Headlines
SBF will share the same defense lawyer as Celsius founder
Sam Bankman-Fried, who appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday after being convicted of defrauding FTX clients of billions of dollars, said that attorneys Mark Cohen and Christian Everdale, who represented him during the trial last year, are expected to withdraw from the case before sentencing in March, and that newly hired attorney Marc Mukasey will defend him next month.
Mukasey is also reportedly defending Alex Mashinsky, the founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius, who was indicted by the Department of Justice on charges of securities fraud, commodities fraud and conspiracy to manipulate the price of CEL and is set to go to trial this fall.
▌Polygon and StarkWare Collaborate to Launch ZK Technology Upgrade “Circle STARK”
Polygon has teamed up with StarkWare to launch "Circle STARKs", a major technical upgrade to the current zero-knowledge proof (ZK). According to the white paper, the new Circle STARK will speed up the proof process of rollups, thereby improving the scalability and efficiency of the blockchain. In addition, the finalization speed of Circle STARK proofs will be much faster than the current STARK proofs.
The release date of Circle STARKS has not yet been determined. Polygon co-founder Brendan Farmer said in an interview: “This will play a role in our new proof system Plonky3. We expect a 7 to 10 times improvement.”
Quotes
As of press time, according to coinmarketcap data:
The latest transaction price of BTC is 51796.5 USD, with a daily change of +1.26%;
ETH's latest transaction price is $2961.47, with a daily change of +1.55%;
BNB's latest transaction price is 380.6 USD, with a daily increase or decrease of +2.70%;
ORDI's most recent trading price is $65.834, with a daily change of +0.65%;
DOGE’s latest trading price is $0.0844, with a daily change of +1.29%;
SOL's most recent trading price is $104.72, with a daily change of +0.84%.
policy
DCG opposes Genesis’ proposed settlement with the New York Attorney General’s Office
Digital Money Group (DCG) objects to a proposed settlement between its subsidiary Genesis and the New York Attorney General’s office.
Genesis Global reached a deal with the attorney general’s office earlier this month to resolve allegations that it defrauded investors, but its parent company claims it is not an adequate settlement. In its objection filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, DCG argued that Genesis “cannot extract value from the lower class under the guise of a ‘settlement’ and redistribute it to senior creditors in violation of the absolute priority.”
Jason Brown, a former co-chief deputy in the attorney general’s office and a former senior federal prosecutor in New York, backed DCG’s opposition, asserting in court papers that details of the settlement may not have been properly hammered out.
▌Source: U.S. Senate Banking Committee is not ready to take action on crypto money laundering bill
The U.S. Senate Banking Committee, which includes one of the chamber’s biggest cryptocurrency critics, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, is not ready to take immediate action on a raft of crypto money laundering proposals, according to people familiar with the committee’s plans.
Some Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee have been pushing for legislation to address what they see as dangerous loopholes for cryptocurrencies to be abused by criminals and terrorists, but the panel is currently busy with other priorities and has not yet turned to crypto legislation, sources said.
Even if Warren's bill is approved at the committee level, it would likely take bipartisan momentum to clear the closely divided Senate.
Terra founder Do Kwon to be extradited to the United States
According to local media Pobjeda, Terra founder Do Kwon will be extradited to the United States. Montenegro's Minister of Justice said the decision was "political" and mentioned the expectation of an extradition treaty with the United States, saying: "The United States is our main foreign partner and we want to develop a framework for future cases."
▌U.S. crypto companies and industry organizations sued the SEC, claiming it "overstepped its authority" over digital assets
U.S. crypto company Lejilex and the Texas Crypto Freedom Alliance (CFAT) sued the U.S. SEC on Wednesday, claiming that the regulator had "overstepped its authority" over digital assets and asked a judge to rule that digital assets traded on exchanges are not securities. Lejilex said the SEC exercised jurisdiction over the industry without "clear statutory authorization" and believed that the SEC's classification of digital assets as "investment contracts" was wrong because they did not establish an ongoing commitment between creators and buyers.
They also asked the court to apply the "substantial question" doctrine, which allows judges to invalidate executive agency actions that have "substantial economic and political significance" unless Congress explicitly authorized them.
Blockchain Applications
▌Esports giant Team Liquid launches fan rewards platform on Sui
Esports organization Team Liquid announced a multi-year collaboration with Mysten Labs, the team behind the Sui blockchain, to build a new fan loyalty platform and NFT collectibles experience on Sui.
It is reported that under the new platform, which is scheduled to be launched in the second quarter of 2024, Team Liquid fans can obtain unique NFT collectibles and customize avatars representing the organization's mascot Blue. Team Liquid and Mysten Labs will also collaborate on marketing plans, including live broadcasts and other content about crypto games on Sui.
KYVE testnet Kaon adds support for Celestia data
Data verification protocol KYVE announced that Celestia's historical data is now supported on KYVE's testnet Kaon. This testnet integration improves modular scalability and data validity. With KYVE processing historical data, Celestia can completely avoid data deletion while remaining lightweight and fully scalable, and future builders can still meet all data needs.
Cryptocurrency
▌Coinbase explains three reasons to recommend SEC to approve Grayscale spot Ethereum ETF
Coinbase today responded to the SEC’s request for comment on the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) conversion to a spot ETF. In a 27-page comment letter, the exchange provided legal, technical, and economic reasons why the SEC should approve it:
1: ETH is not a security. In fact, before and after the merger, the SEC, CFTC, and the market no longer regard ETH as a security, but a commodity.
2: ETH’s proof of stake has clearly strong governance capabilities, exhibiting strong characteristics in terms of ownership concentration, consensus, liquidity, and governance, thereby reducing the risk of fraud and manipulation.
3: Economics suggests ETH is as resilient as BTC in meeting the Commission’s ETP approval criteria.
Coinbase said it will be committed to urging the SEC to make wise regulatory decisions in the rapidly evolving cryptocurrency environment through ongoing dialogue and research, supporting innovation and fostering a transparent, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem.
▌Deribit: Bitcoin call options concentrated above $60,000, suggesting bullish sentiment after halving
According to Deribit data, Bitcoin call options expiring at the end of June are concentrated above a strike price of $60,000, suggesting that a large portion of market participants have a special interest or expectation that the price of Bitcoin will rise above that level.
Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers said that call options above $60,000 are relatively overbought in anticipation of Bitcoin halving expiration. He said: “After the March expiration, the deviation of put options and call options has changed significantly, indicating that call options are relatively overbought after the halving, suggesting bullish expectations.”
21Shares: ARKB's trading volume in the past 10 days was nearly $1.4 billion, making it one of the best performing spot Bitcoin ETFs in February
21Shares released an update on the X platform stating that its Spot Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) generated $10,717,400 in NNA (net new assets) today, with a total trading volume of $1,381,979,460 in the past 10 days, making it one of the best performing spot Bitcoin ETFs in February 2024.
▌S&P Global: Spot Ethereum ETF may increase ETH’s centralization risk
S&P Global analysts said that the proposed spot Ethereum ETF, if approved, could increase centralization risks within Ethereum. "A U.S. spot Ethereum ETF that included staking functionality could become large enough to change the concentration of validators in the Ethereum network, for better or worse. Therefore, it is critical to understand how the choices of ETF issuers will drive concentration risks," the analysts said.
New cryptocurrency custodians could help ETF issuers diversify their collateral, reducing that risk, analysts say.
▌Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano will return to serve as CEO and establish a subsidiary BAYC LLC to be responsible for all BAYC business
Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano announced that he will resume his role as CEO of Yuga Labs. He expressed his gratitude for all of Daniel’s contributions and operational rigor to the company over the past year, and looking forward to the future of Yuga, we need the entire company to focus more on crypto-native execution.
In addition, a new company "BAYC LLC" was established as a subsidiary of Yuga and will be responsible for all affairs of BAYC.
There's still a lot of work to be done on Otherside, and the only way to build it properly is to enhance the user experience. Yuga's games need to be treated with closer attention, with crazy fun game modes that anyone with a kid at heart can enjoy. The wilder, funnier, and more accessible, the better.
Important economic developments
▌Fed meeting minutes: Policy interest rates may have reached the peak of this cycle, and most officials noted the risk of cutting interest rates too quickly
The minutes of the Fed meeting showed that Fed officials said that demand may be stronger than (previously) assessed and that the policy rate may have reached its peak in this cycle. Most officials noted the risk of cutting interest rates too quickly. Some officials saw the risk that inflation progress could stagnate.
Golden Encyclopedia
What is a Bonding Curve in DeFi?
In decentralized finance (DeFi), bonding curves utilize smart contracts and mathematical formulas to dynamically adjust the price of a token based on its supply. Bonding curves are smart contracts that algorithmically determine the price of a token based on its circulating supply. As more tokens are purchased, the price adjusts upward, and as tokens are sold or removed from circulation, the price adjusts downward.
Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and is not intended as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to raise your risk awareness.
