SEC reviews Coinbase's cryptocurrency staking project, Bitfinex may face US criminal investigation

【Data Intelligence】

The total lock-up volume on the Arbitrum chain exceeded 3 billion US dollars

On August 11th, according to data from Dune Analytics, the total lock-up volume on the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum chain has exceeded 3 billion US dollars, and as of now is 3.005 billion US dollars, and the total number of contracts created on the chain has exceeded 90,000 (90,032). The total number of accounts created on the chain was 1.056 million, and the total number of transactions reached 22.453 million.

The number of Bitcoin Lightning Network channels is 87,321

According to data from the 1ML website, the number of Bitcoin Lightning Network nodes is 17,786, an increase of 0.5% year-on-year; the number of channels is 87,321, an increase of 1.7% year-on-year; the network capacity is 4,540.95 BTC, an increase of 8% year-on-year.

【 Regulatory News 】

US FTC is investigating cryptocurrency exchange BitMart

According to news on August 11, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the operator of the cryptocurrency exchange BitMart for a hacking incident in December 2021, which resulted in losses of 150 million to 200 million US dollars. The FTC disclosed the investigation in an order denying an objection to the information by BitMart operators, who said the FTC’s document request was too broad and declined to provide the information. In addition, Bloomberg stated that this is the first time the FTC has investigated the encryption market, and the White House has urged the FTC to regulate cryptocurrency fraud and abuse.

Bitfinex may face US criminal investigation

According to news on August 11, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) response to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request shared on Twitter on Wednesday night, the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex may face multiple charges from U.S. criminal and civil entities in the United States. The investigation focused on whether its sister company, stablecoin issuer Tether, was truthful about its reserves and whether the company itself allowed Americans to trade on its offshore commodity exchange.

【Industry Trends】

Paxos partners with PicPay to introduce cryptocurrency trading capabilities to Brazilian users

Paxos, the issuer of the US dollar stable currency USDP, announced that it has cooperated with PicPay, a Brazilian financial technology application, to launch a cryptocurrency trading function, bringing digital assets to PicPay's 30 million active users. PicPay users can now buy, sell and hold Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDP (Paxos' fully regulated USD-backed stablecoin). PicPay will also support cryptocurrency payments and will launch later this year.

Robinhood Web3 Crypto Wallet Waitlist Exceeds 1 Million

Robinhood CEO Vladimir Tenev announced on Twitter that the company’s upcoming Web3 cryptocurrency wallet now has a waitlist of more than 1 million people. The wallet will begin entering beta testing next week, with Robinhood’s Web3 cryptocurrency wallet expected to launch by the end of 2022. Back in May, Robinhood announced its non-custodial Web3 wallet, which is tailored for traders in the decentralized finance ecosystem.

Ripple Labs Considers Acquiring Celsius Assets

Ripple Labs Inc. has expressed interest in buying the assets of crypto lender Celsius Network, a Ripple spokesperson said Wednesday. The spokesperson also noted that Ripple is "actively looking for M&A opportunities to strategically expand the company" as it continues to "grow exponentially" amid the market downturn. However, the spokesperson declined to comment on whether Ripple intends to acquire Celsius Network outright. Ripple is currently in a lawsuit with the SEC. Regulators have accused Ripple of violating federal securities laws by selling XRP.

LongHash Ventures Launches Second $100M Fund to Back Web3 Infrastructure

Emma Cui, chief executive of LongHash Ventures, said he has launched a second fund worth $100 million. LongHash Ventures is a Web3-focused investment firm and accelerator.

Curve Finance: Hack site is down, users are advised to use curve.exchange or confirm IP address

On August 10th, Curve Finance stated that the Curve.fi domain name server has not been updated (it takes a full 24 hours and cannot be accelerated), but the hacker site has been shut down. Curve Finance reminds users to use curve.exchange, or confirm that the IP is 76.76.21.21. As previously reported, on August 10, CertiK monitoring showed that in the Curve Finance attack, $612,000 worth of Stablecoins, including USDC and DAI, were stolen and sent to addresses starting with 0x50f9, where they were converted into ETH. The reason for the theft was that the hacker deployed a malicious contract and invaded Curve Finance DNS, pointing it to a malicious site. When an individual interacts with a hacked contract, user funds will be transferred to the hacked wallet.

【Elite Viewpoint】

Fed Evans: Fed funds rate expected to be in a range of 3.75%-4% by the end of 2023

Fed Evans said he expects the federal funds rate to be in a range of 3.75%-4% by the end of 2023. We're in a good position on interest rates to shift to a more restrictive stance if needed, or not raise rates as much.

SBF: Voyager has tapped $70m line of credit from Alameda

On August 10th, FTX founder SBF stated that Voyager has so far used a credit line provided by Alameda of 70 million US dollars. As previously reported, crypto brokerage Voyager Digital and Alameda Research signed a $200 million cash/USDC-based credit line and a 15,000 Bitcoin revolving credit line, the proceeds of which are intended to protect customer assets and are used only when needed. The line of credit will mature on December 31, 2024, at an interest rate of 5% per annum payable at maturity.

【What to watch today】

SEC scrutinizes Coinbase's cryptocurrency staking program

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase said it is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its cryptocurrency staking program, which allows users to earn rewards for holding certain cryptocurrencies. According to a quarterly regulatory filing, Coinbase received investigative subpoenas and inquiries from the SEC seeking documents and information about certain customer programs, operations, and existing and future products. These requirements, according to Coinbase, relate to staking projects, asset listing procedures, asset classification and stablecoin offerings. At Coinbase, blockchain rewards revenue (mostly from staking) accounted for 8.5% of net revenue in the second quarter. It was previously reported that the crypto exchange was under scrutiny by the SEC for potentially offering unregistered securities trading. Coinbase said it is committed to having productive discussions with the SEC on the regulation of crypto assets and securities.

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