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Safeheron Fortnite Dispatch|DEC 18 '22

12/19/2022

Security Incidents

  • Raydium liquidity pools got drained which may stem from a trojan attack and compromised private key for the pool owner account.
  • Arbitrum-based cryptocurrency lending platform Lodestar Finance was hacked and nearly $7 million in assets siphoned off.
  • Numerous trading platforms experienced unauthorized transaction attacks via API keys.
  • BSC-based NimbusPlatformon was attacked with a loss of about 278 BNB.

Industry Updates

Digital Asset Custody, Security

  • Investment fund manager M31 Capital has chosen Anchorage Digital Bank to custody the $100 million Web3 Opportunity Fund.
  • OpenZeppelin launched its metaverse security service with The Sandbox, becoming the first to sign up.
  • Digital asset custodian Aegis Trust announces partnership with Cosmos Network.
  • Binance Custody integrates with Solana to have institutions secure assets in its cold storage solution.
  • Zodia Custody rolled out a new service Interchange to help protect client assets from exchange insolvency.
  • Wemade’s WEMIX Foundation is to complete the onboarding process to Binance Custody for storage and management of WEMIX.
  • Matrixport's Cactus Custody completes SOC 2 Type 1 certification by Deloitte.
  • A US bankruptcy judge declined to immediately approve Galaxy Digital’s deal to buy a Celsius Network subsidiary GK8 for $44 million.

Institutional

  • Accounting firm BDO is reconsidering its work for crypto companies in common with several other professional service firms.
  • Bitcoin Group agrees to buy german bank Bankhaus von der Heydt for more than $15M which is expected to be completed by third-quarter 2023.
  • Russian social media giant Vkontakte launches NFT service.
  • Nike’s RTFKT will release the first native Web3 sneaker featuring Move to Earn.
  • PayPal expands cryptocurrency buy, sell and hold Service to Luxembourg.
  • Japan’s second-largest bank Sumitomo Bank will use soulbound tokens for identity verification.
  • VC Picus Capital unleashes a new vehicle Picus.xyz for crypto and Web3 space.
  • Goldman Sachs plans to spend tens of millions of dollars to buy or invest in crypto companies and is doing due diligence.
  • WisdomTree announces nine new blockchain-enabled funds are affective with the SEC.
  • BlackRock has launched its new exchange-traded fund (ETF) called iShare Metaverse UCITS.
  • Hong Kong’s Pando Finance launches two blockchain-themed ETF.
  • HashKey Group and SEBA Bank form strategic partnership to accelerate institutional adoption of digital assets in Hong Kong and Switzerland.
  • French VC firm Partech has rasied fourth seed fund €120 million dedicated to early-stage tech startups.
  • Canada's biggest pension plan, CPPI, ends crypto investment pursuit.

Web3

  • FTX asks court permission to sell off four businesses, including LedgerX.
  • Coinbase, Inc. recently completed the SOC 1 Type 2 (“SOC 1”) and SOC 2 Type 2 (“SOC 2”) examinations for its prime broker, Coinbase Prime.
  • ConsenSys releases the private beta of its zkEVM testnet.
  • Lighthouse rolled out an open metaverse navigation engine.
  • Ledger announces its debut browser extension Ledger Connect starting in early 2023.
  • Ledger will launch Ledger Stax in the first quarter of 2023.
  • Alchemy is rolling out a decentralized application (dapp) store.
  • Decentraland launches metaverse land rental.
  • Crypto lending platform Nexo announces gradual departure from the United States.
  • OpenSea will transfer ownership of the Operator Filter Registry to a multi-sig controlled by a collective incl.
  • SBF is charged with conspiracy, wire graud, money laundering by Justice Department, Securities Violations by SEC.
  • FTX will claw back $100 million from 1,500 Bahamian FTX accounts.
  • Crypto trading firm Amber Group raises $300M Series C.
  • Web3 infrastructure company Blocknative has raised $15 million in a Series A-1 round.
  • Aztec Network secures $100 million in Series B.
  • Web3 startup Nillion raises over $20 million.
  • Tapline, a SaaS digital finance platform, has secured €31.7 million in the Pre-Seed round.
  • Bitcoin․com completes Verse 50M token sale launches token on Verse DEX.
  • AI chatbot platform GameOn Technology raises $35 million Series B round.
  • Tea, an open source unified package manager for software developers, has added another $8.9 million in seed funding.
  • Crypto insurance firm Evertas raised $14 million in funding.

Market Regulations

North America

Europe

  • International Settlements (BIS) has endorsed a global prudential standard for banks’ exposure which is 2% to crypto assets ans will implement it on January 1, 2025.
  • The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has announced it will lay out firm steps to regulate the cryptocurrency industry in early 2023.
  • Companies offering EU residents crypto services will need to report on transactions to tax authorities.
  • A European Commission proposal for taxing crypto estimates that taxes on crypto assets could raise as much as $2.5 billion.
  • Apple is gearing up to permit third-party app stores on its devices to allow European customers to buy NFT and crypto in compliance with new anti-monopolistic requirements from the European Union (EU).
  • Britain's Treasury is finalising plans for a package to regulate the crypto industry, including limits on foreign companies selling into the country and restrictions on advertising.
  • Bank of England opens applications for 'proof of concept' CBDC wallet.
  • The U.K.’s Payments Systems Regulator is exploring how it can regulate the crypto sector, starting by looking at distributed ledger technology.
  • Crypto payments App MoonPay gains UK regulator registration.
  • Nexo secures its registration with the Ministry of Finance of Poland as a Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) in the country.
  • France may compel crypto firms to get a full license to operate in the country from the financial regulator starting in October 2023.
  • The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) prepares to revise regulatory treatment of NFTs within its Virtual Financial Assets framework.

Asia

  • Japan’s ruling political party agreed to ease corporate tax rules for virtual currencies, exempting companies from paying levies for paper gains on crypto coins that they hold.
  • Thailand regulators prepare stricter rules for crypto.
  • Hong Kong licensing regime for virtual asset service providers will be implemented in June 2023.
  • Binance delivered practical cryptocurrency training and workshops for investigators and prosecutors in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
  • Pakistan launches new laws to expedite CBDC launch by 2025.

Oceania

  • The Australian government has promised to establish a framework for the licensing and regulation of crypto service providers in 2023.

South America