Today's news highlights:
1. The US government seeks to recover $13 million in political donations from former FTX executives
2. MAYC counterfeit Mutant Ape Planet developers exempt from prison due to inability to determine actual buyer losses
3. Tether announces the launch of a Dirham-pegged stablecoin on the TON chain
4. Grayscale: XRP Trust is now open to qualified accredited investors
5. 21Shares has submitted an S-1 application to launch the first XRP ETF '21Shares Core XRP Trust'
6. DWF Labs co-founder: Considering further legal action against Eugene Ng
7. Whale betting $38 million on Trump to win: no political purpose, just for profit
8. An address early spent $58,000 to buy 1.5% of the GOAT supply, yielding approximately $7.45 million
Regulation and Policy
The US government seeks to recover $13.25 million in political donations from former FTX executives
According to The Block, a new document from the federal court indicates that the US government is negotiating to recover up to $13.25 million in political donations made by former FTX executives. The document was approved by Judge Lewis Kaplan, who is overseeing the criminal case against former FTX executive Sam Bankman-Fried and his subordinates, and the government requested to continue negotiations with several political action committees (PACs) before January 15.
The government requests more time 'to discuss with PACs the forfeiture of funds obtained from the defendants and their accomplices' and named several groups: Senate Majority PAC, Future Forward PAC, and Future Forward US Action. These groups are typically aligned with the Democratic Party or support liberal causes.
OpenSecrets data shows that former FTX engineering director Nishad Singh donated approximately $13.25 million to these groups. Nishad Singh testified that he donated at the request of Bankman-Fried and sometimes signed blank checks for donations. Singh was recently sentenced to prison plus three years of supervised release after successfully avoiding jail time by testifying against his former friend and boss Bankman-Fried.
Trial of Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm postponed to April 14 next year
According to Cointelegraph, during a phone conference held on November 1 at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Katherine Polk Failla ordered the trial of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm to be postponed until April 14, 2025. The legal team for the Tornado Cash co-founder has been seeking to dismiss the charges against him, claiming that these allegations are entirely based on his coding for cryptocurrency mixing services. In 2023, prosecutors charged Storm and Tornado co-founder Roman Semenov with money laundering, violating sanctions, and operating a money transfer business without a license.
MAYC counterfeit Mutant Ape Planet developers exempt from prison due to inability to determine actual buyer losses
According to Bloomberg, MAYC counterfeit MutantApePlanet series NFT developer Aurelien Michel avoided prison for defrauding buyers. The judge stated it was difficult to determine how much the buyers actually lost, thus he avoided prison for defrauding buyers. 26-year-old Aurelien Michel pleaded guilty to telecom fraud last November, admitting he falsely promised 'exclusive' benefits to thousands of NFT buyers. Prosecutors from the Brooklyn office of US Attorney Breon Peace stated that he abandoned the project after raising $2.9 million. Federal prosecutors sought a 37-month prison sentence, but the judge ultimately sentenced him to one month in prison, along with a $15,000 fine and the forfeiture of $1.4 million.
Earlier news reported that the developer of the Mutant Ape Planet counterfeit has pleaded guilty in a fraud case and agreed to pay a fine of $1.4 million.
IRS: Crypto rewards received after account freeze are still taxable
According to News.bitcoin, the IRS released a memorandum in October stating that crypto rewards received while an account is frozen are still taxable in the year received, even if the holder cannot later use their funds. The guideline was sent to Michael R. Fiore of the IRS Small Business/Individual Sector, which studied a hypothetical taxpayer (referred to as 'Taxpayer A') who held cryptocurrency in an account on a bankrupt platform and received rewards, such as staking bonuses, before the account was frozen.
Project Updates
FTX has reached a settlement agreement with Evolve Bank and SVCF, expecting to recover about $21 million in assets
According to CryptoSlate, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has reached a settlement agreement with Evolve Bank and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), expecting to recover about $21 million in assets. Court documents from October 30 show that these settlement agreements still require court approval, with a hearing scheduled for November 20.
According to the terms of the settlement, Evolve Bank will return approximately $12.77 million to FTX and retain $462,700 as compensation fees. Additionally, the bank will waive all claims against FTX. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation has agreed to return $8.57 million in cash and 34,208.70 FTT tokens to avoid litigation. The foundation previously raised some funds for external donations by selling donated FTT, leaving some balance.
Tether announces the launch of a Dirham-pegged stablecoin on the TON chain
According to Cointelegraph, stablecoin issuer Tether announced that its UAE Dirham (AED) pegged stablecoin will launch on The Open Network (TON) blockchain. At the TON Gateway event held in Dubai, Tether's senior strategic partnership manager Alessandro Giori stated that TON is the blockchain that achieved $1 billion USDT the fastest since its launch, with an average daily transaction volume of 160,000 and 7.6 million USDT wallets, and over 100 crypto platforms have integrated USDT on TON. Moreover, USDT on the TON blockchain will support the Fireblocks platform, further expanding the ecosystem's user base. This follows the UAE's approval of a regulatory framework for stablecoin issuance, with the fiat-pegged stablecoin ecosystem in the UAE gradually taking shape.
Grayscale: XRP Trust is now open to qualified accredited investors
Grayscale announces that its XRP Trust is now open to qualified accredited investors, providing investment opportunities for accessing XRP. XRP is the core token of the distributed network XRP Ledger that supports cross-border payments.
21Shares has submitted an S-1 application to launch the first XRP ETF '21Shares Core XRP Trust'
According to SEC filings, 21Shares has submitted an S-1 application to launch the first XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) '21Shares Core XRP Trust'. The fund will track the price of XRP and plans to list on the Cboe BZX exchange. The trust does not involve leverage or derivatives and aims to reflect the performance of XRP in USD through the CME CF Ripple-Dollar reference rate (New York version). Coinbase Custody will serve as the custodian for XRP of the trust, responsible for holding all assets.
DWF Labs co-founder: Considering further legal action against Eugene Ng
DWF Labs co-founder Andrei Grachev stated on the X platform that he was shocked when he saw the surveillance footage, describing it as the worst thing a person can do, and that Eugene Ng should be severely punished. 'We withdrew funds from (OpenEden) and are considering further legal action against Eugene Ng.'
Earlier news reported that DWF Labs has dismissed the management and operational roles of a partner accused of 'attempted rape'.
Whale betting $38 million on Trump to win: no political purpose, just for profit
According to the Wall Street Journal, user Théo (pseudonym) spent over $30 million betting on Trump to win, stating 'no political purpose, just to make money.' Théo claims to be French and previously lived in the US, working as a trader in a bank. If the bet succeeds, he could earn over $80 million; if it fails, he may lose all or most of his funds. Théo admits he feels nervous, expressing his belief that Trump will win but worries that unexpected news developments at the last minute could disrupt his bet.
Zhu Su, co-founder of Three Arrows Capital, sold a $38 million mansion in Singapore
According to Bloomberg, Evelyn, the wife of Zhu Su, co-founder of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, sold a mansion she owned in Singapore for S$51 million (US$38.5 million), despite some of their other assets being frozen by the court. The deal was signed in July and completed last month. This so-called premium bungalow is located on Darville Road near Singapore's Botanic Gardens, covering an area of 1,446 square meters (15,568 square feet). Evelyn purchased the house for S$28.5 million in 2020 and has since redeveloped it.
Michael Saylor: MSTR has a unique relationship with BTC and announced MicroStrategy's 9 principles
MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor stated on the X platform that MSTR has a unique relationship with BTC and announced MicroStrategy's 9 principles, specifically:
Indefinitely, exclusively, and securely purchase and hold BTC
Prioritize long-term value creation for MSTR common stock
Treat all investors with respect, consistency, and transparency
Build MSTR to exceed BTC through smart leverage
Continuously buy BTC while achieving positive BTC returns
Develop rapidly and responsibly based on market dynamics
Issue innovative fixed-income securities backed by BTC
Maintain a healthy, robust, and clean balance sheet
Promote global adoption of BTC as a financial reserve asset
Financing and Investment
Stablecoin payment platform Bridge acquires Web3 wallet infrastructure platform Triangle
According to CoinDesk, the stablecoin payment platform Bridge, which payment giant Stripe plans to acquire, announced the acquisition of the Web3 wallet infrastructure platform Triangle, with the transaction amount undisclosed. Triangle was founded by former Stripe employee Tasti Zakarie and focuses on simplifying the integration of digital asset wallets through developer APIs to drive mainstream users into the blockchain space. This acquisition will allow the Triangle team to join Bridge, further advancing the development of scalable stablecoin systems.
Bridge itself is about to be acquired by Stripe for $1.1 billion, becoming one of the largest mergers and acquisitions in the payment industry involving crypto assets. Triangle has received support from investors including Social Capital, Alchemy Ventures, DCG, and WndrCo, and this acquisition will enhance Bridge's technical advantages.
Superscrypt is planning to raise up to $100 million for its second investment fund
According to Bloomberg, Superscrypt, a blockchain venture capital firm supported by Singapore's state investment company Temasek, is planning to raise up to $100 million for its second investment fund. Insiders revealed that Temasek will co-invest as a major investor and general partner alongside New York fintech firm Republic.
Temasek lost $275 million in 2022 due to FTX's bankruptcy and subsequently reduced executive salaries. After experiencing a market downturn, venture capital funding in the blockchain space is gradually recovering. Superscrypt focuses on early investments in blockchain protocols and Web3 applications, having invested in over 20 projects, including Space and Time and Aptos Labs.
Important Data
Ethereum spot ETF saw a net outflow of $10.9256 million yesterday, with a net asset ratio of 2.29%
Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net outflow of $54.9403 million yesterday, marking the first net outflow after a net inflow over the past 7 days
NFT sales in October were approximately $361 million, down 36% month-on-month
According to News.bitcoin, NFT sales in October fell 36% after a 47.9% decline in September. Sales for the month were approximately $361.5 million, with Ethereum NFTs dominating. Ethereum-based NFTs brought in over $120 million, down 34.11% from September. Following closely were Bitcoin NFTs, which achieved $69.6 million in sales, a decline of 27.17%. Solana ranked third with sales of $66.26 million, down 22.94% from September.
An address early spent $58,000 to buy 1.5% of the GOAT supply, yielding approximately $7.45 million
According to Arkham monitoring, an address starting with 4Jpef spent $58,000 early to purchase 1.5% of the GOAT supply, yielding about $7.45 million. The address previously received 104,000 DADDY tokens from a wallet holding 1.4% of the DADDY supply. These DADDY tokens were also purchased within 2 hours after the launch of DADDY.
