seven (G-7) nations have announced their intention to prioritize assistance to developing countries in introducing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

CFTC Defines Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC as Commodities

The CFTC has filed a civil enforcement action against former Deutsche Bank investment banker Rashawn Russell for digital asset trading fund fraud and misappropriation of investor assets.

London Stock Exchange To Launch Bitcoin Futures And Options Trading

The London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has partnered with Global Futures and Options (GFO-X) to launch the UK's first regulated Bitcoin futures and options trading, with the launch expected in Q4 2023.

Crypto weekly price action

Fundraising and investment

Bitget Launches $100M Web3 Fund to Support Crypto Projects in Asia

Bitget, a top crypto derivatives and copy trading platform, launched its Bitget Web3 Fund during the Hong Kong Blockchain Week, with an initial investment of $100 million. 

Mysten Labs Buys Back Stake From FTX for $96 Million

Mysten Labs, creator of the Layer 1 blockchain Sui, has repurchased an equity stake bought by FTX less than a year ago.

EOS Network Lands $60M Investment and Partnership From DWF Labs

DWF Labs, a digital asset market maker and investment firm, has announced an investment deal with the EOS Network Foundation (ENF) worth over $60 million. 

Layer-1 Blockchain Sei Labs Announces $50 Million Investment From Bitget and Foresight Ventures

Sei Labs, a blockchain start-up, is building a new layer-1 blockchain for trading, which is set to launch later this year. The company has raised $50m for its ecosystem fund, bringing its valuation to $800m. 

Information Protocol RSS3 Raises $10M via Token Sale to DWF Labs

Information protocol RSS3 has raised $10M via a token sale to DWF Labs, a prolific investor in Web3. RSS3 aims to bridge blockchain technology and AI, search engines, and social media. The protocol has previously received investment from Coinbase, Dragonfly, and Balaji Srinivasan.

Viral Quotes

“Bitcoin is a gambling token, and it doesn’t have any intrinsic value. But that doesn’t stop people from wanting to play the roulette wheel.”

 – Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

"Having no regulatory clarity is the worst. Having bad restrictive regulations are better than that. And then having unclear ones and then chasing people by enforcement is really, really bad."

 – Changpeng Zhao, Binance CEO

"What used to take days before, from ideation and conception, can now take just a matter of seconds. AI will accelerate and empower even more creators."

– Sebastian Borget, Co-founder of The Sandbox 

“As crime runs rampant in our cities & voters demand ‘defund the police.’ I am crying. America is dying.”

– Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad Poor Dad author

Comments

All Comments

Recommended for you

  • Decentralized Hedge Fund NFA Labs Receives $10 Million Investment

    Decentralized hedge fund NFA Labs recently partnered with investment fund and asset management company Quantix Capital, receiving a capital commitment of $10 million to develop the ecosystem. The platform aims to bring professionalism and security to the DeFi world of real-world markets. This investment will further improve the NFA platform and expand its global influence, helping NFA Labs achieve its mission of providing accessible, fair, and information-rich resources for cryptocurrency traders.

  • Hong Kong Securities Regulatory Commission: China Ecological Tourism Group's acquisition of a blockchain company was improper and disciplinary action has been taken

    The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has announced that it has taken disciplinary action against China Ecotourism Group Limited (China Ecotourism) and its seven current and former directors in collaboration with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The investigation mainly focused on improper conduct, including granting 13 loans totaling HKD363 million and RMB91 million to nine borrowers, and acquiring a 37.5% stake in a blockchain technology company for HKD35 million.

  • Survey: 75% of Nigerians Confident in Using Bitcoin for Financial Transactions

    A new survey shows that 75% of Nigerians are confident in using Bitcoin for financial transactions. This survey result comes at a critical time in Nigeria's traditional financial market. In recent months, the Nigerian currency, the Naira, has sharply declined, and the government is trying to maintain the Naira exchange rate while also targeting cryptocurrency. One of the measures recently taken by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the cryptocurrency industry is to propose a significant 400% increase in registration fees for cryptocurrency exchanges.

  • Amaranth Foundation founder spent $24.7 million to buy 7,814 ETH

    According to Spot On Chain, James Fickel, founder of Amaranth Foundation, spent $24.7 million in the past 40 minutes to purchase 7,814 ETH at a price of approximately $3,161 per coin. This giant currently provides Aave with 128,516 ETH ($404 million) and 40.97 million USDC, and has borrowed 2,266 WBTC ($146 million), seemingly trading long on the ETH/BTC pair since December 2023.

  • Vitalik: PoW is also quite centralized. PoW is just a temporary phase before moving to PoS

    Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, stated on social media that PoW is also quite centralized. It just hasn't been discussed too much because everyone knows it's just a temporary stage before transitioning to PoS. This doesn't even involve how to potentially avoid ASICs, simply because the upcoming PoS transition means there's no incentive to build them.

  • If a Hong Kong spot virtual asset ETF is sold at a premium, it can be converted into Hong Kong dollars on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange

    Currently only a few Hong Kong brokers with virtual asset retail licenses can subscribe to the Hong Kong Bitcoin ETF through the new share subscription method (PD/distributor), and after the ETF officially enters the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, all hundreds of Hong Kong brokers and banks can purchase it. The approved virtual asset ETF adopts the performance of the ChiNext CF Bitcoin Index (Asia-Pacific closing price), so the profit and loss risks of cash subscription for Bitcoin ETF are basically the same as those of directly buying Bitcoin. As the exchange ratio between Bitcoin and Bitcoin ETF is fixed, if physical subscription is used in the IOP stage, that is, Bitcoin is used to subscribe to Bitcoin ETF, the relevant ETF can be exchanged for Hong Kong dollars in the exchange if it is sold at a premium after listing, and then buy back Bitcoin at the same time to earn the price difference between on-exchange and off-exchange. (Finance News Agency)

  • SEC sues Bitcoin mining company Geosyn, accusing its founder of $5.6 million fraud

    On April 26th, the US SEC filed a lawsuit against bitcoin mining company Geosyn Mining and its co-founders, accusing them of falsely reporting the number of cryptocurrency mining equipment in operation and using customer funds for personal expenses, resulting in a $5.6 million investment fraud.

  • Hong Kong Stock Exchange to Start Trading Harvest Fund’s Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETFs on April 30

    The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will begin trading Harvest's Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs on April 30.

  • The total market value of stablecoins exceeds 158 billion US dollars, and USDT has a market share of 69.8%

    According to DefiLlama data, the total market value of stablecoins has reached 158.197 billion US dollars, with a 7-day growth rate of 0.16%. Among them, the market value of UDST is 110.426 billion US dollars, with a market share of 69.8%.

  • Bitcoin Conference to Bring Star-Studded Lineup of Speakers to Hong Kong on Dawn of Historic ETFs.

    Excitement is brewing in the heart of Asia as Hong Kong regulators pave the way for a new era of innovation with the recent approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This groundbreaking development underscores Hong Kong's commitment to becoming a regulated hub for Bitcoin. At the same time, the Bitcoin Conference is bringing the best and brightest Bitcoiners from around the world to Hong Kong for Bitcoin Asia.