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Table of Contents
News
Global
Hong Kong Launches Crypto Money Laundering Crackdown Following $193M JPEX Scandal
- Hong Kong’s Customs Department is intensifying efforts to combat crypto money laundering in response to the $193 million JPEX scandal.
- The focus is on closing regulatory loopholes by strengthening cross-border anti-money laundering measures.
Thailand’s Digital Money Delay Prompts Calls for Investigation
- Critics call for an investigation into Thailand’s delayed digital wallet scheme.
- The scheme, meant for citizens aged 16 and above, offers approximately $274 in Thai baht but faces delays.
California Introduces Stricter Regulations for Crypto ATMs to Combat Scams
- The legislation introduces several key measures, including a daily withdrawal limit of $1,000 from cryptocurrency ATMs.
- The bill also proposes a cap on operator fees, which will be set at either $5 or 15% of the transaction amount
UK’s Financial Watchdog Issues 221 Warnings on Crypto Marketing Violations
- The FCA emphasized the need for risk warnings to be clear, prominent, and easily readable.
- The FCA’s alert list for non-compliant firms has seen a significant expansion, with 221 companies added to the list.
Taiwan Proposes First Digital Asset Regulation Bill
- The bill introduces penalties for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) operating without a license.
- Legislation aims to establish a framework for overseeing the digital asset industry.
Platform and Tokens
Binance Halts Visa Debit Card in Europe Amid Regulatory Constraints
- The Binance Visa debit card service will be terminated in Europe as a result of regulatory scrutiny and budget cuts.
- Current cardholders within the European Economic Area would retain the ability to use their cards until December 20.
EX-FTX CEO SBF’s defense team calls in an expert witness to refute DOJ testimonies
- Pimbley to present evidence that the majority of balances for accounts not tied with FTX and Alameda users are concentrated in USD, BTC, ETH, and USDT
- Pimbley’s testimony is expected to challenge witness claim that Alameda had an “essentially unlimited line of credit on FTX”.
US Court Directs SEC to Reevaluate Grayscale’s Spot Bitcoin ETF
- In response to a ruling that mandated the SEC to investigate Grayscale’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, the US Court of Appeals issued a mandate.
- The mandate came about due to the court’s August 29 original decision and the SEC’s failure to file an appeal by October 13.
Safereum Developers Face Allegations of $1.27 Million Exit Scam
- Safereum Cryptocurrency Faces Massive Liquidity Drain After $600,000 Fundraising
- Safereum unlocked SAFEREUM tokens, swapped for ETH, and distributed to multiple wallets.
BlockFi Unlocked Wallet Withdrawals After Emerging from Bankruptcy
- Cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi has declared bankruptcy and is prepared to reimburse some debtors.
- The firm will be allowed to process claims and allocate assets to its creditors.
Coinbase’s Final Bid: Challenging SEC’s Crypto Authority to Dismiss Lawsuit
- Coinbase has claimed that the US SEC overreached its jurisdiction by classifying crypto listed on the exchange as securities.
- Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal reiterated the assertions, stating that the SEC’s criteria have “no limiting function at all.”
BlackRock to pay $2.5 mln fine to settle SEC charges over Investment Fund Disclosures
- SEC alleges that BlackRock failed to provide accurate information about its investments in Aviron Group to both retail and institutional investors.
- As part of this settlement, BlackRock has agreed to pay a substantial $2.5 million penalty.
FTX looks to recoup $6.5 Million paid to AI firm
- The exchange is now seeking approval from a Delaware Bankruptcy Court judge to issue subpoenas to CAIS.
- FTX claims to have provided $6.5 million in financial aid to CAIS between May and September 2022.
Sam Bankman-Fried’s Testimony to Dispute Government Claims in Court
- SBF’s attorney, Mark Cohen, sent a letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan outlining the details of the former CEO of FTX’s planned appearance.
- The defense contends that SBF’s mental condition and good faith are pertinent to his comprehension of the role played by legal advice.
Project Updates
Official Mainnet Launch of dYdX Chain
The official mainnet launch of dYdX Chain took place on October 27. On Friday, dYdX Chain validators created the genesis block. The post-genesis phase consists of two stages: Alpha and Beta. Alpha is mostly concerned with security, staking, and bridging, while Beta will allow transactions but not offer rewards.
Maestro, the largest Telegram bot project, is attacked and loses 280 ETH.
The biggest Telegram Bot project, Maestro, reportedly had a vulnerability in its Maestro Router 2 contract on October 25th, which was taken advantage of by an attacker to steal over 280 ETH (about $500,000). This information was reported by BeosinAlert. By providing a token address and utilizing the transfer method to move the victim’s tokens to their own address, the attacker exploited an external call vulnerability.
Later This Year, Chainlink Staking v0.2 Will Be Released
Chainlink Staking v0.2 is scheduled to launch later this year, according to an announcement made on October 23 by ChainLinkGod.eth, a community ambassador for the chain. A new staking platform with features like unbonding, liquidity rewards, slashing, modular architecture, dynamic rewards, and priority migration will be unveiled with this update.
Podcasts and Interviews
- Interview with Kartin Wong, founder of Hyper Oracle
- “Why a Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Probably Launch No Later Than January 10” podcast by Unchained Crypto
- “̌Solana vs Ethereum” podcast by Lightspeed
Job Listings
- VP Technology, Senior Web Devs (Wallet) & Backend Devs | Gnosis
- Lead Solidity Engineer | Ebay
- UX Engineer and Staff Rust Engineer | Aave
- Senior Operations Security Expert | Ethereum Foundation
Looking for an internship? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered.
- Nethermind Internship Program
2k23 Events
- ETHLondon Hackathon from October 27 to October 29
- ETH Miami festival & hackathon from October 27 to October 29
- Paradigm CTF from October 28 to October 30
- ETH Lisbon hackathon from November 3 to November 5
- Gitcoin Grants 19 from November 15 to November 29
As we wrap up another week of insights and discoveries, remember that staying informed and motivated is an ongoing journey. WeekInFocus by CoinCodeCap is here to accompany you on this path, bringing you a fresh perspective on the news, a doorway to exciting job possibilities, and a collection of thought-provoking podcasts. Let’s embrace the coming week with curiosity and determination. Until next time, keep focused and keep thriving!
