|
|
Saturday, 12 November 2022
|
|
|
Partner
|
|
|
|
And that’s it folks. We just survived the craziest week in the relatively short history of crypto. Word on the street has it that if you could get the better of this dramatic week in the crypto space, you would definitely overcome any hurdle you face in life. It was a rollercoaster ride and the aftermath of the unfortunate collapse of FTX will linger for a long while.
|
Amidst the chaos, FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) publicly admitted his role in the series of scandals that brought the exchange to ruins. On Thursday, he took to Twitter to acknowledge the fact that he “fvcked up”. Of course he did. Who never fvck up, hands in the air. No hands? It is what it is.
|
|
Here is our weekly newsletter roundup. Now get a bucket of popcorn and follow through. First, a brief summary….
|
|
|
|
Summary of the news
|
- FTX files for bankruptcy
- Lionel Messi joins Sorare
- There is more trouble ahead
- The industry is ‘smoke and mirrors’
|
|
|
FTX files for bankruptcy
|
|
The embattled cryptocurrency exchange, FTX has filed for bankruptcy, according to a statement posted on its Twitter profile on Friday.
|
The company says that its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing is a necessary step to "move forward" and "maximize recovery for stakeholders." Notably, the Chapter 11 proceedings will also include the exchange's American subsidiary FTX.US. However, FTX Australia, LedgerX and some other subsidiaries will be excluded.
|
|
Sam Bankman-Fried will also step down as chief executive officer of FTX Group, but he will remain to "assist in an orderly transition." John J. Ray III has been appointed as his replacement.
|
|
|
|
Lionel Messi joins Sorare
|
|
Seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi joined Sorare on Wednesday, forging a partnership with the fantasy sports company which uses NFT with blockchain.
|
With the partnership, Lionel Messi will become an ambassador of Sorare. The blockchain-based gaming platform provides a game related to soccer and has also recently launched games related to baseball and basketball.
|
After Kylian Mbappé and Serena Williams, Lionel Messi is the newest world-famous sports star to join Sorare. The Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina soccer player said:
|
“The ability that sports has to inspire and excite all of us is unique, fans are always looking for new ways to express their passion and get closer to the players and teams they love, and Sorare’s combination of fantasy sports and digital cards offers fans a never-before-seen opportunity to do so, wherever they are in the world. I believe the potential of what Sorare is building is immense, and I can’t wait to see what more they will do in this electrifying and rapidly developing space.”
|
|
|
|
There is more trouble ahead
|
|
According to a report by Financial Times, Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance has warned that several companies stand to fail in the near future as a direct consequence of the turmoil caused by the troubled crypto exchange FTX.
|
While speaking at a conference in Indonesia, Zhao compared the current predicament of the crypto market to the Lehman moment in 2008’s financial crash. He believes that the complete impact of FTX’s collapse is yet to be felt.
|
“With FTX going down, we will see cascading effects, Especially for those close to the FTX ecosystem, they will be negatively affected,” he said.
|
|
Recall that BlockFi announced on Friday that it had suspended withdrawals on its platforms due to liquidity issues with FTX and Alameda. BlockFi was reportedly storing all of its customer deposits in FTX.
|
|
|
|
A word from our sponsor!
|
|
For an exclusive 8-week mentorship program for you to take the next step in your Web3 Development Journey, register for the Polygon Bootcamp Africa Class of 2022 which will continue this November.
|
|
For more details and registration, click here .
|
|
|
|
Binance reveals stablecoin reserve
|
|
On Thursday, Binance boss CZ announced that the exchange would be publishing cold wallet addresses and balances for its top six coins. The move comes in response to the fallout of the collapse of the FTX exchange this week.
|
Binance wants to reassure customers that it has full reserves by committing to transparency about them. CZ said this data was already available, but now it’s easier to read and access. The Binance cold wallet for Bitcoin contains 475,000 BTC, it claims. At current market value, this is worth around $8 billion. Its Ethereum reserves stand at 4.8 million ETH, worth just below $6 billion at the moment.
|
|
The cold wallet listings also revealed almost $40 billion in stablecoins USDT, BUSD, and USDC. Additionally, the company said it was working to create a Merkle tree proof-of-reserves that will be released in the next few weeks. CZ said that all crypto exchanges should do proof-of-reserves. “Banks run on fractional reserves. Crypto exchanges should not,” he added.
|
|
|
|
Other stories we are following
|
|
|
|
|
If this newsletter was forwarded to you or you're reading on the website, kindly subscribe. You can share the subscription link with your friends and colleagues too if you enjoyed it.
|
|
|
|
    
|
