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Editor's Note: Harsh Lessons from Blunderland
As you'll see in our news roundup below, Wonderland has turned into Blunderland.
The DeFi protocol is shutting up shop after a series of unfortunate events — triggered by the revelation that its treasury head is a convicted credit card fraudster who co-founded QuadrigaCX.
It is worth noting that Michael Patryn had left the doomed crypto exchange long before it emerged $190 million of user funds was missing.
Wonderland's co-founder, Daniele Sestagalli, admitted last week that he had known about Patryn's past for a month — and that he believed in second chances.
But by keeping this information under his hat, Wonderland's users were left in the dark — and had no way of knowing that the person running the till had spent 18 months in U.S. federal prison.
A supposedly decentralized finance protocol should have been upfront with users before Patryn was hired. And users should have been given the chance to have their say on whether he was the right man to be involved with a platform that still has a market cap of $455 million — even after the TIME token plunged.
Decentralization is meant to boost transparency and avoid a single point of failure. This hasn't happened here. Other protocols need to learn harsh lessons from Wonderland.
Investors deserve better when their funds are at stake.
Bitcoin's worst January since 2018 😬
BTC has cooled since hitting highs of $38,000 over the weekend — and is now on course for its worst January since 2018. Prices have fallen by 19.2% since the year began — a stark contrast to the gains seen this time in 2020 and 2021. Morgan Stanley says the 50% correction we've seen since November is normal in historical terms… adding $28,000 is the all-important level to hold. And in other news, Goldman Sachs is now telling its clients to buy gold if they want a hedge against inflation.
Scandal-hit Wonderland shutting down 📉
A DeFi protocol has announced it is shutting down after it emerged that a convict was serving as its treasury manager. Michael Patryn's role in Wonderland caused alarm — and to make matters worse, he was also the co-founder of doomed crypto exchange QuadrigaCX. In a vote, 55% of the community said they were in favor of the project continuing, while 45% wanted their funds back. Wonderland co-founder Daniele Sestagalli said the protocol cannot continue in its current form if users are divided.
China faces setback in digital yuan rollout 🇨🇳
China faces delays to the mass adoption of the digital yuan because of COVID restrictions at the upcoming Winter Olympics, experts have warned. International spectators have been barred from the Games, meaning few will get the chance to use the central bank digital currency. And to make matters worse, experts have pointed out that transaction volumes pale in comparison to private alternatives such as Alipay — not least because there are few incentives for consumers to make the switch.
Cafe woos crypto traders in Thailand ☕️
A cafe in Thailand has become a sanctuary for crypto traders — and has been kitted out with banks of screens showing the latest market prices. HIP Coffee & Restaurant also offers free investment advice and plans to launch its own coin in the future. The venue first opened in 2013, and customer numbers are said to have doubled since its transformation into a hub for digital assets. Unfortunately, regulators in Thailand see things differently — and are planning to clamp down on crypto transactions.
