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

• Canadian Securities Administrators strengthen oversight of crypto trading platforms and announce view that stablecoins may be securities or derivatives.

• U.S. Attorney announces fraud and money laundering charges against the founders and promoters of two cryptocurrency Ponzi schemes, IcomTech and Forcount.

• The US Treasury Department’s financial crimes unit FinCEN is zeroing in on DeFi to evaluate the evolution of digital assets to try to discover any gaps in the current AML/CFT framework.

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

• Crypto.com secures Payment Institution (EMI) License in Brazil.

• Brazil Central Bank plans to launch a CBDC in 2024.