TL; DR
- ENS DAO Sells 10,000 ETH Through CoW Swap and Exchanges for 16.22 Million USDC.
- The TRON DAO has established a $100 million artificial intelligence development fund
- Former Gemini CTO Launches Fierce, a Financial App, and Completes 10 Million Dollar Financing Round.
- Bitcoin ATM operator Coin Cloud has filed for bankruptcy with estimated debts ranging from $10 million to $50 million.
- Sullivan & Cromwell law firm charged up to $7.5 million in 19 days after FTX bankruptcy.
- The Stellar Development Foundation has launched a $10 million incentive plan targeted towards Soroban.
- Robinhood reports $39 million in cryptocurrency revenue for the fourth quarter, plans to buy back all or a significant portion of the 5.5 million shares held by SBF and others.
- Reddit-affiliated venture capital firm Seven Seven Six is planning to raise $776 million for its new fund, with a target of investing 30% in Web3.
- The SEC announced that regulation of emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies will be its top priority in 2023.
- U.S. judge John Dorsey has allowed FTX’s new leadership to subpoena SBF and other insiders.
- Binance is forming a crypto-alliance. Several companies have already signed up to join, including other crypto exchanges and blockchain analytics firms..
- The Three Arrows Capital founder, Kyle Davies, is ignoring the court summons and obstructing the investigation.
1. Gnosis Co-Founder Martin Köppelmann tweeted that the ENS DAO has exchanged 10,000 ETH for over 16.22 million USDC through the CoW Swap. The proposal for “selling 10,000 ETH to pay for future operating expenses for the next two years” was passed on February 7th.
2. The TRON DAO announced the establishment of a $100 million Artificial Intelligence Development Fund to support the integration of Artificial Intelligence and blockchain technology. Key areas of support include AI-supported payment platforms, AI-powered oracle services, AI-supported investment management services, and AI-generated content.
3. Bitcoin ATM operator Coin Cloud has filed for bankruptcy in a Nevada court in the United States. Estimated liabilities are between $100 million and $500 million, estimated assets are between $5 million and $100 million, and there are over 10,000 creditors, with Genesis Global Trading being Coin Cloud’s largest creditor, providing over $100 million in unsecured loans.
Coin Cloud operates over 4,000 Bitcoin ATMs in the United States and Brazil.
4. According to a court document obtained by CoinDesk, law firm Sullivan & Cromwell charged up to $7.5 million in fees within 19 days of FTX’s bankruptcy. The document shows that 32 partners, 85 legal staff, and 34 non-legal staff worked over 6,500 hours, with a pay rate of $2,165 per hour. Sullivan & Cromwell stated that senior staff fees were discounted and the company is only asking for 80% of the total $9.5 million.
5. The Stellar Development Foundation has launched a $10 million incentivization program through the Stellar Community Fund aimed at Soroban. Soroban is a new smart contract platform built for Stellar, and the incentivization program is aimed at supporting developers in trying to develop applications based on Soroban, including tools, DeFi, DApps and educational resources focused on Soroban.
6. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated in a release that it will make the regulation of new technologies such as cryptocurrencies a top priority in 2023. The SEC will investigate broker-dealers and investment advisors using new financial technologies, including encryption, to determine if they have met the “prudent standards” expected by investors, as well as if they regularly review and update their risk management procedures.
7. Stock and cryptocurrency trading platform Robinhood reported, its crypto trading revenue of $39 million in the fourth quarter of last year, a 24% decrease from $51 million in the previous quarter. The company also announced that its board has authorized the purchase of all or a majority of the 5.5 million shares of Robinhood stock held by SBF and Gary Wang. The shares were seized by the US Department of Justice last month and were worth nearly $500 million at the time.
8. According to Coindesk, Binance is forming a crypto alliance in an effort to rebuild trust in the industry and play an active role in the soon-to-be-issued regulations. Many companies in the crypto field have signed up, including project parties, exchanges, and blockchain analysis companies, among others.
9. TechCrunch reports, the financial app Fierce, launched by former Gemini CTO Robert Cornish, has secured $10 million in seed funding round, with participants including Pendrell, AP Capital, Wheelhouse Digital Studios, and Space Whale Capital. The funds will be used to expand the team and develop the product. Fierce offers a Fierce Cash Account, an FDIC-insured checking account with a 4.25% annual yield, and a debit card with access to over 55,000 free ATMs. The app is currently only available for iOS and will be launching on Android later this year.
10. US judge John Dorsey has authorized the new leadership of FTX to subpoena co-founder Sam Bankman Fried and executives Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, as well as the brothers of Sam Bankman-Fried. The order stated that the scope of the information requested may still be adjusted if an independent examiner is appointed due to concerns from the Department of Justice over potential duplicity of work. In addition, the judge signed a second order allowing FTX to subpoena third parties for information potentially related to the exchange’s hack from the date of their bankruptcy protection application.
11. Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit and founder of venture capital firm Seven Seven Six, is planning to raise $776 million for two new funds, with a 50% increase from last year’s fundraising target. The funds plan to use 30% of their investments on Web3 companies.
12. CoinDesk reports, according to court documents, Three Arrows Capital founder Kyle Davies is disregarding a court summons requiring him to provide records and books of Three Arrows Capital and obstructing an investigation into the firm. The documents state that Kyle Davies and Su Zhu have “refused to engage in meaningful contact” and have only selectively disclosed information piecemeal. The court will decide on March 2nd whether to enforce the summons and require Kyle Davies to comply with its contents in a hearing.