Blue Chip Collaterals ✅, Binance Lawsuit ⚖️, Apple’s Vision Pro headset 🎧
Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-06-06
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Crypto sentiment index dips back to March ‘fear’ levels amid Binance lawsuit (2 min read)
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a tool that measures broader market sentiment towards Bitcoin and the broader crypto market, has dipped to a level of “fear” not witnessed since March 11 this year, when Circle’s USD coin briefly lost its dollar peg.
The stumble in market sentiment on June 5 comes in the wake of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing a lawsuit against Binance, its U.S. arm of operations, and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.
Blue chip collaterals help stabilize NFT lending: Paraspace (3 min read)
According to a recent report published by nonfungible token (NFT) money market protocol Paraspace and multichain wallet BitKeep, the current amount of NFT borrowing and lending, or NFTFi loans, has surpassed $430 million across 43,521 borrowers. The highest proportion of collateral comprised the most popular NFT collections, such as Wrapped CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
Binance net outflows hit $778M on Ethereum since SEC charges: Nansen (1 min read)
SEC sued Binance for breaking securities laws. This affected Binance's financial situation and the crypto market.
Binance had a net outflow of $778 million on the Ethereum blockchain, while $871 million went into Binance and $1.6 billion came out of the exchange.
Binance lawsuit: 61 cryptocurrencies are now seen as securities by the SEC (5 min read)
The US securities regulator has accused around 61 cryptocurrencies of being "security", including some from their lawsuit against the Binance crypto exchange.
The SEC has identified 61 cryptocurrencies as securities after years of legal action.
WEB 3
Apple’s Vision Pro headset reveal swaps metaverse for ‘spatial computing’ (3 min read)
Apple’s newly revealed mixed-reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, has both turned tech-enthusiast heads and raised eyebrows after it’s unveiling at the WWDC on June 5.
There was, however, one glaring omission from the launch, a single mention of the word “metaverse.”
The tech company appears to have taken deliberate steps to call its technology the first “spatial computer.” It will be launched in the U.S. in early 2024, for a hefty retail price of $3,499 and will roll out to other countries shortly after.
Ex-NFL team owner Reggie Fowler gets 6 years for crypto ‘shadow banking’ (3 min read)
Reginald Fowler, a former NFL team owner, has been sentenced to six years in prison for operating as a “shadow bank” in the crypto sector, which involved over $700 million in unregulated transactions over a 10-month time span in 2018.
The 63-year-old, who was a co-owner of the Minnesota Vikings, was sentenced to a total of 75 months on bank fraud and money laundering charges, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office in New York on June 5.
NFTs
GameStop NFT back in the spotlight after partnership with Illuvium (2 min read)
On June 5, Ethereum blockchain game developer Illuvium announced a partnership with video game and consumer merchandise retailer GameStop to debut a 20,000 nonfungible token (NFT) collection starting June 12.
According to developers, the “Illuvitars” NFTs are “dynamic collectible works of art, representing a specific avatar of an Illuvial with a distinct expression. Each Illuvitar carries a power rating, determined by its rarity, which helps you climb the leaderboard."
BUSINESS
Tether invests in El Salvador’s $1B renewable energy project (2 min read)
Stablecoin issuer Tether has announced that it will be partnering with Bitcoin-friendly nation El Salvador to invest in a planned $1 billion renewable energy initiative.
The Central American country continues efforts to drive Bitcoin adoption after becoming the first nation to make BTC legal tender some three years ago. There's a new area in Metapán that uses solar and wind energy to mine Bitcoin.
Cboe Digital receives nod for margin trades on its crypto futures exchange (3 min read)
Cboe Digital, a major options exchange in the United States, has had its application to offer margined futures contracts for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) approved by the United States commodities regulator.
While Cboe has offered crypto futures contracts since December 2017, margin trades were not available to users. With the new approval, users will be able to trade Bitcoin and Ether futures for a fraction of what they initially had to put upfront.
QUICK LINKS
Kraken experiencing gateway issues, withdrawals, deposits delayed (1 min read)
Major crypto exchange Kraken is investigating an issue with crypto funding gateways, including BTC, ETH, and ERC-20, with users experiencing delays in deposits and withdrawals.
SEC complaint hints at why Brian Brooks resigned as Binance.US CEO (3 min read)
New details revealed in the SEC complaint could explain why Brian Brooks abruptly stepped down as CEO of Binance.US in 2021, a crypto lawyer suggests.
SEC sues Coinbase for breaking US securities rules (1 min read)
The SEC lawsuit alleges that Coinbase operates as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Binance vs. SEC: Crypto industry debates ‘Tai Chi’ vs. ‘Operation Chokepoint 2.0’ (5 min read)
The SEC lawsuit comes just months after the CFTC lawsuit against Binance, mounting its regulatory woes in the United States.
US lawmakers blame crypto firms for ‘tax gap’ in letter to Treasury (2 min read)
In a letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, two members of Congress raised concerns about the tax compliance practices in crypto.
Coinbase, Robinhood, CFTC to testify in Congress over draft crypto bill (4 min read)
Coinbase Chief Legal Office Paul Grewal reiterated that the “U.S. is falling behind” and is at risk of driving jobs, innovation, and investment overseas.