Crypto Exchange FTX to provide $6m phishing compensation
The phishing incident involving a third-party website will result in around $6 million in compensation from the digital asset exchange FTX to its account holders. Sam Bankman-Fried, a crypto billionaire and the CEO of FTX, stated on Twitter that the company wouldn’t be “creating a practice” of rewarding users who fall victim to phishing attacks that target websites other than FTX. If the perpetrators send back 95% of the $6 million taken from FTX accounts within 24 hours, “we’ll absolve them,” Bankman-Fried said. Bankman-Fried proposed in a blog post what he called a “5-5 standard” where crypto hackers keep either 5% of the amount they’ve taken from a protocol or $5 million, whichever is smaller. That was part of an effort to curb the security exploits plaguing the digital-asset industry.
Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager’s CFO resigned months after the appointment
Ashwin Prithipaul, the chief financial officer of Voyager Digital Ltd, left his position just a few months after being hired by the cryptocurrency lender that declared bankruptcy in July. The company said the finance head would resign after a “transition period” to pursue other opportunities, and that Chief Executive Officer Stephen Ehrlich will head the role in the interim. Crypto lenders such as Voyager boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing depositors with high-interest rates and easy access to loans rarely offered by traditional banks. But inflation and subsequent rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve led to a wide sell-off in the alternative asset class that dealt a heavy blow to several companies in the sector.
UAE’s Crypto Market to Grow 10x; Crypto Oasis Ecosystem Report Launched at Future Blockchain Summit
The Crypto Oasis Ecosystem Report launched at the Future Blockchain Summit by Crypto Oasis provided an overview of the cryptocurrency market in the UAE. The study is based on conversations with over 1,400 organizations active in the UAE and working in the crypto space. 65 percent of them are native blockchain organizations and 35 percent are non-native blockchain organizations. Currently, there are over 7,000 organizations working in the crypto space in the UAE. While we know that the UAE is doing well in the cryptocurrency sector, the report validates growth in the region backed with data and information such as who is in the crypto ecosystem, what they are doing in this space, and how they have grown. Ralf Glabischnig, Founder of Crypto Oasis stated, “The regional market is expected to grow ten times with access to the financial resources and opportunities in the UAE. We are on the cusp of something phenomenal”.
FTX To Buy Bankrupt Cryptolender Voyager
FTX, a cryptocurrency trading firm won the bid to acquire Voyager Digital, a cryptocurrency investment company that had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July.
“Voyager received multiple bids contemplating sale and reorganization alternatives, held an auction, and, based on the auction’s results, has determined that the sale transaction with FTX is the best alternative for Voyager stakeholders,” read the announcement. According to the release, Voyager has accepted FTX’s $1.4 billion buyout deal, defeating Binance and Wave Financial in the bid to buy the bankrupt corporation
Australian on its release about CBDC Whitepaper
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in a release on September 26, has stated that they are collaborating with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a research project about exploring the potential use cases for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Australia. The RBA has also released a whitepaper regarding the same and explained the objective behind such a project in detail.
The RBA is also seeking inputs from interested industry participants for potential use cases of CBDC, and how it can benefit the Australian economy and financial systems, too.
Bitcoin Mining Reserves Are at a 12-Year Low
The amount of Bitcoin held in reserve by mining companies has fallen to lows not seen since February 2010, according to blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock. And that’s been true for most of this year. Bitcoin miners have 1.91 million BTC in their wallets, according to IntoTheBlock. Bitcoin miner reserves have been above the 2 million BTC mark—first surpassed on February 19, 2010—for only 46 days since the start of 2022. This illustrates the impact of miners selling their Bitcoin throughout the year, at times selling more in a month than they mined, to compensate for profits that have dwindled as the market has suffered. IntoTheBlock uses a machine learning algorithm to identify miner wallet addresses and tracks their holdings, including wallets linked to miners or mining pools that accumulate BTC but don’t actively mine it. The aggregate of the BTC held in those wallets makes up the analytics firm’s miner reserve metric.
U.K. Commission Launches Review of International Crypto Laws
The U.K. is considering reforming its cryptocurrency laws. The Law Commission of England and Wales launched a review on Oct. 18, that will provide clarity on how international law approaches emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and electronic documentation. The government-backed project, called “Digital Assets: Which Law, Which Court?” is being launched to bring Britain up-to-date with current and anticipated international laws regarding the decentralized finance sector. As part of the review, the commission will undergo a detailed analysis of international regulations to formulate reforms that align with international law. The goal of the reforms is to eliminate conflict of law issues that have created legal uncertainty for users, organizations, and governments.
European Commission Calls for Crypto Mining Block
The European Commission stated that European Union members must be ready to block crypto mining. The European Commission is the executive arm of the EU and is responsible for introducing legislation. Crypto mining is a high-energy endeavor and the European commission fears energy shortages and potential blackouts as northern Europe heads toward the winter months. “In case, there is a need for load shedding in the electricity systems, the [EU] member states must also be ready to stop crypto-assets mining,” the commission said in a document published. Load shedding is when energy companies deliberately switch off the supply to a certain set of users to avoid the entire grid toppling.
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