OKX to Halt Services in Canada Due to New Regulations
Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has notified its Canadian users that it will no longer provide services or allow new account openings in Canada, starting on March 24, 2023, due to new regulations. Existing Canadian customers must close open positions in options, margins, perpetual, and futures by June 22, 2023, and fiat or tokens must be withdrawn by the same date.
Signature Bank Under Investigation by US Government Bodies
Signature Bank is reportedly under investigation by both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice over concerns that the bank did not take adequate measures to detect potential money laundering by its clients. The bank was closed on March 12 as part of a series of bank closures that also included Silvergate Capital and Silicon Valley Bank.
USDC Holders Panic Sell Amid Solvency Concerns
On March 10, concerns about the solvency of USD Coin (USDC) led several holders to panic sell their holdings and switch to other stablecoins. One user lost over 2 million USDC in a failed attempt to exchange them for Tether (USDT) using KyberSwap's decentralized exchange aggregator. Tron founder Justin Sun reportedly withdrew 82 million USDC and exchanged them for Dai (DAI) using Aave v2, while IOSG Ventures sold 118.73 million USDC for 105.67 million USDT and 2,756 Ether (ETH). The USDC price has since slowly recovered, and Circle, the company behind USDC, disclosed holding $3.3 billion at the Silicon Valley Bank.
Hedera Mainnet Exploited, Leading to Theft of Liquidity Pool Tokens
Hedera Hashgraph has confirmed a smart contract exploit on its mainnet, resulting in the theft of liquidity pool tokens from decentralized exchanges (DEXs) that use code derived from Uniswap v2 on Ethereum. The suspicious activity was detected when the attacker attempted to move the stolen tokens across the Hashport bridge, leading operators to temporarily pause the bridge. The exact amount of tokens stolen is unknown, and the Hedera team is working on a solution to remove the vulnerability.
Judge Considers Dismissing Shaquille ONeal and Naomi Osaka from FTX Lawsuit
A federal judge in Florida is considering dismissing Shaquille O’Neal and Naomi Osaka from the FTX lawsuit due to uncertainty about whether they were served. The judge reprimanded other celebrity defendants for not following proper procedure in requesting a conference extension. A consolidation request by some plaintiffs against FTX was denied, and lawyers for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried noted the possibility of pushing back the criminal trial scheduled for October 2023.
BitMEX Co-Founder Proposes Bitcoin-Backed Stablecoin
Arthur Hayes, the co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX, has proposed creating a new stablecoin called the Satoshi Nakamoto Dollar (NUSD) or NakaDollar. Unlike major reserve-backed U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins, the proposed NakaDollar would be pegged to the sum of $1 worth of Bitcoin and one inverse perpetual swap of BTC against USD, without relying on any USD reserves. The stablecoin's peg to the U.S. dollar would be maintained via mathematical transactions between the new decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) authorized participants and derivatives exchanges.
Federal Judge Refuses to Consolidate Class-Action Lawsuits Against FTX Exchange
A federal judge has denied a request to consolidate five proposed class-action lawsuits against the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The plaintiffs, including Julie Papadakis, Michael Elliott Jessup, Stephen Pierce, Elliott Lam, and Russell Hawkins, accuse former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other executives of misappropriating assets. While all the plaintiffs are pursuing Bankman-Fried, the cases also involve various other defendants, including outside auditors and exchange promoters. The judge pointed out that not all defendants had the opportunity to respond yet, and there's no need to consolidate before hearing their side.
Mt. Gox Creditors Given Extra Month to Register Claims, Distribution Deadline Delayed
The registration deadline for Mt. Gox creditors has been pushed back by another month, allowing creditors to file claims until April 6. The distribution of assets to creditors will now start from Oct. 31 instead of Sept. 30. Mt. Gox creditors have been waiting for years to get compensated for losses incurred because of the exchange hack in 2014. The extension in the deadline means that creditors will have another month to decide whether to take a lower amount now or wait another nine years to get the full amount.
US Crypto Holders Trust Banks and Exchanges for Custody
A recent survey by Paxos revealed that a majority of US crypto holders still trust banks, exchanges, and mobile payment apps for custody of their assets. Despite high-profile collapses and poor risk management practices, crypto owners continue to trust intermediaries for holding crypto assets. The survey also found an increasing desire among consumers to purchase Bitcoin and other digital assets from traditional banks, presenting a significant untapped opportunity for banks to expand their offerings.
South Koreans transacted $4.3 billion through illegal crypto exchanges
In 2022, South Koreans transacted $4.3 billion through illegal crypto exchanges, comprising almost 70% of all illicit money traffic captured by officers. The transactions aimed to purchase foreign virtual assets to sell in the country later due to the South Korean regulatory regime isolating the local market.