Dubai-based cryptocurrency investment firm Cypher Capital has hired former Binance Labs head, Bill Qian, as its chairman, according to a report from The Information.
Cypher Capital is a UAE-based venture capital firm that primarily focuses on investing in Token, blockchain and digital asset-related projects.
Qian will oversee the management and operations of Cypher Capital as chairman.
Bill Qian said: “Cypher Capital is primarily focused on investing in cryptocurrencies, which are popular among founders of blockchain startups because they give investors ownership of the technology without diluting the founder’s equity. There will be a very high level of autonomy here to not only manage our internal capital but also raise capital to become a leading crypto asset manager and investor in the region, which is why in the end, I ended up choosing the Cypher team.”
Cypher Capital also plans to create a comprehensive blockchain community to make a significant impact by partnering with exceptional talent, visionary innovators and other venture capital partners.
In March of this year, in order to expand the blockchain ecosystem, UAE venture capital firm Cypher capital launched a $100 million seed fund, which will be invested in projects in the decentralized finance (DeFi), metaverse and blockchain gaming sectors and especially Pay attention to digital asset investment., and $40 million from that fund will be poured into the Indian market.
The company is also aiming to have $1 billion in assets under management by 2025.
Decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) 5G wireless network Helium is proposing to migrate its own network, officially known as HIP 70, to Solana in search of more efficient operations.
Founded in 2013, Helium network is the world’s first peer-to-peer LoRaWAN wireless Internet of Things, also known as “People’s Network”.
Helium is changing the way we connect and extend the world’s wireless networks. Helium’s ever-expanding network of hotspots enables anyone to own and operate a wireless network for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) devices, while customers can earn by setting up and participating in the network using a cryptographic token called HNT award.
The Helium Foundation says it addresses current user needs by moving to the Solana blockchain to achieve faster transaction speeds, longer uptime and more interoperability with other blockchains.
Helium developers said that：
“Solana is a layer 1 blockchain that focuses on the importance of scalability and speed and the network does not compromise on security or scalability.”
Community voting on this proposal began on September 12 and ended on September 18.
As of now, the network has more than 1 million “hotspots” running on the Helium network, most of which are concentrated in the US, Europe and China.
The addition of large institutions such as Andreessen Horowitz also confirms the future prospects of the network.
On September 2, according to Coinmarketcap data, the HNT token lost 1.09% in the past 24 hours, with a market cap of $613,196,579. As of this writing, HNT is trading at $4.89.
In February, Helium raised $200 million in a Series D funding round led by Tiger Global and FTX Ventures at a $1.2 billion valuation.
As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) gears up to become a global crypto hub, approximately 11.4% of its residents have entered this sector, according to the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA).
Through the “Digital Lifestyle” 2022 report, the TDRA disclosed that this figure meant one in every ten people in the nation had cryptocurrency exposure. As a result, the UAE ranked tenth in terms of crypto investments.
Experts have praised the nation’s efforts to promote and adopt cryptocurrencies, and this has been spearheaded by various entities like Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and Abu Dhabi Global Markets.
For instance, Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, collaborated with RAKBANK to enable UAE residents to trade crypto in dirhams through their local bank accounts.
The move was meant to offer UAE residents a seamless solution that would enable them to fund their crypto accounts faster using minimal costs without foreign intervention, Blockchain.News reported.
Other crypto exchanges like Crypto.com and Bybit have set foot on UAE soil based on the friendly initiatives presented.
A recent CNBC report disclosed that Dubai was reaping the dividends of new tech investments because it has laid the grounds for a post-pandemic boom through a business-friendly and low-tax environment. As a result, the city had become a global tech hub, with crypto being a major catalyst.
With a YouGov survey showing that 67% of UAE residents are interested in entering the crypto industry in the next five years, it seems the sky’s the limit for this sector in the country.
2TM – the Brazilian startup that owns the Mercado Bitcoin cryptocurrency exchange – announced Thursday that it will lay off 15% of its workforce, or about 100 employees.
This is the second round of layoffs at 2TM as the company had already laid off more than 80 jobs in June as part of a cost-cutting plan due to intensive bearish market fears.
2TM Group is the parent company of MercadoBitcoin.com.br, one of the most prominent digital currency exchanges in Brazil.
2TM wrote in its official announcement:
“The competitive environment remains deteriorated and unfair, lacking the approval of the legal framework for crypto-activities, as players following the law are penalized by companies that ignore local rules.”
2TM is valued at $2.1 billion following $200 million it raised in a Series B funding round and $50 million in a second closing of the funding last November. The startup also received a liquidity injection from Mercado Libre earlier in January alongside Paxos as reported by Blockchain.News.
Other crypto-related companies in Latin America have also announced layoffs as the crypto-economic adversity continues.
South American trading platform Bitso announced the decision by laying off 80 employees for maintaining its long-term business strategy.
UAE-based cryptocurrency exchange BitOasis has announced that it has cut 5% of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan.
Coinbase announced an 18% layoff, meaning the company laid off about 1,100 full-time employees. Crypto companies like BlockFi, Robinhood, and Crypto.com have also recently announced massive layoffs.
Social media giant Snap announced 20% layoffs this week, leading the Web3 team to become a casualty of that move.
The company’s second-quarter earnings missed expectations, with the growth rate at its slowest rate in five years.
Second-quarter revenue of $1.11 billion, while up 13% from a year earlier, was well below the company’s previous forecast of 20% to 25%.
Snap Web3 team co-founder Jake Sheinman announced his departure from the company on Thursday, writing in his Twitter post:
“As a result of the company restructure, decisions were made to sunset our Web3 team。”
Snap is not as serious about Web3 as other tech companies such as Meta, but Snap is not very interested at the moment, at least Web3 is not its priority.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel (Evan Spiegel) listed three strategic priorities, namely community growth, revenue growth, AR, some investment projects do not match their vision.
He added that:
“The extent of this reduction should substantially reduce the risk of ever having to do this again, while balancing our desire to invest in our long-term future and reaccelerate our revenue growth.”
Many people believe that Web3 will be the next generation of the Internet, but Snap has little interest right now, at least Web3 is not its priority.
This week, Snap announced 20% layoffs, and investment in some projects has shrunk significantly. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel listed three strategic priorities, namely community growth, revenue growth, AR, and some The investment project does not match its vision.
The Web3 team was laid off because the early exploration of the Web3 space did not directly contribute to Snap priorities and AR investments, and did not meet the current company team goals.
The Indonesian government is reportedly set to launch its own digital currency trading platform before the end of the year, after overcoming several delays.
According to a report by Deal Street Asia, the proposed digital assets exchange is an attempt by the government to protect its masses as the interest in cryptocurrencies has continued to grow among the populace.
The crypto exchange was initially planned to go live in 2021 but was later postponed to the first quarter of 2022. This postponement did not also stir the launch of the exchange as its complexity forced the government to abandon the plan to date.
“We will make sure that every requirement, procedure, and the necessary steps have been taken,” said Indonesia’s Deputy Trade MinisterJerry Sambuaga, noting that the delay cannot be attributed to any significant problem.
“This is proof that we are being careful. We don’t want to be hasty as it may cause us to miss something. Creating a bourse needs many preparations. We need to see which entities should be included in the bourse. Secondly, we need to validate the said entities. Thirdly, there is minimum capital and other requirements related to custodian depository, technical things,” he added.
Should the crypto exchange eventually go live, industry veterans believe it will cause a new shift in the embrace of digital assets in the country. Of major note is how well it will push institutional investors into injecting capital into the ecosystem as a crypto exchange from the government will come as more or less an endorsement.
The Indonesian government classifies crypto assets as trading commodities and not payments. Despite this designation, a lot of companies including GoTo, a publicly traded tech firm in the country are diversifying their investment and have acquired a licensed crypto exchange, PT Kripto Maksima Koin for $8.4 million.
KyberSwap announced that $265,000 in user funds were stolen after a hacker exploited the multichain DEX aggregator’s front end.
The company confirmed the hacking incident, followed by announcing that compensation would be made to the victims of the attack. A 15% bounty will be released for the hacker if all the funds are returned and if the hacker speaks directly with the KyberSwap team.
According to the details released from KyberSwap, the hacker exploited the code initially at approximately 2:30 am EST. “We identified a malicious code in our Google Tag Manager (GTM) which inserted a false approval, allowing a hacker to transfer a user’s funds to his address,” the company said in its official notice.
The notice further explained that the hacker had discreetly injected the script to target whale wallets with large amounts specifically.
Following investigations, the company was able to neutralize the exploit within two hours.
The company has also urged users to proceed with using its platform with caution for the time being.
However, the attack on KyberSwap was comparatively smaller than other recent attacks on DeFi projects, which have seen numerous multimillion-dollar thefts of users’ funds.
However, it does highlight the wide range of ways DeFi users are vulnerable to attacks.
Thailand’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday that it has tightened cryptocurrency firms’ advertising rules.
In an emailed statement sent on Thursday, the SEC told various crypto-related companies operating in the country that ads for digital assets must include clear and visible warnings about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
The SEC tightened rules after discovering that some ads contain no warnings about crypto risks while other promotions feature only positive information.
The regulator’s details of the tighter crypto advertising regulations include:
· Advertisements must not feature false, misleading or exaggerated claims
· Warnings of risks must be clear and easy to notice
· The ads must feature balanced views, mentioning both positive and negative factors
· And crypto firms must limit advertising to official channels like their websites
Recently, the authorities announced their plans to provide more protections for retail investors.
The enforcement of the new advertising rules by the SEC comes after Zipmex, a locally licensed crypto exchange, and its regional parent company, Zipmex Pte, headquartered in Singapore, halted withdrawals in July due to a liquidity crisis after their exposure to troubled Babel Finance, and Celsius Networks went sour.
Zipmex, a crypto exchange that operates in markets such as Singapore and Thailand, halted withdrawals as the fallout from a series of defaults spread further into the industry.
The Asian platform encountered financial difficulties stemming from dealings with troubled crypto lending firms Babel Finance and Celsius Network Ltd.
The second-largest digital assets exchange in Thailand has been fined $1.92 baht by the local regulator, according to the statement published on Security and Exchange Comission, due to a failure to abide by the standards of professional ethics under the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Trade 2018.
Zipmex ran into financial troubles due to its $48 million exposure to Babel and $5 million with Celsius.
Efforts to Improve Consumer Protection
The latest move by Thailand makes it join countries such as the U.K. and Singapore in seeking to protect retail investors in the wake of a $2 trillion selloff in digital asset markets.
In January, the U.K. government strengthened cryptocurrency ads’ rules to bring them in line with other financial assets.
The U.K. financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the rules would increase consumer protection and also encourage innovation.
In March last year, The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned what it termed a “socially irresponsible” Bitcoin ad and sent warnings to a group of crypto firms about crypto promotions.
In January this year, the regulator banned two ads by Crypto.com, stating that the firm was encouraging people to purchase Bitcoin with credit cards.
Meanwhile, in January, Singapore’s financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, restricted digital asset players from promoting crypto services in public spaces, leading to the removal of advertisements in MRT stations and the dismantling of Bitcoin ATMs.
The regulator is now considering further measures to discourage retail investors from accessing crypto.
Thailand’s Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Thursday that it has tightened cryptocurrency firms’ advertising rules.
In an emailed statement sent on Thursday, the SEC told various crypto-related companies operating in the country that ads for digital assets must include clear and visible warnings about the risks of investing in cryptocurrencies.
The SEC tightened rules after discovering that some ads contain no warnings about crypto risks while other promotions feature only positive information.
The regulator’s details of the tighter crypto advertising regulations include:
· Advertisements must not feature false, misleading or exaggerated claims
· Warnings of risks must be clear and easy to notice
· The ads must feature balanced views, mentioning both positive and negative factors
· And crypto firms must limit advertising to official channels like their websites
Recently, the authorities announced their plans to provide more protections for retail investors.
The enforcement of the new advertising rules by the SEC comes after Zipmex, a locally licensed crypto exchange, and its regional parent company, Zipmex Pte, headquartered in Singapore, halted withdrawals in July due to a liquidity crisis after their exposure to troubled Babel Finance, and Celsius Networks went sour.
Zipmex, a crypto exchange that operates in markets such as Singapore and Thailand, halted withdrawals as the fallout from a series of defaults spread further into the industry.
The Asian platform encountered financial difficulties stemming from dealings with troubled crypto lending firms Babel Finance and Celsius Network Ltd.
Zipmex ran into financial troubles due to its $48 million exposure to Babel and $5 million with Celsius.
Efforts to Improve Consumer Protection
The latest move by Thailand makes it join countries such as the U.K. and Singapore in seeking to protect retail investors in the wake of a $2 trillion selloff in digital asset markets.
In January, the U.K. government strengthened cryptocurrency ads’ rules to bring them in line with other financial assets.
The U.K. financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), said the rules would increase consumer protection and also encourage innovation.
In March last year, The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned what it termed a “socially irresponsible” Bitcoin ad and sent warnings to a group of crypto firms about crypto promotions.
In January this year, the regulator banned two ads by Crypto.com, stating that the firm was encouraging people to purchase Bitcoin with credit cards.
Meanwhile, in January, Singapore’s financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, restricted digital asset players from promoting crypto services in public spaces, leading to the removal of advertisements in MRT stations and the dismantling of Bitcoin ATMs.
The regulator is now considering further measures to discourage retail investors from accessing crypto.
FTX.US, the United States subsidiary of FTX Derivatives Exchange, has announced the appointment of Jill Sommers to its Board of Directors.
Sommers served as a 2-term commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as nominated by both former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and was confirmed twice by the US Senate.
As an experienced Policy Adviser in the Derivatives ecosystem, Sommers brings her years of experience to the crypto exchange, which is aiming at establishing its stance as one of the foremost regulated crypto exchanges and Clearinghouses.
“I am honored to be joining the FTX US Derivatives Board of Directors to advance the mission of reshaping market structure in the United States,” Sommers said in a statement, “The company has been at the forefront of bridging the gap between traditional and digital assets while staying true to its founding principles of transparency and leading the charge toward becoming the most regulated digital asset exchange in the world. I’m excited to join the board as we continue working closely with regulators to further establish FTX US Derivatives as the premier regulated crypto derivatives trading platform.”
Since it finalized the acquisition of LedgerX, which it has renamed FTX US Derivatives, it has been offering users crypto-related options and swaps contracts. Besides pioneering Bitcoin mini contracts, FTX US Derivatives also offers physical settlement of all contracts, block trading and algorithmic trading opportunities for institutional investors, and direct access for all traders.
According to CEO Zach Dexter, Sommers’ inclusion on its board will help guide the company as it looks to make a more ambitious plunge into the broader financial ecosystem.
Exchanges are becoming fond of onboarding government officials with deep regulatory experiences to help steer their regulatory push. In like manner, One River Digital Asset Management appointed Jay Clayton to its Advisory board after he stepped down from his role as the Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
