FTX's Ryan Salame Pleads Guilty? 😲

In today's edition: 🕒 Novogratz's big prediction, 🏊 U.S. Federal Reserve dives into crypto, 💰 DAI Savings Rate, and more!

August 09, 2023

Dive into Overtime, explore your onchain web3 sportsbook. 40+ leagues. Token rewards. Smart contract security. Join thousands and get in the game today.

What’s Poppin’?

by Samyuktha Sriram

The former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets is reportedly in talks with U.S. prosecutors to enter a guilty plea.

The Galaxy Digital CEO believes that the window of approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF is four to six months.

The U.S. central bank defined how it plans to oversee banks that are engaged with firms involved with crypto asset and blockchain-related activities.

The proposed changes would be to ensure the Enhanced DAI Savings Rate benefits regular DAI users as opposed to ETH whales.

On the Pod…

Show highlights:

  • why Worldcoin believes in the idea of a universal basic income (UBI)

  • Alex’s comments on the rise of a black market for World IDs

  • whether Worldcoin is storing people’s biometric data

  • how people don’t really understand the nuances of getting their irises scanned and why it’s fine that the “average person will not understand how crypto works,” according to Alex

  • what the purpose of the WLD token is and why the project decided to launch the token with a low float

  • why Alex believes that Worldcoin will become a “very powerful technology” that will be the main project for onboarding people to crypto

Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️

  • ⚖️ The Department of Justice affirmed that Sam Bankman-Fried will still face a campaign finance-related charge as part of his ongoing money laundering case.

  • 🔄 The UK Treasury updated its regulatory proposals for systemic stablecoins, outlining a co-supervision arrangement led by the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority.

  • 💱 Anchorage Digital and Bitmain are set to acquire equity in the bankrupt crypto mining firm Core Scientific as part of its reorganization plan.

  • 💰 JPMorgan suggests that the launch of PayPal's stablecoin could enhance Ethereum's utility as a stablecoin/DeFi platform, potentially filling the void left by Binance's BUSD.

  • 🔗 Uniswap was integrated into Coinbase's Layer 2 network Base, recording over 11,700 transactions and about $3.65 million in trading volume.

  • 💵 Coinbase plans to repurchase up to $150 million of its $1 billion bonds set to mature in 2031, with Citigroup Global Markets managing the offer.

  • 🤝 Paxos, the issuer of PayPal's new stablecoin PYUSD, is exploring additional 'white label' stablecoin opportunities beyond its partnership with PayPal.

  • 🔍 Bavaria's Data Protection Authority had not finished assessing Worldcoin when the project launched on July 24, though the company was not legally obliged to await approval.

  • 📊 Ethereum experienced its highest illicit flows of the year last week, with nearly 2% of total flows being known illicit transactions between July 30 and August 5.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • 📜 Binance obtained two licenses in El Salvador, becoming the "first fully licensed" crypto exchange in the country, allowing it to offer tailor-made products and services.

  • 🔗 Circle introduced a new programmable Web3 wallet for businesses, aiming to simplify crypto payments and bridge traditional payment systems with the digital-asset economy.

The $$$ Corner…

  • 💼🔐 Crypto infrastructure startup Puffer garnered $5.5 million in a funding round backed by Brevan Howard Digital, aiming to address challenges faced by solo validators in Ethereum's proof-of-stake network.

  • 🎨 Generative art platform fxhash secured $5 million in seed funding led by 1kx, with plans to expand its team and integrate Ethereum minting in a major platform upgrade.

  • 📈 L1 Digital, a backer of Multicoin, raised $152 million for its second crypto venture capital fund, with a focus on investing in crypto startups and early-stage crypto-focused investment firms during bear markets.

What Do You Meme?

Learn 🤓

Bitcoin whales can significantly impact the price of bitcoin when they decide to buy or sell BTC in large quantities.

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is up 1.9%, trading at $29,795

  • ETH is up 1.6%, trading at $1,861

  • BTC dominance: 47.06%

  • Crypto market cap: $1.23 trillion

*All data as of today, 6:50 am ET

Recommended Reads

ICYMI: On Unchained Premium 💎

⛓️ Join Unchained Premium to get access to:

  • 🎙️ Behind-the-scenes interviews, in which I talk with crypto experts and entrepreneurs to learn all about the latest developments in the industry.

  • 💬 A subscriber-only Telegram group, where you can talk with the other members of the Unchained community, build a network in crypto, and talk directly with me and the Unchained team!

  • 📰 Transcripts of all the shows, for subscribers only.

If You Like What You Read: