Weekly Summary
- FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried has been Arrested, Denied Bail, and Charged with Fraud
- Binance Withdrawals Surge as Concerns About Its Reserve Report Spook Traders
- Market Rises After CPI Data Release, but Cools After Latest Fed Rate Hike
- Hong Kong Stock Exchange to List Its First Retail Crypto Futures ETF by CSOP
- PayPal Launches Integration with MetaMask Web3 Wallet to Support Ethereum Transaction
- Apple Prepares to Allow Third-Party App Stores, in Potential Boon for Crypto & NFTs
Industry Stories
U.S. Charges Sam Bankman-Fried 8 Counts of Financial and Elections fraud: After about a month of FTX’s bankruptcy, the former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was arrested in the Bahamas at the request of U.S. government this Monday, a day before he was due to testify before Congress. The indictment against SBF was unsealed soon on Tuesday, accusing SBF of defrauding U.S. customers and concealing the diversion of customers’ funds. The former FTX founder is now facing multiple serious charges from the SEC, CFTC and SDNY attorney’s office.
Binance Net Outflows Topped $3.6B over the Last 7 days as Rumors and FUD Spread: Following FTX collapse, Binance released last month a proof of reserves system, which, however, spiked concerns on the exchange’s finance including its corporate structure, Bitcoin liabilities and internal control quality, as Cointelegraph reported. Crypto analytics firm Nansen indicated that Binance’s net outflows surpassed $3.6 billion from Dec 7 to Dec 13, and the withdrawals continued. The exchange has endured $3 billion of withdrawals over a 24-hour period, the data firm said on Tuesday, as Binance “temporarily paused” withdrawals of the USDC stablecoin.
Fed hikes rates again and warns of more rises: The new CPI data showed that U.S. inflation slowed down considerably in November and is at its lowest level in almost a year, spelling relief for markets – European stocks closed 1.1% higher, British pound hit six-month high and Bitcoin up 5% after the cooler-than-expected inflation print on Tuesday. At the FOMC meeting the following day, Fed lifted rates by an eased 0.5% but signaled higher peak rates ahead. Stocks and crypto again slid on Wednesday as investors absorbed the hawkish remarks.
CSOP Launches Bitcoin Futures ETF and Ethereum Futures ETF in Hong Kong: CSOP Asset Management, a property management company in Hong Kong, was reported on Dec 13 to have received approval to list its Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by Dec 16. The SRC told that qualified virtual asset future ETFs would be allowed to be sold publicly, in a move to help regulate the market.
MetaMask to allow users to purchase and transfer Ethereum via Paypal: Digital payments platform PayPal has partnered with MetaMask parent company ConsenSys to allow MetaMask users to purchase and transfer ETH via PayPal. The Paypal integration offers the popular web3 wallet users a new way to buy crypto, and the feature will be rolled out to all U.S. users in the coming weeks, as the company announced on Dec 14.
Apple Plans to Allow Alternative App Stores on iPhone: Apple is preparing to allow alternative app stores on its iPhones and iPads, part of a sweeping overhaul aimed at complying with strict European Union requirements coming in 2024, Bloomberg reported. This major shift for Apple to open its ecosystem is seen by the market as a booming opportunity for crypto, NFT, and other web3 apps’ entries. Currently, Apple has its controversial stringent rules with up-to-30% commission on payments for gas fees.
Service Highlight
Matrixport is thrilled to announce that our institutional custodian service brand, Cactus Custody™, has successfully completed the SOC (System and Organization Controls) 2 Type 1 audit by Deloitte, of its security, availability and confidentiality. This examination reflects our commitment to technical and operational best practices in safeguarding customer data and digital assets.
“As a qualified custodian safeguarding digital assets for institutional clients, we have always managed our operations by upholding the highest standards of security. The completion of SOC2 Type 1 examination validates our teams’ dedication to safeguarding customer data and funds. We will undertake this stringent audit annually, such that it becomes part of our routine operations, as an ongoing commitment to our clients worldwide. Cactus Custody will also continue to pursue SOC2 Type 2 audit with Deloitte in the coming months.” Said Cynthia Wu, Matrixport’s Chief Operating Officer and founding partner.
Matrixport News
Matrixport Research published a “Matrix on Target” report that shares 18 crypto events on the horizon including our predictions for 2023. While several of those events have been announced, such as blockchain upgrades, Mt.Gox creditor payouts, others are simply speculation and thought-provoking predictions on our side. Readers could read the report as simply ‘food for thought’.
As a new and evolving asset class that requires continuous learning, digital assets can easily scare off investors who prefer regulated products. Eugene Lim, Matrixport’s Head of Private Wealth spoke to Asian Private Banker about this and the emerging opportunities. “However, we’ve seen that there are investors who are willing to dig a little deeper — HNWIs and single-family offices are keen on exploring the asset class, motivated by factors such as keeping their diversified portfolios up-to-date with new, innovative assets, which parallels the early days of hedge funds,”
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