Singapore, Singapore, February 6th, 2024, Chainwire
Lista DAO, a key player in Decentralized Finance (DeFi) with a specialization in Collateralized Debt Position (CDP) and Liquid Staking, is set to captivate the cryptocurrency community through the unveiling of its Cosmic Adventure Challenge (CAC) and the introduction of lisBNB.
The CAC promises an immersive and rewarding experience, providing participants with the opportunity to earn stardust and secure a share of the highly anticipated LISTA airdrop. Simultaneously, lisBNB, a tokenized version of staked BNB, is positioned to revolutionize DeFi strategies within the Lista DAO ecosystem.
Cosmic Adventure Challenge (CAC) Overview
The CAC, Lista’s flagship point system campaign, commences on February 5th, 2024, participating in the recent trend of gamified DeFi engagement. Challengers, participants in this campaign, can embark on quests across the BNB Smart Chain, completing tasks such as providing Total Value Locked (TVL) on Lista, borrowing lisUSD on Lista, and participating in liquidity provision and trading volume generation. Season 1 runs from February 5th, 00:00 UTC+0, to February 29th, 23:59 UTC+0, with Lista confirming a 2% airdrop allocation of the LISTA token for CAC participants.
Engaging in both Season 1 and Season 2 offers participants loyalty rewards in the form of bonus stardust. Stardust, earned through completing quests, contributes to rankings and percentiles, determining the LISTA airdrop allocation for each challenger.
Dashboards on Lista’s Dapp provide daily stardust tracking, ensuring transparency and competitiveness. Loyalty incentives encourage early participation, enabling users to carry over stardust from Season 1 to Season 2. The much-anticipated Lista airdrop allocation, following a USD 10 Million Binance Labs investment in August 2023, is poised for high success.
Strategic Decisions
Concurrently with the CAC launch, Lista DAO announces the postponement of its Ethereum Mainnet launch. This strategic decision prioritizes the successful CAC campaign rollout and meticulous rebranding slated for February 5th. The pause in transitioning to Liquity’s codebase underscores Lista DAO’s commitment to building a robust foundation for the eventual expansion to the Ethereum Mainnet.
More details of this announcement can be found here.
Introduction of lisBNB
Lista DAO introduces lisBNB, a stablecoin loosely pegged to BNB, offering stability within the ecosystem. While not yield-bearing, lisBNB enhances the capital efficiency of ListaDAO’s DeFi strategies. The launch date for lisBNB will be communicated through social media channels.
Quotes
Lista DAO’s marketing team emphasized, “The Cosmic Adventure Challenge marks a pivotal moment for Lista DAO, aligning with our commitment to innovation and user-centric DeFi solutions. We invite the crypto community to join us on this exciting journey.”
Users can follow Lista DAO on Twitter and Telegram for real-time updates and announcements.
About Lista DAO
Lista DAO is a leading CDP stablecoin and LSDfi provider, dedicated to simplifying and revolutionizing the DeFi space. With a focus on accessibility, innovation, and user-centric solutions, Lista DAO aims to make DeFi easier for everyone.
For more information, visit the Lista DAO Website.
Note: Lista DAO reserves the right to modify terms and conditions of the CAC without prior notice.
Contact
Marketing Lead
Adelia Su
Lista
[email protected]
Artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen find themselves in a legal quagmire as their counterclaims against Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) creator Yuga Labs have been dismissed by the court.
The unfavorable order handed down requires the pair to pay a hefty sum of $9 million in disgorgement and other statutory damages.
The legal battle stems from their actions in May 2022 when Ripps and Cahen unveiled the Ryder Ripps BAYC (RR/BAYC) collection, which bore striking resemblance to the renowned BAYC brand.
In April 2023, a judge ruled in favor of Yuga Labs, asserting that Ripps and Cahen had violated copyright laws by creating unauthorized versions of BAYC nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
This initial ruling compelled the duo to pay $1.57 million in damages to Yuga Labs, in addition to covering the legal fees, seemingly concluding the lawsuit.
However, the latest court filing on February 2nd brought a new twist to the legal saga.
Ripps and Cahen’s counterclaims against the charges were dismissed, and they were now slapped with a staggering $9 million penalty, encompassing lawyer fees, expert witness fees, and disgorgement.
The court further mandated them to dispose of any RR/BAYC NFTs they possessed, either by destroying (“burning”) them or providing them to Yuga Labs for disposal.
In response to the unfavorable ruling, Cahen, known as Pauly to his 174,100 followers on X, announced their intention to appeal the decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of California.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Stumbles as Strong U.S. Job Data Sparks Rate Hike Fears
Ripps and Cahen had initially filed counterclaims against Yuga Labs, accusing them of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and seeking a declaratory judgment of no defamation.
However, the judge ruled against Yuga Labs’ first and third causes of action, which alleged false designation of origin and cybersquatting (the practice of buying domain names to profit from a trademark), while imposing the substantial multimillion-dollar penalty.
Additionally, the court ordered Ripps and Cahen to surrender all social media accounts associated with RR/BAYC NFTs and the smart contract used in their creation.
The filing emphasized the need for them to destroy any infringing materials, including NFTs, articles, documents, software, promotional items, or advertisements linked to the BAYC Mark, under their possession or control.
As the legal battle continues, the artists find themselves facing not only a significant financial burden but also the prospect of relinquishing their creations in the NFT world.
London, United Kingdom, February 5th, 2024, Chainwire
Reunit Wallet, an omnichain wallet built on technology developed by LayerZero & Stargate Finance, is launching a volume-based reward program.
In an effort to stimulate trading activity on its integrated platform and attract new users, Reunit Wallet is implementing a reward system for traders.
Starting now, for every $100 in generated volume, users will receive 1 REUNI. Additionally, if a referral code is used, a 25% bonus will be applied.
Users who share their referral code will also enjoy a 25% bonus on the rewards generated by the traders they’ve referred.
Furthermore, Reunit Wallet has plans to soon introduce a staking feature for REUNI tokens. Participants in the staking program will receive 50% of the fees generated from transactions made through Reunit Wallet.
Useful links
- Website : https://everywhere.finance
- Twitter / X : https://twitter.com/EverywhereFi
About Reunit Wallet :
Created by a former core-team member of Sushiswap (2020-2022), Reunit Wallet is the first natively omnichain wallet that enables seamless batch transfers across multiple blockchains with a single click. It also offers an integrated trading terminal supporting limit and market orders, providing a comprehensive and seamless trading experience.
Security is a paramount priority for Reunit Wallet, which is why the wallet conducts a comprehensive simulation of each transaction and signature, allowing the user to anticipate the outcomes of their transaction, including token transfer confirmations or the granting of necessary permissions.
Contact
CEO
B.Naïm
[email protected]
Former United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official, John Reed Stark, has raised concerns about the FTX restructuring plan, suggesting that it may serve as an opportunity for the exchange’s legal team to profit from the bankruptcy process.
Stark took to a social media platform to express his skepticism, humorously suggesting that all FTX customers should receive a sarcastic “Thank You” note from the exchange’s defunct legal team for the substantial profits they have reportedly made during the bankruptcy proceedings.
He even quipped that each member of the legal team might soon be able to afford a new beach house in 2024.
During a January 31st hearing held in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, FTX’s lawyer, Andy Dietderich of Sullivan & Cromwell, clarified that despite extensive efforts, there were no intentions to relaunch FTX under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy framework, known as FTX 2.0.
Stark had previously expressed doubts about the success of the Chapter 11 FTX reorganization plan, comparing the challenge of restructuring FTX to trying to reorganize a combination of notorious entities such as “Murder Incorporated, The Cali Drug Cartel, and Madoff Investment Advisory Services.”
Legal fees and expenses incurred during the bankruptcy proceedings have drawn attention. Lawyers and the restructuring team managing FTX billed over $200 million between November 2022 and June 2023.
These fees were reviewed and deemed reasonable by the court-appointed fee examiner, Katherine Stadler, who described them as “not wholly unreasonable at the moment” in a report filed on June 20, 2023.
READ MORE: European Union Achieves Landmark Approval of AI Regulation with EU’s AI Act
However, during the quarter ending October 31, 2023, FTX incurred substantial costs, spending approximately $53,000 per hour on legal and advisory fees, according to recent compensation filings.
Documents from December 5 to December 16, 2023, revealed that the bankruptcy legal team billed at least $118.1 million from August 1 to October 31, 2023, averaging $1.3 million per day or $53,300 per hour over the 92-day period.
In a further development, on February 1, FTX submitted a request in a Delaware court to sell its $175 million claim against the bankrupt Genesis Global Capital, with Alameda Research owning the claim.
If approved, FTX would have the flexibility to sell the claim in its entirety or in parts, allowing for optimal timing based on market conditions.
FTX’s troubles began in November 2022 when irregularities were uncovered in its accounts, ultimately leading to its collapse.
Genesis Global Capital had $175 million tied up in FTX accounts at the time, but it asserted that these funds did not impact its market-making activities.
Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, February 5th, 2024, Chainwire
After Sui’s TVL surged more than 1500% over the last five months of 2023, its TVL has more than doubled since the start of 2024
Sui, one of the fastest-growing Layer 1 blockchains, continued its impressive DeFi growth, surpassing $500M in Total Value Locked (TVL) and solidifying itself in the top 10 of DeFi ecosystems.
Alongside this torrid ascent of TVL, on-chain activity has exploded as well. Weekly DeFi volume is up 63 percent over the previous period, standing at $745M and placing it in the top 5 most active ecosystems in the past week. Sui’s continued climb demonstrates how its underlying technology is vital in empowering developers to create products that solve real-world challenges and the drive behind top projects expanding into its ecosystem.
Over the past couple of weeks, Sui has announced several partnerships and expansions with industry-leading builders. Most recently, Sui announced that Ondo Finance—the third-largest organization in the real-world asset DeFi sector—is bringing its treasury-backed tokens, tokenized securities, and real-world assets into its ecosystem, as the Sui ecosystem is set to get its first native stablecoin.
Sui also recently announced that Banxa, a leading payments infrastructure provider for the crypto-compatible economy, will add the SUI token to its platform. Also recently announced, a partnership with Oracle Stork provides builders with faster pricing data, offering real-time pricing data across Sui’s ecosystem of developers, DEXs, and lending protocols building on Sui’s blockchain.
“The fact that Sui now stands amongst the top ecosystems in crypto is a testament to Sui’s technology being able to attract top-tier developers and leading projects,” said Greg Siourounis, Managing Director of the Sui Foundation. “The recent partnership and expansion announcements, along with the surging metrics, point to Sui having true staying power. Sui is paving the way for widespread adoption and offers endless possibilities for innovation.”
Sui’s object-centric model, horizontal scalability, and Move Language position it to host the most scalable solutions that have emerged from the blockchain industry to date. Its rapidly rising TVL results from multiple Sui-based protocols and applications leveraging Sui’s strengths.
Sui also saw two ecosystem protocols break $100M TVL for the first time in the network’s history. Navi Protocol now stands at over $114M TVL (up 184% over the last 30 days), while Scallop Lend has surged to over $116M TVL (up 258% over the last 30 days). Cetus ($72M), Aftermath Finance ($58M), and FlowX Finance ($49M) round out the top five projects as measured by TVL.
Contact
Sui Foundation
[email protected]
According to a recent analysis by DecenTrader, Bitcoin is expected to reach new all-time highs in 2024, but not without some challenges along the way.
The analysis, released on February 2nd, suggests that Bitcoin’s price behavior will follow a typical pattern during a “halving year.”
DecenTrader predicts that Bitcoin will experience about a month of sideways price movement before the market reacts to the upcoming block subsidy halving.
CEO and co-founder Filbfilb explains that investors should anticipate a surge in buying activity approximately two months before the halving, which is currently estimated to occur on April 18.
However, following this buying surge, there may be another “sell the news event,” similar to what happened when spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were launched in January.
Filbfilb points out that there are roughly 75 days remaining until the Bitcoin halving, suggesting that buying interest is likely to start no later than six weeks before the event, or around the second week of March.
This anticipation among speculators could drive Bitcoin’s price to its current two-year high of $49,000 before a sell-off resembling the ETF launch occurs.
Nevertheless, the path ahead appears promising, as price discovery is expected to happen before the end of 2024, similar to the outcome of Bitcoin’s last halving year in 2020.
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Filbfilb advises investors to be aware that Bitcoin tends to front-run the “sell-the-news” phenomenon associated with halving events.
Despite the optimism surrounding Bitcoin’s potential for a new all-time high, the first quarter of 2024 may be challenging for traders.
In addition to Bitcoin-specific factors, macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties could contribute to wider risk-asset turbulence.
Concerns include the weakness of the United States banking system, which former BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes expects to come to a head in March.
Some analysts even believe that Bitcoin may not reach a new all-time high until the end of 2025.
Filbfilb remains cautious and warns against excessive optimism, emphasizing that previous market cycles in Bitcoin have followed a consistent pattern driven by investor emotions.
As Bitcoin traded just under $43,000 into the February 4th weekly close, the cryptocurrency market’s trajectory remains uncertain, with various factors influencing its future performance.
Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has made a request to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, seeking approval to liquidate its entire ownership in the artificial intelligence (AI) company, Anthropic.
This move follows a series of financial troubles that have plagued FTX in recent times, leading to the bankruptcy filing.
The ownership stake in Anthropic, consisting of Series B preferred stock and associated rights or interests, was originally held by Alameda Research, a sister company of FTX.
It was revealed that Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s former CEO, had invested approximately $530 in Anthropic back in April 2022.
This investment was notably sourced from customer deposits on FTX, a fact disclosed during Bankman-Fried’s legal trial in October 2023.
At the time of Anthropic’s Series B funding round closure in April 2022, Alameda Research held a substantial 13.56% ownership stake.
However, subsequent funding rounds diluted their participation, leaving them with a reduced stake of 7.84% as of January.
READ MORE: Crypto Trading Course Instructor Faces SEC Charges for $1.2 Million Hedge Fund Deception
Remarkably, Anthropic’s valuation had surged to $18 billion by December 2023, making Alameda’s remaining stake worth an estimated $1.4 billion.
FTX is also pursuing an expedited review process for its sale motion, aiming for a resolution during the upcoming bankruptcy court meeting scheduled for February 22.
This flexibility in the sale timeline is seen as a means to capitalize on potential demand for Anthropic’s equity securities, which may arise from future financing rounds.
This divestment from Anthropic is a crucial part of FTX’s efforts under new management to recover funds and fulfill its commitments to customers and creditors.
The exchange’s legal representative, Andy Dietderich, affirmed that FTX possesses the potential to fully reimburse its users and creditors, eliminating the need for plans to relaunch the exchange.
In a related development, FTX filed a similar motion on February 1, seeking approval to sell a $175 million claim against the bankrupt digital financial services firm, Genesis Global Capital.
These strategic moves underscore FTX’s determination to resolve its financial predicament and meet its obligations in an efficient manner.
The adoption of Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is facing delays due to meticulous due diligence processes conducted by major trading platforms.
LPL Financial Holdings, one of the United States’ largest independent broker-dealers, is currently scrutinizing the recently approved Bitcoin ETFs.
This evaluation aims to determine their suitability for approximately 19,000 independent financial advisers overseeing assets worth $1.4 trillion.
Rob Pettman, Vice President of Wealth Management Solutions at LPL Financial, explained, “We just want to see how they work in the markets.”
Due diligence involves a thorough analysis to understand risks, opportunities, and the authenticity of investments before allocating resources.
LPL Financial intends to complete its due diligence on Bitcoin ETFs within three months.
They are particularly concerned about the possibility of ETFs being shut down if they fail to accumulate significant assets.
Pettman emphasized the negative impact this could have on investors, financial advisers, and the operational costs incurred by firms like LPL.
Bloomberg data reveals that in 2023, 253 ETFs, including cryptocurrency-related ones like VanEck Digital Assets Mining ETF and Volt Crypto Industry Revolution, closed down with average assets of $34 million.
James Seyffart, Bloomberg’s ETF analyst, believes that the widespread adoption of Bitcoin ETFs might be slower than anticipated.
He predicted during a private webinar with CryptoQuant in January that ETFs could attract $10 billion in inflows within their first year.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Stumbles as Strong U.S. Job Data Sparks Rate Hike Fears
Seyffart explained that large institutions and platforms have approved lists, limiting their investment options.
He added, “I do not think we’re going to get over $100 billion in the first year or two. To put it in perspective, gold ETFs have about $100 billion in the U.S. in total.”
As of January 31, all the Bitcoin ETFs approved the previous month collectively held 656,421 BTC, reflecting a 3% increase from the initial total of 637,610 BTC, valued at nearly $27 billion at current prices.
The ETFs’ performances were affected by outflows from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which sold 132,195 Bitcoin following its transition from an over-the-counter product to a listed ETF.
LPL’s Pettman summed up the situation, stating, “Time is going to tell on the investment thesis, and that’s essentially what we’re monitoring at the moment.”
The cautious approach by platforms like LPL Financial highlights the need for thorough evaluation before embracing the Bitcoin ETFs in the market.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed charges against two senior staff members from the Patterson Joint Unified School District.
They are accused of running a cryptocurrency mining operation on the premises of the district’s 10 schools, using school resources and significantly increasing electricity costs.
In a recent DOJ statement, it was alleged that Jeffrey Menge, the assistant superintendent, and Eric Drabert, the IT director of the Patterson Joint Unified School District, collaborated to establish a cryptocurrency mining farm and profited from it.
The operation involved the purchase of high-end graphics cards, as well as the utilization of other school district assets and electricity for mining.
The statement, however, did not specify how many schools were involved in the crypto mining operation within the 10-school district, which serves approximately 6,200 students.
Furthermore, the type of cryptocurrency being mined was not disclosed, although commonly mined cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Monero, Ravencoin (RVN), and Dogecoin.
READ MORE: ARK Invest’s 2023 Report Advocates 19.4% Bitcoin Allocation for Optimal Institutional Returns
Data from CoinGecko indicates that mining a single Bitcoin as a solo miner consumes about 266,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, equivalent to approximately seven years of continuous consumption at a rate of 143 kWh per month.
In addition to the crypto mining allegations, the DOJ asserted that Menge embezzled between $1 million and $1.5 million, while Drabert misappropriated between $250,000 and $300,000.
These charges coincide with a recent crackdown by the U.S. energy regulator on cryptocurrency miners as part of an initiative to reduce energy wastage in the country.
On February 1st, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) mandated that crypto miners must report their energy consumption for the next six months.
This move comes in response to concerns regarding the spike in Bitcoin prices, leading to a surge in crypto mining activities.
Additionally, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced its intention to conduct a survey to measure the electricity usage of local crypto mining companies, beginning the following week. Miners will be required to provide details regarding their energy consumption.
The issue of excessive electricity consumption by crypto mining operations is not limited to the United States.
In December 2023, Indonesian police authorities shut down 10 Bitcoin mining operations, accusing organizers of electricity theft amounting to nearly $1 million. Global regulators are increasingly taking steps to address this concern.
The European Union has taken a significant step in advancing its regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI) as all 27 member states voted to approve the final text of the EU’s AI Act.
Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Internal Market of the EU, confirmed this momentous endorsement, emphasizing the historical significance of the AI Act, which marks a world-first achievement.
The AI Act is a comprehensive risk-based strategy designed to regulate various AI applications.
It covers a wide range of aspects, including the use of AI in government applications, the regulation of AI systems like ChatGPT, and the implementation of transparency rules that must be adhered to prior to entering the market.
Following the political agreement reached in December 2023, efforts were undertaken to transform the agreed-upon positions into a final compromise text for approval by lawmakers.
The culmination of this process was the “coreper” vote on February 2, which involved the permanent representatives of all member states.
One of the key concerns addressed by the AI Act is the proliferation of deepfakes – convincingly fabricated videos generated by AI algorithms that have the potential to blur the line between truth and fiction in public discourse.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, highlighted the Act’s emphasis on assigning greater liabilities to developers of riskier AI applications.
For instance, the Act focuses on high-risk cases, such as using AI for job applicant screening or educational admissions.
READ MORE: Binance Denies Security Breach: Outdated Data on GitHub Posed Minimal Risk
The recent agreement on the AI Act was achieved after France withdrew its objections, and Germany also threw its support behind the Act following a compromise reached by Federal Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport, Volker Wissing, on January 30.
The AI Act is now set to progress towards legislation, with a crucial vote scheduled in an EU lawmaker committee on February 13, followed by a vote in the European Parliament in March or April.
It is anticipated that the Act will be fully applied in 2026, with specific provisions taking effect earlier.
Additionally, the European Commission is taking proactive steps to establish an AI Office responsible for monitoring compliance with a group of high-impact foundational AI models considered to pose systemic risks.
The Commission is also unveiling measures to support local AI developers, including upgrading the EU’s supercomputer network to enhance generative AI model training capabilities.