Vivek Ramaswamy Doesn't Mince Words on Gary Gensler 😯
In today’s edition: 💀 Binance-linked wallet heist, 💱 From FTX's ashes: 'Backpack' exchange, 💸 Poloniex's hack, 💹 UBS expands crypto reach, 🚫 Hodlnaut's closure, and more!
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What’s Poppin’?
by Brandy Betz, and Samyuktha Sriram
$27M USDT Stolen From Hot Wallet Connected to Binance Deployer
Blockchain sleuths found that an anonymous victim had $27 million worth of USDT stolen from a hot wallet connected to the Binance deployer address.
Former FTX Execs to Launch New Crypto Exchange ‘Backpack’
The former general counsel of FTX and other former executives are setting up a new crypto exchange in Dubai.
Crypto Exchange Poloniex Loses $125M in Hack
The hot wallet attack took place across multiple blockchains, and the Justin Sun-backed exchange is offering a bounty to retrieve the funds.
Crypto Lender Hodlnaut Will Be Liquidated
The Singapore-based lender had exposure to the collapses of the Terra ecosystem and FTX.
UBS Gives Clients Access to Crypto ETFs in Hong Kong: Report
The Swiss bank will allow wealthy clients to gain exposure to a trio of crypto-linked funds.
The Chopping Block: Why Vivek Ramaswamy Wants Less Crypto Regulation
Welcome to The Chopping Block – where crypto insiders Haseeb Qureshi, Tom Schmidt, Tarun Chitra, and Robert Leshner chop it up about the latest news. This week, the gang welcomes Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who discusses his mission to end the U.S. government’s regulatory overreach of the crypto industry, the parallels between crypto and the biotech industry where he came from, whether “code is law” is an appropriate framework for crypto regulation, how Bitcoin could be a check on the Fed, and how less regulation would actually lead to fewer, not more, instances of fraud like FTX.
Ramaswamy is promising to release a comprehensive crypto policy plan this week.
Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️
🏛️ FTX has initiated legal action against Bybit to recover assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars, alleging Bybit exploited its VIP status during FTX's collapse.
🔄 Genesis is poised to settle $1 billion in claims with Three Arrows Capital for $33 million, pending court approval of the bankruptcy plan opposed by Gemini among others.
📱 Scammers have used a fake Skype application to conduct phishing attacks, stealing crypto funds, as revealed by blockchain security firm SlowMist.
🛠️ Aave's lending markets have resumed normal operations after a security vulnerability, with no funds affected, following prompt action by the Aave DAO.
🚨 An unidentified hacking group claims to have compromised Bitcoin ATM firm Coin Cloud, allegedly stealing customer selfies and sensitive data.
📊 Grayscale's discount narrowed, with Bitcoin and Ether trading steady, while market optimism soars, and discussions for a spot Bitcoin ETF by Grayscale with the SEC are underway.
📈 Crypto exchange Bithumb is reported to be planning an IPO in South Korea in the second half of 2025, aiming to increase its market share.
📝 A tax-transparency agreement is set to start in 2027, with 48 countries committing to the automatic exchange of information to combat tax evasion on crypto exchanges.
🔒 DeFi platform Raft halted the minting of its R stablecoin due to a security issue, which led to a coding error resulting in a $3.3 million loss.
🤝 Near Foundation partnered with Eigen Labs to develop a “fast finality layer” for Ethereum rollups, which will also enable cross-rollup transactions.
Today in Crypto Adoption...
💳 JPMorgan implemented programmable payments through JPM Coin, with Siemens, FedEx, and Cargill as early users of this new feature.
The $$$ Corner…
🌐 IOV Labs announced an additional $2.5 million in the Rootstock Grants Program to foster innovation on the Bitcoin sidechain, with applications open for diverse crypto projects.
What Do You Meme?
Recommended Reads
Unchained: What Is a Bull Trap in Crypto?
Mr. Purple on the new development in the FTX case as the Third Circuit Appeal overturned the decision not to have an independent examiner
📈 Your Market Update 📉
BTC is down .3%, trading at $36,987
ETH is up .3%, trading at $2,055
BTC dominance: 49.31%
Crypto market cap: $1.47T
*All data as of today, 06:10 am ET
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