Is Your Crypto Exchange a 'Zombie'? 🧟♀️
In today's edition: 🎙️ New episode of The Chopping Block, 🌉 Shibarium launches with bridge issues, 💵 a big fine for OPNX, and more!
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What’s Poppin’?
by Juan Aranovich
Shibarium Launch Stalled by Bridge Problems and Locked Funds
Shibarium’s launch faces immediate challenges with pending transactions and locked funds, raising questions about the network’s immediate future.
Dubai's VARA Imposes $2.7 Million Fine on OPNX Exchange
Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) fines OPNX, founded by former 3AC leaders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, for marketing violations.
On the Pod…
This week, Wintermute CEO Evgeny Gaevoy joins the show to discuss market making when the crypto markets are quiet. Plus, an analysis of Base’s prospects following a surge of early interest.
Also: Do you think bank fraud is going to run rampant in the AI era?
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
⚖️ Ripple Labs stated its opposition to the SEC's move to file an interlocutory appeal of a summary judgment order, arguing that there are no extraordinary circumstances to justify an appeal in the ongoing legal battle over XRP's status.
📄 Valkyrie Funds filed with the SEC for a new Ethereum Strategy ETF, aiming to provide investors with capital appreciation by investing in ether futures and collateral investments, but not directly in ether.
💰 North Korean hackers, including the notorious Lazarus Group, have stolen at least $180 million in cryptocurrency during the first half of 2023, according to a report by South Korea's National Intelligence Service.
🚨 Singaporean police arrested 10 foreign nationals, mostly possessing Chinese passports, in a $735 million alleged money laundering case involving cryptocurrencies, seizing assets including 94 properties, 50 vehicles, and related bank accounts.
💳 PayPal confirmed a temporary pause on crypto purchases for UK customers as the company works to satisfy new regulatory requirements. Existing crypto holdings on the platform remain unaffected.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
🔐 Hardware crypto wallet provider Ledger partnered with PayPal to launch a new on-ramp solution, allowing Ledger Wallet owners to acquire cryptocurrencies directly using their PayPal accounts, with instant transfers to their Ledger wallets.
📱 Polygon Labs and Korean mobile giant SK Telecom forged a partnership to develop a web3 ecosystem, support incubation of promising startups, and integrate SK Telecom's NFT marketplace TopPort with the Polygon blockchain.
The $$$ Corner…
💰 Crypto custodian BitGo raised $100 million in a Series C financing round, reaching a valuation of $1.75 billion, with plans to expand regulated custody, wallet, and infrastructure solutions globally.
🔗 Layer 1 blockchain operator ZetaChain garnered $27 million in a funding round with participation from several crypto and trading firms, aiming to unite multiple blockchains on a single platform and establish a new standard for blockchain interoperability.
🤖 Project Jada, focused on harnessing AI to aid decision-making for organizations and scale up operations, received $25 million in capital, reaching a valuation of $415 million.
🚀 Web3 microchain startup Linera secured $6 million in a seed funding round led by Borderless Capital, with participation from various investors, to bolster the scalability of web3 applications through the use of lightweight blockchains.
What Do You Meme?
Learn 🤓
What Are Discreet Log Contracts (DLCs) & What Do They Bring to Bitcoin?
DLCs provide a way for private and secure transactions to occur off-chain, using the Bitcoin blockchain as the final settlement layer.
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is down 2.3%, trading at $28,473
ETH is down 2.1%, trading at $1,784
BTC dominance: 47.13%
Crypto market cap: $1.18 trillion
*All data as of today, 7:30 am ET
Recommended Reads
Luigi D'Onorio DeMeo on why the rollup roadmap for ETH, even though useful, won't be where large-scale adoption needs to go
Patrick McCorry’s thesis for rollups
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