Ledger integrates U.S. PayPal 🇺🇸, Sei token worth $1.8B 💰, Donald Trump’s wallet holds $2.8M 💯
Daily Crypto, Blockchain & Web3 Update 2023-08-16
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Ledger announces U.S. PayPal integration, lets users buy crypto from within app (2 min read)
Hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has integrated its Ledger Live software with PayPal, according to an Aug. 16 joint announcement by the two companies. The integration allows U.S. residents with verified PayPal accounts to buy Bitcoin, Ether, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin directly through Ledger Live with no extra verification, the announcement stated.
CertiK drops findings on alleged scammer who stole $1M in crypto (3 min read)
Potential evidence linking an anonymous scammer to a Canadian group was highlighted by blockchain security firm CertiK in a report sent to Cointelegraph; however, the company has so far failed to confirm the name or identity of the perpetrator(s).
3AC founders fined by Dubai regulator over OPNX exchange (2 min read)
The founders of Three Arrows Capital, Kyle Davies and Su Zhu, are being fined by Dubai's crypto regulator for their involvement with the OPNX exchange.
Sei token valued at $1.8B after beta launch, exchange listings (2 min read)
On Aug. 15, major exchanges such as Binance, Bybit and Bitget jointly listed the network’s native Sei (SEI) token. On Binance, the token opened at $0.064 a piece before surging as high as $0.48. It was trading at $0.18 at the time of publication. The total supply is 10 billion SEI, and the initial supply is 1.8 billion SEI.
Uzbekistan permits two banks to issue crypto cards (1 min read)
Two private banks in Uzbekistan — Kapital Bank and Ravnaq Bank — acquired approval from the National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP) to participate in the digital sandbox of crypto regulation. The banks will issue plastic crypto cards powered by Mastercard.
BUSINESS
PayPal UK to halt Bitcoin purchases until early 2024 (2 min read)
Cryptocurrency-friendly payments platform PayPal is making some crypto adjustments on its platform in the United Kingdom to comply with local financial regulations.
PayPal's customers with crypto can keep it on the platform and sell it at any time at no charge.
BitGo raises $100M after losing lawsuit against Galaxy (2 min read)
Cryptocurrency custody platform BitGo has raised fresh capital after facing a series of terminated deals involving firms such as Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.
BitGo raised $100 million in Series C funding, increasing its valuation to $1.75 billion.
ZetaChain raises $27M in equity round to enable chain-agnostic interoperability (2 min read)
Layer-1 network ZetaChain has secured $27 million to support its chain-agnostic platform, according to an announcement on Aug. 16. Investors in the round: Blockchain.com, Human Capital, VY Capital, Sky9 Capital, Jane Street Capital, VistaLabs, CMT Digital, Foundation Capital, Lingfeng Capital, GSR, Kudasai, and Krust.
Abu Dhabi grants virtual asset firm M2 permission to offer crypto services (3 min read)
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has granted financial services permission to virtual asset firm M2 to operate a multilateral trading facility from the United Arab Emirates capital.
QUICK LINKS
Donald Trump’s Ethereum wallet holds $2.8M, new statement shows (2 min read)
A new financial statement has revealed former United States President Donald Trump owns over $2.8 million in an Ethereum wallet.
Trump is bidding to return to the White House in the upcoming 2024 election following his loss to current President Joe Biden in 2020.
FBI seizes almost $2M of crypto assets in three months (2 min read)
The FBI seized about $1.7 million worth of digital assets from March to May, according to a public filing released by the agency.
Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador sees bond returns soar to 70% in 2023 (3 min read)
El Salvador made Bitcoin legal and saw a 70% return on its dollar bond in 2023, outperforming most emerging markets.
The massive rally in the bond has now drawn interest from several institutional giants, including JP Morgan, Eaton Vance, and PGIM Fixed, prompting President Nayib Bukele to say, “I told you so.”
$26M ETH bridged: ConsenSys completes public launch of zkEVM Linea (2 min read)
ConsenSys has launched Linea, an Ethereum scaling roll-up. Over 150 partners have joined, and more than $26 million in Ether have been bridged so far.
SEC v. Ripple: Judge greenlights investment banker declarant’s entry (2 min read)
In the most recent update in the legal proceedings of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission against Ripple Labs, Judge Analisa Torres has granted permission for an investment banker declaring to make an appearance.
OpenAI says ChatGPT-4 cuts content moderation time from months to hours (2 min read)
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, supports using artificial intelligence (AI) for content moderation. They believe AI can make social media platforms more efficient by speeding up difficult tasks.
Stellar dips into treasury to buy minority stake in MoneyGram (2 min read)
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) has become a minority investor in payments provider MoneyGram International.
Stellar Development Foundation CEO announced new investment in MoneyGram.