The newly branded Halo Wallet seeks to broaden its efforts from Web3 to social finance, also known as SocialFi.
KuCoin leads $10M funding for Chinese yuan stablecoin issuer
Circle’s investment arm has joined a funding round for CNHC, the issuer of the eponymous stablecoin pegged to the offshore yuan.
Ether a Security? That Could Have Huge Ramifications for Crypto, Legal Expert Says
Should ether be deemed a security at the state level, it may lead to federal laws ultimately being settled in, Pennsylvania State University Dickinson Law Professor Tonya Evans, says.
First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Battered as Markets Spiral
The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for March 10, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.
What Happens If Ether Is a Security?
A recent suit filed by the New York Attorney general could have far-ranging complications for crypto exchanges that list ether and similar tokens.
New York Attorney General Sues Crypto Exchange KuCoin, Alleges Ether Is a Security
The New York Attorney General’s office sued Kucoin on Thursday, alleging it offered unregistered securities and commodities.
How to Harness the Power of Crypto to Aid Communities Rebuilding After Natural Disasters
The industry’s swift response in times of need highlights the need for compatibility between crypto and the traditional financial system.
Total crypto market cap takes another hit, but traders remain neutral
The total crypto market cap is at risk of falling below $825 billion, but data shows traders actively adding to their longs and shorts.
Dutch central bank says KuCoin is not licensed and ‘illegally offering services’
“This may increase the risk of customers becoming involved in money laundering or terrorist financing,” said De Nederlandsche Bank.
Audit firm Mazars to verify KuCoin’s proof of reserves
Mazars, the former accounting firm for Donald Trump’s companies, was hired recently to audit Binance’s PoR.
OKX, Kucoin say proof of reserves will be ready in a month
Similar protocols are used by Kraken, Bitmex, Gate.io, and many other exchanges, but were not used by FTX.
Laura Shin Asks Terra’s Do Kwon The Tough Questions. What Did We Learn?
This is the Do Kwon interview everyone was waiting for. In the latest episode of Laura Shin’s Unchained Podcast, titled ‘It Was Never Really About Money or Fame or Success’, the Terra creator faces serious scrutiny. Do Kwon denounces media misinformation, denies several serious charges and gives a play-by-play explanation of the organization’s movements during the crash. And he sweats bullets.
Laura Shin did her homework, and relentlessly puts forward the questions most Terra investors have. She does this in a non-threatening, extremely professional way. Do Kwon answers all of her questions. Some better than others, but the man does show his face and answers, which is a lot. Compassionately, Laura Shin also gives Do Kwon a second opportunity to say sorry to Terra’s affected investors and their families. He would’ve come across much worse if she hadn’t offered that second chance.
The episode’s intro says:
“Do Kwon, cofounder of Terraform Labs, discusses the charges against him, gives a message to Terra victims, answers allegations about potential fraud and non-transparent business practices.”
This is the video:
This Do Kwon interview is one for the books, everybody interested in the subject should watch it. Let’s bring out the bullet points and analyze this phenomenal piece of media.
Do Kwon On His Location And “On The Run” Status
- He claims he doesn’t live in South Korea anymore and he’s not planning to return to face the alleged charges. He plans to appeal, though.
- Do Kwon hasn’t seen a copy of the arrest warrant.
- Apparently, cryptocurrencies are securities in South Korea.
- His team has been cooperating with South Korean authorities, fulfilling the court requests for different documents.
- Do Kwon refuses to reveal his current location because of the difficulties it brings to his living situation. He denies he’s on the run.
- He denied frozen funds at the KuCoin and OKX exchanges belong to him, Terraform Labs, or the LFG foundation.
The most important news Do Kwon reveals, though, is that the organization is working with a chain analysis firm to produce a paper on their trading activities. “They should be publishing a report shortly, which I think is going to provide a lot more clarity,” he said. Do Kwon promised the report in “the next couple of weeks.”
LUNA price chart on Kraken | Source: LUNA/USD on TradingView.com
Terra Was a Failure But It Was Not A Scam
- Do Kwon claims that his online persona was an alter ego and confesses that he got carried away with the “sh*tposting.”
- Terra’s failure was caused by the protocol’s “weakness to respond to the cruelty of the markets.”
- He admits to a lot of technical and theoretical mistakes but denies Terra was a scam.
- Do Kwon claims that the Anchor developers/ whistleblowers that came forward denouncing the protocol were only interns. Not a line of their code appears in the final product, and this is apparent in GitHub.
- Admits to the SDT premine of $1.4B. This was a second stablecoin that the Terra organization used to maintain the UST peg to the dollar. This stablecoin wasn’t even mentioned in the Terra whitepaper. According to Do Kwon, this was because they hadn’t conceived SDT when they wrote it. He claims Terra’s is an “academic whitepaper” and wasn’t supposed to cover all of the technologies’ use cases.
- Do Kwon admits they were using market operations to maintain the UST peg to the dollar. In fact, he says this was always the idea. The burning and minting of LUNA was not the only procedure that was supposed to maintain the peg.
Do Kwon And The Other Admissions
- Apparently, Terra and Chai haven’t been working together for a long time.
- When asked about faking Chai’s numbers and interactions registered in the Terra blockchain, Do Kwon said that the numbers came from Chai. According to him, they were probably “distancing themselves” from the Terra situation but still using the blockchain.
- When asked about his participation in Basis Cash, a failed algorithmic stablecoin, Do Kwon distanced himself from the situation. He was just founding the team, but had nothing to do with the actual project. “Basis Cash is not something that I designed or operated. It’s something that I encouraged,” Do Kwon said.
- When asked about if he was planning to compensate Terra investors from his own pocket, Do Kwon said, “my personal funds are not significant enough to make a difference.”
- He still believes the world needs to work towards a decentralized future and that we need censorship-resistant money.
As for his future plans, Do Kwon says he plans to continue building “highly experimental” projects in the crypto space.
Featured Image: Do Kwon and Laura Shin, screenshot from the video interview | Charts by TradingView
1inch plugs into KuCoin Wallet to improve token swaps
1inch Network expands to another cryptocurrency exchange as KuCoin Wallet integrates its automated market maker functionality to improve token swaps.
FTX, Bybit rise in web traffic despite overall traffic drop on CEXs
Web traffic on FTX surged 123% YoY, while major exchanges like Coinbase and Binance were down 46% and 40% traffic-wise, respectively.
Positivity blazing through a bear market: Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022
The Blockchain Economy Istanbul 2022 summit made one thing clear: The positivity of the crypto ecosystem remains unfazed by the turbulent market shakeouts.
Crypto Biz: Elon Musk: The ultimate crypto tourist
Tesla’s foray into Bitcoin may have been one big distraction for the electric vehicle maker, which reported mixed financial results earlier this month.
KuCoin crypto exchange debuts USDT-dominated NFT ETF
KuCoin’s new investment product aims to increase the liquidity of, and access to, leading nonfungible token collections such as BAYC.
KuCoin (KCS) Price Crumbles Following Insolvency Rumors
KuCoin utility token KCS has been in a sluggish condition in the last few days, as the major cryptocurrency exchange faces a flood of insolvency rumors.
Tuesday’s CoinMarketCap statistics reveals that the price of KSC has decreased by 17.35 percent over the previous week, trading at $8.74 at the time of writing.
According to certain sources, KuCoin had exposure to Terra’s doomed LUNA and UST cryptocurrencies as well as insolvent crypto hedge firm Three Arrows Capital.
KuCoin is the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, with a 24-hour trading volume of $927 million. KCS is the 49th most valuable digital asset according to CoinMarketCap, with a market valuation of $858 million.
Suggested Reading | Solana (SOL) Stuck Below $33 In Past Days As Bearish Pressure Still Intact
KCS Sheds 14% Of Value This Month
KCS has kept weakening this month despite its founder’s assurances that the cryptocurrency exchange will not halt withdrawals in the manner of many of its competitors.
KCS has lost 14 percent of its value so far this month, as investors have been frightened by changes in global macroeconomic conditions and by weakness in the balance sheets of other major crypto exchanges following a wave of job cuts and operational breakdowns caused by the insolvency of a few large clients.
Last week, the exchange’s native token lost roughly a quarter of its value, with more than half of that decline occurring on Saturday alone. Since the end of May, KCS has lost more than half of its value and is down more than 60 percent from its December 2017 record levels.
Crypto total market cap at $897 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
KuCoin Is Fine, CEO Says
KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu responded to speculations of the company’s demise by clarifying it had no exposure to Three Arrows, LUNA, or Babel.
Be aware of FUDs!
Not sure who's spreading these sheer rumors, and what their intentions are, but #KuCoin does not have any exposure to LUNA, 3AC, Babel, etc.
No “immense suffer” from any “coin collapse”, no plan to halt withdrawal, everything on KuCoin is operating well.
— Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) July 2, 2022
On Twitter, Lyu said:
“No ‘immense suffer’ from any ‘coin collapse’, no plan to halt withdrawal, everything on KuCoin is operating well,” adding that the company reserves the right to carry out legal actions against those spreading false rumors.
In May of last year, the company secured $150 million in new cash during a funding round that valued the exchange at $10 billion.
Suggested Reading | Litecoin (LTC) Drops Below $50 After Consistent Bearish Squeeze
In May of last year, the company secured $150 million in new cash during a funding round that valued the exchange at $10 billion. KuCoin embarked on a hiring binge and added new features to its site, sources said.
Nonetheless, according to market experts, the associated FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) has had an effect on KCS.
Until uncertainties around KuCoin’s balance sheet is resolved, it is possible that KSC may not be able to initiate a strong comeback, even if the wider crypto industry can.
Featured image from FundsNet, chart from TradingView.com
KuCoin CEO slams insolvency rumors citing “no plan to halt withdrawal”
Rumors linked KuCoin’s intent to stop withdrawals with the Terra (LUNA) and the 3AC collapse, which according to the warnings, led to “immense suffer” for the exchange.
Double bubble? Terra’s defunct ‘unstablecoin’ suddenly climbs 800% in one week
The USTC price rally does not mean it would reclaim its lost U.S. dollar peg in the future.