SEC vs. Coinbase 👊

In today's edition: 📄 SEC issues a Wells Notice and goes after influencers, 🔺 Avalanche has some issues, 💰 FTX's clawback, and more!

March 23, 2023

From our sponsor

Unchained Daily is brought to you by ICON.

Bringing next-gen interoperability to multiple cross-chain protocols.

What are ICON's BTP and xCall service?

On the Pod…

What’s Poppin’?

by Samyuktha Sriram

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has informed Coinbase about its intent to bring an enforcement action against the crypto exchange.

FTX has entered an agreement to claw back 99% of the value of assets held at Modulo Capital, a firm funded by Sam Bankman-Fried.

MetaMask Institutional has developed an ETH staking marketplace for institutions in partnership with Allnodes, Blockdaemon and Kiln.

Avalanche developers issued an emergency fix after a bug tied to a network update triggered nodes to fail.

Daily Bits…✍️✍️✍️

  • The SEC charged Tron founder Justin Sun for the unregistered offer and sale of “crypto-asset securities” and also charged eight celebrities including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and Soulja Boy for violating federal securities laws. 

  • Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill, cosponsored by Senators Mike Braun and Charles Grassley, that seeks to prevent the Federal Reserve from creating a consumer-based central bank digital currency (CBDC).

  • Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden expressed disappointment with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board for failing to hold auditors accountable for conducting "sham" crypto audits, citing potential threats to the integrity of the auditing system and public perception of safety and financial stability of crypto firms.

  • Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire confirmed that a Twitter thread from Circle’s chief strategy officer and global head of policy promising USDC holders a one-time bonus in the form of an airdrop was fake since his account was hacked.

  • Kraken will suspend ACH deposits and withdrawals from March 27, as it searches for a new banking partner following the collapse of Silvergate.

  • Nigerians are turning to the central bank digital currency, eNaira, due to cash shortages caused by the replacement of old naira notes with new ones, with the number of eNaira wallets jumping more than 12-fold to 13 million since October.

  • French National Assembly lawmakers voted to ban influencers from promoting crypto assets without regulatory approval. Since no company currently holds the Financial Monetary Authority license, it is illegal for influencers to endorse any digital asset, with violators facing a fine of €30,000 ($32,000) and up to two years in prison.

Today in Crypto Adoption...

  • Telegram users can now send tether (USDT) to each other through the messaging app's @wallet bot.

  • Unstoppable Domains launched Unstoppable Messaging, a new platform allowing Polygon-based domain holders to send encrypted messages to each other, with the aim of building and curating communities in the Web3 space while ensuring privacy for sensitive discussions.

The $$$ Corner…

  • Bitget exchange acquired a controlling stake in crypto wallet BitKeep with a $30 million investment at a $300 million valuation.

  • LiquidStack, an immersion cooling technology firm, raised an undisclosed amount in a Series B funding round from Trane Technologies to scale up its manufacturing, research and development, and commercial operations.

What Do You Meme?

Advertise With Unchained 📡

Unlock the potential of your brand by reaching an engaged and targeted audience. By partnering with us, you'll gain exposure to thousands of loyal readers and listeners and enhance your brand's visibility.

📈 Your Market Update 📉

  • BTC is down 1.45%, trading at $27,916

  • ETH is down 1.66%, trading at $1,802

  • BTC dominance: 45.9%

  • Crypto market cap: $1.18 trillion

*All data as of today, 6 am ET

Recommended Reads

  1. Maven11 Research on Modular MEV:

  2. Auri on the ARB airdrop:

  3. Balaji on the Fed’s policy:

⛓️ 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: