I hope you had a good weekend, folks. In today's newsletter, the SEC warns FTX against repaying creditors in stablecoins, OKX hires a former MAS official as its Singapore CEO, global crypto investment products see over $300 million in net weekly outflows and more.
Let's get started.
SEC warns FTX over stablecoin repayments
In a recent filing, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned the FTX estate that it might oppose attempts to repay creditors with stablecoins or other digital assets.
While some creditors have called for in-kind distributions, with repayments in crypto rather than cash, FTX's current plan is to pay creditors back in cash or U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins.
The SEC stated it reserves the right to challenge the legality of repaying claims or generating revenue from FTX's holdings of "crypto asset securities."
Additionally, the SEC filing noted that the plan does not specify who would distribute the stablecoins if the repayment method was approved.
The regulator also joined the U.S. Trustee overseeing the bankruptcy by objecting to a discharge provision in the plan that would protect FTX debtors from future legal actions by creditors.
The administrative costs of FTX's bankruptcy have soared since the crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022, with fees surpassing $800 million.
OKX becomes fully licensed in Singapore, hires former MAS official as local CEO
OKX's Singapore entity, OKX SG, has received a full Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
OKX appointed Gracie Lin — a former MAS official who has also held roles at sovereign wealth fund GIC and ride-hailing giant Grab — as CEO of its Singapore operations.
The new license allows OKX SG to offer digital payment token and cross-border money transfer services, including spot crypto trading for Singaporean investors.
OKX considers Singapore a "priority market" for its crypto exchange platform, which processed over $67 billion in trading volume globally last month.
Global crypto investment products record $305 million in net weekly outflows
Global crypto investment products returned to net outflows last week, totaling $305 million, following net inflows of $543 million the week before, according to CoinShares.
The outflows came amid "widespread negative sentiment evident across various providers and regions," Head of Research James Butterfill wrote.
This was driven by stronger-than-expected economic data in the U.S., which "diminished the likelihood of a 50-basis point interest rate cut," Butterfill added.
Bitcoin dominated, with funds based on the foremost cryptocurrency experiencing $319 million in net outflows, while short bitcoin funds saw $4.4 million in net inflows for the second consecutive week.
Ethereum investment products also witnessed $5.7 million in net outflows, while Solana-based funds and blockchain equities bucked the trend, recording net inflows of $7.6 million and $11 million, respectively.
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DeFi protocol fees and bitcoin miner revenues drop in August as crypto exchange volumes rise
DeFi protocol fees dropped by 24.4% in August to $288 million, marking the lowest level since February, according to The Block's data dashboard.
Lido led in fee generation with $76.2 million, followed by Uniswap, Jito and PancakeSwap.
Total bitcoin miner revenues also declined in August, dropping 10.5% to $851.4 million, having previously reached a record high of more than $2 billion in March.
Meanwhile, centralized crypto exchange trading volumes rose 6.6% last month to $1.2 trillion, extending the growth that began in July after hitting a multi-month low in June.
Binance captured the largest market share in August, with a trading volume of $448.5 billion.
Harris' election win odds slip to 47% on Polymarket as Trump gains ground
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's odds of winning the November election have dropped to 47% on the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket.
Donald Trump's odds of winning remain around 50%, surpassing Harris after the candidates were previously tied at 50-50, with the Vice President leading earlier in August.
The U.S. presidential election is the largest prediction market on the platform, with a trading volume of more than $778 million.
In the next 24 hours
It's quiet on the economic calendar front.
Korea Blockchain Week continues in Seoul.
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