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Coinbase Says Goodbye to Over 60 Employees

by Blockchain NewsNovember 11, 2022

Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc has announced a fresh job cut of over 60.

The job cut from its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams has come during a time when the crypto market has gone silent due to the dramatic financial crisis of crypto exchange FTX that involved more than one party.

Furthermore, this is the second round of job cuts at Coinbase this year, which has come about a week after “crypto market headwinds” contributed to the US-based crypto exchange’s net loss of $544.6 million for the three months ended September 30. In comparison to last year, the company had made a profit of $406.1 million.

According to a spokesman from Coinbase, the company believes that the job cuts will help smoothen the operation as efficiently as possible.

Coinbase cut off a total number of 1,100 jobs or 18% of their workforce in June. The move had come about a week after the company had announced an extension of the hiring freeze and a rescinding of accepted offers.

Previously, CEO Brian Armstrong had said that Coinbase had “overhired” and had to purge its workforce accordingly.

The crypto industry has suffered this year due to the higher interest rates and worries of an economic downturn. Major crypto companies such as Voyager Digital, Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network have already collapsed and are facing bankruptcy.

The crypto exchange seems to be struggling in this year’s bear market. Its quarterly revenue is down 28%, and trading volumes fell 27% during Q3 in 2022. While the company’s stock is also down nearly 80% this year and down 27.4% this month alone.

Another top company involved in the web3 space has cut off a big number of jobs. Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc has confirmed the cut of 11,000 jobs or 13% of its global workforce as it seeks to focus on its core business areas.

Its metaverse engagements have taken a big hit since the company started investing in the space. As reported by Blockchain.News, Meta’s metaverse division recorded a $3.7 billion loss in the third quarter (Q3) of this year, a figure that has further highlighted the capital frailty of the company.

The recorded metaverse loss and the aftermath bordering on staff layoff might stir a significant slowdown amongst Web2 companies looking to make their forays into the metaverse.

The rationale is very simple and is bound to be hinged on the fact that if Meta Platforms could run at a loss with their massive capitalization, then the discovery of the company is more or less a gamble that may need to be waited out.

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Crypto Hedge Fund Protocol Ventures to Shut Down Amid Market Fraught

by Blockchain NewsNovember 3, 2022

Protocol Ventures LP, a major US crypto hedge fund, has announced plans to close down its business and return cash to investors following the plunge in the market for digital assets. That is according to people familiar with sources, who asked for their identities to remain anonymous.

Protocol Ventures sent notices to investors at the end of October about the move, the sources revealed. One of the people said that the hedge fund is expecting to complete the closure by year-end or the first quarter of 2023.

Investors in Protocol’s fund of hedge funds may have lost as much as 90% over the past year, as per the sources.

Protocol Ventures is a fund of crypto hedge fund that invested in companies such as BlockTower Capital, Multicoin Capital, Pantera, and Electric Capital, among others. Protocol’s decision to wind down its business comes amid broad turbulence in the digital asset sector, which has lost a $2 trillion market value over six months.

In 2021, crypto hedge funds gained widespread popularity as the pandemic severely impacted the financial markets. As a result, the economic crisis triggered investors to embrace cryptocurrency as safe-haven assets.

However, outperformance rapidly dissipated after central banks globally hiked interest rates to fight inflation since the beginning of this year. The aggressive shift dramatically tightened financial conditions and reduced the appetite for riskier investments.

As a result, a major cryptocurrency hedge fund based in Singapore, called Three Arrows Capital (3AC), fell into liquidation in June this year due to the ongoing crypto winter that started harshly in May. The plunge in cryptocurrency prices, which wiped off billions of dollars in the market, significantly hurt 3AC and exposed a liquidity crisis at the firm.

With a net asset value of $18 billion in its last public statement, 3AC was known for directly taking large, highly leveraged stakes in crypto businesses and cryptocurrencies. But the turmoil in the crypto markets wiped out the value of those holdings.

In June, Mike Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, anticipated that two-thirds of the hedge funds that invest in crypto would fail due to the ongoing market turbulence.

Novogratz cited the wider financial market’s reaction to the removal of stimulus by the US central bank as the reason for the crash of the cryptocurrency prices. The executive said the collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, in which he and Galaxy were investors, was triggered by broader macroeconomic factors rather than flaws in the project.

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Tagged : CRYPTO HEDGE FUND / Crypto Winter / Enterprise / PROTOCOL VENTURES LP

Bitmex to Layoff Employees a Week After CEO Takes Exit

by Blockchain NewsNovember 2, 2022

Another top crypto exchange has decided to cut headcount a week after its CEO took an exit.

Bitmex has reduced its number of employees as part of a strategy to move away from the company’s “beyond derivatives” model.

“We are pivoting from our Beyond Derivatives strategy and will return much of our focus aiming at providing the crypto derivatives trading experience people will turn to,” according to Bitmex.

“We are going to refocus on liquidity, latencies and a vibrant derivatives community, including BMEX Token trading.”

The company’s “beyond derivatives” included a push into spot trading, brokerage and custody services.

Bitmex had employed around 180 people as of September.

Initially, it was reported that Bitmex had let go of 30% of the workforce, but they later clarified that the number was lower. However, the company has released not released an exact number.

The company had previously laid off around 75 jobs after cancelling its plan to take over the German bank Bankhaus von der Heydt.

According to the company statement, they are “going to refocus on liquidity, latencies and a vibrant derivatives community including BMEX Token trading.”

They further added that the company’s top priority is to make “sure all employees who will be impacted have the support they require.”

Bitmex became the first crypto exchange for offering crypto derivatives after its establishment in 2014.

The cut-off has come a week after CEO Alexander Höptner quit less than two years with Bitmex, following which the company appointed Chief Financial Officer Stephan Lutz as interim CEO.

Höptner was drafted to bail out BitMEX when the previous CEO Arthur Hayes was under investigation by the United States market regulators.

Höptner took over as CEO back in January 2021 at a time when the exchange needed enough stability and a break from the legal onslaught that was launched by US regulators over its derivatives products. Drawing on his experiences with Börse Stuttgart, Deutsche Börse AG, and led Euwax AG, Höptner committed to changing the primary focus of the exchange from derivatives to other products.

Besides Bitmex, other crypto exchanges such as Crypto.com and BlockFi have also laid off their employees.

Crypto exchange Crypto.com and lending platform BlockFi announced plans to cut over 400 jobs globally in June as they came under pressure from difficult market conditions.

Crypto.com said that it would reduce its workforce by 5%, which is about 260 employees. While BlockFi announced that it would lay off 20% of its workforce, around 170 people.

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Tagged : Bitmex / Blockchain / Crypto / Enterprise / LAYOFF

Generate Capital to Purchase Bankrupt Compute North’s Assets in 2 Mining Sites

by Blockchain NewsNovember 2, 2022

According to bankruptcy filings on Tuesday, lending firm Generate Capital is purchasing Bitcoin mining hosting firm Compute North’s stake in two mega-mining facilities (a 300-megawatt (MW) facility in Wolf Hollow, Texas, and a 100 MW one in Kearny, Nebraska) for $5 million.

A U.S. Bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of Texas signed the order approving the sale of Compute North’s stake in the two mining facilities.

According to the purchase agreement, Generate Capital was the only bidder for Compute North’s equity, and the court approved the sale on Tuesday.

As part of the sale, Generate Capital is fully purchasing Compute North’s sites for $5 million and will assume the liabilities as well as obligations to clients that host their machines at the sites.

In late September, Compute North became the latest casualty of the bear market and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it can’t fulfil debt obligations worth up to $500 million.

In its bankruptcy filing, Compute North blamed its financial woes on this year’s bear market, the rising cost of electricity in the U.S. and the time it takes between constructing two new data centres and becoming profitable.

The biggest blow came from a loan that the Bitcoin miner secured from Generate Capital. In February, Generate Capital lent Compute North $300 million to finance the development of the two sites in Texas and Nebraska.

While Compute North was able to repay some of the funds, about a third of it was still outstanding as it defaulted payments.

In July, in bids to recover its money, Generate Capital took over some of Compute North’s assets, including two of the sites that its finance had gone towards construction purposes.

Generate Capital’s move to take control of Compute North assets triggered the Bitcoin miner’s chapter 11 bankruptcy in late September.

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing protected the Bitcoin miner from its creditors while allowing it to continue operations. This has given it enough breathing space to figure out a way to repay its creditors without having to be auctioned off.

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Tagged : BANKRUPT / Bitcoin / Compute North / Enterprise / GENERATE CAPITAL / Miner / Mining

Glassnode Acquires Crypto Portfolio Tracking Tax Platform Accointing.Com

by Blockchain NewsOctober 27, 2022

Leading crypto market intelligence provider Glassnode has acquired crypto portfolio tracking tax Platform Accointing.Com to allow users to track their portfolios in one place.

Glassnode is an on-chain and market data intelligence provider that provides traders and investors with a market intelligence suite and advanced metrics across on-chain as well as crypto-financial data, supplied through actionable charts.

According to the announcement, in the coming months, Glassnode will integrate with Accointing.com, combining both into a single platform.

Once the integration is done, Glassnode users can take advantage of Accointing.com’s services, including viewing their portfolio assets across wallets and exchanges.

Users will also be able to make use of Accointing.com’s automated crypto tax compliance and reporting features. Additionally, until the integration is settled, users will only be able to access both platforms using the same login.

Speaking of Glassnode, the data provider has so far been providing accurate analysis of the overall crypto market. In July, the data provider showed that the top cryptocurrency in the market has persisted in two huge capitulation events so far in 2022.

The market insight provider explained, “2022 has seen Bitcoin markets whether two enormous capitulation events, both with the largest BTC transfer volume in a loss since 2011. When LUNA collapsed, the total transfer volume in the loss was 538k BTC. This was followed by 480k BTC as the market traded below the 2017 ATH.”

In addition, Glassnode also explained in the same month that for a bear market to reach an ultimate floor, the share of coins held at a loss should transfer primarily to those who are the least sensitive to price and with the highest conviction.

The data provider added that one of the significant impacts of a lengthy bear market entails the redistribution of wealth amongst the remaining stakeholders.

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Tagged : ACCOINTING / Cryptocurrency / Enterprise / Glassnode

ShareRing Rolls Out Skinny ID for Frictionless Blockchain-Based Digital Identity Solutions

by Blockchain NewsOctober 25, 2022

ShareRing, a blockchain-based ecosystem providing digital identity solutions, has launched Skinny ID, aimed at offering a seamless and frictionless onboarding process.

Per the announcement:

“Introducing Skinny ID, ShareRing’s simplified sign-up process that removes friction on the onboarding journey and allows users to explore the ShareRing ecosystem without having to provide any government IDs.”

Being a user-focused blockchain platform, ShareRing enables the issuance, storage, verification, and sharing of personal information and key documents. The report noted:

“Previously, ShareRing’s initial onboarding journey added friction to users who were stepping into ShareRing for the first time, which went against our mission to enable frictionless access. It was a more extensive sign-up process that asked for at least one piece of government ID followed by a selfie scan using our face match technology.”

ShareRing’s blockchain-powered platform also enables financial institutions to undertake processes more efficiently and faster based on its electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) product, which presents users with the flexibility to give data-sharing consent.

ShareRing recently integrated the eKYC process with near-field communication (NFC) technology to make it more reliable and secure, Blockchain.News reported.

Previously, ShareRing launched a new website with blockchain-enabled digital identities to usher in the Web3 era to tackle the challenge of the loss of autonomy on personal data experienced in Web2.

Given that the lack of the ability to manage digital identity and footprint in Web2 has been one the primary stumbling blocks to safeguarding privacy and ownership of data, ShareRing intended to solve this challenge with the blockchain-enabled website.

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Tagged : Blockchain / Digital Identity / Enterprise / IDENTITY SOLUTIONS / SHARERING / SKINNY ID

Celsius Gets Green Light from Bankruptcy Judge for Bidding Plans

by Blockchain NewsOctober 25, 2022

Celsius Network has received a green light from a federal bankruptcy judge for the crypto lender’s bidding procedure plans.

The next step will include setting up a motion schedule to see the platform’s assets sold by the end of the year.

On October 21, Celsius announced through Twitter, “at today’s hearing, we made progress on important issues, including bidding procedures for a potential sale of Celsius assets, cash management, and appointing a fee examiner to monitor professional fees. Our next hearing is currently scheduled for November 1.”

However, Celsius can still apply for a standalone proposal to reorganize. But the procedures lay out the steps for selling the platform’s assets.

The company also has plans to request bids for the retail asset business. They include the earn accounts and coin balances, the retail and institutional lending portfolio, its swap services, the staking platform, the payment feature, the decentralized finance arm and any crypto assets it’s still holding.

Other assets, including the mining business, are also under plans for soliciting bids.

The order has provided Celsius with access to choose a horse bidder, set the date and deadlines for a possible sale, and set up a layout for the sale. Ultimately, these steps will direct the lender to enter a sale order that the court and creditors would have to approve.

The deadline for final bids has been set up for December 12, and if necessary, an auction would be slated for December 15, according to Chief Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn.

Following that, a winner will be selected, and a sale hearing for any objections or discussion on the sale order will follow on December 22.

However, Celsius’ stockholders dealt a blow as Glenn ruled against their motion to form an official committee of equity holders. The stockholders were seeking to stake a claim to the company’s most valuable assets, according to Bloomberg.

The decision indicates that the holders of Celsius’ equity will not get financial support for the case but instead will have to pay for their own lawyers and advisers during the bankruptcy.

Among the stakeholders are top venture capital firm WestCap Management LLC and pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec (CDPQ).

The ongoing argument for months has been for the entitlement to the value from Celsius’ mining business, along with the loan book. The company’s stockholders believe that they are entitled to those assets rather than the customers because of Celsius’s corporate structure, which the customers have already denied.

According to Glenn’s decision, the stockholders have not met the legal standards required for their advisers’ bills to be paid by Celsius.

Celsius has already incurred more than $3 million in legal fees, according to a recent filing report.

The bankruptcy proceedings, which have been costly for Celsius Network, are an understatement. Per the filing, law firm Kirkland and Ellis is charging the company $2.6 million in fees for representing it in its bankruptcy proceedings from July 13 to July 31.

Akin Gump also charged the company $750,000 in fees for its services between July 13 and August 31.

These massive legal fees give a peak into the costs incurred by crypto companies that have gone bankrupt, including Voyager Digital, Babel Finance, Vauld Group, and Zipmex. While the industry is filled with these bankruptcy cases, Celsius Network stands out as it was the first firm to halt withdrawals on its platform.

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Tagged : Bankruptcy / Bitcoin / Blockchain / Celsius / Crypto / Enterprise

Robinhood Seeks Sanctions Investigators ahead of Self-Custody Crypto Wallet Launch

by Blockchain NewsOctober 24, 2022

Robinhood is seeking to hire several Sanctions Investigators for its finance crimes compliance unit as it may be broadening its offerings, according to its official Linkedin page.

The job description includes reviewing and analyzing alerts of potential matches of Robinhood customers to denied parties, managing the investigative process from initial detection to disposition and reporting, annotating findings providing proof of evidence and a final decision, escalating any matches that cannot be resolved to Sanctions Investigation management and in addition any accurate positive matches to the Sanctions Office.

Robinhood is a standalone wallet app that offers brokerage services and allows users to trade and swap crypto without network fees.

According to reports, the Brokerage app hiring sanctions investigators could be related to the firm’s upcoming self-custody wallets launch, which will be released officially in the coming months.

Per the job posting, the role requires two-plus years of experience working in financial crimes investigation and one-plus years investigating cryptocurrency transactions. While not required, “Chainalysis experience” is welcome.

In August, the Brokerage app firm was slammed with a fine of $30 million by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

As reported by Blockchain.News, the sanctions came as the regulator discovered that Robinhood Crypto violated several extant regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations, transaction monitoring inadequacies, and failure to make provisions for cybersecurity regulation.

The regulator noted that it discovered the flaws behind the sanction in Robinhood Crypto’s operating models following a supervisory examination and a subsequent investigation.

Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris stated that as the Brokerage firm grew, it failed to “invest the proper resources and attention to develop and maintain a culture of compliance—a failure that resulted in significant violations of the Department’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations.”

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Tagged : Blockchain / Cryptocurrency / Enterprise / Exchange / Hiring / Robinhood / SANCTIONS INVESTIGATORS

Voyager Customers Could Get 72% if Bankruptcy Sale Succeeds

by Blockchain NewsOctober 20, 2022

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager may repay customers 72% of their accounts’ value if the company can sell itself to digital-asset exchange FTX US.

FTX US was able to secure a two-week-long auction for Voyager under a deal connected to court approval of the creditor payment plan, according to lawyers.

However, Voyager can choose to cancel the deal if they are able to get a higher deal that will pay its customers more. US Bankruptcy Judge Michael E. Wiles approved this agreement on Wednesday.

Wiles has also urged Voyager to a “fiduciary out,” which is a standard bankruptcy clause. It allows companies under protection from the bank to accept higher offers until a sale is final.

Voyager bankruptcy attorney Christine Okike has told Wiles that FTX is currently the “only viable alternative” for the company. Still, they have agreed to change how the fiduciary out is worded to ensure a better offer can be considered.

According to Voyager, Wiles has been requested to provide permission to send the payout plan to creditors and customers for a vote. Following that, Wiles has also been asked to approve the sale if creditors vote in favour.

Voyager’s sale to FTX has been valued at about $1.4 billion, of which $51 million is in cash. Also, part of the sale, FTX will be moving customers onto its platform.

Under the payout plan, customers who had digital currencies on Voyager’s platform can be paid in that form once FTX takes over if FTX supports that type of currency, lawyers told Wiles.

The purchase has come after several earlier attempts by the FTX to bail out or acquire Voyager, according to Bloomberg.

New York-based Voyager had about 3.5 million users at the end of March and 1.19 million funded accounts.

Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection in July. It did so after a failed attempt by Alameda Research to bail it out with a revolving line of credit. Alameda Research is a trading house affiliated with FTX.

Soon after that attempt, FTX and Alameda disclosed a joint bid for Voyager. However, Voyager called it a “lowball” offer and declined the attempt. While in September, Alameda said it would return about $200 million worth of Bitcoin and Ether it had borrowed from Voyager by the end of the month.

Besides Voyager, Bankman-Fried has bought several distressed crypto firms, through which he has scooped customers and valuable technologies at a cheaper price.

Bankman-Fried is estimated to own more than 50% of FTX, 70% of FTX US, and almost all of Alameda.

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Tagged : Bitcoin / Blockchain / Crypto / Enterprise / FTX / Voyager

Celsius Network Charged Over $3M in Legal Fees

by Blockchain NewsOctober 17, 2022

Beleaguered crypto lending platform Celsius Network has incurred more than $3 million in legal fees, according to a filing shared on Friday.

The bankruptcy proceedings, which have been costly for Celsius Network, is an understatement, and per the filing, law firm Kirkland and Ellis is charging the company the sum of $2.6 million in fees for representing it in its bankruptcy proceedings from July 13 and July 31.

The company was also charged the sum of $750,000 in fees by Akin Gump for its services between July 13 and August 31.

These massive legal fees give a peak into the costs being incurred by crypto companies that have gone bankrupt, including Voyager Digital, Babel Finance, Vauld Group, and Zipmex. While the industry is filled with these bankruptcy cases, Celsius Network stands out as it was the first firm to halt withdrawals on its platform.

Alex Mashinsky, the company’s founder and former CEO, and his team allegedly ran the company to bankruptcy, with the Wall Street Journal noting that the firm operated a higher risk profile than most traditional banks did.

At present, Celsius Network has been exploring avenues to repay its creditors following its bankruptcy with as many as $2.8 billion in crypto liabilities. For the company to have an amicable settlement where the restructuring or liquidation is favourable to the majority of its creditors, it will still need to incur the services of experts that can help navigate its restructuring process.

As a flagship bankrupt crypto lending firm, the company is neck deep in its proceedings, and according to reports, it may suffer as much as a $40 million deficit according to projections by Kirkland & Ellis.

The crypto winter has taken out many crypto giants, and what proponents in the space are now looking for now is how the affected companies will bankroll their bankruptcy proceedings with highly cushioned funds.

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Tagged : Celsius Network / Enterprise / LEGAL FEES / RISK PORTFOLIO / Wsj