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Bitget announces further $100M fund for ecosystem development

The announcement follows the launch of a $100 million fund back in April focused on investing in crypto projects in Asia.

Crypto companies form Texas blockchain group to advocate for clear regulations

a16z crypto, Coinbase, Ledger, Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital, and Paradigm joined to advocate for clear regulations.

How Web3 improves data storage: GhostDrive joins Cointelegraph Accelerator

FileCoin-based data storage app GhostDrive focuses on user experience and encryption features.

Aave v3 fork debuts noncustodial liquidity markets on Base

Seamless Protocol, a fork of Aave v3 deployed on Base, enables smart contracts with predetermined borrowing strategies to conduct undercollateralized borrowing on-chain.

6 Questions for Kei Oda: From Goldman Sachs to cryptocurrency

Kei Oda spent 16 years trading bonds for Goldman Sachs — a life that eventually bored him. That was when he turned to cryptocurrency.

6 Questions for Kei Oda: From Goldman Sachs to cryptocurrency

Kei Oda is the head of Japan and the Asia-Pacific region for Quantstamp, a Web3 security firm that audits smart contracts and develops blockchain security solutions.

Kei spent 16 years trading bonds at Goldman Sachs before stumbling into cryptocurrencies out of boredom. He tells Magazine he was induced by the ability to trade Bitcoin and other assets around the clock.

He has since fallen down the rabbit hole, even finding a job in the industry.

So, I was actually a bond trader for 16 years before joining crypto. 

You know, we used to talk about Bitcoin when I was still trading bonds. I didn’t really understand it or believe in it, to be honest, but when I left my job in 2016 and tried to get into the startup space, what dawned on me once I left was that, having been a trader, you do have a long-term focus, but you also are very, very short-term in terms of how you trade, what you do day to day, minute to minute, and what ended up happening was, I would get bored very easily.

Kei Oda speaking
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Sam Bankman-Fried's lawyers request pre-trial release citing poor internet connection

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried's bail was revoked on Aug. 11 after he was found to be trying to contact witnesses in the case and malign witness credibility.

Solana falls 6% amid fears of FTX dump — but there's a catch

The price of Solana has plunged as the market fears a large FTX sell-off, however, it seems unlikely that the now-defunct exchange will dump all of its holdings at once.

Avalanche's HyperSDK blockchain upgrade hits 143K TPS on testnet

Ava Labs is testing a high-throughput framework that will enable developers to build their own virtual machines.

Is 2023 the year genuine cross-chain interoperability takes off?

Blockchains need to become interoperable in order for the industry to truly flourish and several innovations will accelerate the ecosystem towards it, say executives.

AI token trading volume stagnant despite Worldcoin buzz – Kaiko data

The examination revealed a moderate increase in the trading volume of AI tokens last month, reaching approximately $870 million, up from $570 million at the close of July.

Terra Luna Classic contemplates deposit hike to curb spam proposals

This measure is intended to counteract the influx of "spam" and irrelevant proposals submitted for voting within the Terra Luna Classic community.

Binance’s exec exodus, Nasdaq to trade AI orders and SBF loses bail appeal: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 3-9

A key talking point in the crypto community has been the ongoing exodus of executives from Binance amid growing regulatory troubles. Binance has seen the departure of 10 key executives from various departments in the first nine months of 2023. The latest to join the list is Helen Hai, executive vice president of Binance, who announced her resignation from her post on Sept. 6. On the same day, Gleb Kostarev, vice president of Eastern Europe, Turkey, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Australia and New Zealand at Binance, also announced his resignation, as did CIS general manager Vladimir Smerkis. Four top executives from Binance reportedly all left on the same day after Binance’s response to the United States Department of Justice investigation. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has hosed down recent rumors against his firm, assuring its balance sheet and employee retention remain robust despite the recent market uncertainty.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Nasdaq’s request to operate its first AI-driven order type on Sept. 8. Called the dynamic midpoint extended life order (M-ELO), the new system expands on the M-ELO automated order type by making it “dynamic,” meaning it will use artificial intelligence to update and, essentially, recalibrate itself in real-time. The follow-on effect should be a significant acceleration of orders placed with the system. Nasdaq says the dynamic M-ELO demonstrated a “20.3% increase in fill rates and an 11.4% reduction in mark-outs” during its research and testing.

Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried lost an initial appeal to be released again on bail prior to his criminal trial. His lawyers had petitioned the court for temporary release, claiming the current measures to allow SBF to prepare for his trial were inadequate due to limited internet access. An appeals court denied the motion on Sept. 6, maintaining SBF’s detention at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. The former FTX CEO had his bail revoked on Aug. 11, following allegations of witness intimidation for leaking, to The New York Times, personal notes and diary entries from former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. SBF has roughly four weeks to prepare for his Oct. 3 trial.

ARK Invest and 21Shares requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the listing of shares of a spot Ether ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The investment vehicle, called the ARK 21Shares Ethereum ETF, will have crypto exchange Coinbase act as a custodian and will measure the performance of Ether based on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate. The proposal from ARK Invest and 21Shares is one of many spot crypto ETFs that will be reviewed by the SEC in the coming months. The U.S. regulator has been delaying decisions on crypto investments products lately, especially concerning Bitcoin spot ETF proposals.

Grayscale has told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has no legal reasoning left to block the conversion of its flagship Bitcoin fund to a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company’s lawyers sent a letter to the SEC requesting the pair meet to discuss the next steps following the regulator’s court loss regarding the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) on Aug. 29. Grayscale added that it believes the SEC should conclude there are “no grounds” for treating the GBTC differently from Bitcoin futures ETFs whose filings “the Commission has previously approved.” According to Grayscale, its fund conversion application has been pending for nearly three times longer than the length of time stipulated by the SEC’s rules.


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Binance’s exec exodus, Nasdaq to trade AI orders and SBF loses bail appeal: Hodler’s Digest, Sept. 3-9

Binance executives depart, Nasdaq will trade AI-based orders and a bail appeal is denied for Sam Bankman-Fried.

G20 moves forward with international crypto framework

The upcoming framework will affect users in several countries by automatically exchanging information about crypto transactions between jurisdictions on an annual basis.

Ripple's CLO calls SEC's latest filing "Hypocritical Pivot"

He pointed out that Gensler had requested an urgent appeal while simultaneously asserting that crypto regulations and rules were clear and must be adhered to by the industry.

Congressman Tom Emmer seeks amendment to limit SEC's crypto oversight

Emmer intends to introduce an appropriations amendment that will limit the SEC's utilization of funds for digital asset enforcement until comprehensive rules and regulations are put in place.

BIS thinks DeFi has no use cases, but CZ is bullish: Finance Redefined

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao says DeFi will outpace CeFi in the next bull run, but the Bank for International Settlements is skeptical.

Ripple acquires Fortress Trust, expands license portfolio in the US

Fortress holds a Nevada Trust license for asset custody. Ripple holds more than 30 licenses across the United States.

Big Questions: What’s with all the crypto deaths? 

Last month, Bulgarian plumbers were called to clear a blocked drain at an apartment block in the capital of Sofia.

The blockage turned out to be the decomposing remains of 41-year-old United States crypto mogul Christian Peev — suspected to have been battered to death with a dumbbell by a friend out of jealousy.

Weeks earlier, a group of children stumbled across the body of missing cryptocurrency millionaire Fernando Pérez Algaba in a river in the Buenos Aries province. Police say he was shot three times before being stuffed into a suitcase, pointing the finger at organized crime.

It’s only the two most recent cases in a 10-month-long stretch of crypto-related deaths — including a helicopter crash in France, a fatal stabbing in the U.S., and a suspected suicide in South Korea, to name a few.

So, what’s connecting all of these grizzly deaths around the world?


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