Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 22, 2023

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May 22 2023

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Markets360

Crypto Market Update

Written by Van

ConsenSys Refutes Claims of Tax Collection on Crypto Users

ConsenSys, the firm behind MetaMask, has denied rumors that it collects taxes from cryptocurrency users. The confusion arose from a misinterpretation of the wallet's terms of service, which relates only to products and paid plans offered, and has nothing to do with on-chain crypto transactions. MetaMask clarified that it does not collect taxes on such transactions.

Hotbit Halts Operations Amidst Crypto Space Challenges

Crypto exchange Hotbit is halting operations due to deteriorating conditions and incidents within the crypto space, urging users to withdraw funds before June 21. The exchange cited cyberattacks, project defects, and outflows from centralized exchanges as key contributors to its downfall, and believes that centralized exchanges are unlikely to meet long-term trends. Meanwhile, other exchanges like Coinbase and OKX are launching campaigns to update or rewrite the crypto system.

Huobi Ordered to Cease Operations in Malaysia

Huobi, a cryptocurrency exchange, has been ordered to stop operating in Malaysia by the Securities Commission (SC) for not registering as a digital asset exchange. Huobi CEO Leon Li was also reprimanded. The SC said Huobi's operation was illegal and directed the exchange to disable its website and mobile application on several platforms. Malaysian investors were advised to withdraw all their assets from the platform and immediately close their accounts.

US President Proposes Stringent Cryptocurrency Tax Measures

At the G7 Forum conference, US President noted proposed budget slashes spending by over $1 trillion and would impose strict tax on cryptocurrency. He refused to agree to Republicans' deals that protect wealthy tax cheats and crypto traders, emphasizing the need to amend rules for crypto assets to follow the same rules as traditional investments. The budget cannot forward without bipartisan agreement.

Las Vegas Resident Charged Over $45 Million CoinDeal Scam

Bryan Lee, a Las Vegas resident, has been charged by the Department of Justice for his involvement in the $45 million CoinDeal scam. Lee is alleged to have worked alongside main culprit Neil Chandran and other parties to defraud over 10,000 investors via one of Chandran's Metaverse-related companies. Lee faces several charges, including one count of conspiracy and two counts of mail fraud, among others.

EOS Network Foundation Considers Legal Action Against Block.one

The founder of the EOS Network Foundation, Yves La Rose, has suggested taking legal action against major investor Block.one (B1) for not investing the $1 billion it promised during the network's initial coin offering in 2018. La Rose claims that as a result of B1's broken promises, the EOS Network is under-capitalised and development has been stunted. EOS tokens dropped by 32% since April 14 and is currently trading at $0.85. B1 has not yet responded to the request for comment.

BlockFi's Chapter 11 Reorganization Plan Withdrawn by Court

Crypto lender BlockFi was ordered by a US court to withdraw its Chapter 11 reorganization plan after it was prematurely released on May 13. The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents BlockFi's creditors, accused the lender of violating law and undermining the bankruptcy process. The plan will be published once it is approved by the court. The deadline for creditors to vote on reorganization plan is July 28, 2023.

Bitcoin Market Faces Uncertainty Amid US Debt Limit Concerns

Bitcoin has been consolidating in a 3.4% range, potentially indicating high volatility soon. As the US debt limit deadlock persists, analysts warn that a potential deal could hurt the cryptocurrency market. The Treasury's cash balance has declined to $68 billion, and if the debt limit is raised, the Treasury will look to build back its cash balance by issuing bonds. This could suck liquidity out of the system, pushing bond yields up and causing assets like bitcoin to fall. However, others warn that a failure to raise the debt limit could lead to panic selling and a global dash for cash. However, Tether's recent decision to allocate up to 15% of its profits into Bitcoin may positively impact its price.

The Open Network Launches $25 Million DeFi Fund

The Open Network (TON) has launched a $25 million fund to invest in projects building on its ecosystem. The TON Accelerator Program will invest between $50,000 to $250,000 per project, focusing on decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and requiring a minimum viable product. TON's architecture can handle millions of transactions per second and has secured a $250 million commitment from major firms for its TONcoin Fund.

BXB Capital to Launch Bitcoin-focused Trading Fund

Crypto trading firm BXB Capital is launching a bitcoin-focused trading fund in July. Co-founders J.J. Petersen and Alex Friedberg aim to raise up to 1,000 BTC ($27 million). The fund is raising capital exclusively in bitcoin and will only trade in bitcoin and provide returns in bitcoin to offer a chance for crypto-native investors to earn bitcoin without getting involved in lending or yield products.

Hong Kong Executive Loses $2M in Crypto Investment Scams

A Hong Kong executive fell victim to a string of crypto investment frauds, losing over HK$16 million (US$2 million) to sophisticated scammers who lured him into setting up an account on a fraudulent app. The incident highlights the growing menace of crypto scams in Hong Kong, with authorities recording a 67% increase in reported incidents in 2021 compared to the previous year. The first quarter of 2021 alone saw a 65.2% surge in cases of deception related to digital currencies.

Buterin Expresses Concerns Over Ethereum Consensus Complexity

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has voiced concerns about overcomplicating the Ethereum consensus mechanism beyond its original design in a new blog post. Buterin was specifically worried about re-staking, a mechanism being developed by Eigen Layer, which broadens the responsibilities of Ethereum validators to include securing external chains. He suggested that such expanded roles or “duties” added to Ethereum’s consensus mechanism could magnify the challenges and risks involved in operating a validator.

STEPN, First Fitness App to Integrate with Apple Pay

STEPN, a fitness app that uses blockchain technology, has announced that it is the first gaming app to integrate with Apple Pay. With this integration, users can now purchase STEPN products and upgrades within the app using Apple Pay without the need for a crypto wallet to facilitate transactions.

Strike Platform Adds Support for Tether's USDT

Strike, a payments platform built on Bitcoin's Lightning Network, has added support for Tether's USDT, the world's largest stablecoin. Users can now convert their digital assets into fiat currency swiftly, overcoming liquidity challenges. Strike plans to expand its app to more markets in the future.

Ordinals Protocol Boosts Litecoin and Dogecoin Transaction Volumes

Ordinals protocol, initially developed for Bitcoin, has now been adopted by Litecoin and Dogecoin networks, leading to a surge in their transaction volumes. On May 18, Dogecoin hit a record of 1.2 million transactions in a single day, while Litecoin reached its highest transaction volume on May 10. The introduction of LTC-20 and DRC-20 token standards further boosted activity on the two networks. Meanwhile, Bitcoin saw a record 400,000 daily Ordinals inscriptions on May 10 due to the introduction of the BRC-20 token standard.

Bitcoin Pizza Day: Celebration of the First BTC Commercial Transaction

Bitcoin Pizza Day marks the first commercial BTC transaction when two pizzas were bought for 10,000 BTC, now worth $266 million. The cost of ingredients for one pizza would total to $39 million today, and Bitcoin has since risen from $0.0041 in May 2010 to over $26,500. Celebrated on May 22, it has grown to be symbolic for cryptocurrencies and is celebrated with several events.

Gala Games and PokerGO Launch Web3 Social Poker Game

Gala Games partnered with PokerGO to launch a new Web3 social poker game called PokerGO Play, which allows users to enhance and upgrade players and redeem real-world prizes. PokerGO Genesis NFT holders will receive beneficial status within the game, special events will be hosted inside the Poker Studio in Las Vegas. Gala Games has previously burned over billion Gala tokens and is currently a $28 million litigation with pNetwork over an infinite minting glitch.

Digital Currency Group Faces Credit Crisis Consequences

Digital Currency Group missed a $630 million payment to its subsidiary Genesis Global Capital, making it one of several victims the credit crisis that has affected the cryptocurrency industry. Gemini is currently working with Genesis and other creditor groups to avoid a default, and has threatened to file a lawsuit against DCG. DCG's Genesis owes Gemini $900 million, and the exchange has filed a motion with the bankruptcy court for a reorganization plan that doesn't require DCG's approval. Gemini also seeks the return of $1.1 billion in crypto for its 232,000 Earn users.

Tornado Cash Attacker Submits Proposal to Revert Damage

Tornado Cash attacker submitted a new proposal to revert the damage they caused after successfully granting themselves 1.2 million TORN tokens and swapping 380,000 for 372 ETH by voting in the malicious proposal. The attacker also submitted another new proposal that would return the TORN tokens they had given themself, but they still hold 820,000 TORN tokens and total control over the DAO. attack highlights the importance of auditing proposals and reviewing code to prevent governance attacks.

Evmos Co-founder Reportedly Selling Off His Tokens

Former Evmos co-founder Ashish Khosla is reportedly selling 500,000 Evmos tokens worth $70,000 on decentralized exchange Osmosis, according to the project's team. Khosla was initially allotted 34 million Evmos tokens worth $4.7 million on a four-year vesting schedule, meaning he continues to receive newly vested tokens. The Evmos token price has fallen over 50% this month, leading to concerns over Khosla's sell-offs.

MicroStrategy Backs Fair-value Accounting for Crypto Assets

MicroStrategy supports a proposal by the Financial Accounting Services Board to use fair-value accounting for crypto held on balance sheets The publicly traded software company holds 140,000 BTC, worth $4 billion, and is the largest public company holder of bitcoin. The firm says the current accounting model is "distorted" and that fair value accounting would provide investors with a "more relevant view" of its financial position. The FASB is accepting feedback on the proposal until June 6.

Top Altcoin Gainers and Losers

Gainers:

Conflux CFX (+5.40%)

TRON TRX (+3.81%)

The Graph GRT (+3.79%)

Losers:

Pepe PEPE (-6.28%)

Bitget Token BGB (-3.49%)

eCash XEC (-3.45%)

NFT Market Map

Another Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) non-fungible token (NFT) owner had their Ape stolen, resulting in a mediator offering to sell the Ape back to the owner, who paid 58 ETH. However, the mediator has a verified Twitter account, which could be used against them if criminal charges are pressed. This highlights the lack of self-custody for investors and the stupidity of some web3 criminals.

This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.

Coin360 Daily Dispatch | Crypto Market Updates & Highlights | May 22, 2023

Crypto Market Update

Table of Contents:

Cryptocurrency Exchange News

Legal and Regulatory Developments

Market and Investment Trends

Crypto Platform and Application News

Noteworthy Crypto Events

Crypto Crisis and Recovery

Accounting Standards in Crypto