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One individual made a costly mistake, paying nearly $500,000 (20 bitcoins) in fees to transfer just $200 worth of bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD). This transaction, which took place on September 10th, sets the record for the highest transaction fee in Bitcoin. The transaction caught the attention of Casa’s CTO, Jameson Lopp, who suggested that it could be flawed software. The amount went to the F2Pool mining pool, which offered a three-day deadline for the sender to claim the amount before distributing it to its miners.
The market is buzzing with expectations as Stellar Lumens (COIN:XLMUSD) prepares for a long-awaited announcement from the Stellar organization on September 12th. After teasers from Stellar on X (formerly Twitter) counting down the days until the big announcement, rumors are circulating about a possible integration with Apple Pay. Meanwhile, the price of XLM fluctuated, rising 11.95% for the week.
Based on joint recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), India is drafting a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies that could become law within months. According to Cointelegraph, Crebaco CEO Sidharth Sogani reported that the Indian legislative strategy focuses on five main points, with an emphasis on global collaboration. These include advanced KYC procedures, audit disclosure, uniform tax policy, bank-like status for cryptocurrency exchanges, and mandatory compliance positions for crypto companies.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in partnership with the United Arab Emirates, presented an initiative to promote sustainable financial solutions using technologies such as blockchain, AI and the Internet of Things. Named COP28 UAE TechSprint, the initiative challenges developers to address gaps in data verification in the sector. BIS highlights the need to apply these technologies to improve transparency and verification in green finance. Proposals are accepted until October 6, with winners being revealed at COP28 in December.
Two years after the legalization of bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) in El Salvador, the Ministry of Education launched a pilot program with the goal of introducing bitcoin education in all schools in the country by 2024. With support from the My First Bitcoin and Bitcoin Beach, the program will train 150 teachers, who will disseminate learning about cryptocurrency to students. Since its founding, My First Bitcoin has educated more than 25,000 students and created the “Bitcoin Diploma,” a 10-week course. This course, now in its 5th edition, influenced El Salvador’s official curriculum on the topic.
The legal team of Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, requested his pre-trial release citing internet access difficulties at the correctional facility. The defense claims that these limitations make it difficult to review millions of pages of documents related to the case. Furthermore, although a specific time for using a laptop was promised, in practice, this time was not fully granted. Judge Lewis Kaplan refused a previous request for release, while the Justice Department says the current access is adequate for his defense. Bankrupt FTX’s assets total around $7 billion, including significant amounts in Solana (COIN:SOLUSD) and Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD), according to recent court documents. The document also reports 38 condominiums, penthouses and other properties in the Bahamas with an estimated value of around $200 million. Before declaring bankruptcy in November 2022, FTX made billion-dollar payments to top executives such as Sam Bankman-Fried.
Brian Armstrong, leader of Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), suggests that the 2024 US elections will feel the influence of the cryptocurrency voting bloc, a force that many politicians may be underestimating. While highlighting that regulations on the sector are evolving globally, he notes the growing interest of American politicians in the topic. Furthermore, Armstrong addressed the concept of “flatcoins”, an evolution of stablecoins, which could maintain their value over time, aligned with indicators such as the CPI. Elsewhere, Coinbase faces hurdles as it tries to expand its services in India. While the company sent emails informing it of stopping services for some Indian users after September 25, it clarified that only accounts that do not meet the updated standards will be affected. Despite investing in local exchanges, Coinbase had difficulties establishing its presence in the country, facing resistance from regulatory authorities. Recently, there was an interruption of services due to pressure from the Indian central bank, the Reserve Bank of India.
Ripple, a major crypto payments company, covered the losses of blockchain startup Fortress Trust’s customers following a security breach related to a third-party vendor. This move was an essential part of Ripple’s acquisition of Fortress, which was already under discussion but gained momentum after the incident. Despite the security issues, there were no losses of funds. The acquisition will allow Ripple to expand its regulatory reach and incorporate Fortress’ services into its own payment technology.
Hackers accessed the account of Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD), and embezzled more than US$691,000, much of it in NFTs, through a phishing link. Although the origin of the attack is unclear, analyst ZachXBT does not rule out a potential “SIM swap”. Buterin, with almost 5 million followers on the platform, could have been the target of an internal scheme. Such an attack adds to other recent ones in the cryptosphere, including a hack on the Terra blockchain website.
Ahmad Wagaafe Hared of Tucson, Arizona, was ordered by a federal judge to turn over about $5.2 million in Bitcoin and a 2017 BMW i8 to the U.S. government after being found guilty of stealing cryptocurrencies from executives in northern California in 2016. Hared and his associates used a SIM swapping technique to gain access to victims’ accounts. The region is known for hosting cryptocurrency organizations such as Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). Additional details of the case remain confidential, and others involved in similar schemes were also recently convicted.
During the market peak of 2021, Maple Finance saw a golden opportunity by teaming up with the acclaimed Alameda Research to provide a lending product for institutions. However, when the crypto industry suffered declines in 2022, Maple had to readjust. Sid Powell, the company’s CEO, recognizes that the emphasis was on great returns, neglecting risks. The Orthogonal fiasco highlighted flaws in risk management in the DeFi sector. In response, Maple expanded its scope to include real-world assets such as a liquidity pool for accounts receivable and tokenized securities, diversifying its portfolio and moving away from the volatility of cryptocurrencies. “We want to abstract away as much of the complexity of encryption as possible. My vision for the future is that we could launch a family office and say we have a credit and loan product with lower rates than the average Ares or Apollo credit fund”, said Powell.
Steve Kokinos, former CEO of Algorand, was named as a possible CEO of the company that will take over Celsius operations. Celsius, which has faced financial and regulatory problems, is seeking restructuring after declaring bankruptcy last year. Kokinos will be part of a nine-member board, six chosen by Celsius’ creditor committee and two by Fahrenheit Holdings. Fahrenheit was the consortium that proposed acquiring Celsius’ assets in May. Kokinos, who left Algorand in 2022, is also a co-owner of Fahrenheit. The newly formed board features figures such as Michael Arrington of Arrington Capital; Asher Genoot, leader of Bitcoin Corp in the US; Frederick Arnold, responsible for the assets of the now dissolved Lehman Brothers; Elizabeth LaPuma, formerly at UBS (NYSE:UBS) and current chair of the audit committee at WeWork (NYSE:WE); and Emmanuel Aidoo, former Credit Suisse banker. In addition to them, Scott Duffy and Thomas DiFiore, leaders of the Celsius committee, will also join the board, representing the company’s creditors.
The collapse of Prime Trust, a cryptocurrency custody company, highlights the risks of self-custody in the sector, said Diogo Monica, Co-Founder of Anchorage Digital. According to him, Prime Trust’s failure was not technological, but rather an “integration failure”, pointing to the company’s lack of technical expertise. This slip-up caused millions in assets to become inaccessible. Monica suggests that traditional financial rules could benefit cryptocurrency custody. He calls for more regulatory clarity as Anchorage Digital grows, attracting institutions looking for secure digital asset storage.
DeFi developers, including Seashell, RNG Labs, and Loreum Labs, in collaboration with consultants from Ampleforth and Uniswap, have introduced the Seamless Protocol on the layer 2 network. This protocol, a variation of Aave v3, allows smart contracts to implement pre-defined lending strategies. The idea is to simulate single-purpose loans, where liquidity can only be used for a specific purpose. The initiative departs from traditional reputation scoring systems, emphasizing trust in code over humans in the DeFi space. “Many borrowers already know the purpose of the additional liquidity they seek, so Integrated Financing Strategies simply connect these steps. Since lending strategies are on-chain in smart contracts, liquidity providers have complete visibility into how funds are used“, explained the protocol.
Fireblocks, a leading cryptocurrency custody company, is now offering a non-custodial wallet service to its extensive list of clients such as Revolut and Nubank (NYSE:NU). This initiative seeks to allow users to have full control over their assets, a growing demand following bankruptcies of cryptocurrency companies. The change frees fintechs from being custodians and makes it easier for users to access services such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 applications, said Michael Shaulov, CEO of Fireblocks. He also highlighted that the Fireblocks solution allows wallet recovery, ensuring security and convenience. “What was previously difficult for large licensed institutions or large corporations can be incorporated into the wallet experience when companies don’t have all these regulatory and custody limitations”.
Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitgamo has revealed plans to launch 75 cryptocurrency ATMs across Europe in 2024, promising to offer the most competitive rates. Gaining prominence globally, Bitgamo recently responded to customers’ desire to convert crypto into traditional currency without the need for KYC and offered superior rates of up to 10% for assets such as Bitcoin (COIN:BTCUSD) and Ethereum (COIN:ETHUSD). Gabriel Weber, Communications Director, stated that the company is ready for this expansion, ensuring that cashiers offer the best rates.
Animoca Brands, which specializes in gaming and Web3, completed a $20 million funding round on September 11 to boost the Mocaverse platform. This project aims to be the backbone of the identity and rewards system for Web3 entertainment and culture. Led by Yat Siu, the initiative will focus on creating a digital identity, Moca ID, via non-transferable NFT tokens, allowing users to establish reputation and accumulate points. CMCC Global, a renowned blockchain investor, led the financing with other important names in the sector.
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