Finder is committed to editorial independence. While we receive compensation when you click links to partners, they do not influence our content.

Biweekly crypto round-up for September 2022 (Part 2)

Ethereum price weakens and the manhunt for Do Kwon continues.

Avatar
Zyane Tan
Posted .
Fact checked

The much-hyped Ethereum merge was completed successfully, but its price continues to sink amid the US Fed’s rate hikes and SEC chair Gary Gensler’s declaration that Ether might be treated as a security – among several other factors. Meanwhile, some of the biggest names gather in Singapore for Token2049, the flagship event of Asia Crypto Week.

Here’s another recap of the regulatory developments, announcements and all other noteworthy stories in the crypto space over the last 2 weeks.

Quick take

  • The White House issued its first-ever digital asset development framework. Recommendations include advancing responsible innovation, countering illicit finance and mitigating risks.
  • FTX US won the bidding war to buy out bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital’s remaining assets for $1.4 billion.
  • 20 September is now International NFT Day, 5 years after Dieter Shirley submitted the token standard for Ethereum NFTs – ERC-721.
  • The SEC claims that it has jurisdiction over all Ethereum transactions since a majority of nodes are in the US and suggested that PoS coins could be considered securities.
  • Do Kwon, the South Korean co-founder of Terraform Labs, is now wanted in 195 countries after Interpol issued a red notice.
  • Crypto exchange giant Binance eyes an operating licence in Japan, 4 years after pulling out of the country.

Key events

We’ve hand-picked some of the most relevant emerging stories in the crypto space to help you stay ahead of the curve.
MicroStrategy

Government announcements and regulations

  • 16 Sept: The White House publishes its first-ever “comprehensive framework” for the regulation and development of digital assets.
  • 19 Sept: Australian Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg unveiled a draft bill aimed at regulating crypto exchanges, stablecoins and China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the e-Yuan.
  • 19 Sept: SEC chairman Gary Gensler said proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptocurrencies could be subject to federal securities regulations, mere hours after the $200 billion Ethereum network completed its shift to a PoS system.
  • 19 Sept: Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin orders the Treasury and the Central Bank to submit concrete proposals for the development of the country’s digital asset market by 1 December.
  • 19 Sept: The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issues a consumer warning against FTX, saying that the crypto exchange is not authorised to provide financial services or products in the country.
  • 20 Sept: The SEC sparks major criticism of its lawsuit filing against crypto influencer Ian Balina, which claims that it has jurisdiction over all Ethereum transactions since a majority of nodes are in the US.
  • 21 Sept: The latest draft legislation in the US House of Representatives would place a 2-year ban on new algorithmic stablecoins such as TerraClassicUSD (USTC).
  • 23 Sept: The UK introduces an Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill to speed up and simplify crypto seizure procedures.
  • 27 Sept: Australia announced that its pilot for eAUD — the country’s central bank digital currency — is due to be completed by mid-2023.
BNV

NFTs, GameFi and metaverses

  • 16 Sept: Epic Games lists the first NFT-powered game, Blankos Block Party, on its game store.
  • 19 Sept: Japanese gaming titans, including Bandai Namco, Square Enix and SEGA, are positioning for mainstream blockchain game adoption, says an executive from the Oasys blockchain project.
  • 20 Sept: 20 September is officially International NFT Day.
  • 21 Sept: Web3 fashion startup BNV plans to roll out its own metaverse, BNV World, specially built to showcase ultra-realistic digital fashion pieces.
  • 21 Sept: NFT Marketplace OpenSea integrates Arbitrum, a layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution. The prominent NFT marketplace now supports NFTs from 5 networks: Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Klaytn and Arbitrum.
  • 21 Sept: Creators can now host NFT launches directly on OpenSea through specialised drop pages. This initiative is part of the marketplace’s strategy to help projects garner greater visibility and discoverability.
  • 22 Sept: Recent data published by Delphi Digital reveals that metaverse land trading volume has dropped 98% from its peak in November 2021.
  • 27 Sept: Walmart debuts 2 new immersive experiences in the multiplayer online game Roblox as a “testing ground” for future metaverse moves.
  • 28 Sept: Coinbase has teamed up with Chainlink Labs to provide real-time NFT floor pricing feeds via its Cloud service to help developers create new DeFi applications.
Sam Bankman Fried

Acquisitions and fundings

  • 16 Sept: Sports metaverse company LootMogul secures $200 million funding from Gem Global Yield to boost the development of its multichain virtual sports cities.
  • 17 Sept: Two Sigma Ventures raises $400 million for 2 new funds to invest across a number of industries, including Web3 and crypto projects.
  • 20 Sept: GRNGrid, an environmentally friendly layer 1 blockchain designed for DeFi, received $50 million in funding from GEM Digital to boost partnership opportunities and develop its blockchain technology.
  • 21 Sept: DeFi bug bounty platform Immunefi raises $24 million in Series A led by Framework Ventures. Plans for the funds include a platform revamp and increase payouts for white-hat hackers.
  • 23 Sept: Metaverse infrastructure firm Hadean raises $30 million in a funding round led by Molten Ventures. Other prominent investors include Epic Games, 2050 Capital and Aster Capital.
  • 23 Sept: Hyperlane, a startup that helps developers connect applications across blockchains, raises $18.5 million in a seed funding round led by crypto investor Variant.
  • 27 Sept: FTX US won the auction to buy bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital’s assets with a $1.4 billion bid.
Interpol

Defaults, exploits and lawsuits

  • 19 Sept: Decentralised exchange GMX suffers a price manipulation exploit and loses $565,000 from the Avalanche (AVAX)/USD market.
  • 19 Sept: Ethereum post-merge fork ETHPoW suffers a bridge replay exploit, enabling the attacker to make away with 200 ETHW tokens. The price of ETHW token tanks 37% to a new low of $4.22 following the news.
  • 20 Sept: The SEC has filed a lawsuit against crypto influencer Ian Balina for violating US securities law in connection with a 2018 initial coin offering (ICO).
  • 23 Sept: Compute North, one of the largest operators of crypto-mining data centres, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
  • 25 Sept: Interpol issued a red notice for Do Kwon. The infamous Terraform Labs founder is now wanted in 195 countries.
  • 27 Sept: Chinese authorities arrested 93 suspects for allegedly laundering up to RMB40 billion ($5.6 billion) using cryptocurrencies.
  • 27 Sept: Crypto lending platform Nexo faces legal action from 8 US states for security sales and misleading marketing.
  • 27 Sept: Tether‘s former auditor, Friedman LLP, was fined $1 million by the SEC for sloppy accounting practices.
Crypto Exchanges

Digital banks and exchanges

  • 21 Sept: Robinhood lists USDC as the first stablecoin available to retail traders on its trading platform.
  • 21 Sept: DeFi protocol Coin98 releases its own dollar-pegged stablecoin CUSD that aims to become a way to move value across different chains.
  • 26 Sept: Binance re-applies for an operating licence in Japan, 4 years after the world’s largest crypto exchange pulled out of the country.
  • 26 Sept: WazirX, a leading Indian cryptocurrency exchange, delists 3 stablecoins: USDC, USDP and TUSD. Users’ existing balances convert to Binance’s USD-backed stablecoin BUSD at a 1:1 ratio.
Crypto Wallet

Payments and wallets

  • 16 Sept: Binance partners with leading Ukrainian supermarket chain Varus to accept crypto payments for online orders through the exchange’s Pay wallet.
  • 16 Sept: The European Central Bank collaborates with Amazon and 4 other firms for the development of potential digital euro user interfaces.
  • 19 Sept: Decentralised finance privacy protocol Railgun has launched its Railway Wallet mobile app, enabling users to conduct DeFi activities on the Ethereum blockchain in private.
  • 22 Sept: Eurocoinpay, a Spanish cryptocurrency exchange, partners with Mastercard to launch one of the first cryptocurrency-based debit cards in Spain.

Images: Getty Images

Top crypto news

FTX wins bid to buy Voyager Digital’s remaining assets for $1.4 billion

27 September 2022

FTX wins Voyager bid

Image: Finder

There’s no end in sight when it comes to Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto winter shopping spree.

After several rounds of intense bidding, billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange, FTX US, has won the bankruptcy auction to scoop up Voyager’s remaining assets for a whopping $1.4 billion.

Voyager, a popular digital asset lender, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July after it suffered huge losses from market volatility and exposure to Singapore-based crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s $660 million loan default.

Based on the court filings, FTX is paying $51 million in cash for the firm itself. The bulk of the offer — approximately $1.3 billion based on the fair market value of Voyager’s crypto at a to-be-determined date – will be focused on bailing out investors’ holdings that were stuck in bankruptcy limbo since 1 July 2022. Ironically, Voyager had snubbed a deal from FTX to purchase its assets in July, describing the proposal as a “low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue”.

Read more

TOKEN2049: Asia’s largest Web3 conference

28 September 2022

TOKEN2049

Image: TOKEN2049

TOKEN2049, a premier cryptocurrency conference and flagship event of this year’s Asia Crypto Week made its Singapore debut on 28 September.

Despite the bear market, the 2-day Web3 event (which also coincides with the return of the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix) attracted a record-breaking 7,000+ attendees, 2,000+ global companies and 250+ sponsors, cementing Singapore’s position as a regional crypto hub.

From crypto’s foremost dealmakers to industry shakers, TOKEN2049 featured a star-studded line-up of speakers including Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz, BitMEX CEO Alexander Höptner, Pantera Capital CEO Dan Morehead, Aave founder and CEO Stani Kulechov as well as OKX brand ambassador F1 McLaren Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo.

On top of meet-ups, workshops, and networking opportunities, TOKEN2049 also hosted a first-of-its-kind, immersive NFT experience. Titled the OP3N WHALE NFT Exhibition, the exhibition unveiled the world’s largest collection of rare, high-valued NFT assets with a market value exceeding $100 million.

The next edition of TOKEN2049 will take place in London from 9 to 10 November this year.

Read more

Best cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong

Check out our reviews on a range of leading cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong and around the world. Compare the features, fees and pros and cons of each crypto exchange and consider how they align with your investment goals and budget.

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Hong Kong

Disclaimer: This information should not be interpreted as an endorsement of cryptocurrency or any specific provider, service or offering. It is not a recommendation to trade. Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.

Note: All prices mentioned in this article are in US dollars (USD) unless otherwise stated.

More guides on Finder

Ask an Expert

You are about to post a question on finder.com:

  • Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
  • finder.com is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
  • We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
  • Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked

Finder.com provides guides and information on a range of products and services. Because our content is not financial advice, we suggest talking with a professional before you make any decision.

By submitting your comment or question, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms.

Questions and responses on finder.com are not provided, paid for or otherwise endorsed by any bank or brand. These banks and brands are not responsible for ensuring that comments are answered or accurate.
Go to site