From Trump offering dinner to his NFT buyers to BlackRock revising its ETF plan, here is a 2-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in crypto today.
After the euphoric yearly highs of 2023, the crypto market is going through a healthy minor correction as we enter 2024. With the SEC crypto ETF decision looming next month, this pause is giving the industry time to shore up compliance and security foundations before potentially reaching a wider investor base.
Let’s move away from the price talk now--we're here to catch you up on the latest happenings. In today's edition:
- BlackRock files revised Bitcoin ETF plan to get Wall Street banks on board 🚀
- KuCoin pays $22M settlement and cuts off NY users ⚖️
- Polygon partners with Celestia for a major L2 boost 🤝
- IRS spotlights crypto crimes in top cases 🔎
- Trump launches mugshot NFT collection 🔲
Let's dive in!
Wall Street Banks in Crypto 🚀
BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, has revised its filing for a Bitcoin ETF to get the megabanks on board.
The revised plan lets giants like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs invest in funds using cash instead of actual Bitcoin.
This "prepay" model lets the banks bypass internal rules preventing them from holding crypto directly. Instead of handling BTC, they just transfer cash to a broker who converts it.
BlackRock presented the revamp to the SEC last month, claiming it improves protections against manipulation - a key regulatory concern.
They've now had three SEC meetings to make their case.
Does the SEC seem to be on board with this application? The continuous amendment should be a ray of hope, right? Read the full story!
KuCoin’s $22 Million Settlement ⚖️
Major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin has agreed to pay $22 million and terminate services for New York-based users to settle charges brought by the New York Attorney General's office.
The charges had something to do with the exchange supposedly breaking securities laws and selling tokens without proper registration. Even Ethereum got labeled an unregistered security amid the rumble.
In response to the settlement, KuCoin's CEO stated the company is committing to compliant operations moving forward.
Losing access to such a huge market is a big sacrifice. But the exchange decided keeping regulators happy was worth it.
But questions linger...Will Ethereum officially be deemed a security now? Will other exchanges tap out of New York too instead of challenging the authorities? Read the full story!
Polygon 🤝 Celestia
Polygon's chain development kit (CDK) has integrated with Celestia, a data availability provider, to bring specialized data solutions to Layer 2 networks built on Polygon.
This could potentially reduce gas fees by 100x for Layer 2 chains that are part of Polygon's scaling ecosystem.
Polygon CDK uses zero-knowledge rollup technology for off-chain transaction processing. A key challenge is efficiently verifying data availability for transactions finalized off-chain.
Ethereum lacks a dedicated environment for its data availability layer. This forces processing and storage on-chain, increasing costs for Layer 2s. Robust DA solutions are critical.
Celestia provides a dedicated DA layer capable of serving multiple Layer 2s simultaneously. This enables efficient DA verification without overburdening networks.
How is this collaboration going to help the growth of both projects? Read the full story!
And that brings us to our Word of the Day…
It’s Zero Knoweldge Rollups (ZK Rollups)!
The second half of 2023 saw the terms "zk proofs" and "zk-rollups" thrown around all over the place in the blockchain world! Lots of us totally ran with these buzzwords without actually digging into what they mean... so now is our chance to get in the know so you can keep up next time everyone is chatting about them on Crypto Twitter.
No need to get all academic–just a quick 101 to understand why these zk-things are blowing up. Let's catch up on the lingo!
A zk-rollup is a scaling solution that processes transactions off the main Ethereum blockchain to help it run faster and cheaper.
It works by bundling hundreds of transfers off-chain and using fancy cryptographic math to create a proof that says "all these transactions are valid" (figuratively speaking). This proof doesn't reveal any private details about the transactions.
This compact proof gets sent back to the main Ethereum network along with some basic transaction data. The network quickly verifies the proof is true without needing to check all the transaction details directly.
But what limitations do these systems have? And why do we even need them? Read more!
Now back to our daily stories!
Crypto Crimes Among Top Cases 🔎
The IRS's Criminal Investigation division recently publicized its annual list of prominent cases, with a third related to crypto crimes. This highlights the tax man's growing focus on the crypto space.
Among the standouts was the founder of the crypto project Oyster Pearl, who claimed no 2018 income despite spending millions on luxury items. IRS said he failed to file taxes and was sentenced to 4 years in prison with over $5 million in restitution.
Another case involved a hacker sentenced after the seizure of $3.4 billion in Bitcoin stolen from the dark web marketplace Silk Road back in 2013.
What other high-profile crypto crimes did the division manage to solve? Read the full story!
Trump’s Mugshot NFT Collection 🔲
Former U.S. President Donald Trump just launched a new NFT collection starring none other than himself. We're talking mugshot trading cards centered around the theme of his criminal indictments.
The digital trading cards depicting Mr. Trump's mugshot from his August 2023 arrest in Georgia are priced at $99 each. Purchases can be made using credit cards or Wrapped Ether, though the NFTs will not be transferable until the end of 2024.
Those who purchase 47 or more of the mugshot NFTs will receive a piece of the actual suit Mr. Trump wore for the photo along with a dinner invitation to his Mar-a-Lago estate.
How can one get these NFTs and what other benefits do they offer? Read the full story!
And that concludes our today’s roundup. See you tomorrow with more headlines!
