Did an FTX Cofounder Really Say That? 😯

In today's edition: 📜 Lawmakers shaping the crypto future, 🚨 THORSwap in maintenance, ✈️ SBF's jets, and more!

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👨‍⚖️ Sam Bankman Fried’s Trial Coverage

The blockbuster trial of Sam Bankman-Fried wrapped up its third day, with multiple witnesses, including former FTX software developer Adam Yedidia, Paradigm cofounder Matt Huang, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang, taking the witness stand.

Josh Klayman, senior counsel, U.S. head of FinTech, and head of blockchain & digital assets at Linklaters, discusses the main takeaways from the trial so far, the surprising testimonies given by former close associates of SBF, and how the prosecution and defense plan to paint a picture of who SBF is to the jury.

Reporting from inside Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial: Former FTX software developer Adam Yedidia, Paradigm cofounder Matt Huang, and FTX cofounder Gary Wang took the witness stand.

Listen to this 5-minute podcast!

What’s Poppin’?

by Kollen Post, Brandy Betz and Samyuktha Sriram

U.S. lawmakers have been hesitant to act on crypto, though several key lawmakers are pushing for change.

The decentralized exchange said it would temporarily transition to maintenance mode to address the movement of illicit funds on the platform.

Prosecutors are seeking to recover assets from the former CEO of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, who went on trial Wednesday.

Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️

  • 🔍 Former FTX executive Zane Tackett revealed the exchange's poor accounting practices, including overlooking millions of dollars in airdrops.

  • 🌍 Under the Basel Committee's new proposal, banks would be required to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings to address potential risks from the sector's rapid growth.

  • 👥 Ledger, a crypto hardware wallet developer, laid off 12% of its workforce, citing macroeconomic challenges affecting revenue.

  • 📈 Martin Bednall, former BlackRock MD, predicts the SEC will likely approve all spot Bitcoin ETF applications simultaneously, avoiding first-mover advantages.

  • 🌋 Volcano Energy and Luxor Technology launched El Salvador's first Bitcoin mining pool, "Lava Pool," leveraging the country's geothermal energy.

  • 🔒 Stars Arena, an Avalanche-based social protocol, faced a vulnerability that could have allowed users to drain Avax coins; the issue has since been resolved.

  • 🔄 Sui Foundation reallocated 117 million of its native tokens ($51 million) to various channels.

  • 🔗 Elliptic reported that $7 billion in high-risk or illicit funds have been laundered through decentralized exchanges, coin swaps, and bridges, exceeding its initial estimate.

  • 🍀 A trader on Taiwan's MaiCoin Max crypto exchange won $310,000 from a tax-receipt lottery.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • 🍄 Blockticity uses Avalanche blockchain to mint NFTs certifying the authenticity of $275 million worth of psychedelic mushrooms, hemp, and kratom.

The $$$ Corner…

  • 🌱 Tribe Capital achieved a $16.3 million initial close for their crypto fund, targeting seed-stage projects to enhance developer capabilities in the crypto realm.

  • 📱 Web3 social platform Phaver secured $7 million in seed funding from investors including Polygon Ventures and Nomad Capital.

What Do You Meme?

Recommended Reads

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is down .7%, trading at $27,717

  • ETH is down .3%, trading at $1,633

  • BTC dominance: 47.93%

  • Crypto market cap: $1.13T

*All data as of today, 7:50 am ET

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