Google, UK, FTX and Binance in Crypto News

In the latest crypto news, Google has expanded its Web3 program by adding 11 blockchain partners to its Google for Startups Cloud Program. The program will provide expertise, grants, and services to emerging Web3 entrepreneurs. The UK government has also allocated $125 million to establish an AI task force aimed at promoting the country’s sovereign capabilities, such as public services, and fostering the adoption of safe and reliable AI foundation models. On the other hand, FTX has agreed to sell its LedgerX futures and options exchange and clearinghouse to M7 Holdings for $50 million, while Binance.US has backed out of its $1 billion Voyager asset purchase due to the “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.”

In more detail, Google has partnered with 11 Web3 blockchain firms, such as Alchemy, Polygon, Celo, and Hedera, to expand its Google for Startups Cloud Program. As part of the program, pre-seed Web3 startups can receive up to $2,000 in Google Cloud credits valid for two years, while seeded startups can access $200,000 over two years for Google Cloud and Firebase usage. Additionally, blockchain partners are offering grants of up to $3 million to seeded companies in the program. Nansen, a blockchain analytics company, has also partnered with Google Cloud to provide real-time blockchain data for startups.

Meanwhile, the UK government has launched an AI task force to accelerate the country’s readiness for AI. The task force will focus on promoting sovereign capabilities, such as public services, and fostering the adoption of safe and reliable AI foundation models. The task force aims to launch its first pilots of AI usage and integration targeting public services in the next six months. The UK is committed to becoming a science and technology superpower by 2030 and is pushing for “safe AI” that regulates technology to “keep people safe” without limiting innovation.

In terms of cryptocurrency exchanges, FTX has agreed to sell its LedgerX futures and options exchange and clearinghouse to M7 Holdings for $50 million. The deal is subject to approval from the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, which is scheduled to hear the case on May 4. FTX purchased LedgerX in August 2021 to expand its spot trading services, and the sale is part of FTX’s efforts to monetize assets and deliver recoveries to stakeholders.

On the other hand, Binance.US has backed out of its agreement to purchase bankrupt cryptocurrency brokerage Voyager Digital’s assets for $1 billion, citing the “hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States.” The Voyager Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors expressed its disappointment at the news and said it was investigating potential claims against Binance.US. Voyager and the creditors’ committee will now work on distributing cash and crypto to customers directly via the Voyager platform.

In conclusion, the crypto world has seen significant developments this week, from Google expanding its Web3 program to the UK government allocating funding for an AI task force. FTX is set to sell LedgerX, and Binance.US backs out of the Voyager asset purchase. The industry remains dynamic and unpredictable, with companies and governments adapting to the ever-changing regulatory environment.

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LedgerX, Other Assets Sold By Bankruptcy Court For FTX

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The court who is in charge of monitoring the bankruptcy proceedings for FTX has allowed the troubled cryptocurrency exchange permission to liquidate some of its assets in order to assist it in its attempts to repay its creditors.

In a file that was made in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, it was stated that Judge John Dorsey had given his approval for the sale of four important components of FTX. The assets include of the derivatives platform LedgerX, the stock-trading platform Embed, and its regional subsidiaries, FTX Japan and FTX Europe.

Those who are interested in placing an offer may now get in touch with the investment firm Perella Weinberg, which has been given the responsibility of initiating the sale process and representing FTX and its assets.

At the beginning of this week, 117 different parties indicated that they were interested in acquiring the FTX assets that are now up for sale. On December 15th, attorneys for FTX began the process of petitioning the court for authorization to sell the four units, noting the possibility of a decrease in the value of the properties.

At the moment, FTX Europe has had its licenses terminated, while FTX Japan has been hit with orders to cease its commercial operations.

Based on the most recent FTX lawyer Andy Dietderich, the troubled cryptocurrency exchange has apparently recovered something in the neighborhood of $5 billion dollars worth of cash and coins. The legal counsel for FTX said that despite the fact that the exchange has succeeded in recouping some assets, the cryptocurrency platform is still in the process of reassembling its transaction history.

As John Ray took over as CEO of FTX worldwide, the previous CEO said that the company had $8 billion in assets.

The former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, who has pleaded not guilty to all of the criminal allegations against him, has said that he did not steal cash nor hide billions of dollars. Bankman-Fried also said that he was willing to utilize his own personal assets to contribute to the task of compensating users, and he made this vow during his statement.

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Bitvo abandons FTX purchase

The Canadian cryptocurrency exchange Bitvo has terminated the proposed acquisition transaction it had with the FTX in order to preserve its standing as an autonomous company.

Pateno Payments, which is an investor in Bitvo, has cancelled the purchase transaction it had been discussing with FTX Canada and FTX Trading in accordance with the terms of the agreement. Pateno Payments is a stakeholder in Bitvo. This information was disclosed by Bitvo on November 15th.

The business has made it abundantly obvious that its operations have not been hampered in any way, noting the fact that Bitvo does not have any substantial exposure to FTX or any of the associated organisations of that corporation as supporting evidence. Normal operations are being carried out across the board for all areas of trading on Bitvo, including deposits and withdrawals.

In addition, Bitvo emphasised that it is not a party to the bankruptcy processes that FTX and its linked enterprises have launched. Bitvo noted that FTX and its connected firms have initiated these procedures. According to the press release, Bitvo has never owned, listed, or traded the FTX Token (FTT) or “any related token.”

According to the company, “Bitvo has functioned as an independent, Canadian crypto asset trading platform ever since the company’s establishment.” The corporation continued by stating that the website has not been operating as a lending or borrowing service for some time:

Because Bitvo maintains a healthy reserve at all times, the business does not provide credit to its clientele in the form of loans. This is how Bitvo has conducted business from the very beginning, and it is a necessity of Bitvo’s regulatory status as a Restricted Dealer registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators. Bitvo has always functioned in this manner. Bitvo has always made the decision to run its business in this fashion.

A previous article published by Cointelegraph said that the financially troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX has entered into a deal to purchase Bitvo in June 2022. This was done as part of the company’s plans to expand its operations in Canada. However, things did not go according to plan when FTX became involved in a major crisis in the financial sector. This occurred after it was discovered that the exchange had improperly used the money of its customers to engage in trading on its sister company, Alameda. This caused FTX to become embroiled in the crisis.

Bitvo released an official declaration on November 14 noting that the acquisition of the firm by FTX was still a pending agreement that had not yet been finalised and that the transaction was not yet complete. As stated in the announcement issued by the company, “Digital assets are stored with independent third parties BitGo Inc. and BitGo Trust Company,” and more than eighty percent of the assets are held in cold storage.

Pamela Draper, the CEO of Bitvo, said to Cointelegraph that the firm is happy that the merger did not proceed because “it would have been terrible to our workforce and just as critically, our users.” She went on to clarify that the process that took place between the announcement of the agreement in June and its conclusion needed working to fulfil the closing conditions, and that this was something that took place between the months of July and September. The regulatory permission was the element that was considered to be the most significant.

According to Draper, “The Alberta Securities Commission is our main regulator, and Bitvo and FTX were working with them to gain the appropriate permissions.” FTX and Bitvo were working with them to obtain the requisite approvals. The Alberta Securities Commission is the primary regulating body for our industry.

Even though it seems like Bitvo was able to back out of the agreement, there are a few crypto firms that have been harmed by the FTX problem as a consequence of being bought by the crypto billionaire. These companies include Bitvo.

The cryptocurrency exchange Liquid, which is owned by FTX and made public on November 15, according to an official statement that was made public that day, has suspended its fiat and cryptocurrency withdrawals on its Liquid Global platform in connection with FTX’s issues. FTX’s problems were made public on November 15. FTX successfully finalised the purchase of the Japanese exchange as well as the firms that were linked with it in February of 2022.

Following the filing of Chapter 11 by FTX and FTX US, the insolvent cryptocurrency lender Voyager Digital took to Twitter on November 16 to provide its customers with an update on the reorganisation efforts. In the tweet, Voyager Digital informed its customers that the customer vote will be cancelled and that the proposed sale will not move forward. The bankruptcy petition for Voyager was filed in July 2022, and FTX US purchased its assets in September of the same year.

FTX US Derivatives, a subsidiary of FTX US that was formerly known as LedgerX, has continued to provide fully-collateralized swaps, futures, and options on cryptocurrency, according to comments made by CEO Zach Dexter on November 14. FTX US Derivatives is a company that was formerly known as LedgerX. During the course of this conversation, he also brought up the fact that LedgerX was omitted from the bankruptcy file that was submitted by FTX. Dexter emphasised in yet another tweet that was sent out on Monday that “client money are secure on the LedgerX LLC derivatives platform, which remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.” As was previously reported, FTX US completed the acquisition of LedgerX in the month of August 2021 in a deal that was kept discreet.

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FTX Completes $420M Series B-1 Funding Round at $25B Valuation

FTX Derivatives Exchange has completed a $420.69 million Series B-1 funding with participation from top investors.

As announced by the firm, these investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

The funding round came just after the company raised $1 billion back in July 2021. Following this latest funding round, the Bahamas-based outfit has increased its valuation to $25 billion, further extending its position as a unicorn in the digital currency ecosystem. The company said it is going to deploy the new funds in expanding its product offerings and pushing forth into new markets globally. Ramnik Arora, Head of Product at FTX, said:

“The additional capital and group of investors will let us provide the experience our users deserve and address other adjacent market opportunities including equities, prediction markets, NFTs, and videogame partnerships. We expect to make strategic investments designed to grow the business and expand our regulatory coverage,” 

While FTX has also had to adjust its operations in line with regulatory pressures globally, the company has inked several milestones that have positioned it on its next growth phase. Since its last funding round, the Sam Bankman-Fried led organization has established its headquarters in the Bahamas while also securing licenses under new regulatory frameworks in both the Bahamas and Gibraltar.

The firm is also strategic in its product offerings as it has floated an NFT marketplace, a growing trend amongst major digital currency exchanges today. Known for its Merger & Acquisition acquisitions, the company acquired Blockfolio through a record-breaking $150 million deal at the time, and its US affiliate, FTX.US, also acquired CFTC regulated clearinghouse, LedgerX. 

While the company did not declare any plans to make any acquisition with the latest capital injection, doing so will not be out of place in its push to expand its reach in the industry.

Image source: Shutterstock

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FTX Completes $420M Series B-1 Funding Round at $25B Valuation

FTX Derivatives Exchange has completed a $420.69 million Series B-1 funding with participation from top investors.

As announced by the firm, these investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, via its Teachers’ Innovation Platform, Temasek, Sequoia Capital, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

The funding round came just after the company raised $1 billion back in July 2021. Following this latest funding round, the Bahamas-based outfit has increased its valuation to $25 billion, further extending its position as a unicorn in the digital currency ecosystem. The company said it is going to deploy the new funds in expanding its product offerings and pushing forth into new markets globally. Ramnik Arora, Head of Product at FTX, said:

“The additional capital and group of investors will let us provide the experience our users deserve and address other adjacent market opportunities including equities, prediction markets, NFTs, and videogame partnerships. We expect to make strategic investments designed to grow the business and expand our regulatory coverage,” 

While FTX has also had to adjust its operations in line with regulatory pressures globally, the company has inked several milestones that have positioned it on its next growth phase. Since its last funding round, the Sam Bankman-Fried led organization has established its headquarters in the Bahamas while also securing licenses under new regulatory frameworks in both the Bahamas and Gibraltar.

The firm is also strategic in its product offerings as it has floated an NFT marketplace, a growing trend amongst major digital currency exchanges today. Known for its Merger & Acquisition acquisitions, the company acquired Blockfolio through a record-breaking $150 million deal at the time, and its US affiliate, FTX.US, also acquired CFTC regulated clearinghouse, LedgerX. 

While the company did not declare any plans to make any acquisition with the latest capital injection, doing so will not be out of place in its push to expand its reach in the industry.

Image source: Shutterstock

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Expanding ecosystem and LedgerX acquisition send FTX Token (FTT) to a new ATH

Real-world adoption and brand awareness are one of the best ways for a blockchain project to increase its value and attract new users to users to its ecosystem. 

One project that has seen massive growth throughout 2021 thanks to its increasing public exposure and exciting protocol launches and partnerships is FTX, a crypto-derivatives trading platform founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low near $50 on Aug. 31, the price of FTT catapulted 42% higher to a new all-time high at $66.50 on Sep. 1 as its 24-hour trading volume increased by 200% to $1.675 billion.

FTT/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

The sudden burst in momentum came following the Aug. 31 announcement that FTX US, the United States-based arm of the exchange, would be acquiring  LedgerX, a fully licensed, U.S.-based options and futures trading platform.

Through this acquisition, the company will now be able to offer regulated crypto futures and options trading to the US market.

FTX has had a busy year of partnerships and publicity generating moves such as purchasing the naming rights for several stadiums and becoming the official crypto exchange sponsor of Major League Baseball, but many feel that this is the biggest development to date for the platform because it gives FTX US a unique product in the US marketplace.

Related: FTX crypto exchange seals $210M naming rights deal for esports behemoth TSM

And just to show that it also has an ear on the pulse of the cryptocurrency community, FTX also recently announced plans to list the up and coming Star Atlas gaming metaverse and NFT ecosystems, a highly anticipated project that looks to capture the surging momentum of the NFT and gaming sectors.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.