The Friday Focus: Issue 52
Welcome to our Friday newsletter - Our weekly crypto news summary, separating the signal from the noise.Weekly happenings in the crypto industry (Sept 16th - Sept 23rd)
Crypto regulations continue making headlines. The EU finalizes the legal text for its landmark crypto regulatory framework MiCA. The framework will open for crypto companies to access the entire EU market by obtaining a license in just one jurisdiction. Coinbase is the latest exchange to get such a license. In the US, Colorado now accepts crypto as a tax payment. Meanwhile, Tether and Bitfinex are ordered to show financial documents over the USDT stablecoin.Hacks continue plaguing DeFi, as crypto market maker Wintermute was hacked for $160M, but remains solvent after the attack.The capitulation intensifies in the mining industry. Compute North, one of the world’s biggest hosting providers for crypto miners, files for bankruptcy, which may create problems for several of its clients. Bitmain, the leading bitcoin mining machine manufacturer, heavily discounts its machines. Meanwhile, bitcoin miner Riot sues fellow miner Northern Data for disclosing the terms on a Texas bitcoin data center acquisition. While others are struggling, the bitcoin miner Bitfarms keeps pushing forward, now starting bitcoin production in Argentina.Institutions continue using the bear market as an opportunity to push into crypto. Nasdaq starts a crypto custody service for institutional clients, while crypto intelligence firm Coin Metrics partners with the hedge fund Two Sigma to tailor crypto data products for financial institutions. The crypto exchange CoinCorner expands into the Middle East in a partnership with the Dubai ruling family. Meanwhile, JP Morgan raises concerns on proof-of-stake’s centralizing force on Ethereum.The bear market is for building, and crypto investment firms keep launching innovative crypto investment products. CoinShares launches an algorithmic trading tool for retail investors, and 21Shares offers two new ETH ETPs. At the same time, Alameda-backed Volmex Labs launches BTC and ETH volatility indexes inspired by the VIX index.The crypto capital market activity has dramatically increased lately, with FTX’s discussions to raise up to $1B at a $32B valuation as definite proof. Web3 fraud-protection startup Sardine raises $52M, African crypto exchange Yellow Card raises $40M, and crypto analytics platform Messari raises $35M. Meanwhile, FTX and Binance compete to buy the assets of failed crypto lender Voyager, but American national security concerns may complicate Binance’s attempt.
