Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_61e580771404c" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>The firm previously invested $100 million in over 20 projects including in blockchain games like Star Atlas, Ember Sword, Yield Guild Games and Merit Circle</li>
 <li>In addition to the new fund, the firm shared that Steve Cho, a former Apple App Store games business manager, is joining the team in a partnership to lead the fund</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Crypto investment firm Mechanism Capital is launching a $100 million fund focused on the play-to-earn (P2E) gaming industry, the company shared on Monday.&nbsp;



The new fund will be called Mechanism Play and will focus entirely on gaming investments and direct partnerships with studios to develop new games, it said. In addition to announcing the new fund, the firm shared that Steve Cho, a former Apple App Store games business manager, is joining the team in a partnership to lead the fund.&nbsp;



“NFTs and new gaming paradigms like play-to-earn are exciting new ways to approach how we make games,” Cho said in a statement. “For the first time, players can actually own parts of the experience, invest not just time, but make money,” Cho added.&nbsp;



The firm was launched in August 2020 with an original focus in DeFi, but broadened its reach across the crypto space into sub sectors like data analytics, cross-chain infrastructure, scalability infrastructure and NFTs.



It previously invested $100 million in over 20 projects including in blockchain games like Star Atlas, Ember Sword, Yield Guild Games and Merit Circle.



“Play-to-earn has barely penetrated the gaming market, but we expect this to change in the next few years with mobile leading the way,” Andrew Kang, co-founder of Mechanism Capital, said in a message to Blockworks.&nbsp;



The P2E industry has flooded the crypto gaming scene in recent months as games like <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/axie-infinity-program-lead-2022-will-be-all-about-gameplay/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity</a> and <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/could-big-tech-threaten-a-decentralized-metaverse-the-sandbox-co-founder-says-yes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Sandbox</a> gain popularity. As the name suggests, users can play games to earn rewards, which often are transferable to real-world monetary value or ownership and governance of the games.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“The sky is definitely not the limit anymore; at least not in an open metaverse where players can now enjoy an unlimited digital canvas and truly express their creativity,” Cho said.&nbsp;</blockquote>



In general, funding for crypto-gaming companies hit $500 million in the first half of 2021 and some industry experts predict that 2022 will be the year that gaming will lead further crypto adoption across mainstream audiences, Blockworks previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/2022-prediction-gaming-will-lead-to-further-crypto-adoption/">reported</a>.



There has been an increase in investment firms&#8217; interest in the gaming space. Last month, Solana Ventures launched its second gaming-focused investment for a total of <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/solana-ventures-funds-150m-web3-initiative-with-forte-griffin-gaming/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$250 million</a> across <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-solana-ventures-and-lightspeed-create-100m-web3-gaming-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two</a> funds. In November 2021, a blockchain-focused company, Forte, also closed a funding round for <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/forte-adds-725-million-in-funding-to-push-blockchain-gaming-forward/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$725 million</a> to help push blockchain gaming forward.



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Mechanism Capital Launches $100M Fund Focused on P2E Gaming

Ben Strack

As a year marred by the collapse of various industry players approaches its end, several more firms revealed rounds of layoffs over the past week, bracing for crypto winter’s low point.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-09/crypto-s-amber-to-end-chelsea-sponsorship-axe-over-40-of-jobs-in-ftx-fallout?leadSource=uverify%20wall" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> Friday that Amber Group is set to cut its workforce to less than 400 from roughly 700. The report came after reporter Colin Wu <a href="https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain/status/1600018582212988929" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> Monday that the firm began to lay off hundreds of people again this month.



The company said in a Tuesday tweet that its operations as well as its WhaleFin app “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/amber-group-says-business-as-usual" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">are business as usual</a>,” but acknowledged constantly adjusting internal teams and functions.



A spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said in <a href="https://twitter.com/benbybit/status/1599275418502459392" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a series of Dec. 3 tweets</a> that the company is set to downsize “across the board” as it seeks to be more nimble to navigate the market slowdown.



“Difficult decision made today, but tough times demand tough decisions,” he said. “I have just announced plans to reduce our workforce as part of an ongoing re-organisation of the business as we move to refocus our efforts for the deepening bear market.”



A spokesperson did not return a request for comment.&nbsp;



Australian crypto exchange Swyftx also said it would be laying off a portion of its team. CEO Alex Harper said in <a href="https://swyftx.com/au/media/press-releases/swyftx-announces-further-team-changes/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a Monday note</a> to company staff that it cut 90 employees as it looks to gear up for tough crypto market conditions potentially getting worse.  



“Swyftx has no direct exposure to FTX, but we are not immune to the fallout it has caused in the crypto markets,” Harper said. “As a result, we have to prepare in advance for a worst-case scenario of further significant drops in global trade volumes during [the first half of] next year and the potential for more black swan-type events.”



Harper said Swyftx has up to five times more employees than most of its main Australian competitors.&nbsp;



“The truth is that Swyftx grew too fast,” the CEO added. “Our world was very different at the start of the year and our forecasts were for global trading volumes to carry on rising for at least six months longer than they did.”



Crypto tax startup Koinly <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-tax-startup-koinly-cuts-staffers-just-in-time-for-tax-season" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recently cut 16 full-time employees</a>, or 14% of the company, representatives said Tuesday. 



In a statement, CEO Robin Singh said crypto investors have a “lack of awareness” when it comes to “filing their crypto losses.” The “actual <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-main-characters-drop-like-flies-as-bear-market-turns-one" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">crypto downturn</a>,” according to Singh, has hurt the company by a smaller margin.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gamestop-layoffs-crypto-staff-axed" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GameStop also laid off some employees</a>, including members of the team building GameStop’s blockchain wallet, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/05/gamestop-begins-layoff" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axios</a> reported.



The layoffs mean an increased number of crypto-focused professionals are in search of jobs.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-draheim/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julia Draheim</a>, a recruiter at staffing firm Proof of Talent, told Blockworks that although not many crypto companies are currently in growth mode, some smaller firms that recently secured Series A funding rounds are looking to expand their teams with senior-level people.



The employees burned by bankruptcies and layoffs are looking for something more “stable,” she added, noting that word means something different to everyone.&nbsp;



“People that are super passionate about the space in general and see it as something that’s going to be important in the future are definitely not shying away [from crypto],” she said. “Most people just want to make sure that there’s strong funding and product-market fit.”



<h3>New hires</h3>



Draheim said that while certain former FTX employees have been concerned about being associated with the collapsed exchange, companies have not been holding what happened to their former employer against them.



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcolejacobs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Adam Jacobs</a>, FTX’s former global head of payments, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/former-ftx-head-lands-at-nuvei%EF%BF%BC" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">began his role</a> as a senior vice president of corporate development for Montreal-based payments technology company Nuvei.



Jacobs began working at crypto exchange FTX in June 2021. The crypto exchange <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/5-highlights-ftx-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> last month.



Cowen Digital brought aboard <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-s-cable-33282622/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Taylor Cable</a> — a former chief operating officer at Blockchain.com Asset Management — to lead its efforts in Europe and Asia. 



Financial services firm Cowen <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/financial-firm-cowen-unveils-digital-assets-unit" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unveiled</a> its digital assets division in March. TD Bank said in August that it would <a href="https://blockworks.co/td-bank-buys-cowen-in-tradfi-push-with-crypto-twist/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acquire Cowen for $1.3 billion</a>, though details about how it could seek to leverage Cowen’s digital assets unit remain unclear. 



Cable was also head of institutional client trading at Blockchain.com. Prior to joining the crypto company, he was COO at artificial intelligence trading broker AiX and spent more than a decade at Moore Capital Management.



Web3 gaming company Immutable hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/shin-novation/details/experience/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Shin</a> as its head of business development for the Asia-Pacific region and interim leader of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region.



He joins Immutable from Klaytn Global Group, where he led the team focused on the adoption of the Klaytn blockchain.&nbsp;



Shin left the banking industry in 2019 after working as head of global equity derivatives and repo sales at TD Bank. He went on to be head of exchange at Bitcoin.com and led TZ APAC, a Singapore-based team focused on the adoption of the Tezos blockchain.&nbsp;



NFT platform Magic Eden hired <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisakhavan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chris Akhavan</a> as its first chief gaming officer. 



Akhavan was previously chief revenue officer at mobile game developer Glu Mobile, which was acquired by Electronic Arts (EA) last year.&nbsp;



Magic Eden <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nft-marketplace-magic-eden-raises-130m-for-creator-collector-support" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">raised $130 million</a> in June, bringing its valuation to $1.6 billion. The company launched a venture arm the following month that focuses on investing in Web3 games.



Wave Financial appointed <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/harumiuratathompson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Harumi Urata-Thompson</a> as its chief financial officer.



She is set to help the Los Angeles-based crypto investment advisory company build out its operations infrastructure and back office solutions to better service the team’s institutional and high-net-worth clients. 



Urata-Thompson was most recently CFO at blockchain services company Emrit. Before that, she was chief investment officer at crypto lender Celsius, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-to-file-for-bankruptcy-imminently-report" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> in July.



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: More Fall Victim to Persistent Layoffs

Casey Wagner

A key measure of market volatility is pointing to an extended bear market, and it’s bad news for bitcoin, analysts say.&nbsp;



The CBOE VIX Index, which measures volatility based on the S&amp;P 500 options market and generally has an inverse relationship with equities, shows big investors’ demand for hedges.&nbsp;



In the beginning of 2022, traders were thrown when lows in the S&amp;P 500 index were not accompanied by VIX highs.&nbsp;



In recent weeks, the VIX has still increased as stocks have dipped, but not to the expected levels, Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research said.&nbsp;



“The good news is that the recent S&amp;P lows in mid-October did show a VIX of 34, the same [index low that preceded the 1990 recession],” Nicolas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, said. “The bad news is that every other recessionary market low — even 2002 — coincided with a higher VIX than that.”&nbsp;



The VIX is down about 12% over the past month, while the S&amp;P 500 has rallied around 6%. But, in the past five days, the VIX has shot up nearly 13%, still sitting only at around 22, while the S&amp;P 500 has dropped a modest 2%.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“We remain in a liquidation phase of the market cycle during which more sophisticated, institutional investors are selling their long-term equity holdings,” Essaye said.
</blockquote>



“Institutional money managers are the biggest players in the options market as they continually hedge their long equity positions during cyclical bull markets and that explains why when stocks go down, the VIX goes up,” he added.&nbsp;



A rising VIX is going to be a warning that stocks are in for a drawdown, Essaye said, and if bitcoin continues trading like Big Tech, the cryptocurrency is in trouble, too. Bitcoin was trading fairly flat at around $17,180 at time of publication.&nbsp;



“With risk appetite not improved, bitcoin continues to trade around $17,000 and await upcoming data,” Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said. “Unfortunately for bitcoin, the timing means it never participated in the last risk rebound and there isn&#8217;t much appetite to make up for lost time.”



Bitcoin’s bear market still has some steam, Galaxy Digital research analysts wrote in a note Friday.&nbsp;



“Bitcoin is currently trading about -75% from its last all-time high. Prior bear markets saw lows at -83.5% on Dec. 13, 2018, -85% on Jan. 14, 2015, and -93.5% on Nov. 18, 2011,” analysts noted.&nbsp;



Even though the S&amp;P 500’s latest rally has seen the index claw back more than 15% of its year-to-date lows, the trend remains bearish, Essaye said.&nbsp;



“Tech and growth stocks have recovered some ground on value recently but we continue to believe that progress in the economic recovery and subsequently higher interest rates will be a headwind for tech and a rotation from growth to value can be utilized to reduce tech overweights,” Essaye said.



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Volatility Index Paints a Gloomy Picture for Bitcoin, Equities

Sebastian Sinclair

US crypto exchange Coinbase is urging users to make the jump from stablecoin issuer Tether’s USDT to Circle’s USDC in a bid to increase user adoption amid declining market share.



Labeling it a “trusted and reputable” asset in a <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/switch-to-the-trusted-and-reputable-digital-dollar-usdc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a> on Thursday, the exchange said it is waiving fees for global retail customers to convert USDT to USDC.



Fiat-backed stablecoins whose value is pegged to the US dollar allow users to dip in and out of the digital asset market during times of high volatility.



Events in recent weeks have put some stablecoins to the test with market participants fleeing for safety, the exchange said.&nbsp;



The implosion of crypto exchange FTX sent investors reeling last month from an already fragile market plagued with contagion and liquidity woes resulting from a collapse of major lenders in May. Activity in stablecoins has subsequently spiked on both occasions as investors head for the exit.



“Our goal…is to provide a more frictionless landing pad for retail customers that are turning to USDC for trust and stability,” a spokesperson for Coinbase told Blockworks. “We see lots of opportunities for USDC adoption in the future.”



It comes as USDT continues to be the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/circle-loses-stablecoin-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">favored stablecoin of choice</a> within the industry. Tether currently holds around 47% of the stablecoin market share, while Binance’s USD hovers around 16%. 



Circle’s USDC has dipped by about 6% over a six-month period from around 37% total market share to around 31%, data compiled by <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/data?category=stablecoins&amp;chart=stablecoin-market-share" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Blockworks Research</a> shows.



Coinbase co-founded USDC with Circle back in 2018 with the intention of rivaling USDT, which, at the time, was one of the only issuers alongside MakerDAO and its dai stablecoin.



Questions over the legitimacy of USDT have persisted ever since its inception in 2014 including concerns over the quality and quantity of its reserves.



Tether recently eliminated <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tether-says-usdt-stablecoin-now-backed-by-t-bills" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">commercial paper</a>, replacing it with short-term government debt securities known as US Treasury bills. The move was viewed as an attempt to silence critics.



A Tether spokesperson characterized Coinbase’s offer as ”a sad and desperate attempt from a company that is clearly suffering,” but noted in an email to Blockworks that “lower fees are always better for the customer.”



USDT provides quarterly “assurance opinions” carried out by BDO Italia, compelled by a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/tethers-settlement-with-the-nyag-a-positive-for-industry" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">legal settlement</a> with the New York Attorney General’s Office last year.



USDC meanwhile provides monthly attestations provided by major tax advisory firm Grant Thornton LLP.&nbsp;



“Customers are calling for transparency,” Coinbase said.



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Coinbase Pushes Use of ‘Trusted’ USDC Over Tether’s USDT

Extended dislocations in crypto markets and ensuing failures of major players should put banks on notice, according to a unit of the US Treasury.&nbsp;



In its semiannual <a href="https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/semiannual-risk-perspective/files/pub-semiannual-risk-perspective-fall-2022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Risk Perspective report</a>, the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said Thursday that it continues to take a cautious approach to cryptoassets.



The OCC pointed toward several “key risks” financial institutions should keep in mind — including a lack of adherence to best risk management practices and the potential for additional contagion.&nbsp;



“The events of this year in the crypto industry have revealed a high degree of interconnectedness between certain crypto participants through a variety of opaque lending and investing arrangements,” the OCC said.



The regulator also advised national banks and federal savings associations interested in engaging in digital assets to first discuss the activities with regulators.&nbsp;



David Gan, founder and partner at venture capital firm OP Crypto, told Blockworks it’s important to distinguish between the centralized crypto industry — highlighted by the OCC — and a decentralized one.



“While centralized entities have continued to show weakness and a lack of maturity in terms of regulatory stability, decentralized entities have continued to work as intended,” Gan said.



Still, while digital assets share some risks with traditional asset classes, additional pitfalls may show up in new ways, the OCC said.



Stablecoins were also a focus of the regulator’s caution, which it said were susceptible to bank run risks — as seen with Terra’s failed algorithmic UST experiment in May.&nbsp;



At the time, the OCC’s acting director Michael Hsu called UST a “<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/treasury-official-warns-of-systemic-crypto-risks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wake-up call</a>,” before acknowledging no contagion had hit the banking system as a result of UST’s depegging.



This time around though, the OCC’s assessment sat at odds with its director’s view earlier this year.



“The market stresses revealed that crypto participants may be engaging in highly leveraged trading, in addition to providing brokerage, custody, and exchange-like services to customers,”&nbsp; the OCC said. “The result is a high risk of contagion among connected parties.”

US Treasury’s OCC Says Crypto’s ‘Interconnectedness’ Is a Problem

Bessie Liu

Cryptocurrency investment firm BlockTower Credit and DeFi lending protocol MakerDAO will vote on whether to fund $220 million in so-called <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-are-real-world-assets-defis-newest-yield" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">real-world assets</a> through Centrifuge.



If the vote passes, BlockTower will provide $70 million in junior capital —  that is, funds allocated to speculative activity and used for high-risk, high-reward investments — and Maker will approve $150 million in senior capital to create a $220 million pool on Centrifuge, a Berlin-based protocol that is bridging real-world assets to DeFi through tokenization. 



A community <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/QmY85FT6#poll-detail" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">greenlight poll</a> was passed on Aug. 15, with over 75% of MKR token holders voting in favor of including BlockTower Credit in the Maker Protocol via the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/rune-christensen-wants-out-of-maker" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Core Units</a>. But further voting is required to complete the onboarding of real-world asset collateral in the Maker protocol.



“We believe Maker’s long term interests are best served through a diversified set of high-quality arrangers, credit exposures, and other partners — we look forward to helping Maker raise the bar,” Kevin Miao, head of credit at BlockTower, wrote in a <a href="https://forum.makerdao.com/t/mip6-collateral-onboarding-application-blocktower-credit-arranger/16900" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">governance forum</a> post. 



Funding of real-world credit assets will be powered through Tinlake — a Centrifuge smart contract on the Ethereum network.



RWA owners are able to create a pool of their assets and offer it to DeFi investors on Tinlake. These assets will create a stable yield for investors and provide liquidity to issuers who set up and operate the pools. In the case of BlockTower and Maker, the <a href="https://forum.makerdao.com/t/blocktower-credit-introduction-arranger-proposal/16535" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">proposed stable yield</a> will sit at 4%.



According to Centrifuge, Tinlake’s smart contract eliminates a third party “trust layer” by embedding the process into the code.&nbsp;



“We think it&#8217;s a prime example of how institutional investors are moving to safer crypto investments, ones that provide true utility and tangible ROI,” a Centrifuge spokesperson told Blockworks.



Centrifuge Tinlake has already brought over $25 million in assets to Maker through existing real-world asset vaults.&nbsp;



Voting will go on chain on Friday Dec. 9 and a decision is expected to be made by early next week.



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MakerDAO May Expand Non-cryptoasset Portfolio With BlockTower, Centrifuge

Macauley Peterson

If there’s just one thing that investors want to know about post-Merge Ethereum, it is this: Wen withdrawals?



It has long been known that ether locked on the <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/glossary#beacon-chain">Beacon Chain</a> — now staked on the Ethereum mainnet — would remain stuck until its next upgrade, Shanghai.&nbsp;



And it’s also long been known that Ethereum’s typically vague timelines are <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/weth-fud-is-a-joke">easy fodder for FUD</a>.



Thursday’s All Core Devs (ACD) call — the last in 2022 — made one thing abundantly clear: Staked ether withdrawals are coming, and, by all accounts, they are on schedule.&nbsp;



There’s a simple reason precise roadmaps and concrete schedules are hard to come by on the world’s second most valuable blockchain network. Ethereum development is decentralized.



Periodic developer calls bring together disparate teams to seek consensus on priorities, a process that’s grown organically over the years of Ethereum’s evolution — yet, at times, still feels chaotic.



Tim Beiko, who coordinates the ACD calls, said everyone seems to collectively agree on a common goal: “we want withdrawals to happen relatively quickly on mainnet.”



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“This is clearly the highest priority for everybody,” Beiko said. “Teams are working on it…People seem to generally want a target around March-ish,” he added.
</blockquote>



Any upgrade of this nature, even a simple change focusing on withdrawals alone, will require a carefully coordinated <a href="https://www.blockworksresearch.com/glossary#hard-fork" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hard fork</a> of the Ethereum mainnet. The testing process needed in advance takes more than a month, which means that a key milestone — so-called “mainnet shadow forks” — will need to be ready by the end of January at the latest.



Is that doable? The clear consensus on the call was, yes.



Barnabas Busa a DevOps engineer at the Ethereum Foundation said two private testnets are already testing Ethereum consensus layer clients — the part of the network that adds new blocks to the blockchain.



“Full withdrawal is working on both chains,” Busa told the other core developers. “Partial withdrawal is working on both chains.”



Still to come are tests on “mass withdrawals where we just have a big queue and we have a large number of exits,” along with various edge cases — efforts to try to break the process and thereby learn and improve the network’s resiliency.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
“We would like to start a public testnet hopefully on the 15th or 16th of December,” Busa added.
</blockquote>



One by one, client teams weighed in: Prysm, Lighthouse, Geth, Erigon, Nethermind, Teku, Besu, Lodestar — all signaled their willingness to commit to a March target for a Shanghai hard fork to include withdrawals of staked ether.



Phil Ngo, representing Lodestar, one of the Ethereum consensus clients, told the group that “we are pretty much good for withdrawals at this point.”



Others either echoed the sentiment, or sounded optimistic that the requisite deadlines could be met to make it happen.



But can developers do even more and, if so, how much?



The definitive answer, whether Shanghai will focus on withdrawals exclusively or add another significant improvement, is slated to come in the next ACD call on Jan. 5, 2023.



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Ethereum Devs Still Want Staking Withdrawals by ‘March-ish’

Ornella Hernandez

Twitter users are reacting to OpenSea’s continual policy changes and what appears to be a haphazard verification processes. Recently, the marketplace flip flopped on its stance on creator royalties before ultimately deciding to <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/web3-nft-ape-dao-hot-wheels" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">continue enforcing creator fees on all existing collections</a>.



Now, users are <a href="https://twitter.com/quantwhale/status/1600887538767519745?s=20&amp;t=E1IyiGl6iAn32eRd94ZyGw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pointing</a> out that OpenSea is verifying certain accounts while disabling others in an “unfair” way.



One user named nirozin <a href="https://twitter.com/nirozin/status/1600840003424133120?s=20&amp;t=710Q7pmmyR_G3mnfWv1j-g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> that all of his wallets were suddenly disabled on OpenSea “after 2 years of trading for a total of million of $ and thousands of NFT&#8217;s on several wallets.” 



When he emailed customer support, the OpenSea Customer Experience team responded that his accounts were found to have violated their terms of service, but did not offer an additional explanation.&nbsp;



Nirozin’s collection is one of reportedly many smaller creators that may have been having issues getting verified.&nbsp;



Others <a href="https://twitter.com/quantwhale/status/1600887538767519745?s=20&amp;t=E1IyiGl6iAn32eRd94ZyGw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claim</a> that OpenSea has been “stonewalling” verification and “manually removing the request verification button” for certain collections, naming OnChainBirds as an example.



Additionally, users are commenting on another move that OpenSea announced on Thursday regarding its stance on enforcing creator royalty fees. In a Twitter thread, it <a href="https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1600913295300792321?s=20&amp;t=BqQ1CCCcUpE-4NhexYMDHg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it will transfer ownership of the list of Ethereum marketplaces blocked for “not respecting creator fees” over to a multi-signature collective. 



The collective is called Creator Ownership Research Institute (CORI) and includes OpenSea, Nifty Gateway, Zora, Manifold, SuperRare and Foundation as members that will enforce the use of the blocklisting “Operator Filter” tool that OpenSea introduced last month.



It supports what is known as the Royalty Registry, an on-chain contract that helps marketplaces properly allocate royalty amounts to the right recipients. CORI is making it possible for contracts that did not originally support on-chain royalties to easily add them.



One user <a href="https://twitter.com/ChainLeftist/status/1600951657432596481?s=20&amp;t=AFWfLUywuz3mgFDmJ0iuXQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> it gives the impression of a “cartel” and it would “better if it was controlled by respected artists and not by the marketplaces.”



Another user <a href="https://twitter.com/spreekaway/status/1600929783805710336?s=20&amp;t=jD5WyBKHT8F4up5J4P1kBQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warned</a> “that if sufficient % of the cartel are forced to implement any unpopular feature they will try to force everyone to do it to avoid other exchanges from taking over their market share.”



OpenSea <a href="https://twitter.com/opensea/status/1600913297842180098?s=20&amp;t=BqQ1CCCcUpE-4NhexYMDHg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">claims</a> it is acting out an “existential imperative for the space to preserve creator fees.” However, this move comes at a time when NFT marketplaces are split between defending the royalty scheme for NFT creators and ensuring they keep their market share of users and sales volume. Experimenting with various policies may have come at the cost of its customers.



Nevertheless, OpenSea remains the most used marketplace for Ethereum NFTs. It recently <a href="https://opensea.io/blog/articles/1-billion-from-creator-fees-in-2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stated</a> that creators on the platform earned over $1 billion in 2022 directly from creator fees on secondary NFT sales, not including sponsorship revenue, engagement incentives or grants.



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As OpenSea Flexes Marketplace Influence, Some Users Are Worried

A lawsuit against Grayscale to explore potential “mismanagement” of its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is likely to give more insight into the trust’s inner workings, but could drag on, one attorney predicts.&nbsp;



The complaint, filed by Fir Tree Capital Management in Delaware’s Court of Chancery Tuesday on behalf of its private funds and shareholders, came a day before GBTC began trading at a record discount to its net asset value.&nbsp;



“Plaintiffs have serious questions about Grayscale’s mismanagement of the Trust and the troubling reports about liquidity issues within Digital Currency Group and its corporate affiliates, which have been exacerbated by a recent raft of bankruptcy filings in the digital assets market,” the complaint states.



Digital Currency Group is the parent company of Grayscale and Genesis Global Trading.



“We respect the views of our shareholders, and appreciate engaging directly with them on the details of our product structures and operating model,” a Grayscale spokesperson said.



A spokesperson for Fir Tree Capital Management did not comment beyond the complaint.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-newman-65218077/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Newman</a>, an attorney at law firm Dykema, told Blockworks that while there’s no question Fir Tree has a right to certain information, the key question is going to be how much. 



“Generally speaking, these types of cases result in the disclosure of much more information than most trusts would like,” he said.



A main piece of information that Fir Tree is likely seeking is the exact relationship between Digital Currency and affiliates Grayscale and Genesis.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The potential interdependence between these companies is “especially troubling” after the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, according to the complaint.



The lending division of Genesis <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/genesis-halts-lending" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halted customer redemptions and new loan originations</a> in the aftermath of FTX’s collapse.



“It really comes down to a fiduciary duty issue,” Newman said. “You buy shares in a trust and you are basically handing over control to the trustee to manage your investment, but at the same time, the trustee has an obligation to manage your investment with reasonable business judgment and provide a reasonable amount of information.”



<h3>Likely a long process</h3>



Grayscale lawyers are likely to try to delay the suit, Newman said — particularly as it <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/grayscale-lawsuit-moves-forward-as-gbtc-discount-widens" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">moves forward with its own lawsuit</a> against the SEC to overturn the regulator’s decision to deny GBTC’s conversion to an ETF. 



It may take between eight months and a year before this suit could go to trial before a Delaware Chancery Court judge, he said.



“The last thing [Grayscale] wants is anything throwing a wrench into their efforts to convert GBTC to an exchange-traded fund,” Newman said.



The complaint calls Grayscale’s attempt to convert GBTC to an ETF “wasteful.”



“That strategy will likely cost years of litigation, millions of dollars in legal fees, countless hours of lost management time, and goodwill with regulators,” the complaint states. “All the while, Grayscale will continue to collect fees from the Trust’s dwindling assets.”



Founded in 2013, <a href="https://grayscale.com/products/grayscale-bitcoin-trust/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GBTC</a> has $10.6 billion in assets under management and charges a 2% annual fee. 



A Grayscale spokesperson said the firm remains committed to converting GBTC to an ETF, adding that it believes an ETF is the best long-term product structure for the trust.  



<h3>Redemptions not allowed as GBTC discount widens</h3>



Grayscale amended the trust’s agreement in 2018 to prohibit it from operating a redemption program for GBTC shares “unless otherwise determined by the sponsor,” according to the complaint.&nbsp;



“In the absence of any legal prohibition that would restrict the Trust from accommodating redemptions, Grayscale appears to be maintaining this untenable status quo to enrich itself, its management, and its affiliates,” according to the complaint.



A Grayscale spokesperson declined to comment on the firm’s decision to stop redemptions and if it would consider lifting it.



GBTC’s discount to net asset value reached a record high of roughly 47.3% on Wednesday, according to <a href="https://ycharts.com/companies/GBTC/discount_or_premium_to_nav" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YCharts.com</a> — up from 43.6% on Tuesday. 



“The fact that Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is now trading at nearly 50% discount is just awful for holders of GBTC,” Bradley Duke, co-founder at crypto ETP firm ETC Group, said. “It really highlights the vast differences in structure quality between different investment vehicles.”



Industry participants have said <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/whats-next-for-ftx-and-its-customers-after-bankruptcy-filing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the bankruptcy of FTX</a> and its ripple effects <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/the-grayscale-dilemma-a-record-discount-and-a-golden-goose" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hurt the prospect</a> of regulators allowing Grayscale to convert GBTC to an ETF — the method Grayscale has cited as the best way to solve the discount issue.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-grayscale-exploring-bitcoin-trust-options" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Some have proposed</a> Grayscale filing for Regulation M with the SEC. Regulation M, if granted, allows for a fund to simultaneously create and redeem shares.



Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research at Morningstar, previously told Blockworks that Grayscale has not shown the willingness to allow redemption of GBTC shares because it would create costs and lower future revenue from management fees.



Jan van Eck, CEO of ETF issuer VanEck, told Blockworks Wednesday that it’s very rare for closed-end fund issuers to open up a fund.&nbsp;



“GBTC is a regulated fund that is operated according to industry standards and has been reviewed by regulators, so I don&#8217;t see any merit to the lawsuit,” he added.



Casey Wagner contributed reporting.



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Lawsuit Against Grayscale Likely To Drag On, Attorney Says

Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Committee, tweeted on Thursday that plans to subpoena fallen crypto celebrity Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at the FTX hearing on Dec. 13 are still very much on the table.&nbsp;



CNBC first <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/07/ftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> that Waters had been trying to convince Bankman-Fried to testify voluntarily and did not have plans to subpoena him, claims Waters denied.



<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">Lies are circulating <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNBC</a> that I am not willing to subpoena <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SBF_FTX</a>. He has been requested to testify at the December 13th hearing. A subpoena is definitely on the table. Stay tuned.&mdash; Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1600643111973261312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The representative of California&#8217;s 43rd District in Congress previously <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1598693811252875264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1599511560384225281%7Ctwgr%5Ed5ecf0c111da7a38f395f195ad6cc9fd81c08585%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2022%2F12%2F07%2Fftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> at the fallen crypto celebrity, politely inviting him to participate at the hearing. In response, Bankman-Fried <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1599511560384225281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1599511560384225281%7Ctwgr%5Ed5ecf0c111da7a38f395f195ad6cc9fd81c08585%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2022%2F12%2F07%2Fftx-maxine-waters-doesnt-plan-to-subpoena-sam-bankman-fried-to-testify-at-hearing-on-crypto-exchanges-collapse.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>, “Once I have finished learning and reviewing what happened, I would feel like it was my duty to appear before the committee and explain.”



Adding, “I’m not sure that will happen by the 13th. But when it does, I will testify.”



Waters’ gentle approach to Bankman-Fried, was criticized by crypto community members, and many were concerned about his cushy relationship with elected officials through previous <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-donations-campaign-finance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">campaign donations</a>.



Her <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1599858166359068676" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">subsequent</a> pleas, which took a dig at the former FTX CEO’s recent media tour, were initially left unanswered by Bankman-Fried.



<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">.<a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SBF_FTX</a>, Based on your role as CEO and your media interviews over the past few weeks, it’s clear to us that the information you have thus far is sufficient for testimony. (1/3) <a href="https://t.co/YUVVjOkC40">https://t.co/YUVVjOkC40</a>&mdash; Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMaxineWaters/status/1599858166359068676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Under <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2020-title28/pdf/USCODE-2020-title28-partV-chap117-sec1783.pdf#:~:text=%C2%A7%201783-,%C2%A7%201783,of%20person%20in%20foreign%20country&amp;text=The%20person%20serving%20the%20subpoena,the%20issuance%20of%20the%20subpoena." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US law</a>, a court can issue a subpoena to a US resident or national in a foreign country if “the court finds that particular testimony or the production of the document or other thing by him is necessary in the interest of justice.”



A subpoena can also be issued if it is not possible to obtain a testimony without the appearance of the witness. Which means in the case of FTX, whether or not a subpoena of Bankman-Fried — who is currently believed to be in the Bahamas — can be issued will also depend on the other witnesses who will be called upon to testify.



But by Friday morning, Bankman-Fried caved, announcing on Twitter that he would participate in the hearing as requested.



<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">1) I still do not have access to much of my data &#8212; professional or personal. So there is a limit to what I will be able to say, and I won&#39;t be as helpful as I&#39;d like. But as the committee still thinks it would be useful, I am willing to testify on the 13th. <a href="https://t.co/KR34BsNaG1">https://t.co/KR34BsNaG1</a>&mdash; SBF (@SBF_FTX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SBF_FTX/status/1601186246990401537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



He expressed the intention to limit his testimony to four main areas: FTX US&#8217;s solvency and American customers, pathways that could return value to users internationally, the causes of the crash, and his own failings.



Given that the testimony will be under oath, upon penalty of perjury, it will be interesting to see how the ex-CEO handles questions that touch upon his own <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sam-bankman-fried-new-attorney" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">potential legal liability</a>.



 This story was updated on Dec. 9 at 9:08 a.m. ET following Bankman-Fried&#8217;s notice of willingness to testify.



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Maxine Waters Is Prepared To Subpoena, Sam Bankman-Fried Responds

In a speech this week, European Central Bank board member Fabio Panetta called for broader taxation on crypto assets, which he likened to a Ponzi scheme. 



“The EU should introduce a tax levied on cross-border crypto issuers, investors and service providers,” Panetta said during the speech on Wednesday. “This would generate revenues that can be used to finance EU public goods that counter the negative effects of crypto-assets.”



Cryptoassets have become the “bubble of a generation,” Panetta added, citing “easy-money” scams and misrepresentations of return rates across the asset class.&nbsp;



The speech comes as the European Union advances cryptocurrency-related policy in Parliament. The industry is beginning to unpack what this may mean for the future. 



In November, the EU passed the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), a bill that was originally proposed as a package with the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), which is expected to pass into law before the end of the year. DORA is expected to be formally adapted in 2024.&nbsp;



DORA, designed to target cyber fraud and attacks, will require financial institutions, including crypto companies, to report any cyber-related security breaches or compromises. The law also requires tech firms providing cybersecurity resources to handle oversight.&nbsp;



The crypto industry has expressed concerns about how the law will impact third party, non-EU based companies, giving the legislation a global impact, Monica Oracova, chief operating officer and co-founder of the Naoris Protocol, said. 



“The framework principles set up by DORA…do not address the existing collection of single points of failure in cybersecurity systems today,” Oracova said. “Only by implementing a decentralized security mesh, removing the points of weakness, and adopting cryptographic controls, zero-knowledge proofs and reports in a decentralized ecosystem, will we be able to see real improvements.”



DORA’s policies, Oracova added, will likely not effectively prevent hacks or phishing attacks, but they could make business owners more accountable regarding the selection and enforcement of cybersecurity. 



When it comes to crypto, no amount of technological innovation is likely to satisfy Panetta, who warned, “regulation will not turn risky instruments into safe money.”



“Instead, a stable digital finance ecosystem requires well-supervised intermediaries and a risk-free and dependable digital settlement asset, which only digital central bank money can provide,” he added.



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Crypto’s ‘Easy Money’ Scams Need Tougher Oversight – ECB Board Member

Michael Bodley

Most everyone in institutional crypto trading these days has a simple mandate: Position appropriately for an extended bear market — and fine tune capital-raising efforts accordingly.&nbsp;



For <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/two-prime-teams-up-with-bain-capital-backed-venture-fund" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Two Prime</a>, the sentiment has triggered a shift in how the digital assets-focused firm sells itself to prospective clients. And it’s even led to the notion that the hedge fund firm might no longer be much of a hedge fund firm at all.



Performance fees are out; liquidity and customized portfolios are in. The natural next step, the firm told Blockworks, is to increasingly concentrate on separately managed accounts and de-emphasize the operation’s commingled funds, at least when it comes to business development.



Two Prime — which has about $200 million in assets under management and has historically counted a number of sizable bitcoin mining operators as clients — now considers itself more of an asset manager than anything else.&nbsp;



Adam Richard, the firm’s Miami-based head of capital formation, told Blockworks that such internal deliberations spurred a bit of an about-face when it comes to the marketing materials Richard shops to big-money potential investors. 


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignright size-medium"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="300" height="283" src="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-300x283.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-41497" srcset="https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-300x283.jpeg 300w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-768x723.jpeg 768w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-273x257.jpeg 273w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-277x261.jpeg 277w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-232x219.jpeg 232w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-80x75.jpeg 80w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard-50x47.jpeg 50w, https://cms.blockworks.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Adam-Richard.jpeg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption>Adam Richard | Source: Two Prime</figcaption></figure></div>


The effort, which has intensified in the wake of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/5-highlights-ftx-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FTX’s bankruptcy</a>, has resulted in literature that places security and tailor-made, “bespoke” strategies front and center. There’s also now a heavy emphasis on downside protection, of course.



“We took a hard look at ourselves and said, ‘Let’s focus less and less on the hedge fund and more on SMAs and hedging and almost delta-neutral strategies,” Richard said. “What we’re really doing here is straight asset management.”&nbsp;



Added Richard: “If we’re not a crypto hedge fund, what are we?”



<h3>Two Prime clients want security and downside protection</h3>



The shift appears to be paying off, with Richard saying he’s been fielding a growing number of calls in recent weeks from big-money players interested in both hedging and levered beta products.



Two Prime imposes a minimum of $10 million per separate account, making the investment out of reach for most high-net worth individuals. Separately managed accounts are one-off vehicles with unique strategy mixes crafted for each investor. They are inherently liquid and do not impose restrictions on subscriptions or redemptions in the same style as hedge funds.



Richards has been speaking lately with a number of unidentified family offices and bitcoin mining rig operators, as well as larger players still, including the likes of pensions and endowments.&nbsp;



As a downside protection specialist, Two Prime sees a silver lining in the ongoing market-wide debacle — one which shows few signs of <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-a-recession-means-for-crypto" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">abating soon</a>. Its investment team offers strategies including crypto yield plays, customized hedges, levered beta and staking — as well as a number of delta-driven quantitative approaches. 



In the case of miners, consider what happens if bitcoin takes another plunge, down to $10,000 or $12,000. If it costs a miner about $14,000 to acquire one bitcoin, “you’re way in the red, and that’s going to be an issue,” Richard said. Two Prime’s hedging plays are designed to act as a buffer in such a case.&nbsp;



“It’s quite refreshing, too, because now — suddenly — all these miners who have been telling me, ‘We don’t have a lot of bitcoin to be putting in a yield strategy’ — they&#8217;ve all come around to this and are like, ‘I think we want to hedge.’”



Added Richard: “So, why not get ahead of it now?”



Yield strategies have been Two Prime’s bread and butter. They make up about 40% of its overall assets under management. An increasingly attractive combination: combining a yield-bearing product with a tail risk option to protect against another market dive.&nbsp;



Two Prime, run by Alex Blum, is headquartered in Denver. Its staffers are based throughout the US.&nbsp;



The yield products, which center around digital asset derivatives that target long and short volatility premiums, are available in formats denominated in bitcoin and ether — as well as dollars or stablecoin cash equivalents, such as USDC. Dollar-denominated products are typically favored by TradFi institutions, while more crypto-native traders often prefer not having to bring cash into the equation.



The <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/qa-how-two-prime-has-outperformed-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">firm’s returns</a> have been solid. Its low-yield derivatives strategy has gained 9.2% from inception in March 2021 through the end of November; medium yield has increased 14.5%; and high yield has booked a 20.2% gain over the same period.



Another of Richard’s selling points: Separate account funds are not commingled or loaned out — which played a key role in FTX’s implosion — and clients retain custody of their underlying assets.&nbsp;



“That’s what clients want today: security,” he said.



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Two Prime Shakes Up Strategy: ‘If We’re Not a Crypto Hedge Fund, What Are We?’

Whether bitcoin can serve as an effective medium of exchange has been debated since the world’s first cryptocurrency launched, but a recent uptick in demand from non-US markets demonstrates the use case has picked up steam, market participants told Blockworks.



Blockchain-enabled payments are particularly useful in emerging markets, Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of digital payments platform Strike, said in a <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221206005453/en/Strike-Launches-Lightning-Fast-Money-Transfers-to-Africa" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement</a>. 



In a bid to match growing demand, Strike launched a new feature for US users to send bitcoin to Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya instantly and with minimal fees, the company said Tuesday.&nbsp;



“High fees, slow settlement, and lack of innovation in cross-border payments have negatively impacted the developing world,” Mallers said.&nbsp;



The Central African Republic — one of the world’s most impoverished countries — made bitcoin its legal tender in April of this year, about seven months after El Salvador became the first nation to do so. The move was intended to be a “quick win” for setting the country up for future success, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/central-african-republic-looks-for-quick-wins-becomes-second-country-to-adopt-bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">government officials said</a>. 



“The current financial system isn&#8217;t set up in a way that ensures equal access for people and institutions from Africa,” Bernard Parah, founder and CEO of African payments provider Bitnob, said.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/why-emerging-markets-are-leading-the-charge-on-cbdcs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Emerging markets</a> have also come out as top innovators when it comes to crypto payments in recent months. 



Countries such as Jamaica, the Bahamas and Nigeria are at the forefront and have launched central bank digital currencies, while Brazil and Haiti have expressed interest in exploring their own. The trend can be attributed to these economies having more pressing, fundamental needs than those of more developed markets, according to Steve Aschettino, a Norton Rose Fulbright partner focused on fintech.&nbsp;



“Emerging economies appear to view CBDCs as a way to jump start their economies,” Aschettino told Blockworks. “More-developed nations have existing and widely adopted electronic payment mechanisms already in place. While one may say this is an advantage, their existing payments technology can also serve as a barrier to the creation and broad adoption of a CBDC.”



Economies with higher unbanked populations and less robust financial services infrastructure benefit the most from blockchain-enabled payments, according to the Bank for International Settlements. 



“Providing a cash-like digital means of payment, in light of reduced cash usage and an increase in private digital payment services, is the most common consideration,” a May <a href="https://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap123_a_rh.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> from the BIS said. “Other significant considerations include strengthening competition among [payment] service providers (PSPs), increasing efficiency and reducing the costs of financial services.”



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Bitcoin’s Case for Payments Builds With New Strike Development

FTX customers just can’t get a break.



In the latest twist from the crypto exchange’s fallout, NFTs minted on the FTX exchange now show a blank image instead of the original art. Any direct links to an NFT redirect to a restructuring page with information on the bankruptcy.



The lesson learned is one of Web3 companies relying on centralized services like Amazon Web Service (AWS) or the Google Cloud Platform, as Solana engineer jac0xb.sol signaled on Twitter. Collectors are unable to view their FTX-hosted NFTs because those collections are still hosting metadata on AWS.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">Oh look FTX hosted all the NFTs minted on their platform using a web2 API and now all those NFTs have broken metadata and the links go to a restructuring website. <a href="https://t.co/hsQgVru4BL">pic.twitter.com/hsQgVru4BL</a>&mdash; jac0xb.sol (@jacobdotsol) <a href="https://twitter.com/jacobdotsol/status/1600526700982710273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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This includes the Coachella NFT collection, a Solana-based collection of lifetime passes to the music festival that generated $1.5 million at launch via the FTX US NFT marketplace. For weeks, holders have been left without the option to withdraw or transfer them while the site has been disabled. Even on Magic Eden, the image displays <a href="https://magiceden.io/item-details/HBTZiCag5f2b5eceBUsu31EYdpehSFTagTJH7EwXtpZX" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an empty gray box</a>.



The NFTs no longer point to their original images because the FTX exchange hosted their NFT metadata on FTX US Web2 servers that have since been deactivated. This issue isn’t unique to FTX, and it underscores the need for permanent decentralized storage solutions.



More often than not, NFTs are not actually built “on-chain.” NFTs may host their smart contracts on the blockchain, but their media or metadata is off-chain. The metadata — name, description and author details — is often saved in the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a peer-to-peer system for preserving multimedia files. The image itself — usually a jpeg file — is then linked to the NFT’s metadata.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/arweave" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Arweave</a> is the leading Solana-focused alternative, <a href="https://twitter.com/baalazamon/status/1600672243268620288?s=20&amp;t=LzbkbCKgBebq_DI89jHy0w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recommended</a> by Solana developers, but it was not used for FTX’s NFT mints. As a result, the URLs that retrieve the smart contracts&#8217; storage and links to the ID of the related NFTs are now broken.



Some examples of popular on-chain NFT projects that do ingrain their metadata into the Ethereum blockchain, include Nouns DAO, Chainrunners and OnChainMonkey.



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FTX NFTs Are MIA: A Lesson on Centralized Risk

Chief bankruptcy judge of the Southern District of New York Martin Glenn has ordered failed crypto lender Celsius Network to return cryptocurrency worth $50 million back to its customers.



Glenn delivered the order during a hearing on Wednesday and applies to an estimated $44 million worth of crypto held in custody accounts that belong to Celsius users, and not the company.



Coins involved in transfers under $7,500 from interest bearing accounts to custody accounts were also ordered to be returned, a little over $11 million worth of crypto fell into that group, <a href="https://cases.stretto.com/public/x191/11749/PLEADINGS/1174909012280000000022.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">court papers</a> show.&nbsp;



The $50 million is just the tip of the iceberg, as it is estimated that the fallen crypto lender <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-faces-heat-for-1-2b-balance-sheet-hole-customers-owed-4-7b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">owes over $4.7 billion</a> to its users.



“I want this case to move forward,” Glenn said in a hearing <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-07/celsius-judge-orders-return-of-user-crypto-worth-50-million" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first reported by Bloomberg</a>. “I want creditors to recover as much as they possibly can as soon as they possibly can.”



The majority of the collapsed lenders assets are cryptoassets in interest bearing accounts, and it is possible that Celsius could claim ownership of those assets based on rules around <a href="https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/preferential-transfer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preferential transfers</a>. The decisions on the future of these assets has yet to be made.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://pacer-documents.s3.amazonaws.com/115/312902/126122257414.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">previous declaration filings</a>, Celsius had $5.5 billion in liabilities and $4.3 billion in assets — leaving it with at least $1.3 billion in shortfall, though <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-faces-heat-for-1-2b-balance-sheet-hole-customers-owed-4-7b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the actual hole may be larger</a>.



Celsius first filed for bankruptcy in July this year after the collapse of Singaporean-based hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, which failed to repay loans twice after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.



Its bankruptcy proceedings are costing the fallen <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/celsius-creditors-fight-to-stop-23m-stablecoin-sale" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">company a small fortune</a>. Financial advisory firm for debtors Alvarez &amp; Marsal North America asked to be paid $2.3 million — 80% of the total compensation sought — for its services between July 14 and Aug. 31.



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Celsius Bankruptcy Judge Orders Return of $50M in User Assets

Shalini Nagarajan

A former chief technology officer of NFT platform Blockparty was arrested and charged for allegedly extorting $1 million, which he agreed to hold in his account while the company looked for a banking partner.



Rikesh Thapa, a 28-year-old from San Diego, California, used his leadership position to steal at least 10 bitcoin for his own advantage between December 2017 and September 2019, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/chief-technology-officer-blockchain-company-charged-scheme-defraud-company-over-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a> on Wednesday.



He allegedly used the assets on personal expenses including nightclubs, travel and clothing. Thapa faked records to cover his tracks.



“The defendant repeatedly stole from and defrauded the victim company — which he cofounded — in order to fund a luxurious personal lifestyle,” said Michael J. Driscoll, FBI assistant director in charge.



New Jersey-based Blockparty ventured out as a blockchain-based event ticketing platform in 2017, but the company launched an NFT creation and sale platform in 2020.



Blockparty was allegedly looking to branch out its banking options at a time when financial institutions were reluctant to transact with crypto companies in 2018. So, Thapa decided to hold $1 million of the platform’s money in his personal bank account while it figured out alternatives.



Blockworks reached out to Blockparty for comment but didn’t hear back by press time.



Thapa purportedly told a colleague that the funds were “a stationary 1mil in my account” that was not “touched or interacted with.” But he actually blew it on personal expenses.



In the summer of 2019, Blockparty’s CEO allegedly asked Thapa to return the $1 million. But he was refused, as the defendant said he needed to discuss potential tax consequences with an accountant and attorney. He resigned soon after.



Additionally, Thapa allegedly stole some 174,285 of Blockparty’s utility tokens to sell them to supposed investors in return for cash — without alerting the CEO. He later claimed the cash received was counterfeit.



He faces 20 years in prison if convicted on one count of wire fraud.



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Ex-Blockparty CTO Arrested for Stealing Company’s Bitcoin

US federal prosecutors are reportedly investigating former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried for his potential role in manipulating the price of two cryptocurrencies belonging to the now-defunct Terra ecosystem earlier this year.



According to a report by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/business/ftx-sbf-crypto-market-investigation.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The New York Times</a> on Wednesday, Bankman-Fried is under investigation by prosecutors in Manhattan over Terra’s UST stablecoin and sister token LUNA.&nbsp;



Both collapsed in spectacular fashion in May when the algorithmic stablecoin wobbled from its peg shortly before dropping to $0.20 after redemptions skyrocketed. Luna’s price simultaneously tanked to near zero, thanks in part to Terra’s design.



The investigation, still in its infancy, is attempting to determine whether Bankman-Fried manipulated prices to the benefit of firms and entities he controlled. It is not proven if the former CEO has conducted any wrongdoing at this stage.



It is also unclear when the investigation began, though it is considered part of the larger inquiry into FTX’s collapse last month. FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



In another angle prosecutors may wish to pursue, Bankman-Fried <a href="https://youtu.be/4o_jPzBZSIo?t=810" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">admitted</a> this week that, at least insofar as FTX customer withdrawals are concerned, funds held by the exchange were commingled between spot and margin traders — referring to &#8220;omnibus wallets between the various categories&#8221; — in apparent violation of <a href="https://twitter.com/yeluacaM/status/1590088976320278528" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FTX’s Terms of Service</a>.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">&#8220;If you look at especially a lot of the withdrawals that happened, those withdrawals were not only necessarily coming from people who never used margin trading or futures or staking or anything else&#8230;that effectively meant that there was, if you want to put it this way, like, fungibility created during those withdrawals between assets,&#8221; Bankman-Fried said.</blockquote>



At some point, the cryptoassets available to process withdrawals ran out, with billions in customer demand left unfulfilled.



Blockworks Research analyst Ryan West has argued that the cascading liquidations at FTX during Terra’s unraveling may in fact have been the root cause of Alameda Research’s balance sheet woes — providing the seeds of FTX’s downfall.



<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">2/ My theory is that the hole was as a result of mishandled liquidations on FTX. Big cascading liquidation events could very easily cause an extremely big hole in such a short amount of time, especially with the way their liquidation engine is designed.&mdash; Westie 🟪 (@WestieCapital) <a href="https://twitter.com/WestieCapital/status/1591089081135439872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2022</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/cryptocurrency-luna-lurches-as-terra-usd-volatility-continues-erasing-billions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terra’s crisis began</a> on May 7 when a large trader swapped UST for rival stablecoins and forced UST to dip to $0.99, sparking concerns over the stability and capacity of the crypto to hold its peg.&nbsp;



It was later revealed through <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/luna" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Terra’s failed algorithmic experiment</a> that more than $1 trillion had been wiped from crypto markets, forcing many firms underwater amid an industry-wide liquidity crunch.&nbsp;



FTX is rumored to have had exposure in Terra through its sister trading firm Alameda Research. Alameda is said to have owed now-bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital $1 billion. FTX US, the American arm of the exchange, purchased Voyager’s cryptoassets in late September, valued at roughly $1.4 billion in an <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ftx-us-wins-voyager-digital-asset-auction-for-1-4b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">auction bid</a>.



Alameda, meant to be separate from FTX, is at the center of the debacle that blew an $8 billion hole in FTX’s balance sheet following a series of allegedly fraudulent trades using customers’ commingled funds.



“With the fallout of Terra and 3AC in May/June, it is likely that Alameda experienced liquidity issues as a result of the declining price of FTT, which was likely utilized as loan collateral,” blockchain analysis firm Nansen wrote in a November <a href="https://www.nansen.ai/research/blockchain-analysis-the-collapse-of-alameda-and-ftx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blog post</a>.&nbsp;



Nansen said Alameda may have received an FTT-backed loan from FTX, pointing to on-chain data which suggested it “may have happened.”



FTT was the native utility token of the FTX exchange, used for reducing trading fees. It is also at the heart of the implosion as it was <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/11/02/divisions-in-sam-bankman-frieds-crypto-empire-blur-on-his-trading-titan-alamedas-balance-sheet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">revealed on Nov. 2</a> that FTT made up a large portion of Alameda’s balance sheet — a fact that quickly brought about the downfall of the exchange nine days later.



Macauley Peterson contributed reporting.



This story was updated on Dec. 8, 2022, at 12:16 p.m. ET.



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SBF Has One More Thing To Worry About: A US Attorney Inquiry

Westie

Data Decoded: Layer 2s (Arbitrum and Optimism)

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;



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



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