Month: September 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyer challenges US gov’t proposed jury questions

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The lawyer representing Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX, has claimed that the proposed jury questions for the upcoming fraud trial will elicit biased responses. In a court filing on Sept. 29, lawyer Mark Cohen, who is representing Bankman-Fried, contends that the jury questions presented by the United States government contain loopholes that could result in an unfair trial for Bankman-Fried. “The Government’s proposed voir dire discourages full disclosure from potential jurors, fails to elicit sufficient information to allow the defense to ascertain potential juror…

Fireblocks acquires Australian defi startup BlockFold for $10m

Blockchain company Fireblocks, which is backed by Sequoia Capital, has acquired Melbourne-based decentralized finance (defi) startup BlockFold for a reported $10 million. This acquisition will allow Fireblocks to expand its services beyond custody services. Neither Fireblocks nor BlockFold has made any public statements regarding the deal. BlockFold, founded in 2022, provides smart contract development, auditing, advisory, testing, and security services for defi and non-fungible token projects. Its clients include OpenSea, Hedera Hashgraph, OpenZeppelin, among others.  This acquisition comes shortly after Fireblocks launched its non-custodial wallet-as-a-service for businesses across various sectors.  The wallet…

Paris museum to mint Van Gogh’s NFTs on Tezos

The Musée d’Orsay in Paris, which houses the world’s largest collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artworks, is minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs) dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh’s final months.  From Oct. 4, these NFTs will be available for purchase in partnership with the Tezos. There will be two types of NFTs, with 2,300 minted for each class on Tezos. One NFT will provide an augmented reality experience of Van Gogh’s final palette, while the other will be an original digital artwork created by French artist KERU, inspired by Van Gogh’s style. NFT holders…

Epic Games announces layoffs as expenses exceed revenue

On Sep. 28, Epic Games, the company behind the popular video game Fortnite, announced that it would be laying off some of its employees due to expenses exceeding revenue.  Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney emailed affected staff, revealing that two-thirds of those affected were from teams “outside of core development.” Sweeney explained that his expectations for a metaverse-inspired ecosystem were unrealistic and caused the company to spend more money than it generated in revenue.  Although the creator program drove Fortnite’s growth, Sweeney noted, “success with the creator ecosystem is a great achievement,…

National Bank of Georgia seeking CBDC development partner, to launch pilot environment

The National Bank of Georgia (NGB) is developing the digital GEL and is searching for a suitable partner.  NGB plans to launch a Limited Access Live Pilot Environment through various use cases to test the technology capabilities and potential application areas of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) system.  After extensive research, NGB has shortlisted nine competing companies to work with the bank to develop the digital GEL. These companies include AUGENTIC GmbH, Bitt Inc., Broxus Holdings Ltd., Currency Network Ltd., DCM Corp Limited, eCurrency Mint Inc., FARI Solutions Ltd., Ripple Labs,…

Gemini to stop offering services in the Netherlands

Gemini, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, will reportedly cease operations in the Netherlands due to regulatory requirements imposed by the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).  According to Reddit sources, the exchange notified its clients in the country of its decision to take effect on Nov. 17, 2023. Gemini cited the DNB’s regulations on crypto exchanges as the reason for the move. However, it has not issued a public statement on the matter.  The letter read in part: “We are getting in touch to inform you that Gemini will stop…

Do Kwon dismisses Slack chat records as irrelevant evidence

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Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon has refuted the significance of Slack messages as evidence, which involved discussions with his co-founder Daniel Shin about manipulating transactions on the Terra blockchain to attract investors. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) included the Slack conversation between the two co-founders, which was dated back to September 2019, in a recent court filing. Slack message report between Do Kwon and Daniel Shin. Source: Docdroid The message report suggests the two co-founders were brainstorming strategies to increase investor interest in the Terra blockchain. However, Kwon…

3AC’s Su Zhu reportedly arrested in Singapore

Su Zhu, co-founder of the bankrupt crypto hedge fund, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has been detained by law enforcement in Singapore over a year after the hedge fund collapsed in 2022. Zhu, who was believed to be in Dubai at some point following the collapse of 3AC, was reportedly arrested at Singapore’s Changi airport. [DB] Three Arrows Co-Founder Zhu Apprehended in Singapore: Statement: Bloomberg — db (@tier10k) September 29, 2023 A Singapore court ordered Zhu’s imprisonment for four months. The same order was issued for Kyle Davies, Zhu’s co-founder, although…

Bitcoin Price To Reach $170,000 in 2025

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The Bitcoin price is trading at $27,100 at the time of writing, marking a 60% decline from its all-time high of $69,000 in 2021. As the anticipation for the next bull market builds, questions arise regarding Bitcoin’s potential future prices. While most predictions are speculative, one analyst has devised a model leveraging historical data to forecast potential tops and bottoms in Bitcoin’s price over time. Bitcoin Price In Previous Cycles Bitcoin’s prices changes since 2011. Source: BTCUSDT on TradingView Since its inception, Bitcoin has demonstrated remarkable growth, rewarding early long-term…