Top stories

CFTC Sues Binance and CEO CZ for Violating Trading Rules

CFTC highlighted Binance executives' use of the messaging application Signal, pointed to Binance's ties to illegal activity and the company's advice to customers on how to bypass its geofencing measures by using a virtual private network. 

CZ claimed that the lawsuit contained “an incomplete recitation of facts” and that he did not agree with the characterization of the issues alleged in the complaint.

Do Kwon Extradition Sought by Both U.S. and South Korea

The extradition of TerraForm Labs founder Do Kwon from Montenegro has been requested by both the U.S. and South Korea. 

Kwon was arrested at Podgorica airport last week.

SBF Allegedly Paid $40 Million in Crypto Bribes to Chinese Official

The bribes were intended to activate frozen accounts belonging to Alameda Research, the sister trading firm of a bankrupt exchange.

Sam Bankman-Fried will plead not guilty on charges.

U.S. Government Sold $216M of Seized Silk Road Bitcoin This Month

The U.S. government sold 9,861.17 bitcoin (BTC) for almost $216 million on March 14, a court filing shows.

Global regulations

Denmark Says Bitcoin Profits Are Taxable in Certain Cases

Denmark's Supreme Court has ruled that profits from Bitcoin trading are taxable in certain cases. The ruling is a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, as it clarifies the legal status of Bitcoin and other digital assets in Denmark.

South Korean National Assembly to Pass Digital Asset Law in April

 The passage of the bill by the Political Affairs Committee has raised hopes that legislators will finally pass the law after several failed attempts.

China To Upgrade National Blockchain Standards by 2025

The Chinese government has been proactively pursuing advancements in its blockchain sector and aims to upgrade its industry development standards by 2025.

Hong Kong Signals Licensing Over 8 Crypto Companies by Year-End

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has signaled its intention to license over 8 crypto companies by the end of the year. The move is part of a broader effort by the Hong Kong government to regulate and legitimize the cryptocurrency industry.

UK Crypto Promotions Laws Hoped to be in Place by Late 2023

The UK government is planning to introduce new laws that would regulate the promotion of cryptocurrency and other high-risk financial products. The laws are expected to be in place by late 2023 and would provide greater protection for consumers and investors.

Russia Delays CBDC Pilot To Await New Law

Russia has delayed its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot program, citing the need to await the passage of a new law regulating digital assets. The pilot program, which was originally scheduled to launch in late 2022, is now expected to begin in early 2024.

Crypto weekly price action

Research and technology

Privacy and Central Bank Digital Currency

A new paper by the Digital Euro Association (DEA) working group of global experts takes a look at the topic of privacy and CBDCs. The paper examines the importance of privacy and how it impacts the successful adoption, usage, and implementation of digital currencies.

What is Decentralized Identity Solution

In this article, we will explore what decentralized identity solutions are, how they work, and the benefits they offer.

Analysis Of Recent Canadian Crypto Developments

A virtual loonie is being considered for implementation by the Bank of Canada as a response to the more mainstream nature of Cryptocurrencies in the monetary industry. 

Solving Web3’s Latency Problem to Unleash High-Speed dApps

This latency problem is continually being addressed by advanced Web3 infrastructure such as Chainlink’s low-latency oracle solution. By mitigating the latency problem, the future of Web3 can be filled with apps that are both decentralized and high-speed.

Fundraising and investment

Crypto Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger Raises Most of $109M Round

Ledger has raised most of a €100 million ($109 million) funding round at a €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) valuation. Media outlets first reported on a potential new capital raise last August.

Restaking Protocol EigenLayer Closes $50 Million Raise

The round is led by Blockchain Capital and sees participation from other investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, Hack VC and Electric Capital, the company said in a release. 

Fetch.ai Seizes $40M Investment Led by DWF Labs 

Fetch.ai, an AI-focused crypto protocol, has raised $40 million from market maker and investment firm DWF Labs to deploy machine-to-machine tools for greater AI integration.

LI.FI Raises $17.5M to Help Traditional Finance Build on DeFi

The round, which totalled $17.5 million, also includes participation from Bloccelerate, L1 Digital, Circle, Factor, Perridon, Theta Capital, Three Point Capital, Abra, and nearly 20 angel investors.

Viral Quotes

“I use GPT-4 every day. It’s the best therapist.” 

—Emad Mostaque, Stability AI Chief Executive Officer 

“One of the many lessons to takeaway from this Silicon Valley Bank (SBV) thing is how much, fast, and how much the world changes and how little I think our experts, leaders, business leaders, regulators, whatever, understand it. <…> I don’t think that kind of the people in power realize how much the field had shifted.”

— Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI

“Risks and fraud associated with cryptocurrency, including the two American banks who ran into troubles after providing many services for crytocurrency from taking deposits to settlement, showed that regulators should respect rules when innovating regulation.”

— Xuan Changneng, Deputy Governor at the People’s Bank of China