Ethereum Classic is a decentralized computing platform designed to execute smart contracts, which are applications that run as programmed without the possibility of censorship or third-party interference. It is a distributed network consisting of a blockchain ledger, a native cryptocurrency (called ETC), and an ecosystem of on-chain applications and services. Ethereum Classic is the legacy chain that split from Ethereum following a contentious hard fork, known as The DAO fork, in Jul. 2017. Like its sister chain, Ethereum Classic features an execution engine optimized for smart contract processing (known as the Ethereum Virtual Machine or EVM) and a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus system. While it shares some aspects with Ethereum, Ethereum Classic offers a more defined monetary policy and inflation schedule.

Ethereum Classic

Bessie Liu

Token protocol Noble wants to establish what it says are building blocks missing in the Cosmos ecosystem.



It’s now coming out of stealth mode after six months of development, setting its mainnet launch for Monday.



Cosmos needs a native stablecoin to deepen the liquidity of the Cosmos ecosystem, Jelena Djuric, Noble CEO, told Blockworks. Stablecoins like USDC and DAI can already be <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/usdc-is-coming-to-cosmos-in-2023">ported</a> to Cosmos appchains (layer-1 networks launched to power a single app), through bridge protocols Gravity and Axelar.



Having liquidity split across so many <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/solving-game-developer-problems">appchains</a> can slow interoperability, as tokens must be manually swapped between networks for use across Cosmos. There can also be security concerns <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bridge-protocols-race-to-win-consumer-trust">associated with network bridges</a>,&nbsp;



“We are very much laser-focused on this one very specific application,” Djuric said. “Within the Cosmos ecosystem, I think it became very apparent that there are certain building blocks or fundamentals that were missing, and one of those things is a native stablecoin to the ecosystem.”



Noble doesn’t consider itself a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, as in something like Uniswap. Those platforms don’t support token issuance, but they do allow cryptocurrencies to be freely listed and sold peer-to-peer.



Built using the Cosmos software development kit (SDK), Noble instead helps issuers manage their tokens: burning, minting, blacklisting and other functions.



Noble wants to inspire token issuances to port liquidity from other layer-1 ecosystems by being their token <a href="https://github.com/strangelove-ventures/noble">factory</a>, in a sense. “We’re looking to facilitate the native asset issuance by working with protocols and institutions,” Djuric said.&nbsp;



By staying neutral in the ecosystem, Noble hopes it can “provide something that everyone can get behind,” per Djoric. Beyond stablecoins and the like, tokenization of real-world assets was also floated.



<h2>Noble evaluating ‘Interchain Security’</h2>



The Cosmos Hub — the primary validator set of the Cosmos mainnet — allows upstart networks to borrow its validators for a fee, part of its <a href="https://interchainsecurity.dev/">recent</a> Interchain Security (ICS) push.&nbsp;



A properly secure blockchain network should have a measurably decentralized validator set, which consumer chains can struggle to put in place. ICS is intended to help with that, opening the door for more startups to launch their own chains on Cosmos.



Noble’s mainnet will launch as a “proof of authority chain” with a permissioned set of validators, all of which are also Cosmos Hub validators, but it’ll run ICS once it can evaluate how the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/noble-ditches-cosmos-interchain-security">software handles slashing</a>.



Djuric tells Blockworks this decision is only temporary. “There was this last-minute design chain around slashing which we haven’t formed an official opinion on whether it is positive or negative.”



“We still intend to launch with ICS. We just want to see how it plays out in production,” she said.



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Noble Comes Out of Stealth To Solve Cosmos Liquidity

David Canellis

The SEC is back on Coinbase’s case and posturing to sue, sending the top US crypto exchange’s stock tumbling up to 20% this week.



It’s the third time Coinbase shares have tanked directly following actions taken by US regulators since Sept. 2021.&nbsp;



If you count last month’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/kraken-settles-sec-crypto-staking-program">SEC settlement with Kraken</a> over yield-bearing, staking-as-a-service products (which Coinbase also offers), it makes four.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>’s share price dropped 12% on the same day as the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/kraken" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kraken</a> settlement announcement, tumbled further to nearly 22%, before rebounding completely — all within a few days of trade.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/the-sec-will-sue-coinbase-if-it-launches-lend">Coinbase’s first Wells notice</a>, issued in the second half of 2021 over its proposed plan to pay up to 4% interest on <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">USDC</a> deposits, appears to have had a more sustained effect. 



Blockworks mapped major relevant regulatory actions against Coinbase’s stock price for up to one month following.



The firm’s share price dropped around 4% on the day it disclosed the Wells notice (which it had received in the week earlier). Those losses had doubled by the close of the next trading session, before reaching 19% down three weeks later.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13175318/embed#?secret=ICoOdGmLXe" data-secret="ICoOdGmLXe" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="575" width="700"></iframe>
</div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Click the swatches to toggled lines on the chart | Chart by David Canellis</figcaption></figure>



COIN dropped even harder last year when the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/coinbase-insider-trader-prison">Department of Justice filed charges against a former product manager</a> in July 2022, over an insider trading ring that netted $1.5 million.&nbsp;



Back then, the stock sank 30% over the four following days, from above $75 to as low as $53. Still, it rebounded completely over the next few sessions — and then some, hitting $100 three weeks later.



As for <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">this week’s Wells notice</a>, Coinbase stock is now down 12.3% since just before its disclosure, similar to losses felt after Kraken’s settlement.



<h2>Billions wiped from Coinbase market value after SEC threats</h2>



Coinbase saw up to $11.3 billion wiped from its market capitalization in the month following 2021’s Wells notice, ahead of the $5 billion and $3.3 billion after the insider trading and Kraken reports.&nbsp;



So far, Coinbase has lost up to $2.3 billion from its valuation since its most recent SEC threat.



Of course, it’s tough to prove direct causation outside of the price collapses that have occurred on the same day.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="Interactive or visual content" src="https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/13186438/embed#?secret=iiCWAZpgJ2" data-secret="iiCWAZpgJ2" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="575" width="700"></iframe>
</div></figure>



Bitcoin price drops of up to 35% also happened in the 30 days following these regulatory actions, and Coinbase stock is often highly correlated with <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a> markets. 



Bitcoin’s performance is based on a myriad of external factors, arguably more influential than threats against a centralized public company like Coinbase.



But at least in the short term, agencies like the SEC surely aren’t helping Coinbase shareholders.



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US Agencies Keep ‘Protecting Investors’ — And Tanking Coinbase Stock

Ben Strack

Alluvial revealed a swathe of leadership changes, including the appointment of a new CEO.&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mara-schmiedt-506862124/?locale=en_US">Mara Schmiedt</a>, formerly the software company’s chief growth officer, is now the firm’s chief executive. Before joining Alluvial last October, Schmiedt was head of sales at Coinbase Cloud for nearly two years. She worked as a strategy manager at blockchain company ConsenSys shortly prior to that.



Alluvial also named co-founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-leisinger/">Matt Leisinger</a>, its former CEO, as chief product officer. Before becoming Alluvial’s CEO last year, Leisinger was a product lead at blockchain infrastructure provider Figment.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The reshuffling comes at a time when Alluvial seeks to offer more support to liquid staking protocol Liquid Collective. The protocol’s Ethereum <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/staking">staking</a> went live on Coinbase Prime and Bitcoin Suisse earlier this month.



<h2>Bitcoin miner also names new chief executive&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitcoin-mining" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Crypto miner</a> Bit Digital also named a new CEO in a move to go into effect on March 31. 



CEO <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bullett/">Bryan Bullett</a> is set to step down from the chief executive post, becoming a senior adviser. Bit Digital Chief Strategy Officer Sam Tabar will fill the role.



Bullett will focus on finding additional, non-correlated income streams for the company in his new role, the company said in a press release. The New York-based company revealed last year its intention to become a validator on the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/ethereum" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ethereum</a> network, as well as to compile and stake ether (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a>).



“What already differentiates us is our pristine balance sheet, unleveraged and sound mining business, and exciting new Ethereum business that positions us to become a proxy for the foundational blockchain of the &#8216;smart contract economy,” Tabar said in a statement.



Bit Digital had roughly $33 million in cash and nearly $28 million worth of digital assets at the end of 2022 — including no debt or miner purchase obligations.



<h2>Other notable hires</h2>



<ul>
<li>Alchemy Pay, a payment company that connects the fiat and crypto economies, tapped former White House senior adviser <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-plouffe-00662396/">David Plouffe</a> as a senior adviser.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Crypto mining hardware company BitFrontier Capital Holdings hired Keith Su — formerly at ASIC Miners US — to lead its business operations in Asia.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Blockchain DigitalBits appointed Riccardo Cambiassi as its chief technology officer. Cambiassi was previously a technology consultant for firms such as GoCardless and Yodel.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Cipher Mining promoted <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-kelly-060593169/">Patrick Kelly</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/williwaschuk/">Will Iwaschuk</a> to be co-presidents, while elevating <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-s-01ab7a74/">Olivia Stennett</a> to be the company’s chief administrative officer.</li>
</ul>



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Latest in Crypto Hiring: New CEOs for Bit Digital, Alluvial

Michael Bodley

Nasdaq’s hotly anticipated crypto custody suite is taking shape, with a launch reportedly expected before the end of the second quarter.&nbsp;



Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-24/nasdaq-eyes-crypto-custody-launch-by-end-of-second-quarter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> on Friday that Nasdaq Inc., the parent company of the US tech-heavy stock exchange, is “pushing ahead to get all the necessary technical infrastructure and regulatory approvals in place.” Bloomberg cited an interview with Ira Auerbach, senior vice president and head of Nasdaq Digital Assets, in reporting the news. 



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/nasdaq-to-enter-crypto-custody-market-for-institutional-clients">Nasdaq first made its digital asset ambitions known in September</a> 2022, as previously reported by Blockworks, when its president and chief executive, Adena Friedman, then said in a statement that the “technology that underpins the digital asset ecosystem has the potential to transform markets over the long-term.”



“To deliver on that opportunity, our focus will be to provide institutional-grade solutions that bring greater liquidity, integrity, and transparency to support the evolution,” she said in a statement at the time.&nbsp;



Nasdaq’s reported launch by the end of the second half of 2023 comes at a time when crypto industry participants say traditional finance interest is on the uptick. And the stock exchange’s move is at least one indicator that institutional-grade crypto interest remains strong, despite a disastrous 2022 for many sectors within the digital asset ecosystem.&nbsp;



In the fourth quarter of 2022, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bny-mellon-moves-to-let-institutions-hold-bitcoin-ether">BNY Mellon said it would provide custody and transfer services</a> for bitcoin (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a>) and ether (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a>), specifically, to a number of its institutional clients, according to a Blockworks’ story from the time. 



Crypto traders in more recent weeks have been eyeing what their traditional finance counterparts are doing in the space, as bitcoin, ether and crypto more broadly have found their local floor — and have already booked substantial performance gains so far in 2023.



There’s also been a related crypto-native push of late, per <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-custody-safety-net-animoca">Blockworks’ previous reporting</a>, to cash in on opportunities to provide blockchain-based alternatives to those moves made by the likes of Nasdaq and its counterparts.



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Nasdaq Crypto Custody Crystallizing, Launch Coming Soon: Report

Connor Sephton

Nas Daily&#8217;s video profiling Sam Bankman-Fried has aged badly. We all know that.



But even when it was released, it was oh so painful to watch.



There&#8217;s the slow-motion shot of SBF giving a woman a banknote, paving the way for a cringeworthy introduction.



Nas — real name Nuseir Yassin — gesticulates with glee and talks about the one-time crypto wunderkind to the camera…who is standing awkwardly next to him.&nbsp;



The YouTuber then documents how &#8220;normal&#8221; SBF is, in a breathless tone that&#8217;s a jarring mismatch for the facts.



&#8220;Sam has CRAZY HAIR! Sam is VEGAN! Sam sleeps FIVE HOURS A NIGHT!&#8221;



Animal-loving insomniacs with an untameable mane are so hard to come by, aren&#8217;t they?&nbsp;



To be fair to Nas, the focus of his video — released in January 2022 — was worth being breathless about. Or so we thought.



&#8220;The guy you see next to me is the most generous billionaire in the world…and I found him!&#8221;



Little did Nas know that he would soon wish he hadn&#8217;t found him — and when FTX&#8217;s bankruptcy hit, the influencer had little choice but to record a video offering his sympathy to its customers.



What happened isn&#8217;t the YouTuber&#8217;s fault. SBF wasn&#8217;t shy about his supposed ambitions of getting rich to give the money away to charity. He had long spoken of his belief in &#8220;effective altruism&#8221; — and how he was driven by earning to give.



But even before FTX went down in flames, there were warning signs that SBF was all mouth and no trousers.



When Forbes released its 2021 rundown of the 400 richest people in America — two months before Nas Daily&#8217;s video — Steven Ehrlich noted that SBF was worth $22.5 billion.&nbsp;



And how much had he given away, we hear you ask? Just $25 million — 0.1% of his fortune — meaning he was among the least charitable members of that esteemed list.



As Ehrlich said, that&#8217;s &#8220;mathematically equivalent to a typical 29-year-old American stuffing $15 into a Salvation Army bucket.&#8221;&nbsp;



(If you just have — Nas Daily is on his way to record you, I&#8217;m sure.)&nbsp;



SBF&#8217;s bluster is a symptom of a long-running disease in crypto: promising the world before you&#8217;ve delivered the goods.



We&#8217;ve seen it in the countless initial coin offerings that have raised millions, despite the fact they didn&#8217;t even have a working product.



And we&#8217;ve seen it in the entrepreneurs who would rent Lamborghinis and take them to crypto conferences — offering them the illusion of success at a fraction of the cost.



No one disputes that the goals of effective altruism and earning to give are admirable. But garnering column inches and YouTube views by saying you&#8217;re going to do it — rather than quietly getting on with it — is cheap and vain.&nbsp;



SBF isn&#8217;t the only crypto entrepreneur who risks falling into this trap, and he won&#8217;t be the last. But let&#8217;s be honest: It&#8217;s the billionaire&#8217;s equivalent of a TikTokker who films themselves giving a pizza or $100 to a homeless person. They’re not trying to do what&#8217;s right — they’re trying to get engagement.



It wasn&#8217;t always like this.



Back in December 2017 — shortly before Bitcoin broke $20,000 for the first time — a philanthropic project called the Pineapple Fund opened its doors.



It was started by an early adopter of Bitcoin who wished to remain anonymous. On Reddit at the time, they wrote: &#8220;Bitcoin has changed my life, and I have far more money than I can ever spend. My aims, goals, and motivations in life have nothing to do with having XX million or being the mega rich. So I&#8217;m doing something else: donating the majority of my bitcoins to charitable causes.&#8221;



And rather than waiting for Nas Daily to swing round with his camera crew, &#8220;Pine&#8221; got to work. A whopping 5,104 BTC was shared between more than 60 charities — organizations that provided everything from clean water to clinical trials exploring whether MDMA could treat post-traumatic stress disorder. That war chest was worth $55 million back then, and would have a value of well over $140 million now.



It was an incredible achievement — and to this day, &#8220;Pine&#8221; remains anonymous. Instead of blowing smoke up their you-know-where, they let the fund do the talking. And unlike FTX, these charities had the added bonus that they&#8217;ll never face immense pressure to return funds because they were stolen from unsuspecting customers.



Crypto has started to cultivate a compelling track record when it comes to charitable donations. Crypto Giving Tuesday goes from strength to strength every year, and Ukraine has received over $100 million since Russia&#8217;s invasion began. (But even then, contributions only spiked when an airdrop was rumored.)&nbsp;



The digital assets space is often consumed with talking about the future — where we&#8217;ll be in a year&#8217;s time, five years, a decade. And that&#8217;s fine. But when it comes to charity, maybe — just maybe — it&#8217;s better to follow Nike&#8217;s mantra: Just Do It.



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Dear Crypto Billionaires: Don’t Brag About Giving Away Your Fortunes, Just Do It

Shalini Nagarajan

Binance employees reportedly helped some users in China skirt local regulatory controls meant to keep locals out of the top crypto exchange.



China’s central bank declared all crypto transactions illegal in 2021, a move that essentially <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-markets-tumble-on-pboc-news">restricted</a> international crypto exchanges from the region.



But CNBC has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/23/binance-employees-volunteers-tell-users-how-to-evade-china-crypto-ban.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a> details of Binance’s Discord and Telegram official chatroom histories. The outlet found accounts identified as Binance employees (or Binance-trained volunteers known as “Angels”) had taught China-based users methods of avoiding know-your-customer (KYC) checks and verification systems.&nbsp;



These approaches involved falsified documents such as forged bank statements and wrong addresses, CNBC said.



Mainland China residents were reportedly sent video guides and other resources by employees, volunteers and other customers, showing them how to fabricate their country of residence so they could get access to the exchange’s debit card.&nbsp;



A <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/binance" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Binance</a> spokesperson told Blockworks that the exchange has taken action against employees who might have violated its policies that include giving advice against internal standards.&nbsp;



“We have strict policies requiring all users to pass KYC by providing us with their country of residence and other personal identification information,” the spokesperson said, adding that employees are unauthorized to support users in skirting local laws or regulatory policies and that they would be “dismissed or audited” if found to be in violation.&nbsp;



They didn’t respond to a query on how many employees were involved in the matter.



Alongside reported crackdowns on local and foreign crypto exchanges operating in the mainland, Chinese officials have repeatedly warned residents to steer clear from the digital asset market.&nbsp;



KYC checks and other anti-money laundering measures are key to disallowing users from either sanctioned countries or those where trading is deemed illegal.&nbsp;



<h2>Binance and restricted jurisdictions</h2>



Binance had been blocked in China since 2017 when local crypto exchanges were ordered to cease operations. After the 2021 ban, Binance <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/china-crypto-ban-binance-huobi-cut-ties-mainland-users-reactions-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a> Insider it didn’t hold exchange operations in China and that the Binance app is not available for downloads there.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-traders-in-iran-skirted-binance-ban-following-us-sanctions" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reuters</a> previously reported that Binance accommodated crypto traders in Iran on its platform despite US sanctions and a company ban. At the time, Binance’s global head of sanctions, Chagri Poyraz said traders can manage to avoid geographical restrictions through the use of virtual private networks (VPNs).



A Binance spokesperson told Blockworks the company has implemented detection tools to crack down on users in restricted and sanctioned regions that had access to sophisticated masking tools, including VPNs.



“Users who are found to have used any sort of workaround to avoid local law are restricted immediately,” they added.&nbsp;



“However, it is extraordinarily rare for users to be able to implement workarounds as we have multiple manual and AI-driven processes to ensure users cannot circumvent these processes, and AI processes cannot circumvent these processes.”



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Binance ‘Angels’ Helped China-based Users Evade KYC: Report

Macauley Peterson

Ethereum has a new scaling solution reaching public mainnet, going live Friday. ZkSync’s EVM-compatible zero-knowledge proof-based rollup is open to the public from 10:00 am ET.



The zkEVM, which <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/matter-labs-rebrands-zkevm">rebranded to zkSync Era</a> last month, has been open to developers-only <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/zksync-sharpens-role-ethereum-200m-funding">since October 2022</a>. But now the proverbial training wheels are coming off and the public will have their first chance to interact with dapps on the platform.



ZkSync Era was previously known as zkSync 2.0, and its 1.0 cousin, launched by developer Matter Labs in December 2020, remains live as zkSync Lite.



A rival zkEVM from Polygon was <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/polygon-zkevm-beta-live-on-ethereum">announced in mid-February</a> and its equivalent offering, which the team calls “Mainnet Beta,” is expected to go live on Monday, March 27.



So, the zkSync folks can lay claim to being “the world’s first zkEVM mainnet,” if only by a weekend.



Matter Labs’ co-founder and CEO Alex Gluchowski told Blockworks the timing is coincidental, and Era’s alpha launch milestone is arriving right on schedule, following the completion of a second public <a href="http://code4rena.com/contests/2023-03-zksync-era-system-contracts-contest">security contest</a> via Code4rena.



“Now we feel completely safe to launch,” Gluchowski said, stressing that the testing of the product has been extensive.



The developers spent $3.8 million on testing and auditing, according to a statement shared with Blockworks, including seven independent security audits — <a href="https://blog.openzeppelin.com/zksync-layer-1-audit/">one</a> with leading auditor OpenZeppelin — and an open-ended bug bounty program <a href="https://immunefi.com/bounty/zksyncera/">with Immunefi</a>.



“You really need this layered approach to security,” Gluchowski said, adding, “Now we feel comfortable, but I mean it’s still Alpha — people have to understand it’s still brand new technology.”



He pointed to the <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/euler-bounty-defi-flash-loan-attack">recent exploit of Euler Finance</a>, whose smart contracts were audited by a reputable firm and were live for the better part of a year, as an example of how audits alone aren’t enough.



The combination of external and internal audits, public security contests and bug bounties and a developer gated release, Gluchowki thinks should be industry standard practice.



The zkSync Era code is also fully <a href="https://github.com/matter-labs/zksync-era">open-source</a>, including the prover, which the team <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/zksync-sharpens-role-ethereum-200m-funding">sees as a competitive differentiator</a>.



“We open-sourced everything the moment we opened the network to developers — as we promised — under a permissive MIT Apache 2 License,” Gluchowski said, explaining the rationale is that they “believe it’s fundamental to crypto have the code open-source and forkable, because that’s tied to the ethos and values of Ethereum.”



Another key feature is native <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-are-smart-contract-wallets">account abstraction</a>, which will allow Era users to pay transaction fees in any token or even let dapp developers pay users’ fees.



<h2>Looking forward: Decentralization</h2>



There remain guardrails in place, such as a delay period for withdrawals, initially set to 24 hours, but which will be reduced gradually, Gluchowski said.



“In the initial phase, we will be still running the sequencer [and] we have the right to upgrade the contracts — it’s not yet fully decentralized,” he said.



The plan is to follow a similar approach to that of zkSync Lite, which has a <a href="https://blog.matter-labs.io/security-council-2-0-2337a555f17a" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">security council</a> that supervises protocol upgrades.



“We can’t guarantee that there are no problems, we encourage people to experiment slowly,” Gluchowski said.



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ZkSync’s zkEVM ‘Era’ Opens to the Public

Sebastian Sinclair

Bitcoin and ether mostly held their ground as Coinbase disclosed it had received an <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEC Wells notice</a> alleging potential securities violations.



The top-two cryptocurrencies even clawed back earlier losses, climbing 4% and 4.7%, respectively, on Thursday.&nbsp;Bitcoin is now at its highest point since last June.



Coinbase stock, on the other hand, immediately sank 20% on news of the Wells before recovering slightly. It&#8217;s however still up around 13% over the past month and nearly double year to date.



The securities watchdog is showing renewed focus in <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/gary-gensler-bait-switch-coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pursuing action with little mediation</a>. Last month saw a settlement with San Francisco-headquartered exchange Kraken over its staking-as-a-service <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/kraken-settles-sec-crypto-staking-program" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">product</a><a href="https://blockworks.co/news/kraken-settles-sec-crypto-staking-program">s</a>.



Bitcoin and ether are still up more than 20% over the past month, with <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/bitcoin-dominates-bank-stocks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent rallies coinciding with failures</a> at US banks Signature and Silicon Valley Bank. Although, markets corrected Friday morning, by 2%.



A “reprehensible amount of resources” have been spent in the US attempting to engage with the SEC, Sheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation told Blockworks in an emailed statement.



Coinbase’s chief counsel said the firm had directed millions to legal support for SEC proposals and repeatedly requested SEC feedback. “We got none,” Paul Grewal said in a blog <a href="https://www.coinbase.com/blog/we-asked-the-sec-for-reasonable-crypto-rules-for-americans-we-got-legal" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">post</a>.



On the other hand, more direct SEC action against Tron founder Justin Sun on Wednesday tanked TRX up to 13%. Other tokens tied to the crypto entrepreneur dropped, too, such as bittorrent and huobi token.



For what it’s worth, China’s ban on bitcoin in May 2021 triggered a far steeper sell-off — with BTC falling more than 30% on the month. Bitcoin bounced hard, topping out at $69,000 by November.



“We are seeing big demand coming from institutions,” Guillaume Chatain, head of institutional sales at Coinbase said during a fireside chat at Paris Blockchain Week on Thursday. “Hedge funds want to take advantage of the volatility.”



Updated Mar. 24, 2023 at 7:59 am ET: Added price context.



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Bitcoin and Ether Take SEC Crackdown On The Chin

MakerDAO members voted against diversifying the primary reserve stablecoin asset backing its DAI token on Thursday, opting to keep Circle’s <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/usdc">USDC</a> in place despite breaching all-time lows last week.



In an instant “run-off vote,” where participants rank options in order of preference, more than 93,000 governance tokens, or 79% of the total vote, were cast in favor of maintaining USDC, results from a recent <a href="https://vote.makerdao.com/polling/QmQ1fYm3#vote-breakdown" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">governance poll</a> shows.



It follows a chaotic period in the traditional financial and crypto markets with one of issuer Circle’s main banking partners, Silicon Valley Bank, being taken over by the FDIC. While investor&#8217;s nerves have <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/signature-silicon-valley-bank-made-whole">been calmed</a>, the vote was an insurance hedge against further systemic risks.



Circle revealed it had some $3.3 billion trapped within the bank, triggering a 48 hour run on the company’s token which briefly forced prices to as low as $0.87, and also destabilized <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/stablecoins-peg-usdc-all-time-low">other stablecoins</a> — DAI among them.



Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/circle-stand-behind-usdc">quickly reassured</a> investors it would be able to meet redemptions, stating the company would cover any shortfall incurred using corporate resources.



As a result, DAO members were presented with two options: Further diversify DAI’s stablecoin reserves with Gemini’s GUSD and the Paxos&#8217; USDP as viable candidates, or maintain the status quo.



DAI is designed to hold its peg with the US dollar on a 1:1 ratio through a system of collateralized debt positions. Users can deposit collateral in the form of ETH or other digital assets and mint DAI against it.&nbsp;



MakerDAO introduced its Peg Stability Module in 2020 at a time when the crypto market was experiencing large bouts of volatility. The module allows users to swap between USDC, USDP, GUSD and DAI at no cost.



“Among integrated stablecoins, USDP and GUSD seem to still have somewhat lower fundamental counterparty risk, with greater assurance of the stablecoins being bankruptcy remote and somewhat lower risk within their backing,” MakerDAO said in a <a href="https://forum.makerdao.com/t/proposal-psm-parameter-normalization-17-march-2023/20209" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forum post</a>.



The first option was considered as a means to “more evenly distribute” its stablecoin reserves and protect against the ‘imminent risk of cascading bank runs and losses on uninsured deposits,” MakerDAO said.



But voters determined that USDC was working just fine, setting aside the serious wobble two weeks ago.



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MakerDAO Sticks with USDC Reserve Despite Calls for Diversification

Casey Wagner

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has been indicted in the US on fraud charges hours after <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/do-kwon-arrested">his arrest in Montenegro</a>.&nbsp;



A grand jury in New York federal court charged Kwon with securities fraud, wire fraud and commodities fraud, the indictment shows.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/do-kwon">Kwon</a> also has pending federal cases in the Southern District of New York with the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec">SEC</a>. The securities regulator <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-charges-do-kwon-terraform-labs-with-fraud-misleading-investors">charged Kwon</a> with an alleged unregistered security offering last month.



The crypto executive was first served with a subpoena from the SEC in November 2021. Kwon and Terraform then countersued the agency challenging the subpoenas, citing alleged violations to due process law.&nbsp;



Montenegrin authorities may hand Kwon over to the US, based on prior agreements. The country has “provided significant assistance” in extraditions to the US, the Department of Justice said in November 2022.&nbsp;



Montenegro will only extradite on bilateral agreement and will transfer the person who has been granted extradition within 30 days, according to the <a href="https://rm.coe.int/16803ab7f1#:~:text=Citizen%20of%20Montenegro%20can%20be,of%20the%20decision%20on%20extradition.">Council of Europe</a>.&nbsp;



Kwon is still wanted by government officials in South Korea, who issued a warrant for his arrest in October 2022.



Terraform Labs’ stablecoin, TerraUSD (<a href="https://blockworks.co/price/ust">UST</a>), rocked crypto markets with its sudden collapse last year. The fall of UST, and its sister coin, <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/luna">LUNA</a>, led to billions of dollars in losses for investors.



The US Department of Justice <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/doj-terrausd-stablecoin">is reportedly investigating UST’s failure</a>, alleging that Kwon and his company misled investors about the stablecoin’s risks.



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Do Kwon Indicted on Fraud Charges in New York

Coinbase executives doubled down on the possibility of taking the SEC to court a day after the regulator warned the crypto company it could bring an enforcement action against it.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">The SEC hit Coinbase with a Wells notice</a> Wednesday about alleged securities violations. Coinbase said in a statement Wednesday it is “confident in the legality of [its] assets and services,” adding that the regulator’s claims lacked detail about specific problems.&nbsp;



Coinbase CEO <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/brian-armstrong" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Brian Armstrong</a> said during a Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1638940882597744642" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Space</a> Thursday that while the SEC’s move wasn’t totally unexpected, it was “a very strange outcome” after the firm met with the regulator roughly 30 times during the last nine months. 



“I think the courts could maybe actually give us some clarity here,” Armstrong said. “In a way we’re happy to go to court if that’s what it takes to finally get some case law developed for this industry so the industry can be built in a safe, trusted and regulated way here in America.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The regulator is targeting Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Wallet, according to the Wells <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1679788/000167978823000051/coin-20230322.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">notice</a> — a letter that follows an investigation and precedes a potential enforcement action. 



The SEC declined to comment further.



The <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEC</a>’s latest Wells notice against <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a> reflects a belief by some in the US that crypto industry players seek to take advantage of regulatory loopholes, Crypto Council for Innovation CEO Sheila Warren said in a Thursday statement.



“What’s true is that a reprehensible amount of resources and brainpower have been spent in the US trying to engage with this SEC and trying to create substance and a path out of the wraithlike comments issued by the agency,” Warren said. “Are we really going to allow one agency in the US to set the entire trajectory of an innovation for the entire country, especially if that agency refuses to engage with the industry it is trying to regulate?”



Armstrong said while other US regulators — such as the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/cftc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFTC</a> and state agencies — have been “reasonable” to work with, the SEC has been “a real outlier.” 



Despite many meetings with the SEC and Coinbase spending tens of millions of dollars in legal fees, Armstrong said, the agency has not offered feedback to the company.&nbsp;



Policy by enforcement is the “worst possible way” to move a nascent space forward, Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad said during the Twitter Space.



Despite a <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-regulation-policy-law">lack of US crypto policy movement</a> thus far, Shirzad said he is confident politicians will start to respond to aggressive actions against the crypto industry.



“I think what you’ll see now over the next few weeks is that Congress is going to step up,” he said.



<h2>White House crypto stance said to be “disappointing”&nbsp;</h2>



The warning to Coinbase came the same day the SEC <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-sues-justin-sun">launched a lawsuit</a> against Tron Network founder Justin Sun for allegedly selling unregistered securities. Sun <a href="https://twitter.com/justinsuntron/status/1638742625003130881" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a> that the complaint “lacks merit.” 



The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy then renewed its warning about crypto risks in an investor <a href="https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/crypto-asset-securities" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">alert</a> Thursday, stating that “investments in crypto asset securities can be exceptionally volatile and speculative.”



The alert said that crypto companies may not be complying with federal securities laws. It added that <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/what-are-proof-of-reserves-and-can-they-build-back-trust">proof-of-reserves</a> efforts “may not provide any meaningful assurance that these entities hold adequate assets to back their customers’ balances.”



The White House has even weighed, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/ERP-2023.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">saying</a> in its annual Economic Report of the President earlier this week that the design of digital assets “frequently reflects an ignorance of basic economic principles.”



“Indeed, crypto assets to date do not appear to offer investments with any fundamental value, nor do they act as an effective alternative to fiat money, improve financial inclusion, or make payments more efficient,” the report states. “Instead, their innovation has been mostly about creating artificial scarcity in order to support crypto assets’ prices — and many of them have no fundamental value.”



Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith called the latest White House report “disappointing.”



“While other countries are increasingly receptive to the burgeoning crypto industry, some in government appear increasingly allergic to its promise, sending companies and innovators offshore,” she said in a statement the day later. “We urge the Biden administration to consider how it will be remembered: as a leader of profound innovation or a roadblock to a global tech revolution.”



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Brian Armstrong: Coinbase ‘Happy To Go To Court’ With SEC To Defend Industry

The Department of the Treasury and IRS issued a new notice proposing most NFTs be taxed higher than securities and other assets.&nbsp;



Certain <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/nft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFTs</a> should be classified as collectibles, the agencies suggested in the notice issued this week. 



Net capital gains tax from selling collectibles for a profit can be as high as 28% for the highest earners, per <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/irs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">IRS</a> code. Capital gains taxes on securities and other goods generally range from 15% to 20%. 



The notice states that NFTs could be classified as collectibles if the associated right or asset is a collectible. For example, stamps are collectibles under US tax code, so an NFT tied to ownership of a stamp would also be a collectible. The IRS calls this reasoning the “look-through analysis.”&nbsp;



“The [analysis] will be instrumental in an investor&#8217;s individual NFTs being classified correctly on one&#8217;s tax return as well as taxed at the correct rate rather than lumped into one rate and only one classification,” Gabriel Brin, vice president of tax and accounting product at Ledgible, told Blockworks in an interview.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The notice marks the first time the tax regulator has addressed NFTs, which have long been a headache for accountants.&nbsp;



Some NFT traders have already been claiming their assets as collectibles for tax purposes, but appraisals and tax rates have still been a headache, Erin Fennimore, head of tax and information reporting solutions at TaxBit, <a href="https://blockworks.co/webinar/the-big-picture-are-you-prepared-for-new-digital-asset-regulations">said</a>. 



“There’s different tax rates for collectibles, but also, collectibles like a fine piece of art are appraised as part of that valuation, but can you actually appraise an NFT as a collectible?,” Fennimore said.&nbsp;



When an NFT has been resold, there is a point of contact to determine fair market value, but when NFTs are first created this is more of an issue, she added.



Other traders have historically treated NTFs like any other digital asset. Property, for instance, comes with a minimum 20% tax when held for over a year. The IRS and Treasury’s proposal ups this tax up to 8%.&nbsp;



The agencies have some fine print to work out as well, the notice acknowledges. The “look-through” approach broaches the question of whether an NTF can be considered a work of art, which would also impact tax rates.&nbsp;



“If the Treasury department and the IRS find that in their conclusion a digital file does constitute a ‘work of art,’ then the vast majority of NFTs will be classified as collectibles and treated as such (28% max tax rate for long term holdings),” Brin said. “NFTs in general can have many use cases and utilities, the classifications can be endless based on different industries that may adopt blockchain technology.”



The agencies are accepting public comments on the notice now through June 19, 2023 before issuing official guidance.



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IRS Floats New Guidance Around NFT Classification That Would Increase Taxes

As the price of bitcoin has stabilized in recent weeks, and notched a notable increase in performance terms over the past seven days, a new joint venture designed to capitalize on institutional interest in ESG Bitcoin initiatives is set to hit the market.



Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol (SBP), has teamed up with <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitgo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BitGo</a> — the crypto service provider known for its digital asset custodial solutions — to launch what both companies dubbed “the first sustainable custody solution” in a statement provided to Blockworks exclusively.&nbsp;



It’s called the &#8220;Sustainable Bitcoin Certificate (SBC),” representatives told Blockworks, and it involves an on-chain solution to address problems environmental proponents say have long plagued bitcoin mining: dirty energy.



Non-renewable energy sources still power mining hardware on the original <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/proof-of-work-vs-proof-of-stake-whats-the-difference">proof-of-work</a> blockchain, in many parts of the world, meaning securing the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/bitcoin" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bitcoin</a> network adds carbon pollution to the atmosphere.



The crux of BitGo and SBP’s partnership — SBCs — are “on-chain assets that represent sustainable Bitcoin mining and can be added to the holdings of a Bitcoin investor, 1:1, ensuring that they are sustainably holding Bitcoin without disrupting its fungibility.”



Brad van Voorhees, SBP’s chief executive and co-founder, told Blockworks on Thursday that the partnership with BitGo is not a new idea. The CEO and his team have “recognized this opportunity for a couple of years actually,” he said.



“It’s because we’ve had the time to have the right partner join us to fill out the technical structure,” he said. “It’s the right time to leverage bitcoin to help drive the clean-energy transition — and ultimately change the narrative from ‘Bitcoin is a sustainability problem’ [to]…there’s unique potential to drive the clean energy transition [with BTC], and that’s really what we’re trying to unlock.”&nbsp;



<h2>Institutional winds at BTC’s ESG sails?</h2>



The effort is getting off the ground as retail and institutional traders alike are pushing <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/btc" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BTC</a>’s price, as well as associated volumes and market capitalization, generally higher over a prolonged period of time.&nbsp;



Its end result is designed to offer a viable on-chain alternative to past and prevalent attempts to mitigate bitcoin’s environmental impacts — including tokenized, off-chain carbon credit models with crypto-native backing.&nbsp;



Carbon credits have been floated and have gathered steam, at least here and there, especially among Wall Street players looking to gain ESG exposure.&nbsp;



The metrics defining <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/upstart-crypto-carbon-credits-platform-raises-2b-to-tap-internet-of-energy">how ESG relates to crypto carbon credits</a> have resulted in a mixed bag, according to previous Blockworks reporting, but the sentiment did not altogether stop those efforts from moving forward last year.&nbsp;



Though bitcoin was roughly flat over the last 24 hours, the asset is up about 12.8% on a seven day-basis and about 16.5% over the past 30 days, marking a notable stabilization and ensuing recovery from the 49.5% price plummet of 2022.



Macro headwinds, including the Fed’s shifting stance on interest rates and the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec">SEC</a>’s moves to reign in what the US regulator alleged as bad crypto actors buffeted digital and traditional financial markets.



&#8220;We are excited to partner with SBP to offer our clients a solution that addresses their concerns around Bitcoin&#8217;s environmental impact while incentivizing verified clean energy use in bitcoin mining,&#8221; said Steve Scott, a director at BitGo, in the statement, a novel solution he calls “a key differentiator” in the custody space.



&#8220;This collaboration allows us to offer the most secure and sustainable Bitcoin custody solution on the market, providing our clients with a way to hold Bitcoin that aligns with their investment strategies and values,&#8221; Scott said.&nbsp;



A “proof of sustainability API” is in the works, which is designed to allow investors to show they hold a 1:1 ratio to BTC and SBC, the on-chain token under BitGo custody. 



BitGo and van Voorhees’ SBP summed up their team up by saying “the new offering aims to address the increasing demand from ESG and climate-focused institutional investors who want to hold Bitcoin but are concerned about its climate impacts.”



If you take the energy consumption and associated costs of renewable power premiums into account, van Voorhees said the impact of the token SBC would help mitigate bitcoin’s environmental impact.



The end goal, the SBP founder said, is “verifiably ensuring that bitcoin miners are using renewable energy from the grid, ensuring that every single bitcoin [is mined] in a totally transparent way.”



Updated March 23 2023 at 6:55pm ET: A previous version of this article erroneously reported that BitGo had regulatory approval for the product. Figures for the renewability certification market were also updated.



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BitGo, Sustainable Bitcoin Protocol Launch ESG-friendly Bitcoin-backed Token

Ethereum layer-2 scaling solution Arbitrum has officially launched its governance token airdrop. 



Immediately following the airdrop token claim event, Arbitrum’s front end was forced to shut.&nbsp;



Almost 85,000 users had signed onto the webpage in a 30-minute window, Arbiscan, its blockchain scanner, said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/arbiscan/status/1638897253388800001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>. 



<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">We&#39;re sorry for turning off the lights on Arbitrum for a while. It seems abundantly clear that ARB will need to migrate to its own chain in order to properly scale. We&#39;d like to encourage the DAO to start thinking in this direction.&mdash; foobar (@0xfoobar) <a href="https://twitter.com/0xfoobar/status/1638891090202722304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Previously governed by New York-based <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/offchain-labs" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Offchain Labs</a>, the ARB token is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/arbitrum-airdrop-faq">designed for Arbitrum to decentralize its governance</a>. 



The Airdrop will allocate 12.75% of ARB’s total supply to users and DAOs building on the network.&nbsp;



Roughly 11.6% of the supply goes to users at a present value of $1.56 billion and 1.1% of the supply goes to DAOs, currently valued at $151 million, Blockworks Research <a href="https://dune.com/blockworks_research/arb-airdrop" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a> shows. 



At the time of writing, over half of eligible users have claimed their airdrop — equating to roughly 330,000 unique addresses.&nbsp;



Of the remaining <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/arb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ARB</a> tokens, 43% will go to the DAO treasury — managed by the community, while 27% will be allocated to Offchain Labs. And 17.5% will be given to investors of the New York-based startup. 



Eligible airdrop recipients will have six more months to claim their airdrops.



<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">Remember <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arbinauts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Arbinauts</a>, you have 6 months to claim your tokens! Gas fees will be quite high, and there will be server congestion.&mdash; Arbitrum (💙,🧡) (@arbitrum) <a href="https://twitter.com/arbitrum/status/1638889046964305922?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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The company warned users to only use the official <a href="http://arbitrum.foundation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a> to avoid potential copycat scams. “This is the safest way to claim, and you&#8217;ll be able to vote for your favorite ecosystem delegate.”



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Technical Difficulties Aren’t Stopping Users From Claiming Arbitrum Airdrop

Though crypto firms have rushed to build out a presence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the passage of what they believe to be friendly crypto regulation, many still wait for the go-ahead to fully operate there.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/dubai-is-the-latest-government-to-roll-out-crypto-law-set-up-regulator">Dubai launched its Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority</a> (VARA) — which oversees crypto trades and new product issuances — in March 2022.



Various crypto companies revealed plans to enter the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/uae">United Arab Emirates</a> last year, including <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/binance-granted-license-to-operate-in-dubai">Binance</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/okx-to-expand-in-uae-after-dubai-regulatory-approval">OKX</a>, <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-custodian-komainu-follows-exchanges-to-dubai">Komainu</a> and <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/crypto-com-secures-provisional-approval-to-open-crypto-exchange-in-dubai">Crypto.com</a> — and many firms have received provisional licenses.&nbsp;



VARA rolled out the Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023 last month in an effort to give the market “greater clarity on the expected level of operator responsibility,” according to a VARA press release at the time.&nbsp;



The regulations span seven licensed activities — advisory, broker-dealer, custodial, exchange, lending and borrowing, and payments and remittances services, as well as virtual asset management and investment activities.



Existing Minimal Viable Product (MVP) operational license applicants — as well as holders of provisional MVP licenses, UAE-based virtual asset service providers and new market entrants — will be offered a path to become fully licensed, according to VARA.&nbsp;



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/hex-trust">Hex Trust</a> officially launched operations in Dubai late last month after being granted an MVP Operational License. The designation, which allowed the company to offer crypto custodial and staking services to institutional clients, made it the first virtual asset custodian in the emirate, VARA <a href="https://www.vara.ae/en/#0">said</a>.&nbsp;



Spokespeople for VARA and Hex Trust did not immediately return requests for comment.&nbsp;



<h2>Ramping up UAE activity&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>



Binance has three regulated entities in the UAE, according to a spokesperson — two with financial services permissions granted by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and one with an MVP license from VARA.&nbsp;



The MVP license allows the company to offer a range of approved virtual asset-related services to suitably qualified retail and institutional investors in Dubai, the Binance representative told Blockworks.



Overall, the exchange already has roughly 600 employees in the UAE.



“We are officially operating in the UAE per the current licensing framework,” the spokesperson added. “The Virtual Assets and Related Activities Regulations 2023…clearly speaks to Dubai’s ambition to set the global benchmark for the Web3 industry, and we continue to collaborate in this space for the next phase of licensing.”



Crypto.com, which first received provisional approval from VARA in June 2022, said Monday it moved a step closer to operating in the region by receiving what is known as an MVP preparatory license. The new license came after regulators reviewed the firm’s personnel, governance procedures, anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities and know-your-customer (KYC) procedures, among other things.



Once licensed to be operational, Crypto.com intends to offer spot and derivatives exchange services, a brokerage, and OTC offerings around settlements for institutional investors.&nbsp;



A Crypto.com spokesperson declined to comment on when that could be.&nbsp;



Meanwhile, <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/komainu">Komainu</a> is in “the final stages” of being operational in Dubai, according to Sebastian Widmann, Komainu’s head of strategy.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The company gained provisional approval to operate in Dubai last July and entered the MVP license phase in November. It has said it would seek to bring Komainu Yield — a product giving institutions the ability to earn yield on assets custodied with the company — and other services to clients in the region.



“We see a growing demand from institutional clients with exposure to digital assets in the region and are committing significant resources to make this expansion a success,” Widmann told Blockworks in an email.



Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-25/bitcoin-options-exchange-deribit-looks-to-relocate-to-dubai">reported</a> in January that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/1913639D:PP">Deribit</a>, the world’s largest bitcoin and ether options exchange, was making plans to relocate from Panama to Dubai this year.



Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers told Blockworks the company intends to obtain a “full market license” in Dubai in the third quarter. That would allow Deribit to launch trading for institutional clients, followed by retail investors, he added.



The options exchange, which does not yet have a provisional license in the UAE, is looking at office space in One Central, part of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) Free Zone, Strijers told Blockworks — where other crypto platforms are set to be located.



<h2>UAE hiring processes underway</h2>



“Deribit has not started hiring or moving staff yet, but expects to start with around 10 this summer, including senior management,” Strijers said.&nbsp;



Hex Trust seeks a compliance officer to manage “maintenance of the company’s compliance and AML program” in Dubai, according to a LinkedIn job post. The professional would report directly to the company’s head of legal and compliance.



The digital asset custodian is also seeking vice presidents of risk management, as well as institutional sales and business development.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Crypto.com was seeking to hire a regional head of compliance and money laundering reporting officer to be based in Dubai, according to a job post listed on LinkedIn earlier this week. The person would help Crypto.com secure licenses and manage regulatory examinations, among other things.



The listing is no longer active.



Binance is seeking to hire a range of professionals in the UAE, according to LinkedIn job listings. Such openings include a government affairs manager, regulatory counsel, an HR operations specialist and engineers, among other roles.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The exchange, unlike many other companies in the sector, has continued hiring efforts in 2023 — onboarding about 600 new employees globally year-to-date. It plans to hire roughly 500 more people worldwide, including in the Middle East, by the end of the quarter, a spokesperson said.



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Crypto Firms Bullish on UAE Entrance — But Now They Wait

The long-awaited Ethereum Shanghai-Capella upgrade is <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/ethereum-set-date-for-eth-withdrawals">right around the corner</a>, and it will enable validators to withdraw their staked ether from the network.



To participate in staking and earn rewards on Ethereum, individual validators must lock in 32 <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/eth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ETH</a> (about $52,500) into the staking contract. 



Activating withdrawals will enable these Ethereum stakers to claim rewards for participating in securing the network, and eventually to completely reclaim their locked-up ether, if they so choose.



But what about those who don’t run their own validator nodes and instead rely on one of a plethora of staking services or liquid staking tokens?



As April 12 draws near, these staking service providers must plan how to enable withdrawals as well.&nbsp;



“If you are part of a staking pool or hold liquid staking derivatives, you should check with your provider for more details about how staking withdrawals will affect your arrangement, as each service operates differently,” the Ethereum Foundation <a href="https://ethereum.org/en/staking/withdrawals/">said</a> in a blog post.&nbsp;



Following the upgrade, users will have the option to redeem their underlying staked ether or switch staking providers.&nbsp;



“If a particular pool is getting too large, funds can be exited and redeemed, and re-staked with a smaller provider. Or, if you’ve accumulated enough ETH you could stake from home,” the blog post said.



<a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/lido" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lido</a> — one of the largest liquid staking service providers, with a market capitalization of a little over $10 billion — won’t allow its users who hold <a href="https://blockworks.co/price/steth" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stETH</a> to redeem ETH initially. The Lido DAO noted on <a href="https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1635739571227951117?s=20">Twitter</a> that a needed upgrade is expected by mid-May, citing security checks.



Calling the delay “a safety margin,” the group tweeted that “stETH withdrawals won’t launch on mainnet until all audits concerning on-chain code are completed.”



<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">An update on Lido Ethereum withdrawals: TL;DR: &#8211; Lido DAO is currently undertaking 7 V2 audits. &#8211; Codebase is very close to being finalized. All major fixes have been merged. &#8211; 4 week Goerli testnet will commence next week (c. March 20th). &#8211; Mainnet upgrade expected mid May.&mdash; Lido (@LidoFinance) <a href="https://twitter.com/LidoFinance/status/1635739571227951117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 14, 2023</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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In the case of <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/coinbase" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coinbase</a>, a centralized exchange that also provides staking services, withdrawal requests will be available 24 hours following the upgrade, the company <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1636047279793528833">said</a> in a tweet. 



“All unstaking requests are processed on-chain, and we’ll pass the unstaked funds and staking rewards to you once released by the Ethereum protocol,” Coinbase <a href="https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1636047279793528833">tweeted</a>.



The exchange is currently under scrutiny from the <a href="https://blockworks.co/tag/sec" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SEC</a> after <a href="https://blockworks.co/news/sec-serves-coinbase-in-latest-alleged-crypto-securities-violation">receiving a Wells notice</a> over alleged security concerns.



Rocketpool, another decentralized Ethereum staking protocol, noted in a <a href="https://medium.com/rocket-pool/rocket-pool-atlas-upgrade-7c69e39a3d5f">blog post</a> earlier this month that staking withdrawals will likely be possible in time for Shanghai-Capella, following an upgrade dubbed Atlas, though specific dates have not yet been confirmed.



“We are targeting a mainnet Atlas release for end of March / early April,” RocketPool founder David Rugendyke said.



Stakewise has not provided clear documentation outlining dates of withdrawals but is estimated to be available following its “<a href="https://docs.stakewise.io/stakewise-pool">Phase 2</a>” plans.



“Upon arrival of Phase 2, StakeWise users will be able to burn sETH2 and rETH2 within the app and receive ETH in return at a 1:1 ratio,” the company <a href="https://docs.stakewise.io/stakewise-pool">said</a> in a blog post.&nbsp;



Similar to Stakewise, Frax has not detailed specific withdrawal dates. A representative for Frax was not immediately available for comment.



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