Luke Conway

<div id="highlights-block_61e889eac96b6" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>Markets have continued to drop as uncertaintly rises with tensions between Russia and Ukraine</li>
 <li>Fed Chair Jerome Powell will give a press conference on Wednesday that will likely explain the Fed&#8217;s plan for tapering inflation</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Markets have continued their slide amid rising tensions and uncertainty between Russia and Ukraine.



The Federal Reserve is meeting on Jan. 25-26 to create a plan to reduce inflation through fewer asset purchases and increased interest rates.



Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to give a press conference on Wednesday that lays out how the Federal Reserve plans to slow inflation. 



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<h3>Today</h3>



All markets have taken a beating over the last few days. The S&amp;P 500 (SPX) is down 4.33% in the last five days while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) has dropped over 3%. Bitcoin (BTC) has dropped by almost 12% in the same time frame.



The markets took an even steeper drop through Monday with the DJI dropping as much as 1.85% while BTC dropped as low as 8.5% in the day.



Later in the day, all markets saw a huge rebound. By 4:00 pm ET BTC was up 1.88% and the S&amp;P 500 climbed back up to be up 0.28% after it had sunk as much as 2.44% during the day.



<h4>Russia and Ukraine</h4>



The tension between Ukraine and Russia has been an ongoing issue <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2014/07/29/statement-president-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">since</a> 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula and declared the city of Sevastopol a federal city. But tensions between Russia and Ukraine have since escalated further as Russia continues to build up a military presence on Ukraine's border causing many to fear invasion.



In response to the escalation, the US has ordered all Americans in the US Embassy in Ukraine to leave the country and has also put 8,500 troops on heightened alert should a military response be necessary. 



The Pentagon's press secretary, John Kirby, <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Advisories/Advisory/Article/2908898/pentagon-press-secretary-john-kirby-press-briefing-today-at-230-pm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> that no troops are intended for deployment to Ukraine as of yet. “What this is about is reassurance to our NATO allies," said Kirby. 



The potential for some sort of conflict between Russia and western nations likely added to the already existing fear in the marketplace, causing a morning and mid-day slide.



<h4>Federal Reserve</h4>



The recent drop in markets is probably directly correlated with the Federal Reserve's coming changes to asset purchases and interest rates. Historically, the Fed's increase in interest rates has correlated with significant drops in markets.



Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to have a press conference on Wednesday on the heels of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) meeting that will reveal more details about the central bank's plans for interest rate changes and asset purchases after the drastic increase in inflation.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="642" src="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png" alt="" class="wp-image-15969" srcset="https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=1024 1024w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=300 300w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=768 768w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=410 410w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=416 416w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=349 349w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=80 80w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=50 50w, https://blockworks-co.imgix.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/image-243-1024x642.png?w=1174 1174w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Correlation between down markets and increased interest rates. Source: https://en.macromicro.me/collections/9/us-market-relative/91/interest-rate-sp500</figcaption></figure>



<h3>Top stories</h3>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/australian-open-metaverse-art-ball-nfts-ace-first-week-as-tournament-rolls-on/">Story</a>: Australian Open Metaverse, ‘Art Ball’ NFTs Ace First Week as Tournament Rolls On



<ul><li>The Austrailian Open has created a space in the Decentraland metaverse that includes virtual recreation of Melbourne Park in Victora, Australia, including the Grand Slam Park and Rod Laver Arena, among others.</li><li>According to data provider Run It Wild, the metaverse space may become one of the most successful Decentraland projects to date. </li></ul>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/banker-goes-crypto/">Story</a>: Gone Crypto: Former Banker Gets ‘Completely New Education’ From Digital Assets



<ul><li>Longtime equities trader Glenn Barber made his move into crypto when he sensed innovation slowing in traditional finance.&nbsp;</li><li>Barber previously worked at Deutsche Bank, Voyager and FalconX before joining the crypto custodian Copper as its head of sales for the Americas.</li></ul>



<a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/nft-incubator-to-merge-with-crypto-vc/">Story</a>: NFT Incubator to Merge With Crypto Venture Firm in $129M Deal



<ul><li>NFT Investments, an NFT incubator platform, plans to acquire crypto technology and venture capital firm Pluto Digital for about $129 million.</li><li>Though markets are down, investments continue to flow into Web3 and digital asset companies. </li></ul>



<h3>Tomorrow</h3>



Several companies with close ties to the crypto industry are set to release earnings statements tomorrow. One week after it <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/microsoft-bets-big-on-the-metaverse-with-68-7b-deal-for-activision-blizzard/">announced</a> the acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, Microsoft (MSFT) is set to release earnings. In a <a href="https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/">statement</a> about the purchase, Microsoft said that the acquisition was a way “to accelerate the growth in Microsoft’s gaming business” and to “provide building blocks for the metaverse.” Other big names releasing earnings tomorrow include Tesla (TSLA), Mastercard (MA), Robinhood (HOOD) and Visa (V).



Going forward investors should prepare for further volatility as news comes out of the unfolding situation at the Russian and Ukrainian border and more details about inflation come out of the Federal Reserve. 



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Market Recap: Russia and Ukraine Tensions Add More Fear to the Market

Ben Strack

Ticketmaster has launched a feature that allows artists to grant NFT owners special access to events, marking another use case for the evolving technology powering digital collectibles.



Such “token-gated ticket sales” are compatible with Ethereum-minted tokens stored in digital wallets, including MetaMask or Coinbase, Ticketmaster said in a statement on Monday.&nbsp;



Heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold (A7X) first requested the tool as a way to reward holders of its Deathbats Club NFT collection, launched in late 2021. In addition to presale access, rewards can include specific seats or custom travel packages — at the discretion of the artist.



Decrypt first <a href="https://decrypt.co/124607/ticketmaster-debuts-nft-gated-ticket-sales-starting-avenged-sevenfold">reported</a> the Ticketmaster launch.&nbsp;



M. Shadows, A7x’s lead singer, outlined his band’s link-up with Ticketmaster in a tweet earlier this month.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Yes, we have integrated <a href="https://twitter.com/DeathbatsClub?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeathbatsClub</a> into <a href="https://twitter.com/Ticketmaster?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ticketmaster</a> assuring that fans get the best tickets at the best prices without Bots, scalpers and long wait times. More info to come but there is 3 hours left. So if you have a Deathbat head here… <a href="https://t.co/lB8hlLCkkF">https://t.co/lB8hlLCkkF</a>&mdash; M. Shadows (@shadows_eth) <a href="https://twitter.com/shadows_eth/status/1636037928257458177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



“This new capability allows artists to get special access and rewards to specific fans they want to super serve,” David Marcus, Ticketmaster’s executive vice president of global music, <a href="https://business.ticketmaster.com/business-solutions/nft-token-gated-sales/">said</a> in a statement. “Artists like Avenged Sevenfold are using Web3 and NFTs to build deeper relationships with their fans, and we’re proud to help foster that connection through live events.”



M. Shadows said in a separate tweet last week that holders of Deathbats NFTs “had the easiest experience I’ve ever seen for buying tickets.”&nbsp;



“Let’s hope more bands follow,” he said on Twitter.



The launch follows Ticketmaster introducing an offering last August that aimed to give sellers on its platform the ability to issue NFTs before, during or after events.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Ticketmaster had already minted more than 5 million NFTs on the Flow blockchain, Dapper Labs <a href="https://www.dapperlabs.com/newsroom/ticketmaster-launches-new-capability-to-issue-digital-collectible-nfts-to-fans-before-during-or-after-an-event">said</a> in a blog post at the time. <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/dapper-labs">Dapper Labs</a>, the company behind CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, created the Flow (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/flow">FLOW</a>) blockchain in 2019.



Ticketmaster also utilized Flow to distribute more than 70,000 commemorative ticket NFTs at Super Bowl LVI in 2022.



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Ticketmaster Goes Live With NFT-gated Features

Michael Bodley

US law enforcement officials are lauding Blockchain Intelligence Group for the crypto investigative firm’s “significant collaboration” with federal officers probing the Frosties NFT collection rug pull.



Blockchain Intelligence Group’s role, officials said in a <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/03/27/2634710/0/en/Crypto-Investigative-Support-Company-Recognized-in-U-S-Department-of-Homeland-Security.html">statement</a> on Monday, resulted in the first federal arrest pertaining to an alleged NFT scam and prevented “additional victims from being defrauded.”&nbsp;



Federal authorities awarded Blockchain Intelligence Group’s parent company, the publicly traded BIGG Digital Assets, the Homeland Security Investigations’ annual “private sector partnership award,” they said. Firm executives and employees were recognized in a ceremony at New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice on Friday.&nbsp;



Blockchain Intelligence Group CEO Lance Morginn accepted the honor on behalf of the company, according to the company. It was bestowed by Ivan J. Marvel, who holds the title of special agent in charge for the New York unit of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).



The Frosties scam is said to have resulted in NFT holders being defrauded of as much as $1.3 million in early 2022. At the time, the ruse was indicative of rising proliferation of bad crypto actors in a bullish digital collectibles space.



Frosties are a “cool, delectable, and unique” NFT collection, according to its OpenSea <a href="https://opensea.io/collection/frosties-nft">page</a>, which lists the 8,888 total Frosties minted.&nbsp;



Ethan Vinh Nguyen and Andre Marcus Quiddaoen Llacuna were <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/two-defendants-charged-non-fungible-token-nft-fraud-and-money-laundering-scheme-0">charged</a> by the Department of Justice in relation to the rug pull, which was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-creators-stole-1-3m-from-investors-then-vanished-sources-say">previously reported by Blockworks</a>. The previous account cited sources, including interviews with Frosties holders who said they were defrauded, in breaking the news.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In the statement on Monday, Morginn said that when the Blockchain Intelligence Group “identified suspicious behavior occurring over social media channels relating to what appeared to be an apparent rug pull involving the Frosties NFT” and notified law enforcement “without hesitation.”&nbsp;



The blockchain tracing specialist then teamed up with law enforcement officials, Morginn said, and “quickly tracked and traced the flow of funds as well as the NFT all on one graph.”



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Investigators Sing Blockchain Intelligence’s Praises in Frosties NFT Probe

Bessie Liu

Community governance that oversees MakerDAO, the decentralized protocol behind stablecoin DAI, has voted in favor of the “Maker Constitution,” making its first steps toward Endgame.



The Endgame plan is a roadmap designed by <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/rune-christensen-wants-out-of-maker">Rune Christensen</a>, the protocol’s co-founder, to decentralize governance at <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/makerdao" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MakerDAO</a> and improve DeFi innovation.



It includes a set of 14 different Maker Improvement Proposals (MIPs) — designed collectively to create rules and corresponding frameworks that will eventually enable the launch of Endgame.



The first MIP up for a vote was the Maker Constitution, otherwise known as <a href="https://mips.makerdao.com/mips/details/MIP101">MIP101.</a>



The Maker Constitution can be considered the foundation of Endgame. Made up of 11 constitutional articles and 12 scope frameworks, the constitution will implement the following changes at MakerDAO:



<ol>
<li>Create a “purpose system” to enable token allocations to SubDAOs, which will determine charities to donate to through community votes.</li>



<li>Make strides toward <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/dai">DAI</a> stablecoin decentralization through <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/mkr">MKR</a> token generation in the event there is not enough DAI collateral.</li>



<li>Introduce a standardized and regulated application to align voter incentives and prevent voter manipulation.</li>



<li>Invite “constitutional conservers” or external entities to facilitate governance operations.</li>



<li>Create “constitutional voter committees” consisting of groups of MKR holders tasked with reaching compromises with other teams to minimize chances of making bad decisions.</li>



<li>Establish a protocol delegation system that will enable the delegation of MKR tokens as collateral to generate more DAI to increase voter incentive.</li>



<li>Continue the function of Core Units and project-based funding.</li>



<li>Launch six new SubDAOs alongside the activation of Endgame.</li>



<li>Create modifiable subcomponents designed to move MakerDAO toward greater decentralization.</li>



<li>A new set of boundaries to manage the modifiable subcomponents or “Scope Frameworks.”</li>



<li>A process to make amendments to the Maker Constitution.</li>
</ol>



A shadow delegate <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/Qmbndmkr#comments">noted</a> the constitution gave them a “good starting point to grab [the] whole view of [the] next governance structure of MakerDAO,” and hence chose to vote “yes” for the proposal.&nbsp;



London Business School Blockchain association, meanwhile, <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/Qmbndmkr#comments">wrote</a> in a forum that they chose to vote against the proposal because there were “important aspects of the Constitution that we do not understand, or simply cannot support.”



Ultimately, a total of <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/Qmbndmkr#vote-breakdown">76%</a> of delegates voted in favor, and <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/Qmbndmkr#vote-breakdown">24%</a> voted against. Less than 0.01% of members abstained.&nbsp;



Endgame has been in talks since May 2022. Only recently has it finally been given the go-ahead by MakerDAO’s community governance.&nbsp;&nbsp;



A governance delegate of MakerDAO that goes by the pseudonym <a href="https://twitter.com/park_eth">park_eth</a> told Blockworks that, “anyone who’s involved with DeFi governance will know that Maker is probably the most complicated one.”&nbsp;



“Maker has actually built a very good culture of encouraging different opinions and voices onto the community platform and actually having rigorous debate on the issues. Generally the quality of discussion [is] very, very high,” they said. “I think [decentralization] is not necessarily a bad thing [but] decisions always feel really hard.”



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MakerDAO Makes First Steps Toward Endgame

Casey Wagner

Binance’s latest legal troubles show how muddy the jurisdictional waters are for crypto.&nbsp;



The CFTC’s lawsuit against Binance alleges that the exchange and affiliated executives violated commodities and derivatives laws, shows how complicated the relationship between US agencies is when it comes to overseeing crypto. The CFTC’s lawsuit, filed on Monday, follows the SEC’s series of enforcement actions, and The White House’s Council of Economic Advisors <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bidens-view-on-crypto">has weighed in on the sector</a>.&nbsp;



“Binance is being sued for options, futures, and other derivatives activities of these tokens. This shows that the underlying asset can be a security but, since it’s being traded like a derivative, that activity is regulated by the CFTC,” said Yankun Guo, a partner at Chicago law firm Ice Miller. “This, coupled with the multifaceted nature of how tokens function and are used, can cause them to fall under multiple agency’s jurisdiction.”



The lawsuit, irrespective of its resolution, will impact how Binance interacts with US markets going forward, legal experts said. A Binance spokesperson told Blockworks in a statement on Monday that the filing is “unexpected and disappointing,” considering the exchange has been “working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years.”&nbsp;



“Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world,” the statement said, adding that Binance has increased its compliance headcount from about 100 two years ago to “around 750 core and supporting compliance personnel today.”



Jeffrey Blockinger, chief legal counsel at decentralized exchange Vertex Protocol, said that a settlement or litigation is possible for Binance.



“Any settlement will certainly include an agreement by Binance to cease and desist from any further violations related to derivative sales and Bank Secrecy Act violations,” Blockinger said.&nbsp;



Added Blockinger: “If the matter is litigated, this could take years to resolve. During that period Binance will seek to correct any deficiencies that exist to avoid any further charges and show good faith to the CFTC.”



In fact, Dave Weisberger, the CEO and co-founder of CoinRoutes, an algorithmic-trading platform for the digital asset industry, told Blockworks that the case could potentially damage the Binance.US platform completely.



“It’s possible that Binance might soon see its operations in the United States come to an end entirely,” Weisberger said.



Such a drastic move, if it comes to fruition, could momentarily impact crypto liquidity in the United States. Weiserberger said that there are “many quality exchanges that operate in the United States and have more liquidity than BinanceUS.”



There was no immediate indication on Monday that Binance would have to shutter its US operations. The CFTC’s complaint did not name Binance.US as a specific defendant, but did mention the entity a number of times throughout.&nbsp;



The Binance spokesperson said the exchange has made “significant investments over the past two years to ensure we do not have US users active on our platform.” The spokesperson appeared to be referring to Binance’s core operations, which are not regulated or based in the US.&nbsp;



“Derivatives trading – of which Binance is currently the largest centralized exchange – might also be impacted,” Weiserberger said. “But, again, there are many global firms looking to expand into that market. It does, however, look like the CFTC action is going to stop whatever US domestic money is trading in the global crypto derivatives market.”



<h2>Ongoing blows to crypto</h2>



It’s yet another major blow to the crypto industry in recent months. Just last week, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">Coinbase was issued a Wells Notice from the SEC</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-sues-justin-sun">Tron’s Justin Sun was served legal papers</a>.&nbsp;



FTX’s November bankruptcy filing, followed by founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s arrest and indictment, was a major setback for the regulatory process in the US, industry members said. But Binance’s troubles may be less powerful.&nbsp;



“I think [the Binance lawsuit] will have less of an impact,” said Cody Carbone, vice president of policy at the Chamber of Digital Commerce. “FTX was a gut punch because SBF was a player at the table and made members/regulators feel foolish. They thought FTX was doing things right.”&nbsp;



Binance, on the other hand, has maintained a different reputation, according to Carbone.&nbsp;



“Binance has always been viewed more skeptically, rightly or wrongly, even by crypto champions on Capitol Hill,” he said.&nbsp;



Even <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-markets-stumble-binance-woes">markets have, so far, have not been impacted much</a>. Bitcoin lost an initial 4% or so before recovering. It was trading back above $27,000 within the hour. Ether, over the same period, briefly dipped slightly below the $1,700 level before bouncing back.&nbsp;



Darius Tabatabai, co-founder of decentralized exchange Vertex Protocol, said that the “CFTC taking actions against Binance isn’t entirely surprising,” given the spate of preceding “recent actions taken by US regulators.”



“This may be why the markets are largely nonplussed by the lawsuit,” Tabatabai said.



<h2>The silver lining</h2>



Following the FTX debacle, regulators have been quite stringent on their examination into centralized exchanges, Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO and co-founder of Prometheum, told Blockworks.



Prometheum is the parent company of Prometheum ATS, an SEC-registered trading firm and FINRA member.&nbsp;



“Many centralized exchanges operated in gray zones and historically took advantage of regulatory or jurisdictional arbitrage,” Kaplan said. “While this might mark a difficult period for centralized crypto exchanges, this is all part of forced maturation that will see the existing crypto financial services ecosystem being replaced by one that is regulated under the securities and commodities laws.”&nbsp;



Recent enforcement actions, in fact, could potentially help determine whether specific cryptoassets should be classified as commodities or securities, Luke Hoersten the founder and CEO of Bitnomial, a US-regulated international bitcoin derivatives exchange.



“As federally regulated exchanges become fully operational in the US, we expect a trend towards exchanges that have clearer regulatory standing as investors seek out safer and more secure options for participating in the crypto markets,” Hoersten told Blockworks. “Whether regulatory clarity comes from rule making or enforcement action, ultimately it will enable a much broader customer base to participate in crypto.”



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Binance Lawsuit Means More Regulatory Hurdles for Crypto

David Canellis

FTX crumbled less than six months ago under the weight of sprawling corporate malfeasance, which amounted to billions of user dollars lost and waves of criminal charges against its executives.



The FTX dumpster fire — fanned by a series of tweets from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao himself — burned particularly fiercely due to its cozy relationship with co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s market-making, venture investing sister firm Alameda Research.&nbsp;



Binance’s situation may be slightly different. FTX allegedly gave Alameda practically infinite <a href="https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-219">credit</a> to trade on the platform, funds which came from FTX users themselves.&nbsp;



The CFTC, in its recent indictment, hasn’t said Binance funneled funds to Zhao’s market makers in the same way.



Still, the apparent setup reeks of a familiar funk: Control the markets, own the market makers, then offer enough special privileges to render profiteering from users a sure thing.



<h2>So what did Binance do?</h2>



Binance has allegedly traded on its own exchange — against its own users — via around 300 so-called “house accounts,” which are directly or indirectly owned by CEO Changpeng Zhao.



Most of the CFTC’s charges relate to knowingly offering crypto derivatives (like perpetual swaps and futures) to US residents through Binance’s flagship international exchange.



But the agency also zeroed in on two of Zhao’s trading companies, Merit Peak and Sigma Chain, which serve as Binance market makers (supposedly neutral counterparties providing liquidity to keep order books running smoothly, earning profit from the spread).



The existence of these firms and their connections to Zhao were already known: Wall Street Journal reported in Feb. 2022 that the SEC was <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/sec-probes-trading-affiliates-of-crypto-giant-binances-u-s-arm-11644948162">probing</a> the two over Binance’s potential failure to disclose their relationship with the exchange and its founder to customers.



The CFTC’s lawsuit gives further insight into how Zhao’s market makers allegedly operate on Binance.



Starting no later than July 2019 and until today, Merit Peak (registered to the Cayman Islands alongside Binance’s flagship platform) entered into and settled over-the-counter trades with Binance customers.&nbsp;



Swiss-registered Sigma Chain, on the other hand, handled proprietary trading on various Binance markets, including derivatives (the CFTC also said Zhao traded on Binance with two other individual accounts).



Sigma Chain’s prop trading activity was directed by Binance’s “quant desk,” the CFTC said. Quantitative trading desks rely heavily on mathematical models, often automated, to make market decisions.



<h2>Zhao accounts allegedly outside of insider trading policy</h2>



The agency noted Binance does not disclose to users that Binance trades on its own markets. Binance’s US platform currently <a href="https://www.binance.us/terms-of-use">states</a> that the firm relies on third party market makers, some potentially related to the company, although it’s unclear when that wording was originally posted.



The CFTC said: “Consistent with its apparent attempt to keep its proprietary trading activity on its own markets top secret, Binance has refused to respond to Commission-issued investigative subpoenas seeking information concerning its proprietary trading activity on Binance, including transaction data and communications among the members of the Binance ‘quant desk.’”&nbsp;



The regulator claims that Binance does not include the trading activity of Merit Peak and Sigma Chain, its 300 house accounts nor Zhao’s individual accounts, in its anti-fraud or anti-manipulation surveillance.&nbsp;



Those accounts aren’t forced to abide by Binance’s insider trading policy debuted in January, either, with its house accounts allegedly completely exempt.



Welcome to crypto, where the money is made up and the conflicts of interest don’t matter — until the indictments roll in.



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<div class="wp-block-post-author-biography">David is an Editor based in The Netherlands focused on data-driven journalism. Previously, he wrote for TheNextWeb&#8217;s crypto vertical before launching Protos in 2021. He&#8217;s a reformed hardline Bitcoiner passionate about permissionless and decentralized networks. Contact David at david@blockworks.co</div>


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FTX Flashback? Binance Trades Against Its Users, Says CFTC

As the CFTC perpetuated a string of enforcement actions against crypto companies by <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-and-ether-are-commodities-says-cftc-in-binance-lawsuit">suing Binance and its CEO</a> Monday, industry watchers warned that the crypto exchange could have a hard time defending itself.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The action also illustrates the continued turf war between the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/cftc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFTC</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEC</a>.



The CFTC is attempting to strike a “fatal blow” to Binance, Adam Cochran, a partner at Cinneamhain Ventures tweeted Monday.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-and-ether-are-commodities-says-cftc-in-binance-lawsuit">The commodities-focused regulator alleges</a> that Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, broke trading and derivatives laws. Samuel Lim, Binance’s former chief compliance officer, is also named as a defendant in the case — filed Monday in US district court for the Northern District of Illinois.



“At first read through&#8230;I think they actually have really strong chances here of succeeding in toppling the Binance empire,” he wrote.&nbsp;



A Binance spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.



Zhao tweeted “4” Monday —  a reference to a January <a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1610018096122851328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1610018096122851328%7Ctwgr%5Efe7f86147f98f69aafcb0b668d34c4bfec02d954%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bsc.news%2Fpost%2F4-czs-resolution-to-handle-binance-fud-in-2023">tweet</a> in which he said he would use the number to encourage people to “ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.” The executive commonly uses FUD, an oft-used crypto industry term meaning fear, uncertainty and doubt. 



&#8220;This filing is unexpected and disappointing as we have been working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years,&#8221; a Binance spokesperson told Blockworks in an email. &#8220;Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world&#8230; to develop a clear, thoughtful regulatory regime.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">I mean no matter how bullish you are, you cannot believe that &quot;the CFTC filed a case against us&quot; is FUD because it legit happened. It&#39;s not a rumor, it&#39;s not a matter of uncertainty, the case is damning and has chat records from insiders&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/WK1KJxyuyJ">https://t.co/WK1KJxyuyJ</a>&mdash; Adam Cochran (adamscochran.eth) (@adamscochran) <a href="https://twitter.com/adamscochran/status/1640380231155343360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h2>Commodities versus securities</h2>



Meltem Demirors, chief strategy officer at crypto investment firm CoinShares, said in a tweet that all eyes are on the lawsuit.&nbsp;



She noted that the case is similar to the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitmex-agrees-to-settlement-up-to-100m-with-us-cftc-and-fincen">CFTC’s case against BitMEX</a> — “albeit less OFAC violation focused and more concerned [with] marketing and product access for US retail,” the executive tweeted.



The regulator <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8412-21">ordered</a> BitMEX entities to pay a $100 million in August 2021 after alleging that the crypto platform illegally accepted orders and funds from US customers to trade derivatives on bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a>), ether (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a>), and litecoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/ltc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LTC</a>).



Demirors added that the CFTC’s claims in the latest suit against Binance that bitcoin and ether are commodities counter the SEC’s stance.&nbsp;



SEC Chair Gary Gensler has said in interviews in the past year that while he views bitcoin as a commodity, most other crypto tokens are securities.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Monday’s complaint also labels litecoin, as well as stablecoins tether (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USDT</a>) and Binance USD (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/busd" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUSD</a>) as commodities. This distinction points to “the confusion being caused by the lack of clear regulations in the US,” according to Yankun Guo, a partner at Chicago law firm Ice Miller.&nbsp;



“It shows that both the multifaceted nature of how tokens function and how they are used can cause them to fall under multiple agency’s jurisdiction; but this is also an issue if the same company/exchange is sued by the multiple agencies for the same tokens,” Guo told Blockworks in an email. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar lawsuit by the SEC naming all the same tokens except BTC as securities.”



<h2>Regulation by enforcement nothing new</h2>



The case is the latest enforcement action against a crypto company as some industry participants say US regulators seek to regulate the industry by force in the absence of a comprehensive framework for the sector.&nbsp;



US regulators have targeted other platforms for the failure to register with them, said Jeffrey Blockinger, chief legal counsel at decentralized exchange Vertex Protocol.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-sues-justin-sun">The SEC sued Tron Network founder Justin Sun</a> last week for allegedly selling unregistered securities. The commission also <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">served Coinbase with a Wells notice</a> related to potential alleged securities violations. The notice relates to an “unspecified portion” of its listed digital assets, according to Coinbase — which the company says are not securities.



“Binance may choose to fight this but if the alleged facts are true, it will have a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/binance-cftc-damning-quotes">difficult time defending itself</a>,” Blockinger told Blockworks in an email. “The issues are much less nuanced than current matters involving the SEC related to whether a particular token satisfies court-established precedent for what constitutes a security,” he said.



Updated March 27 2023 at 2:01pm ET: Added comment from Binance.



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‘Fatal Blow?’: Crypto Industry Reacts to CFTC Suit Against Binance

ApeCoin DAO, the community that governs ApeCoin — the Ethereum governance token used to aid decision-making in the APE ecosystem — has voted against introducing two new NFT collections.



The proposal wanted to introduce two new NFT collections: Multi-Link Ape Coin Armory Club and Ape Coin Pet Club.



Each NFT collection would be made of <a href="https://forum.apecoin.com/t/aip-206-more-apecoin-holding-utility-and-growth-incentive-gift-and-create-multi-link-ape-coin-armory-club-and-ape-coin-pet-club-decentraland-otherside-sandbox-to-apecoin-bayc-and-other-yuga-nft-holders/10587">20,000</a> unique tokens, with existing ApeCoin holders receiving an airdrop of a non-unique version of the NFT.&nbsp;



NFTs would be linked to popular metaverse projects including Decentraland, Otherside and The Sandbox.



In total, the project would have cost the DAO $168,000.



Aaron Leupp, an ApeCoin DAO community member and author of the proposal, said that the project would “bring more massive utility to all NFTs by making them the first multi-metaverse linked wearable NFTs.”



In an on-chain <a href="https://snapshot.org/#/apecoin.eth/proposal/0xf08cc4304b694beac9d15153fe08a17f677f3b9afd80c8920d6f91e568e24fa2">snapshot vote</a>, results show that over 84% of delegates voted against the proposal, with almost 10% voting in favor and 6% choosing to abstain.



“Let me know if [there is] anything we can change you think could get your Yes vote next time around or more information we can give you on it that may have been missed if you have any questions,” Leupp <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronLeupp/status/1639729203162796032" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>.



Adding, “We have put a ton of money and work into this pitch alone, so worth the ask on our end.”



Leupp did not immediately respond to Blockworks&#8217; request for comment.



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No New NFT Collections for ApeCoin DAO, Community Says

Jon Rice

The CFTC has <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-and-ether-are-commodities-says-cftc-in-binance-lawsuit">sued Binance</a> and two of its executives, CEO Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim, the exchange’s former chief compliance officer. In its complaint, the regulatory agency has included numerous internal communications that it claims show deliberate obfuscation and efforts to sidestep regulation.



Here are some of the most damning quotes from the CFTC complaint.



<h2>That pesky OFAC problem</h2>



According to the complaint, in 2018 Lim acknowledged that <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/binance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> was operating “in the USA” and advised his colleagues that “there is no fking way in hell I am signing off as the cco for the ofac shit.”



The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) administers and enforces trade sanctions, and much of the document produced by the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/cftc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFTC</a> is concerned with Binance&#8217;s alleged efforts to avoid such oversight.



<h2>Terrorists send small sums</h2>



The complaint alleges that in February 2019, after receiving information “regarding HAMAS transactions” on Binance, Lim explained to a colleague that terrorists usually send “small sums” as “large sums constitute money laundering.” Lim’s colleague replied: “can barely buy an AK47 with 600 bucks.”



<h2>KYC optional</h2>



The CFTC continues, with the ever-more loose-lipped Lim allegedly stating in January 2019 that “Cz doesn’t wanna do us kyc on .com.”



<h2>2 BTC limit and US citizens</h2>



Regarding the implementation of a 2 bitcoin trading limit for non-verified customers, in 2019, Lim apparently told Zhao that “a huge number” of Binance’s “TIER 1 [meaning customers trading via the two BTC-no KYC loophole] could be US citizens in reality. They have to get smarter and VPN through non-U.S. IP.”



<h2>We&#8217;re doing things that are not in line with the US</h2>



The complaint states that during a management meeting in June of 2019 Zhao stated that &#8220;[T]here are a bunch of laws in the US that prevent Americans from having any kind of transaction with any terrorist, and then in order to achieve that, if you serve US or US sanctioned countries there are about 28 sanctioned countries in the US you would need to submit all relevant documents for review [but that is not] very suitable for our company structure to do so. So, we don’t want to do that and it is very simple if you don’t want to do that: you can’t have American users. Honestly it is not reasonable for the US to do this . . . . [U.S. regulators] can’t make a special case for us. We are already doing a lot of things that are obviously not in line with the United States.&#8221;



<h2>VPNs are not very subtle</h2>



The CFTC states that in March 2019, Lim said: “We are actually pretty explicit about [encouraged VPN use] already – even got a fking guide. Hence CZ is ok with blocking even usa.”



<h2>Creative onboarding of US users</h2>



The ever-obliging Lim allegedly told an employee that, &#8220;On the surface we cannot be seen to have US users but in reality we should get them through other creative means.&#8221;



<h2>Who&#8217;s in Chicago?</h2>



The complaint notes that a VIP team member contacted Zhao regarding a &#8220;Chicago-headquartered trading firm.&#8221;



VIP team member: Hi CZ . . . I went through list of affected API clients, it includes a number of large strategic accounts including [a Chicago-headquartered trading firm] who is currently is a top 5 client and 12% of our volume 



Zhao: Give them a heads up to ensure they don’t connect from a us Ip. Don’t leave anything in writing. They have non us entities. Let’s also make sure we don’t hit the biggest market makers with that email first. Do you have signal?&#8221;



<h2>Bonus Quote: If you don&#8217;t say US, you might still mean US</h2>



The CFTC says that in a November 17, 2020 internal chat, the Director of Operations at Binance made the decision to note that “at present, the keyword US for internal information is also a sensitive word, so you have to use Unknow to mark the country.”



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Despite Binance&#8217;s long-standing protestations of compliance, the CFTC <a href="https://www.cftc.gov/PressRoom/PressReleases/8680-23">appears</a> to have significant and detailed information to support its complaint. And that can only be bad news for Binance.



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7 Damning Quotes From the CFTC Binance Lawsuit

Crypto prices dipped moments after news broke Monday of the CFTC <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-and-ether-are-commodities-says-cftc-in-binance-lawsuit">suing Binance and affiliated executives</a> on allegations of trading and derivatives violations.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/bnb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BNB</a>, Binance’s native token, lost around 5% in short order.&nbsp;



Bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a>) dropped 3.8% to $26,737, before recovering to $26,917 Monday just after 12 pm in New York. On Nov. 11, 2022, the day FTX filed for bankruptcy, bitcoin lost more than 6%.&nbsp;



Ether (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a>), which lost nearly 7% on Nov. 11, was trading about 3.5% lower by early Monday afternoon. 



&#8220;Based on recent actions taken by US regulators, the CFTC taking actions against Binance isn&#8217;t entirely surprising. This may be why the markets are largely nonplussed by the lawsuit,” Darius Tabatabai, co-founder of decentralized exchange Vertex Protocol, said.&nbsp;



“That said, when you consider that suits have been announced against KuCoin, Kraken, and Coinbase, it certainly appears that there are headwinds that traders should consider as we move into the second quarter, and it will be fascinating to see how this all plays out in the court system,&#8221; Tabatabai added.



In the lawsuit, filed Monday in Illinois, the CFTC claims that Binance “has solicited and accepted orders, accepted property to margin, and operated a facility for the trading of futures, options, swaps, and leveraged retail commodity transactions involving digital assets that are commodities including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) for persons in the United States.”



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/binance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> CEO Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim, the exchange’s former chief compliance officer, are named in the complaint as defendants.



The lawsuit comes shortly after Binance announced it would do away with zero-fee trading for 13 bitcoin spot trading pairs. Volumes on the exchange plummeted, moving Binance’s market share down 20%, according to data from research firm Kaiko.&nbsp;



“As of mid-March 2023, zero-fee trade volume accounted for a majority of total volume, clocking a high of 66%,” Kaiko analysts said in a note Monday before the lawsuit was filed.



Updated March 27, 2023 at 12:30 pm ET: Added comment from Darius Tabatabai, co-founder of decentralized exchange Vertex Protocol.



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Crypto Markets Stumble on Binance Legal Woes, but Not as Bad as FTX

Crypto exchange Binance and its CEO have been sued by the CFTC.



The regulatory agency filed the lawsuit Monday in US district court for the Northern District of Illinois. The CFTC alleges that the executive and his company broke trading and derivatives laws.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/binance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> CEO Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim, Binance’s former chief compliance officer, are named in the complaint as defendants.



Binance has executed commodity derivatives transactions to and for people in the US since July 2019, the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/cftc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFTC</a> alleges. But the company did not require its customers to provide identity-verifying information and failed to put in place compliance procedures, according to the lawsuit.



According to the complaint, “Binance, under Zhao’s direction and control and with Lim’s willful and substantial assistance, has solicited and accepted orders, accepted property to margin, and operated a facility for the trading of futures, options, swaps, and leveraged retail commodity transactions involving digital assets that are commodities including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), and litecoin (LTC) for persons in the United States.”



The complaint alleges numerous attempts to evade US regulation, some of which are <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/binance-cftc-damning-quotes">documented in significant detail</a>.



BNB coin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/bnb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BNB</a>), the native token launched by Binance in July 2017, was trading down -4.5% through 11:46 am ET on the news. 



CFTC Chair Rostin Behnam said in a statement that the US commodities overseer is looking to continue to regulate what he called the “volatile and risky” digital asset market. The CFTC also is in charge of regulating derivative products, including financial instruments tied to commodities.&nbsp;



“For years, Binance knew they were violating CFTC rules, working actively to both keep the money flowing and avoid compliance,” Behnam said. “This should be a warning to anyone in the digital asset world that the CFTC will not tolerate willful avoidance of U.S. law.” .&nbsp;



The crypto exchange has previously been <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/binance-under-investigation-over-bank-secrecy-act-report">investigated by the US Justice Department</a> to discover whether Binance violated the Bank Secrecy Act, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-us-sought-records-binance-ceo-crypto-money-laundering-probe-2022-09-01/?rpc=401&amp;">reported</a> last year. A spokesperson said at the time the company “[works] with agencies regularly to address any outstanding questions,” but did not comment on whether it was being investigated for violating act.



A Binance spokesperson told Blockworks in an email that the filing was “unexpected and disappointing,” adding that the company has been “working collaboratively” with the CFTC for more than two years.



Over that span, the representative said, the company has made “significant investments” to ensure it did not have US users active on its platform — from boosting compliance staff to implementing market surveillance and investigative tools.



“Nevertheless, we intend to continue to collaborate with regulators in the US and around the world,” the spokesperson said. “The best path forward is to protect our users and to collaborate with regulators to develop a clear, thoughtful regulatory regime.”



The reported action is the latest in a string of measures taken by US regulators against large crypto players in recent weeks.&nbsp;



The SEC <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">served Coinbase with a Wells notice</a> last week for alleged securities violations. The company’s CEO, Brian Armstrong, said the next day <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a> would be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-happy-to-go-to-court-with-sec">happy to take the commission to court</a> if necessary to defend itself and other industry firms.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Zhao reacted to the news on Twitter with the number “4”, which he has previously indicated means that he considers the news to be either fake, or ‘“FUD” (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">4&mdash; CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) <a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1640372505046052866?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Updated March 27 2023 at 2pm ET: Additional context throughout, addition of comment from Binance.



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Bitcoin and Ether Are Commodities, Says CFTC in Binance Lawsuit

The options for layer-2 scaling are expanding as Polygon launches its long-awaited zkEVM technology on Ethereum mainnet today.



The zero-knowledge Ethereum Virtual Machine is a technology that can execute smart contract transactions in a way that can prove the information is executed correctly without revealing the information itself on Ethereum’s mainnet, thereby bundling more transactions in less mainnet blockspace.



Sandeep Nailwal, the co-founder and chief operating officer of Polygon, told Blockworks this type of technology is considered the “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/polygon-unveils-zkevm-the-holy-grail-of-scaling">holy grail of scaling</a>.”



“With the power of mathematics…you can compute something off-chain on layer-2, then verify everything back on Ethereum in a very succinct way in a very short amount of time,” Nailwal said.&nbsp;



Polygon’s launch on Ethereum comes just days after Matter Labs zkSync Era opened to the public on <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/zksyncs-evm-era-opens-to-the-public">Ethereum mainnet</a>.



Similar to zkSync’s offering, most of the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/polygon">Polygon</a> zkEVM’s code is open-source, but under an AGPL v3 license.



“That means that not only current repositories, but all future modifications and distributions as well, will remain open source, ensuring the code cannot be used for proprietary purposes,” Nailwal said.



The exception is the Polygon <a href="https://github.com/0xPolygonHermez/zkevm-prover#license">zkEVM prover</a>, for which an open-source license has not been selected at time of publication.



Nailwal notes that Polygon zkEVM is EVM equivalent, whereas zkSync’s offering is EVM compatible.



According to the <a href="https://vitalik.ca/general/2022/08/04/zkevm.html">framework</a> laid out by Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in August 2022, zkSync Era is classified as a “Type-4 (high-level-language equivalent),” and there are advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to bringing the EVM to a zero-knowledge rollup. The merits of various tradeoffs are an ongoing topic of debate.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Like zkSync Era, and the current crop of optimistic rollups, the Polygon zkEVM is not yet decentralized, but eventually, Nailwal hopes that Polygon’s new offering will take that step.



“Everything is in the hands of the community,” he said.&nbsp;



<h2>Security comes first</h2>



In addition to three internal audits, Nailwal notes that Polygon’s zkEVM has also gone through two rounds of external security audits from blockchain cybersecurity companies Hexens and Spearbit.



Ongoing, continuous audits are expected for the next three to four months following mainnet launch and a multi-million dollar bounty program will also be in place, he said.



The emphasis on security was also central to zkSync Era’s mainnet release, but Polygon said that Matter Labs had shared audits that cover their smart contracts and sequencer, not their prover.



“This raises serious questions about security, at least until a full audit is released. The prover for Polygon zkEVM, meanwhile, has been audited, and is open-source,” Brendan Farmer, Polygon Zero co-founder, told Blockworks.



A spokesperson for zkSync told Blockworks that the prover had been audited by Halborn Security, and pointed to the blockchain’s <a href="https://era.zksync.io/docs/dev/troubleshooting/audit-bug-bounty.html#audits">documentation</a>, which notes that a recently completed review has not yet been published.



Even conscientious security measures can leave gaps, however, and Nailwal notes that he does not wish users to bring millions of dollars to the zkEVM immediately.



&nbsp;“Zk is new technology…so we [want] people [to be] as cautious as possible,” he said.



Drawing on the example of the recent <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/euler-suffers-200m-exploit">Euler Finance attacks</a>, Nailwal cautioned that interacting with smart contracts is not without risk.&nbsp;



“Euler, after running for two years, a bug was found — this can happen any day, on any smart contract-based application.” he said.



ZkEVMs are sure to be compared to their <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/arbitrum-optimism-exceed-ethereum">optimistic rollup counterparts</a> — the most successful to-date being Optimism and Arbitrum.



“Arbitrum took one and a half years before people actually started bringing in money,” Nailwal said. “So we don’t expect people to bring a lot of money [initially].”



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Polygon’s zkEVM Goes Live on Ethereum Mainnet

MicroStrategy is on a spending spree. The business intelligence company shelled out millions in the past few weeks to scoop up an additional 6,455 BTC and pay off its loan from collapsed Silvergate Bank early, according to a regulatory filing Monday.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/microstrategy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MicroStrategy</a> has paid off its $205 million loan from Silvegate, which it took out in March 2022, making its final payment of $161 million earlier this month. The loan, set to mature in March 2025, was collateralized with around $820 million in bitcoin, regulatory <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1050446/000119312522087494/d312252d8k.htm#:~:text=On%20March%2023%2C%202022%20(the,pursuant%20to%20which%20the%20Lender">filings</a> show. 



The news comes weeks after MicroStrategy told investors <a href="https://twitter.com/MicroStrategy/status/1631366897378680835?s=20">via Twitter</a> that Silvergates’ “insolvency or bankruptcy” would not “accelerate” the loan.&nbsp;



MicroStrategy <a href="https://www.microstrategy.com/en/investor-relations/press/silvergate-bank-issues-205-m-loan-to-macrostrategy-collateralized-by-bitcoin_03-29-2022">said in 2022</a> it would use the $205 million to purchase bitcoins and/or for “general corporate purposes.”&nbsp;



Monday’s SEC <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1050446/000119312523079839/d467124d8k.htm">filing</a> also shows the company purchased 6,455 <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC </a>over the past several weeks “for approximately $150 million in cash, at an average price of approximately $23,238 per bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses.” Microstrategy now holds more than 130,000 BTC, totalling around $4.1 billion, the regulatory form adds. That makes MicroStrategy’s the largest corporate treasury of any public company, per <a href="https://bitcointreasuries.net/">BitcoinTreasuries</a>.



MicroStrategy shares were relatively unchanged in pre-market trading following the regulatory filing Monday, losing less than 0.1%. The company’s stock has had an explosive first quarter, gaining nearly 80% since the start of 2023.&nbsp;



Last week, however, shares dipped about 9% as concerns about the company’s ties to Silvergate grew. Analysts surveyed by <a href="https://www.marketbeat.com/stocks/NASDAQ/MSTR/price-target/">MarketBeat</a> still give MSTR a hold rating, with a price target of $294. MSTR closed Friday’s trading session at $256.67. 



Reports of insider <a href="https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/software/nasdaq-mstr/microstrategy/news/bullish-insiders-at-microstrategy-incorporated-nasdaqmstr-lo">buying</a> – independent director Carl Rickertsen allegedly bought $608,000 in shares over the past 12 months –  may have fueled the recent rally in the past few months and drive future price moves.



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MicroStrategy Buys More Bitcoin Below Average Cost Price

Shalini Nagarajan

Gucci is set to take &#8220;an active role&#8221; in the upcoming Bored Ape Yacht Club metaverse offering, Otherside, after striking a multi-year strategic partnership with creator Yuga Labs.



The Italian luxury fashion house aims to formally join Yuga Labs in exploring the &#8220;intersection between fashion and entertainment in the metaverse,&#8221; Business of Fashion reported.



Gucci had already <a href="https://opensea.io/collection/10ktf-gucci-grail" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">worked</a> with Yuga Labs&#8217; 10KTF project, the NFT-powered browser game created by digital artist Beeple, in which players deck their avatars out in clothes tied to digital collectibles. Gucci issued branded 10KTF outfits in Mar. 2022, with Yuga Labs acquiring 10KTF by September.



Yuga Labs also manages NFT projects MeeBits and CryptoPunks, which the Florida-headquartered startup bought from Larva Labs last year.



&#8220;Existing in a world where physical and digital realms collide, and are shaped by creative storytelling, the first activation in the partnership will give a glimpse of Gucci’s participation in Otherside, Yuga’s gamified, metaRPG universe, beginning this week,&#8221; Gucci said in a press release.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Continuing to explore the Metaverse, the House comes together with <a href="https://twitter.com/yugalabs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@yugalabs</a>. Stay tuned as a new narrative takes shape, blurring the boundaries between the physical and digital. <a href="https://t.co/v60mzcgqqY">pic.twitter.com/v60mzcgqqY</a>&mdash; gucci (@gucci) <a href="https://twitter.com/gucci/status/1640307726319513602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



Robert Triefus, chief executive of Gucci Vault &amp; Metaverse Ventures, <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/technology/gucci-teams-up-with-company-behind-bored-ape-yacht-club/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reportedly</a> said the partnership “will give us an active role in Otherside and 10KTF’s continuing narrative, unfolding in multiple forms.” Blockworks has reached out to Gucci and Yuga Labs for comment.&nbsp;



Triefus reportedly said 2021 hype in the NFT market has eased. And since it’s now in a more “sensible place,” Gucci intends to “capitalise on the the expertise of creatives.” 



Gucci created its metaverse division about six months ago. A top executive at Gucci owner Kering previously said the company wants to be a pioneer in the Web3 and NFT industry, <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/technology/gucci-owner-kering-says-crypto-no-longer-niche-wants-to-be-web3-pioneers">Vogue Business</a> reported. 



“Luxury has a role to play. There’s a real opportunity for us to create digital products that would be ways to express our houses,” chief client and digital officer Grégory Boutté told the outlet.



“Our vision is around two pillars: metaverse and Web3. We think the metaverse is already here, the best evidence being video games. Some 2.5 billion people use video games. These virtual worlds will be more and more immersive and present in our lives,” Boutté said.



Gucci began accepting ApeCoin (APE), which is set for use across Yuga Labs&#8217; in-development metaverse offerings, at some of its US retail stores last August.



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Gucci To Take ‘Active Role’ in Bored Ape Yacht Club Metaverse

Sebastian Sinclair

The Group of Seven (G7), consisting of the world’s largest industrialized democracies, is expected to discuss the adoption of stricter crypto regulations in two months’ time as attention on the nascent asset class mounts.



In a bid to promote what officials are calling transparency and consumer safeguards, the G7 will speed up discussions ahead of a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in mid-May, <a href="https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2023/03/694fcb5d1fa9-g-7-to-push-for-tighter-cryptocurrency-regulations.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kyodo News</a> reported Sunday. 



Discussions will commence just days before the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, which is expected to involve talks surrounding the risks digital assets pose to the global financial system.&nbsp;



The G7’s decision to prioritize stricter regulations on crypto could have wider implications for the industry and investors. Similar issues are expected to be discussed by finance ministers and central bankers from 20 major economies in Washington in mid-April, per the report.



It follows in the wake of FTX’s implosion in November, which prompted regulators to formulate stricter rules for exchanges and digital asset service providers as they sought measures to enhance transparency and accountability.



The G7, comprising Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU is seeking the establishment of further regulations as well, recognizing digital assets via a legal framework.



Japan is one of the few member states within the G7 to have industry-related regulations in place, while the EU continues its work on <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/mica">MiCA</a>, expected to govern digital assets in the bloc, and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/mica-delay-until-april-gives-eu-crypto-firms-ample-breathing-room">set to begin</a> its 18-month transitional period in April.



Across the Atlantic, the US and Canada are attempting to retroactively apply existing financial regulations against the crypto industry as concerns mount over <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bidens-view-on-crypto">how to police</a> the nascent asset class.



Moves from regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission against crypto firms like Ripple, have prompted industry participants to call for an <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ripple-counsel-crypto-usa">exit from the US</a>.



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G7 Members Likely To Discuss Stricter Crypto Regulation in May

The number of individuals holding select amounts of bitcoin rose to new heights on Sunday as the broader traditional market continues to digest an easing of US Federal Reserve fund rates.



Data from provider Glassnode <a href="https://twitter.com/glassnodealerts/status/1640145532206170112?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">shows</a> the number of addresses holding more than one bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc">BTC</a>) rose to an all-time high of 989,875, as the asset’s price hovers near $28,000.



Buying pressure remains resilient despite fluctuations and recent market volatility. Of the total addresses currently holding bitcoin, 70% or roughly 31.96 million addresses are now in profit, <a href="https://app.intotheblock.com/coin/BTC/deep-dive?group=all&amp;chart=all" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IntoTheBlock</a> data shows.



US equities finished positive on Friday following a volatile week of trading which saw the Fed raise rates by a further 25 basis points, putting to rest investor fears of steeper rate hikes.



Inflation remains a primary concern for the central bank, despite recent bank failures, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month. The Fed is now attempting to walk a tightrope between persistent inflation and triggering a nationwide recession.



On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US government is prepared to take further action to shore up the banking sector, providing a temporary reprieve to heightened uncertainty.



That has so far had little impact on investor sentiment, as <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/032523bc-3b92-4b94-b6b8-ebbe1d606b2c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">money market funds</a> offered by the likes of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. and Fidelity have surged by more than $286 billion over the past two weeks.



Investors are likely to remain skittish regarding the safety of bank deposits as they seek out alternatives, Singapore-based crypto financial services firm Matrixport said in its latest report.



“This flight to quality…will likely continue, so we have to be careful that the US bank run might not have run its course,” it said.



The <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/dow-jones-us-select-regional-banks-index/#overview" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US regional bank index</a> will likely serve as an indicator of the severity of the stress in the system, which could see further allocation to digital assets as a risk hedge, Matrixport said. 



Major stock market indexes clocked a winning week, with the Dow Jones average rising 1.2%, the S&amp;P 500 gaining 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite finishing up 1.7% higher.



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Bitcoin Holders Hit New Highs as Fed Tightening Eases

Funding in cryptocurrency startups picked up this week. Almost $190 million went into industry startups this week, a significantly greater amount than the previous seven day period, which saw only $37 million injected into the ecosystem.



Of all the funding raises, Web3 gaming developer CCP Games, a Reykjavík-based startup, managed to secure the largest amount of cash over the same span.



It closed a $40 million seed round led by prominent venture capitalist firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Participating investors included Makers Fund, BITKRAFT, Kingsway Capital, HASHED and Nexon, among others.



“With advancements made within blockchain, we can forge a new universe deeply imbued with our expertise in player agency and autonomy, empowering players to engage in new ways,” Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP games said in a <a href="https://www.projectawakening.io/">statement</a>.



This round of financing will be used to accelerate the studio&#8217;s development of gaming in the virtual world.&nbsp;



<h2>More gaming news…</h2>



CCP Games was not the only Web3 gaming developer that took in fresh funding this week. NFT gaming protocol Aavegotchi also secured $30 million.



The open-source protocol first launched a token sale in September 2020 in the form of a DAICO (Decentralized Autonomous ICO).&nbsp;



According to the company, the haul marks one of the largest fundraising rounds in the gaming sector this year where “no VCs or Angel Investors were directly involved in the raise.”



&#8220;The successful conclusion of this sale represents a watershed moment for the decentralized fundraising space and, we hope, a model for responsible fundraising for projects in the future,&#8221; Coder Dan, co-founder and CEO of Pixelcraft Studios <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/developers-of-nft-gaming-metaverse-raise-30m-from-community-and-players-in-worlds-longest-token-sale-301776390.html">said</a> in a statement.



Funding will be shared across community participants. Developers will receive 25% of the funding, with the remaining amount controlled by the DAO treasury. Funds are expected to be used to continue development, as well as spent on marketing and other protocol initiatives.



<h2>Other notable funding rounds this week:</h2>



<ul>
<li>Decentralized multi-chain wallet BitKeep secured $30 million from Bitget at a $300 million valuation.</li>



<li>Animoca Brands led a $28 million Series A for social platform OP3N, bringing its valuation to $100 million.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Auros secured $17 million from VivCourt with participation from BitDigital, Trovio, Epoch Capital and Primal Capital, plus a handful of senior alumni from Optiver.</li>



<li>Layer-1 DeFi protocol Radix secured $10 million in funding from DwfLabs.</li>
</ul>



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Web3 Gaming Developers Continue To Be Favored by Investors

Matthew Fiebach

AVAX

Avalanche Update: Elastic Subnets, AWM, and The HyperSDK

Digital Asset Summit (DAS) is returning March 2024.



This year&#8217;s event will be held in our nation’s capital, where industry leaders, policymakers, and institutional experts will come together to discuss the latest developments and challenges in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency.



What you can expect:



<ul>
<li>Insights on the impact of regulatory implications and the need for realistic policy</li>



<li>Access to institutional dinners and exclusive networking events,</li>



<li>Unparalleled insights from industry leaders</li>
</ul>



And more! Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be in the room when the future of crypto is decided.



Join us and help shape the future of our industry.

Get Involved

GET NOTIFIED 

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March 18-20 | Washington, D.C.

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Digital Asset Summit 2024 | Washington, D.C.

Permissionless is the brainchild of Blockworks and Bankless. Over 5,500 people attended the inaugural event in 2022, making Permissionless the world’s largest DeFi conference.&nbsp;



What sets Permissionless apart? It’s a crypto native’s paradise, crafted specifically for both builders and investors who are dedicated to scaling the industry.&nbsp;



Permissionless is headed to Austin in 2023, and you know what they say… Everything is bigger in Texas.&nbsp;



Permissionless 2023 will feature the biggest names in Web3, a gargantuan exposition hall filled with the top brands in the space, an awe-inspiring NFT Gallery, inclusive, community-focused parties and events, metaverse experiences, and so much more.



See you in Paradise.

Tickets

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General Admission Pass

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Student tickets will be launching in early 2023

Student Ticket 

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Presenting Sponsor 

Speakers

Erik Voorhees

Mary-Catherine (MC) Lader is the Chief Operating Officer of Uniswap Labs, a developer of foundational web3-based products and applications. In this role, she oversees the company’s growth efforts, strategic initiatives, and operations. Previously, she held various leadership roles at BlackRock, including as the Global Head of the firm’s digital sustainability business, Chief Operating Officer of the firm’s digital wealth business, and leader of the firm’s strategic fintech investments and blockchain activities. MC began her career as an investor in Goldman Sachs’ Special Situations Group. She received her J.D. and M.B.A. degrees at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, respectively, and her B.A. at Brown University.

Mary-Catherine Lader

Zaki Manian is a Co-Founder of Sommelier, the most powerful coprocessor yet for DeFi traders and Liquidity Providers. He’s also a Co-Founder of iqlusion, which provides infrastructure like a data center and a Cosmos validator for next-gen crypto technologies. Previously, Zaki helped build the Cosmos ecosystem, including launching the first public Cosmos testnet, and served as a director of Tendermint. Zaki has been a leading developer in the blockchain space since 2014, when he taught himself cryptography and began contributing to projects including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, and Tendermint. Having studied history of science at the University of Pennsylvania, Zaki’s skill sets in software engineering, programming, and computer science are largely self-taught.

Zaki Manian

Justin Drake

At Alluvial, Chief Growth Officer Mara Schmiedt focuses on advancing industry participation and adoption of Liquid Collective, seeking out world-class partnership opportunities, and overseeing Business Development, Sales, and other strategic functions. Mara recently joined Alluvial as Chief Growth Officer from Coinbase, where she served as the Head of Sales for Coinbase Cloud, the leading developer platform for blockchain-based infrastructure products and APIs. She expanded Cloud's staking business, supporting large-scale organizations, enterprises, and institutional investors. Prior to joining Coinbase, she managed Business Development at Bison Trails, a leading provider of blockchain-based infrastructure acquired by Coinbase in February 2021. Mara also served as Strategy Manager at ConsenSys, where she supported the strategic development of Codefi, the blockchain application suite for Web3 Commerce and Finance.



Mara is passionate about open-source technology and has published multiple research reports and papers on liquid staking, such as <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/13-s15SvCIUBukhSZiNkpd0sTff3izQ5G/view">The Internet Bond</a> and <a href="https://consensys.net/insights/eth-2-staking-ecosystem-report/">Ethereum 2.0 Staking Ecosystem Report</a>.&nbsp;



Additionally, she has led various industry initiatives, including leading the working group with the Ethereum Foundation that developed the Ethereum Launchpad and the first distributed validator technology (DVT) PoCs. Mara's deep experience in bringing technology and blockchain-based products and services to market — as well as her track record of building world-class business and sales organizations — bolsters Alluvial's support of Liquid Collective.

Mara Schmiedt

Stani Kulechov

Hasu

Christine is a Partner and Head of Digital Asset Strategy at Apollo Global Management, Inc. In this newly created position, Christine leads digital asset strategy across the firm, exploring more ways to apply blockchain technologies to Apollo’s business. She also plays a key role in Apollo’s strategy to invest in some of the most innovative digital asset companies and founders, with a specific focus on those transforming the financial services sector where Apollo can serve as a validator and enabler of new technologies. Previously, she was a Managing Director at J.P. Morgan and led its Blockchain/Crypto/Metaverse program through initiatives in digital assets, tokenized payments, internet of-things, decentralized identity, NFTs, and virtual worlds. She is a graduate of Brown University. Christine was named in Fortune’s The Ledger 40 Under 40 list of “the most impressive, young superstars transforming business at the leading edge of finance and technology.”

Christine Moy

Santiago Roel Santos (CryptoPunk #9159) is an investor focusing at the intersection of DeFi and the Web3 metaverse (NFTs/gaming). Most recently was a Partner at ParaFi Capital, one of the largest crypto funds specializing in DeFi. Prior to that, he was at Sageview Capital investing in Internet and software and, before that, at JP Morgan investment banking. Santiago began investing in crypto in 2012.

Santiago Roel Santos

Michael Anderson is the co-founder of Framework Ventures, one of earliest and largest VC firms to enter the “DeFi” or Decentralized Finance industry. With over $1B in AUM, the firm has since expanded into additional maturing verticals like blockchain gaming and social crypto. Prior to Framework, Michael and his co-founder Vance Spencer launched Hashletes, a digital collectible startup with official licensing from the NFL. Before entering crypto, Michael served as a product manager at both Snapchat and Dropbox, where he helped build out their monetization platforms.

Michael Anderson

Soona Amhaz is founder and GP of Volt Capital, a venture firm that focuses on pre-seed and seed companies in the digital assets space. Soona is also an advisor to On Deck, Forbes 30 under 30 in VC, and an alum from the University of Michigan School of Engineering.

Soona Amhaz

Colleen Sullivan is Co-Head of Ventures at Brevan Howard Digital. Prior to joining Brevan Howard Digital, Colleen co-founded and served as CEO of CMT Digital, where she was also a partner with the broader CMT Group and commenced activities in the crypto industry in 2013. Prior to starting CMT Digital, Colleen co-founded Sullivan Wolf Kailus, a boutique law firm that specializes in hedge fund, private equity, venture capital, digital assets, and other alternative investment products. Colleen also previously practiced law in the Investment Funds and Derivatives group at Sidley Austin LLP and, at age 25, co-founded a company called iOptions Group LLC, which developed hedging and monetization strategies for holders of employee stock options. Ms. Sullivan currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Chamber of Digital Commerce.

Colleen Sullivan

Tarun is an alumni of D. E. Shaw Research (DESRES), Vatic Labs, an HFT firm, and Cornell. He fell into the blockchain world in 2011, when he was working on ASICs at DESRES and observed Bitcoin ASIC mining rigs substantially delay DESRES’s ASIC production. He has spent the last seven years working on simulation-based R&amp;D at the intersection of high-performance computing and AI and is applying this knowledge to the blockchain ecosystem.

Tarun Chitra

Kevin Owocki is the founder of Gitcoin.co — Where builders &amp; funders come together to build the open web.  Gitcoin has delivered <a href="http://gitcoin.co/results">$50mm worth of value</a> to OSS devs in the last several years. He has a BS in Computer Science, 15 years of engineering leadership experience in Open Source Software and Web Startups. Kevin is a community organizer in the Boulder Colorado Tech Scene.

Kevin Owocki

Meltem Demirors is Chief Strategy Officer of CoinShares, a publicly listed investment firm that manages over five billion in digital assets on behalf of a global investor base, and is a trusted partner to investors and entrepreneurs navigating the digital asset ecosystem.



 An established veteran of digital asset investing, Meltem draws on her substantial experience and widespread influence to accelerate growth and acceptance of the asset class. Prior to joining CoinShares, Meltem helped build and grow Digital Currency Group, raising capital from the world’s largest corporations and managing a portfolio of 120 companies and 4 subsidiaries. Before she was bitten with the bitcoin bug, Meltem worked in the Oil &amp; Gas industry in trading, corporate treasury, and M&amp;A roles. 



Meltem has been recognized for her personal contributions to the industry and serves as an outspoken advocate. She is a founding member of the World Economic Forum Blockchain Council. Meltem teaches at her alma mater MIT as well as Oxford, and is passionate about privacy and civil rights.

Meltem Demirors

Vance is the co-founders of Framework Ventures, a thesis-driven venture capital firm whose team of technologists, researchers, and investors partner with founders and teams to build token-based networks and develop the requisite cryptoeconomics, governance, and community to scale.

Vance Spencer

Jim Bianco is President and Macro Strategist at Bianco Research, L.L.C. Since 1990 Jim’s commentaries have offered a unique perspective on the global economy and financial markets. Unencumbered by the biases of traditional Wall Street research, Jim has built a decades long reputation for objective, incisive commentary that challenges consensus thinking. In nearly 20 years at Bianco Research, Jim’s wide ranging commentaries have addressed monetary policy, the intersection of markets and politics, the role of government in the economy, fund flows and positioning in financial markets.



Jim appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg and Fox Business, and is often featured in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News, Grants Interest Rate Observer, and MarketWatch. Prior to joining Arbor and Bianco Research, Jim was a Market Strategist in equity and fixed income research at UBS Securities and Equity Technical Analyst at First Boston and Shearson Lehman Brothers. He is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT) and a member of the Market Technicians Association (MTA). Jim has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University (1984) and an MBA from Fordham University (1989).

Jim Bianco

Mr. Forman is the Founder and Managing Partner of ParaFi Capital. ParaFi is a leading investment firm focused on the blockchain and digital asset markets, and an early pioneer in decentralized finance (“DeFi”). ParaFi is one of the largest investors, users, and governance participants within the DeFi ecosystem, spanning the full network lifecycle from pre-launch to full decentralization. Mr. Forman serves as the Chief Investment Officer across the firm’s strategies, which include investing in public and private cryptoassets, systematic credit and market neutral DeFi strategies, and blockchain-focused venture capital and growth equity investing.



Prior to founding ParaFi in 2018, Mr. Forman spent 10 years at leading alternative investment managers, including KKR and TPG. While at KKR, Mr. Forman served as a Director in the Credit business, investing across a wide array of industry sectors and strategies, including distressed special situations, private credit, and opportunistic and liquid credit. Prior to KKR, Mr. Forman served as a Vice President with TPG’s former credit business, Sixth Street Partners, as one of the first investment professionals to join the platform, helping scale its private credit vehicle, TPG Specialty Lending, which listed publicly in 2014. Earlier in his career, Mr. Forman worked in private equity at Littlejohn &amp; Company and investment banking at Rothschild &amp; Co. Mr. Forman graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, magna cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ben Forman

Haseeb is a Managing Partner at Dragonfly. He was previously a partner at Metastable Capital, and has a background in software engineering at Airbnb and Earn.com (acquired by Coinbase).

Haseeb Qureshi

Vanessa Grellet is a Managing Partner at Aglaé Ventures. Vanessa is a Global Executive with over 20 years of expertise in the Financial Services and Tech industry. At Aglaé Ventures she manages the Web 3 focused fund. Prior to joining Aglae she has Head of Portfolio growth at CoinFund and Executive director at ConsenSys where she focused on driving adoption for Ethereum based products,  Strategic initiatives, Alliances and Channels.  She was involved in setting up the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), the Accounting Blockchain Coalition (ABC) and the Blockchain for Social Impact Coalition (BSIC). Prior to ConsenSys she was a Strategy Executive at NYSE focused on investments and M&amp;A and a key member of PwC’s global wealth management team. Vanessa is a Founding Board member of AABC focused on Blockchain and Art, a member of the Advisory Council of ConsenSys, a Milken Institute Associate, a contributor to the  World Economic Forum Digital Future Council and part of <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2022/vanessa-grellet">Cointelegraph’s list of 100 most influential people for 2022</a>. Mrs. Grellet graduated Cum Laude from Law School (Paris II Assas) and Business School (HEC).

Vanessa Grellet

Mihailo Bjelic received his MSc in CS from the University of Belgrade. Prior to entering Web3/blockchain industry, he co-founded an AI/ML-powered platform for automotive industry and several other smaller startups and side projects. In 2017, he decided to join the Web3 movement full-time, primarily as a researcher interested in Ethereum scaling and multi-chain paradigms. In parallel with his work, he became one of the prominent Ethereum proponents and community members. In 2019, he started working on Polygon and conceptualized its architecture, vision and brand. In 2020, he joined hands with the Matic Network team and they have been working together on Polygon since then.

Mihailo Bjelic

Ben is a co-founder of Optimism, a leading Ethereum L2 ecosystem. He served as Chief Scientist before becoming a director at the Optimism Foundation. In his free time, he makes Ethereum-based parody songs under his stage name, Weird ETH Yankovic.

Ben Jones

Kristin is the CEO of the Blockchain Association, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing more than 100 of the industry’s leading companies. She also serves as a board member of the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web. Kristin serves as a liaison between policymakers and the cryptocurrency industry to assist in the creation of legislation and regulation that promotes the growth of the cryptocurrency ecosystem in the U.S. She is also a leading, public voice advocating for the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry through top-tier media interviews, op-eds and letters to the editor, and global speaking engagements. Kristin is a renowned voice for the industry, having been featured on Fortune’s 2020 40 under 40 list, CoinDesk’s 2021 50 people who defined the year in crypto, and CoinTelegraph’s 2022 top 100 Influencers in Crypto and Blockchain. Prior to leading the Blockchain Association, Kristin helped blockchain and technology companies achieve their public policy objectives in Washington. She served as a Senate and congressional aide on Capitol Hill for nearly ten years, much of which was spent focusing on technology policy.

Kristin Smith

Avichal is a successful entrepreneur with executive experience at Google and Facebook, which acquired his previous company. As an angel investor, Avichal has invested in 15 unicorns and 5 decacorns including Airtable, Boom Supersonic, Color Genomics, Cruise, Deel, Figma, Newfront Insurance, Notion, Nova Credit, Pulley, and others. He co-founded Electric Capital in 2018 and has grown it to one of the largest crypto venture firms globally. Electric is an investor in many of the leading web3 protocols and companies such as Bitwise, Bitnomial, dYdX, Frax, Kraken, Magic Eden, NEAR, and Solana.

Avichal Garg

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is Chief Investment Officer for Bitwise Asset Management, a pioneer in cryptoasset index funds with more than $1.2 billion in assets under management. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system, the leading ETF media site, and the world’s largest ETF conference, Inside ETFs. Hougan is co-author of both “A Comprehensive Guide to Exchange-Traded Funds” and “Cryptoassets: The Guide to Bitcoin, Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies for Professional Investors” from the CFA Institute’s Research Foundation. He is a crypto columnist for Forbes, and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable.

Matt Hougan

Li Jin

Ethan is the co-founder of the Cosmos network and serves as the CEO of Informal Systems. Informal Systems is a member-driven worker’s cooperative building software that enables trustworthy relationships between protocols and people to flourish. Ethan also serves as the President of the Interchain Foundation which funds and coordinates development of public goods in the Cosmos ecosystem. Ethan sees local money systems as the basis for self-sufficient local economies to prosper. With a background in cell biology, neuroscience, mathematics, machine learning, and distributed systems, his goal is to build systems that encourage humans to work cooperatively through methods of self-organization. He is currently focused on blockchain technology as a means to bring greater political and economic sovereignty to local communities around the globe. Prior to Informal Systems, Ethan co-founded the Tendermint and Cosmos projects, and served as CTO of Tendermint Inc. Today, dozens of projects are adopting technology conceived in the original Cosmos whitepaper, including the Inter-Blockchain (IBC) Communication protocol – an industry-standard for permissionless communication between sovereign blockchains. Today, the Cosmos ecosystem continues to pioneer technological paradigms for building interoperable application-specific blockchains.

Ethan Buchman

Tyrone leads J.P. Morgan’s Blockchain team and is responsible for creating innovative Web3-focused products &amp; solutions for J.P. Morgan’s businesses and clients, and for engaging with the industry at large in order to provide a holistic blockchain strategy for the firm. Tyrone is also the Head of Onyx Digital Assets, a multi-asset tokenization platform that enables the exchange of value for various types of digital assets. Tyrone was previously a Senior Blockchain Product Manager in J.P. Morgan’s Blockchain Center of Excellence and was also the Head of Product for Quorum, an open-sourced Ethereum-based blockchain platform built for Enterprise use. Prior to moving into the blockchain industry in 2015, Tyrone was a software engineer within J.P. Morgan's Credit Markets business, and before that he spent several years in Product transformation, managing and delivering large strategic programs across various businesses within J.P. Morgan, across Front, Middle and Back Office risk and trading systems. Tyrone sits on the Board of Directors of The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance and The Hyperledger Foundation.

Tyrone Lobban

Rich is a Co-Founder and President of GSR and leads the group across strategic initiatives and growth. He began his career at Goldman Sachs where he spent 11 years between New York and London in commodities trading as a Managing Director and Global Head of Crude Oil and Derivatives Trading. Prior to joining GSR, he spent a few years on the buy-side, running energy trading teams at two New York-based hedge funds. Rich earned a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Columbia University.

Rich Rosenblum

Kain Warwick is an Australian cryptocurrency entrepreneur most-known as the founder of Synthetix protocol. Synthetix is a financial primitive that enables the creation of synthetic assets, offering unique derivatives and exposure to real-world assets on the blockchain.&nbsp;In 2020, Kain popularised the concept of yield farming that sparked the 2020 DeFi boom, earning the moniker: ‘the father of modern agriculture.

Kain Warwick

Brian Quintenz is the Head of Policy for a16z crypto, where he helps to translate between the crypto and policy communities.



Brian has long stood out as an innovative thinker in crypto and DeFi and was one of the earliest leaders in Washington to recognize the value of crypto. Brian initially joined a16z crypto as a senior advisor. In December 2022, he moved to the full-time role leading its policy team.



Prior to joining a16z, he was nominated by both Presidents Obama and Trump to serve as commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and, in August 2017, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He also led the agency’s Technology Advisory Committee, which hosted the most comprehensive set of public crypto-related policy discussions and briefings of any federal financial regulator. During his service, the CFTC oversaw the listing of the first U.S. regulated Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts on derivatives exchanges, and the rapid expansion of DeFi. All the while, he was a champion for tailored, risk-calibrated regulation.



Prior to his appointment to the CFTC, Brian was the Founder and Managing Principal of Saeculum Capital Management, LLC where he developed and implemented Saeculum’s long term, momentum-based investment process for both traditional discretionary accounts as well as a managed-futures, commodity pool hedge fund.



Brian began his career on Capitol Hill, where he worked for 6.5 years and served as senior policy aid to a Member of Congress. He received his B.S. from Duke University and M.B.A. from Georgetown University.

Brian Quintenz

Robby Yung, Animoca Brands’s CEO of Investments, partner at Animoca Capital, a leader in digital entertainment, blockchain, and gamification with a portfolio of products and games including the REVV and SAND tokens, as well as investment and partnerships with companies like Axie Infinity,  OpenSea, Dapper Labs, and Alien Worlds and subsidiaries like The Sandbox, Gamee, Quidd, and Lympo. Robby has been in gaming since 2012 and blockchain gaming since 2018. He served as the first CEO of Animoca Brands after taking the group public in 2015. Prior to that, he cofounded magazine publisher, One Media Group, which he listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He also founded Chinese television and outdoor media concern, Redgate Media Group, which was acquired by  Inno-Tech Holdings . He began his career in technology, building wireless telecom networks in China and Indonesia with Metromedia.

Robby Yung

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<h2>Why Sponsor Permissionless 2023?</h2>
If you’re serious about crypto, you have to be at Permissionless. Permissionless brings together DeFi builders, DAO participants, protocol developers, crypto companies, funds and institutions, and more. It’s a true crypto-native’s paradise, where you’ll have the opportunity to showcase your offerings and form lasting connections with the community.
We’ll work with your team to define the perfect sponsorship opportunity that best fits your needs and budget. Want to do something completely revolutionary? Our team can help design a bespoke package that brings your vision to life.
Get in touch with us at <a href="mailto:sales@blockworks.co">sales@blockworks.co</a>
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