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FTX Owes Its 50 Biggest Unsecured Creditors over $3.1B and was run as a "Personal Fiefdom" according to Barry Silbert.
JPMorgan successfully registered a Trademark for a Digital Wallet and related cryptocurrency processing services, while EMURGO is set to launch a regulated stablecoin in early 2023.
Meanwhile, web3 leaders have joined Binance to push the web3 industry recovery initiative and ConsenSys has revealed that it collects user data. Grayscale, however, has refused to share its proof-of-reserves.
On to the top news this week.
FTX Owes Its 50 Biggest Unsecured Creditors Over $3.1B, Was Run as a "Personal Fiefdom," and DCG's Barry Silbert Revealed Crypto Firm Is $2B in Debt
The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, whose ex-CEO was Sam Bankman-Fried, owes its 50 biggest unsecured creditors $31. Based on court papers, a pair of customers were wed for over $200 million each. Furthermore, FTX-linked entities owe their biggest unsecured creditor over $226 million, based on a redacted list of the top 50 creditors. All of them were listed as customers and had claims of over $100 million each.
FTX was run as a "personal fiefdom" of the former CEO, where attorneys detailed the ongoing challenges, such as hacks and substantial missing assets. FTX filed for bankruptcy after traders pulled $6 billion from the platform within three days. $300 million were spent on real estates, such as homes and vacation properties for senior staff. SBF has been accused of working with Bahamian regulators with the goal to "undermine" the US bankruptcy case and shift assets overseas.
Barry Silbert, who founded the cryptocurrency conglomerate known as Digital Currency Group, through a note that was sent to shareholders, addressed the information about the financial health of DCG subsidiaries. These included firms such as Genesis, Grayscale Investments, and mining company Foundry.
DCG’s debts amount to over $2 billion. This is because the company has loaned Genesis $575 million, priced at "prevailing market interest rates," which is due in May 2023. Furthermore, it also absorbed the $1.1 billion debt that the bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital owed Genesis.
JPMorgan Successfully Registered a Trademark for a Digital Wallet As Well as Related Cryptocurrency Processing Services
JPMorgan registered a trademark for adding digital wallets as well as related cryptocurrency processing services. This trademark does not apply to cryptocurrencies exclusively and can also apply to other financial services.
The company is using the trademark with a service that can provide business sub-ledgers. The bank filed a trademark for "JP Morgan Wallet" in July 2020; the filing was finally approved on November 15 based on data from a filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office.
EMURGO to Launch a Regulated Stablecoin in Early 2023; however, while the Ardana Ecosystem Suddenly Halted Development
EMURGO, the official commercial arm and a founding entity of the Cardano blockchain, announced on November 18 surrounding the planned launch of a stablecoin.
Cardano ecosystem will have a fully FIAT-backed, regulatory-compliant stablecoin by the end of the first quarter of 2023. The stablecoin is called USDA and is set to create Cardano Decentralized Finance (DeFi) healthier and more sustainable as an ecosystem.
However, Ardana, the decentralized ecosystem working on a Cardano Stablecoin, halted development due to funding and project timeline uncertainty. Based on an official announcement through Twitter on November 24, the team announced that “recent developments with regards to funding and project timeline uncertainty” were the reasons behind the halt. However, they noted that the code would remain open-source and that others could build upon it if they wanted to.
Web3 Leaders Joined Binance to Push the Web3 Industry Recovery Initiative, While Grayscale Refused to Share Its Proof-of-Reserves
Binance established the Industry Recovery Initiative (IRI), which is a co-investment opportunity for organizations that aim to support the future of Web3. They are attempting to lead the charge regarding the protection of customers and to rebuild the industry. Binance has announced that it will commit $1 billion to the fund at a public address. Furthermore, the exchange with commit an additional $1 billion to be added at some point in the future. GSR, Kronos, Brooker Group, Jump Crypto, Polygon Ventures, Aptos Labs, and Animoca Brands have all committed an initial $50 million to support the fund, while 150 other companies have also applied.
Grayscale, on November 18, announced that due to security concerns, they will not provide on-chain wallet information and confirmation information and will not make it publicly available through a Cryptographic Proof-of-Reserve, or another advanced cryptographic accounting procedure.
ConsenSys, an Ethereum Software Firm, Has Revealed That It Collects User Data
ConsenSys is one of the firms behind the Ethereum merge and recently announced that they collect user data related to its on-chain wallet service MetaMask. This news comes after the decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (DEX) Uniswap also made updates to its privacy policy.
That said, ConsenSys claims that it collects some data related to user identification, including contact details, profile information along with some other user data.
Thanks for reading,
James