Summary

  • Silvergate Bank forced to cover $8bn worth of crypto-related withdrawals during FTX & Genesis debacle. The US bank was forced to sell $5.2 billion worth of assets for cash and booked a loss of $718m on those sales.
  • Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr has been hacked and lost more than 200 bitcoins (approximately $3.5 million).
  • Wyre imposes up to a 90% withdrawal limit for all users and will be terminating services in January after a failed acquisition with Bolt last September.
  • Gemini gave until January 8th to Digital Currency Group CEO to find a payment plan for the $900 million of Gemini Staking Program stucked with Genesis. Promissory note is not an answer said Cameron Winklevoss from pens open letter to Barry Silbert about Gemini’s blocked funds.
  • Withdrawals and layoffs at Huobi raised concern. Huobi confirmed it plans to lay off up to 20% of its workforce after rumors of insolvency. Approximately $94.2 million has flowed out of the exchange within the past week.
  • Hong Kong lawmaker asks Beijing to permit Digital Dollar and conversion to Stablecoin.
  • U.S. judge maintained the detention for Mango Markets attacker Avraham Eisenberg, the hacker who drained $110 million from decentralized exchange Mango Markets was arrested in Puerto Rico 2 weeks ago and charged with market manipulation offenses.
  • New York AG accuses Celsius ex-CEO Alex Mashinsky of defrauding hundreds of thousands of crypto investors in $20 billion collapse.
  • US judge approved Twitter subpoena for Three Arrows Capital  Co-Founder Davies. Lack of cooperation has spurred unusual legal maneuver.
  • Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to federal charges in New York last week, while his 2 co-founders Caroline Ellison (Alameda Research) and Garry Wang, (ex FTX CTO) already entered guilty pleas and are cooperating against him.

To watch this week :

  • U.S. CPI for December is due in the coming week
  • China will also be releasing CPI Jan 11, 2023
  • Gemini deadline January the 8th was not met, watch Gemeni / Digital Currency Group  

Business

US bank Silvergate hit with $8bn in crypto withdrawals
The bank has had to sell $5.2bn in assets to cover two-thirds of its customers withdrawing their deposits.
BBC NewsTom GerkenTechnology reporter
Wyre imposes up to a 90% withdrawal limit for all users
Wyre users will be subject to changes in daily withdrawal limits as the platform explores new operational strategies.
CointelegraphArijit Sarkar
Bitcoin core developer claims to have lost 200+ BTC in hack
OG Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr says he has no idea how his PGP key was compromised but shared a wallet address that appears to hold 216 of his stolen Bitcoin.
CointelegraphStephen Katte
Gemini Takes Spat With DCG Public in Open Letter - Blockworks
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss calls out Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), in tweet thread
BlockworksBessie Liu
Pace of Huobi Withdrawals Subsides as USDD Sees Renewed Slide - Decrypt
Daily Huobi client withdrawals fell from $60.9 million on Friday to just under $12 million on Sunday, according to Nansen.
DecryptAndré Beganski
Here’s the Latest in the Sam Bankman-Fried FTX Fraud Case—And How We Got Here - Decrypt
The fall of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried is the single largest event to rock crypto. But it was years in the making. Here’s how it happened.
DecryptStacy Elliott
Shopify Merchants Can Now Design, Mint and Sell Avalanche NFTs
The new integration streamlines the NFT process for buyers and sellers.
CoinDeskRosie Perper

Markets

Crypto Charts 94
Bitcoin Not much change since last time ’if not short already look to sell in the next leg of the corrections in the 17238/17668 . Place stops above the December high at 18400. Until that level breaks we remain on alert for new lows to complete last years brutal correction
The AssetsMatthew Clark


Regulations

Mojo Builds for Hong Kong CBDC - The Defiant
Could Hong Kong get a digital dollar?
The DefiantSamuel Haig
Genesis Owner DCG Faces SEC, DOJ Probes: Report - Decrypt
Claims that DCG and Genesis were under investigation by the SEC began to crop up on Twitter as early as this past Wednesday.
DecryptAndré Beganski
U.S. Judge Issues Detention Order for Mango Markets Attacker - Decrypt
Mango Markets attacker Avraham Eisenberg is deemed a flight risk due to his background and potentially millions in unaccounted for wealth.
DecryptTim Hakki
New York AG accuses Celsius ex-CEO Alex Mashinsky of defrauding hundreds of thousands of crypto investors in $20 billion collapse
New York Attorney General Letitia James sued former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky, alleging that he defrauded his clients at the $20 billion crypto exchange.
CNBCRohan Goswami
Three Arrows Capital founders subpoenaed on Twitter
The Twitter account indicated that an unredacted copy of the subpoena was served to the parties via email as well.
CointelegraphAna Paula Pereira
The challenge in accounting for Tether reserves
Due to Tether remaining as opaque as possible, assessing its reserves can only be done by someone with full access to its books.
ProtosBennett Tomlin

Opinions

Crypto Crystal Ball: Biggest Trends to Watch in 2023 - Decrypt
Poised to deliver clarity on post-FTX fallout and major legal and regulatory questions, 2023 is already shaping up to be a critical year.
DecryptSander Lutz

Podcasts / Reading

The year of Zero Knowledge Proofs (ZK Proofs) might be 2023 hence why it's very important to understand how it could be a major shift for privacy that will enhance businesses with trustless proofs.

Computer scientist Amit Sahai, PhD, is asked to explain the concept of zero-knowledge proofs to 5 different people; a child, a teen, a college student, a grad student, and an expert. Using a variety of techniques, Amit breaks down what zero-knowledge proofs are and why it's so exciting in the world of cryptography.