Initially the discovery was credited to a blog post called earlier this week on Andy Baio’s Waxy.org Blog. The blogger says he accidently spotted the hidden file while fixing his printer. Then to make sure it was something inserted into every Mac OS copy, he confirmed his findings by having “over a dozen Mac-using friends.” also see if it was on their computer... it was!

This was the first time it was mentioned somewhere that good number of people would read it.

Turns out, this wasn't the first time it was discovered...

It turns out - he wasn't the first to find it. 

Another Mac user did back in April 2021, and posted it on the Apple support forums  however, his post focuses on a hidden image he found burried in the Mac OS code, but at the end mentions "Weirdly there is also a PDF with the original Bitcoin white paper from Satoshi Nakamoto in the VirtualScanner.app Package Content."

But wait... an even earlier post was discovered on Twitter!

A Tweet mentioning it dates back to November 2020, so unless an even earlier dated post is discovered, we're considering Josh D on Twitter the official 'discoverer' of the hidden Mac OS Satoshi Whitepaper. 

The earliest mention of it we've been able to find.

Do Kwon, the founder of the now-defunct Terra USD (UST) and Luna (LUNA) cryptocurrencies, could face up to five years in a Montenegrin prison before being extradited to South Korea or the United States.

Kwon is currently under quarantine for COVID-19 and will soon be sharing a cell with other inmates in a Montenegrin prison, according to a report by a local lawyer.

Montenegro Prisons a 'Hell On Earth'...

However, the prisons in Montenegro are notoriously overcrowded, and inmates are often subjected to aggressive treatment by prison staff.

Amnesty International has raised concerns about the conditions and rights of detainees in Montenegrin prisons, including the lack of independent investigations into ill-treatment.

The cell Kwon will be occupying is only 8 square meters and is usually filled with between 10 and 11 people, leaving no room for a bed.

Inmates are only allowed a 30-minute walk in the prison yard each day and can only purchase limited items like cigarettes and coffee.

Montenegro now the first of 3 nations that will need to take turns locking up Kwon...

Kwon's initial arrest in Montenegro was due to presenting false documents, is a crime that carries a penalty of up to five years.

While both South Korea and the United States have requested Kwon's extradition, Montenegro has yet to make a decision.

If Montenegro decides to pursue it, this could be the first of three nations aiming for him to serve time in their prisons.

---
Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News 

Officials in Montenegro have arrested Luna founder Do Kwan. 

First detained when officials at the Podgorica airport noticed his false documents, the man in custody spent hours denying he was the South Korean fugitive, until South Korean officials provided fingerprint records that were used to confirm his identity. 

"The former 'cryptocurrency king' who is behind losses of more than 40 billion dollars, was detained at the Podgorica airport with falsified documents, and the same is claimed by South Korea, the USA and Singapore. We are waiting for official confirmation of identity" Tweeted Montenegro's Minister of Interior.

Then minutes before this story was published, Interpol confirmed to us that a positive ID has been made - the person in custody IS Do Kwon.

Along with him another man stating he was his 'assistant' going by the name 'Han' was also arrested, there is no word on the actual identity of this person. 

What's Next for the Luna Founder?

While charged with crimes in both the US and South Korea, US prosecutors have said that they will seek Kwon’s extradition to the United States where he is charged with 8 federal violations including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, conspiracy, and market manipulation.

------- 
Author: Adam Lee 
Asia News Desk / Breaking Crypto News

The battle for the future of money is heating up in the United States, with some states proposing to ban the "digital dollar" before it even exists, while others quietly pass laws to make it a reality. It's a conflict that has raised concerns about privacy, surveillance, and control.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is leading the charge against the digital dollar, announcing a proposed bill to ban it in his state. According to a statement from the governor's office, the legislation is intended to "protect Floridians from the Biden administration's use of financial sector weapons through a central bank digital currency (CBDC)."

DeSantis's bill seeks to prohibit the use of the digital dollar or CBDC as money in Florida and to create "protections" against digital currencies issued by central banks belonging to nations sanctioned by the United States. He hopes that other states will follow suit and establish similar prohibitions to "fight this concept throughout the country."

In the view of the Republican governor, a digital currency "has to do with surveillance and control" of citizens, and it "will stifle innovation." adding that "Florida will not side with the economic central planners. "We will not adopt policies that threaten economic freedom and personal security."

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is also pushing for a ban on the digital dollar, citing concerns about privacy implications. He argues that a digital dollar "could be used as a financial surveillance tool by the federal government."

As Other States Quietly Take Steps to Move the Digital Dollar Forward...

President Biden issued an executive order last year that instructs several government offices to research creating a central bank digital currency, since then things have appeared to be moving forward with no official updates from the federal government.

The silence seems to be deliberate when it comes to the most recent steps targeting the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which are laws that every state has, and every state controls. 

Intended to make sure states can easily conduct business with each other, the digital dollar may be the first time there's been major disagreements between some states and could result in the 'Uniform' codes ending up far from uniform nation-wide. 

Just this week South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vetoed House Bill 1193 which would have opened the doors for the digital dollar in her state by amending their UCC to allow for fully electronic payments backed only by electronic records "this is extremely troubling. If Congress were to someday create an official electronic currency that is programmable, it would pose significant threats to Americans’ liberty and privacy rights. Why, then, would so many lawmakers want to make it easier for such a currency to be used in their states?"

Both republicans and democrats have made more public statements implying they are against the digital dollar, yet both parties have been found slipping the verbiage needed to make it happen into bills in their states, now there are similar bills headed to vote soon in 20 more states including in Arkansas, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and California.

One Major Roadblock Could Still Stop the Digital Dollar from Happening...

Not because they share any of the same concerns citizens have voiced - but nonetheless, they hate the idea and they may have enough power over politicians to get their way - the banks.

Banks see the Digital Dollar as a way for the government to become their biggest competitor.  Imagine - your job pays you in digital dollars, they're stored in an app on your phone, and virtually every place you would spend money accepts it, what do you need a bank for? 

While banks would still have a role when it comes to investing, lending, and securing larger business and personal accounts, the average person could go months, or even years without needing to interact with a bank, and have no need for a personal account. 

A battle with significant consequences...

Both for the future of our economy and the role of the government in our financial lives. Will we become a cashless society dominated by a digital dollar, or will we maintain the status quo? 

Until recently, this all felt like something so far in the future it was hard to really concern yourself with - but as we begin seeing real laws designed to move plans for the digital dollar forward proposed in multiple states, the potential implications are beginning to feel very real.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

According to court records that have just been made available to us, there has been nothing less than a  massive army of professionals working non-stop to clean up the mess at FTX. 

They've been tasked with examining every bit of FTX's business, due to the lack of record keeping during the reign of it's former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried. 

Of course, hiring a large amount people qualified to review complex financial data doesn't come cheap -but no one seems to have expected it would be this expensive either, as these firms have now billed FTX $38 million PLUS expenses...and that's just for January!

Breaking Down The Bill...

The bankruptcy administrators have retained the services of some of the biggest names in law and finance. Let's take a look at who's involved, and what they're each bringing to the table.  

Leading the pack is the law firm Sullivan & Cromwell, which was hired as counsel. Along with them, the administrators have also retained Quinn Emmanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Landis Rath & Cobb as special counsel for the proceedings. Meanwhile, consultancy firm AlixPartners was brought in to conduct forensic analysis on DeFi products and tokens that were in FTX's possession.

On the financial front, Alvarez & Marsal and Perella Weinberg Partners were tasked with sorting through FTX's accounting records and determining which assets it could sell. According to court filings, Sullivan & Cromwell billed $16.8 million for January, while Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan billed $1.4 million, and Landis Rath & Cobb billed $663,995. Collectively, the three firms have over 180 lawyers assigned to the case and over 50 non-lawyer staff, such as paralegals.

What's more, court filings show that Sullivan & Cromwell lawyers and staff billed a total of 14,569 hours for January. The largest project that Sullivan & Cromwell worked on was discovery, followed by asset disposition and asset analysis and recovery.

Interestingly, the U.S. Department of Justice initially objected to FTX hiring Sullivan & Cromwell, citing potential conflicts of interest. Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, also objected to the bankruptcy administrators hiring the firm, claiming that the law firm's staff had pressured him into filing for bankruptcy in November. However, in late January, a Delaware bankruptcy court judge approved the firm to continue representing FTX.

In early February, Sullivan & Cromwell submitted a bill for $7.5 million for the first 19 days of bankruptcy work after FTX filed in November. The majority of billed time for Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan was spent on Asset Analysis and Recovery as well as Avoidance Action – legalese for attempts to undo certain transactions that the debtor engaged in before bankruptcy. As for Landis Rath & Cobb, a significant amount of time was billed for hearings, litigation, and asset disposition.

But that's not all. AlixPartners billed $2.1 million for 2,454 hours of work. Investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners billed $450,000 (its monthly fee), and court documents show that it spent a significant amount of time on developing a restructuring strategy, as well as correspondence with third parties.

According to its billing breakdown, the bank spent a large amount of time working on the sale of FTX assets LedgerX and FTX Japan. In January, a bankruptcy judge gave the sale the green light to create liquidity to pay back creditors.

Last but not least, Alvarez & Marsal billed $12.3 million, the second-largest charge for the month, behind Sullivan & Cromwell. Some of the largest items it billed for were Avoidance Actions, at 3,370 hours, financial analysis, at 1,168 hours, and accounting at 1,106 hours.

In November, shortly after FTX declared bankruptcy, interim CEO John J. Ray III said that the exchange had a "complete failure of corporate controls and such a complete absence of trustworthy financial information." Ray, who also oversaw the liquidation of Enron and Nortel Networks when they collapsed, called the FTX situation "unprecedented".

-------
Author: Mark Pippen
London News Desk 
Breaking Crypto News

China banning Bitcoin had become a joke in the years preceding it actually happening, with the country repeatedly announcing that Bitcoin was banned, 6 times to be exact, and every time the percentage of Bitcoin's network located within China increased  

However, last year, Chinese authorities began seizing expensive mining equipment from facilities still up and running, and the ban began to be taken seriously.

The process of shutting down hundreds of mining operations happened virtually overnight.

At the time of the ban, China was the top-ranked nation for Bitcoin mining...

China is currently just a blip on the radar, occasionally a Chinese IP address will be seen as some individual hobbyists, and a few remaining mining operations still running “taking steps to hide their location”. 

Now there are signs that China's leadership may view the ban on cryptocurrencies as too broad, with manybusiness leaders within China's tech industry believing that a crypto-free China would put the country to be a step behind the rest of the world. 

"VR and the metaverse are largely considered the next big thing that will have a major impact on the industry - do people think they can hand over printed paper money in a virtual world?" Says one of my sources within China, a lead developer for a Chinese software company that provides software related to the back-end management of both stock and crypto trading platforms. With an agreement that we wouldn't use his name, our (very encrypted) chat last night continued... "That's just the beginning, because everything you own in that world, your clothes, your house, your car. they're all going to be NFTs.  I was worried China would be sitting it out, delusionaland waiting for the day people say they no longer have a need for decentralized cryptocurrencies thanks to China's digital yuen. The reality of it is, people are going to be buying crypto (NFTs) with other crypto."        

The Signs...

The current crypto ban did not result in every crypto-related company in China being shut down. Some crypto-based companies were allowed to continue operating inside China if their user base was mostly international. If companies could remain profitable while still excluding Chinese citizens from their services, they were allowed to continue operating.

One such company is Conflux, which recently saw a huge influx of funds, resulting in gains of 143% in just one week and 800% over the last month.

Assets such as Filecoin, Neo, Vechain, Cocos-BCX, Polkadot, and EOS have registered price increases of between 10% and up to 40% in a matter of days.

Why this sudden positive price movement for anything crypto related out of China? 

What began as a rumor has just became a very real possibility...

It is now confirmed via the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) - they're evaluating a proposal that would legalize crypto trading in Hong Kong.  While officially part of China, Hong Kong still has the ability to pass laws independent of the mainland. 

The law would bring regulation of exchanges - and also legalize buying, selling and trading in the territory.

Currently, no western investment firms (which are required to reveal their holdings) have announced large investments in Chinese based cryptocurrencies or their supporting companies.

As of now, our best guess that the investing is happening internally, specifically by wealthy investors who believe this is going to happen. While these trades may technically be breaking the rules today, they believe ownership of these assets will soon be given the green light anyway.

Keep in mind, anyone in China with millions to invest will also have close ties with the ruling party, so their investments could indicate they know much more than the general public.  If that is the case here, it seems they've been told that this is going to happen.

Where things stand as of today...

The biggest surprise  - we're hearing that Hong Kong leaders are NOT being met with disapproval from China's leadership in Beijing "there's nothing to indicate mainland officials don't want this to happen, and I believe we're well beyond the point where they would make their stance known" a source explained.

Beijing quietly allowing this to happen may be thanks to some of China's wealthiest business leaders, who have been complaining to officials about being restricted from a market with huge growth potential - saying they understand the risks, and take proper safeguards to prevent any catastrophic losses.  They believe those who can afford to take risks should be guided by regulations that take this in to account. 

It's unlikely the same leadership that banned crypto trading have completely reversed their views, but they may now be willing to allow it if the the requirements still discourage the average citizen  Only allowing crypto trading via Hong Kong would be enough of a barrier to stop the 'average worker' from risking their funds in the market, as the expenses involved with taking trips to and from Hong Kong would be enough to make simply make it not worth doing. 

A major impact to global crypto markets...

As one of the largest economies in the world, China’s re-entry into the cryptocurrency market could have a ripple effect on the global market. This could lead to increased adoption of cryptocurrencies worldwide. 

Also worth noting - China's ban has been an example to other counties that discourage investing or adoption of cryptocurrencies - Chinese investors re-joining the crypto market would mean no major superpower is enforcing a ban on cryptocurrencies.

The amount of 'saved Bitcoin' (coins being kept at a single wallet address for at least two years) has reached a new all-time high.

According to data compiled by the analytics firm Glassnode, these coins total over 49% percent of the total Bitcoin supply, which comes to 9.45 million BTC. Nearly half of all Bitcoin's are in the hands of long term investors.

Soon the majority of all BTC will have not moved in over 2 years - an extremely bullish indicator...

The previous record amount of saved Bitcoin was set between the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. This coincides with the start of the bull market that year - with the rising price being driven by a lack of people willing to sell their BTC.

So far, we're seeing a similar path ahead now, as Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency market appear to be beginning a price recovery cycle.

Since the beginning of this year, bitcoin has increased by almost 40%. and is hanging around $23,000 -reclaiming a price not seen since August 2022.

Last week it became official that the majority of Bitcoin holders have made a profit at current prices. 

Predictions for the year...

So far, are bullish, according to a majority of analysts.

However, you may not be feeling it yet - the first few months of 2023 are anticipated to be slow,  followed by a large increase in the price of BTC in the second half of the year.

Will Bitcoin repeat its traditional cycle of crashes, followed by setting a new all time high?  That would mean Bitcoin breaking the $70,000 ceiling. 
------- 

Author: Justin Derbek
New York News Desk
Breaking Crypto News

While the scam is over, the story behind it is not. That won't change as long as it's main character remains in hiding. 

The dollar amount allegedly stolen by 'Crypto Queen' Ruja Ignatova is approximately the same amount Bankman-Fried is accused of losing. But Sam's story is downright boring compared with the chaos still happening today in the aftermath of OneCoin.

Both Sam and Ruja are accused of losing $3 - $4 billion of their user's funds, which puts them in a category beyond just running "crypto scams"- they're officially among the "largest scams ever" both in the number of victims, over 3 million, and the total dollar amount taken from them - over $4 billion in USD value, according to the FBI and Europol.

First Time Hearing About This?

The first time I heard of "OneCoin" it was already over, they had just been shut down, and the people behind it were in the process of being tracked down and arrested.

I was shocked - how could a multi-billion dollar crypto scam happen and it wasn't even on my radar?!

Good news, the problem isn't that you weren't paying attention - OneCoin deliberately avoided attracting attention from people in select 'Western' nations.  They feared that law enforcement in these countries were tech savvy, and way ahead when it comes to cases involving crypto. 

Still, today it's not uncommon to find someone who is in the crypto industry (full time) who says they've never heard of OneCoin. But most common seems to be someone remembering OneCoin was 'some kind of scam a few years back' with maybe 10% of people aware of its size - one of the largest scams in history and on the extremely short list of scams with a multi-billion dollar price tag.

It was the US FBI they feared the most, and to avoid them they also avoided scamming US citizens. They believed this was so important that if someone in the US ended up on their site and wanted to join - the signup page would give them an error and close itself.

Ironically, the FBI is leading the way in dismantling OneCoin, and is credited with tracking down many of the executives in custody today.

Comparing Sam and Ruja May Be Unfair... to Sam. He Isn't Nearly as Evil...

There's one huge difference between them  - Sam started a legitimate business. The more money he had the more careless he became.  But those funds were handed over to him for use in his legitimate business, which did exist..

Ruja never intended to start a business - she created a scam. 'OneCoin' was a fraud from the first day it launched, not a single feature ended up to be true.

Her public image was the same, professionally she introduced herself as "Dr Ruja Ignatova" and claimed an educational history of elite colleges, and an employment history at major financial firms.

She is the definition of 'scammer' - so dedicated to it she lives her daily life as the character she created for the single purpose of getting people to believe the opposite of what is really happening. 

Exactly how it appeared on OneCoin's website - but when Forbes was contacted they said OneCoin simply purchased as space, in that space they put an interview, then announced people could read an interview with Ruja in the latest edition of Forbes Magazine.

People behind scams this large don't struggle morally about what they're doing, far from it. They become addicted to the power they feel whenever they step on stage and see thousands of people clapping and cheering for them - the same people they will soon financially ruin. In these short moments they feel like the smartest person on the planet. 

What Puts This Story On a New Level of CRAZY: OneCoin Wasn't Even Real...

To be clear, I am not saying "her coin wasn't as good as she claimed" - I'm saying they didn't even have a coin.

She nicknamed their non-existent cryptocurrency the "Bitcoin Killer', claiming the blockchain technology behind it was so superior, it would soon come to replace Bitcoin.  In reality, she had nothing. No blockchain, no cryptocurrency.

What they did have was the OneCoin App, where people couduse real money to purchase OneCoin, and see it added to their balance - that's the entire system.

The price of OneCoin was also entirely imaginary, having nothing to do with supply and demand they could simply decide what the app would show the public, and of course, they decided to make it look like demand was huge. 

In e-mails obtained by investigators and used in court against OneCoin leaders, Ruja is seen telling the developers building the OneCoin system that:

"We would like to be able to set the price manually and automatically and also control the traded volume."

Legitimate cryptocurrencies cannot control any of those - the market decides the price, and volume is simply the total amount people bought or sold. 

Now That They at Least Appeared to Be Having a Strong Start, They Would Use Their Fake Coin's Fake Success, to Bring in Real Money...

Within the app was also the only 'exchange' where OneCoin could be traded - it had to be this way because trading it anywhere outside of their app would have been technically impossible -  no transferable cryptocurrency existed.  But according to their app, their imaginary cryptocurrency was quickly increasing in value, and that's all they needed to keep users buying more and telling their friends. 

This is where the pyramid aspect comes in to play -users would receive commission from people they invited to OneCoin, then they would also receive commission if that friend brought their friends.

OneCoin users who referred a lot of other users are the only group of people who walked away with a profit, but it's impossible to figure out who was knowingly promoting a scam, and who was a victim believing they were sharing something good. 

OneCoin Held 'Conferences' Attended By Thousands - Here Ruja Would Speak About Blockchain Revolutionizing the World of Finance...

Always booked as the special 'keynote speaker' at her own events, Ruja would give long speeches about what blockchain tech can do, and will do in the future. But back in reality, no blockchain of any kind was being used at OneCoin.

E-Mails obtained by investigators and shown in trials of her partners made it clear - she was the mastermind behind the lies, fully aware of every shady thing they were doing.

In one exchange with co-founder Karl Greenwood, she says “We are not mining actually – but telling people shit" and jokingly referred to OneCoin as 'Trash Coins'. 

The Collapse...

The red flags started to pile up - people discovered that some of OneCoin's directors had previously been involved in other known scams.

Plus, for years people requested any verifiable evidence for any of their claims, and the excuses dragged on so long it became obvious they were hiding something.  They had been telling so many lies for so long that their own statements would occasionally contradict things they said in the past. 

As the inflow of money began to slow down, use of their fake exchange became limited, dividing their members into different levels with each given different trading restrictions. Those who spent a lot on 'educational materials' could trade on more days than those who didn't. 

They were making it impossible for there to be a run of users withdrawing until there was nothing left.

As OneCoin Comes Crashing Down,  Ruja is Nowhere To Be Found...

Some believe she bribed government officials in the 3 countries she had homes in, so they would agree to warn her in advance of any plans against her, or her business.

While that hasn't been proven, we can say that somehow she managed to stay months ahead of authorities, and was long gone when the day came, and OneCoin was forced to shut down as it's leaders were rounded up and arrested.

In those final months without Ruja, OneCoin stayed open for business, with her younger brother Konstantin Ignatov taking over the title of CEO.  But his reign as OneCoin's top boss was a short one, as he was arrested March 2019 in Los Angeles, and it all ending with him pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges.

Co-Founder Greenwood was detained in Thailand in 2018 and then extradited to the United States - just 3 weeks ago his case was closed after a deal to plead guilty was reached.  He still faces up to 40 years in prison.

Mark Scott, a former corporate lawyer, was convicted in November 2019 of laundering $400 million for the group by using a network of shell companies, offshore bank accounts and investment funds.

Another man, David Pike, pleaded guilty to committing bank fraud. He was sentenced to two years probation in March.

Not Even her Husband or 9 Year Old Daughter Has Heard from Her Since...

Most shockingly, she left her husband and now 9 year old daughter behind as well.   

They are said to be under 'constant surveillance' as authorities were expecting Ruja to eventually make contact with them.  If she has, it was done without anyone noticing, as the official status of her with the FBI describes her 2019 disappearance has the 'last time anyone has heard from or seen' her.

Is She Now a He?

It's hard to believe that a 3 year long global search with the powers of multiple law enforcement agencies from multiple countries behind it still hasn't found anything - to avoid even the occasional random sighting she either never goes outside, or has drastically changed her appearance. 

One way people believe she could do this would be for her to live as a man.

A professional sketch artists rendering of Ruja as a male, commissioned as part of Tradingpedia's research in to her disappearance.

Simpler methods of disguise have been suggested too, such as plastic surgery to make her face and body thinner, along with dying her hair blonde, would probably also make her unrecognizable. 

Possible Leads...

For those of us who have been around awhile, it takes more than another bear market to change our long term expectations for cryptocurrencies. 

I've been through three crashes - the first one really had me questioning things, the second time I was more willing to ride it out, 'hopeful but not certain' was my outlook on crypto's future. In both cases the crashes were followed by hitting new all time highs, and this pattern wasn't new, it's what Bitcoin historically had always done, and more recently, the top altcoins were included as well. 

So, this time around I feel like I'm just waiting... for our largest bull run yet. Not wondering if it's coming - waiting for it to get here.

Some of the Biggest Names in Investing and Wall Street are Quietly Preparing for a Crypto Boom...

Thankfully, it looks like I'm not the only one making this prediction. In fact, the biggest firms from the world of investing and Wall Street seem to be anticipating this too.

Keep in mind, the firms I'm about to mention don't throw millions at something because one or two executives believe it will pay off - before they invest, teams of analysts with specialists covering multiple aspects, and algorithms pumping out multiple models of possible outcomes, are involved.

Let's look at some of what is happening quietly behind the scenes right now - and ask yourself: does it seem like they see something coming?

Major Investment Firms:

Between just these 2 firms you're looking at over $2 TRILLION in assets under management, twice the size of the entire crypto market currently. 

● The world's largest global investment banking and investment management firm, Goldman Sachs, is quietly talking to multiple crypto startups that were hit hard by the bear market and investing to become part-owners of, or buying them out completely.

● The second largest global investment banking and investment management firm, Morgan Stanley, is currently creating their "digital-asset infrastructure," giving their 2 million+ clients access to the crypto market. While development started before the bear market hit, they say it never slowed down as they remain "focused on building."

When these firms enter a sector, countless smaller ones follow. 

Payment Processors:

The big 3 are all in.

● Visa is "propelling innovation to deliver even more access and value to the crypto ecosystem" and recently filed a series of trademark applications for crypto wallets, NFTs, and metaverse-related products.

● Mastercard is launching a program to enable mainstream banks to offer crypto trading to their customers.

● Even American Express, which in 2021 said they were "watching the space evolve" but had "no plans to announce" involvement in cryptocurrencies, began preparing for something, specifics still unknown, but real enough to have them file eight trademark applications for tech processing crypto and NFT transactions.

In addition to this, both Visa and Mastercard will expand their current role of providing cards that allow people to spend crypto anywhere that accepts their credit cards.  This has become a standard offering from most major exchanges now, and accounts for over $1 billion in transactions for Visa alone. 

Start-Ups:

When it comes to startups, those that truly serve a purpose are not struggling to find funding. Here are some of the projects that held investment rounds over just the last month - all hit their targets:

● Aztec Network, an Ethereum security layer geared towards privacy, successful raised $100 million in a  round led by prominent venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), with participation from A Capital, King River, and Variant, and others.

● Singapore-based crypto firm Amber Group closed a $300 million Series C led by Fenbushi Capital US. Nillion, a decentralized file storage network, raised $20 million in its latest funding round led by Distributed Global.



● Fleek, a developer platform for crypto companies, secured $25 million led by Polychain Capital, along with Coinbase Ventures, Digital Currency Group, and Protocol Labs.

● Tax and accounting software for digital assets, Bitwave, closed a $15 million Series A co-led by Hack VC and Blockchain Capital.

● Blocknative, a company building web3 infrastructure, also secured $15 million in its Series A led by Blockchain Capital and a few other investors.

There's only one reason any firm would be investing in new companies that could still be years away from seeing profits - again, the long term outlook.

The Path from Here, to There...

The road from bear to bull market is surprisingly short and straight - plus, following the collapse of FTX, a come-back for crypto also means washing off  some of the mud currently splattered on crypto's public image.  But all of this is doable, here's how it will go;

Crypto regulations are coming, discussing if you're for or against this is officially a waste of time - we're getting them.

However, the industry has gotten smarter over the last few years and regulations no longer mean a 'crack down' on crypto. 

As politicians began considering passing finance laws specific to crypto assets, the crypto industry became major Washington DC influencers, and almost overnight began supporting pro-crypto politicians campaigns at such large amounts that crypto is outspending the industries that have typically spent the most for decades, the defense industry and pharmaceutical companies.

Until recently we were truly were at risk of tech-illiterate politicians passing poorly-written regulations that could bring everything to a halt, that no longer longer seems possible. This level of involvement has given the industry a place at the table with lawmakers.

If you're outside of the US thinking this doesn't involve you, I wouldn't count on that.  Some regulations will address the situation FTX is in, requiring exchanges to prove the assets they hold and auditing their total value regularly.  It wouldn't surprise me if US companies and investors could only do business with foreign firms that follow similar guidelines - setting a standard that will quickly become global.

Over the span of just a few days:  Crypto's current public image gets fixed as politicians pat themselves on the back for 'fixing crypto' with 'new investor protections'.  The largest investment firms have citied the lack of these regulations as the only reason they haven't yet gotten involved - so now the floodgates open. 

I believe the next bull market doesn't just set new all-time highs for the top cryptocurrencies, but does it at record speed as well - Bitcoin gaining $10,000 per week for 5 weeks would get us past it's previous high, and it wouldn't surprise me if that's how it went.

Remember - there's never been so many people and companies aware of what a Bitcoin bull run can do, and it will be a lot harder to justify sitting it out.

In Closing...

There's nothing fun about a bear market, except looking forward to it ending. Based on current indicators, it seems we may have a lot to look forward to!

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

While watching Sam Bankman-Fried's recent media appearances, a theory entered my head - a gut feeling, but a strong one saying "He's been told he has nothing to worry about" and the more I listened with this theory in mind, the more convinced I became. 

Take a look for yourself and tell me if you see a man in fear of spending years in a federal prison - I don't think anyone could hide how stressful that possibility would be, but at no point did Sam show he was feeling any significant amount of stress. Not in some delusional way either - I don't believe his lack of stress comes from him being detached from reality, pretending everything is fine.

What I do see, is someone who believes the worst case scenario isn't going to happen...

These interviews seem like nothing more than an attempt to salvage his public image.   His strategy is more obvious than he seems to be aware of, as uses a classic pity-educing method of 'beating himself up', expressing regret, and taking some blame... but not too much. 

When it comes to blame, he seems to think he found the magic ratio of blame to excuses, as anytime he takes responsibility for doing something wrong, it comes with a reminder that he would never had made these mistakes if he knew the details of Alameda Research's trading positions at the time.

While it was met with disbelief every time he said it, he remained firm on not knowing vital details about Alameda Research, even though it is a company he created, that he has majority ownership of, and is holding a massive amount of the funds from investors he brought in.  I doubt his pitch to investors was 'put a few million in to this company, which I have nothing to do with'. 

My point is, he isn't making these public appearances to claim innocence, or even explain what happened. He's making them with the goal of getting people to say "Sam's a good guy who just made some mistakes".

I can't help but think that the only way being liked becomes more important than being free, is if he's already convinced his freedom isn't at risk.

But in order to objective, i'm open to the possibility that I'm just misreading him.  So I set aside any of my own opinions and 'gut feelings' and re-examined the situation strictly looking at the facts to see if I come to the same conclusion in the end.

Starting with some things worth a deeper look.

Sam's parents are not typical lawyers, and after learning more about them I think it's time to question how involved in FTX Sam's parents may be... 

Those who graduate from Stanford law school are considered among the top of the legal field - so you can imagine what it takes to be hired to teach those students - both of Sam's parents worked as Stanford Law professors. 

What kind of law do they specialize in? The kind that someone in Sam's position would be hiring right now.

The mother worked at Paul Weiss, one of the top firms in the US with clients like Exxon, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Universal Pictures, Sony and more. She is one of the founders of a "secretive Silicon Valley PAC that supports Democratic candidates" called Mind The Gap. 

Sam's father is considered one of the leading experts in tax law, tax shelters, and tax compliance, according to his Stanford bio page. I found this video uploaded by Stanford Law School featuring him speaking on the topic.

In other words, Sam Bankman-Fried was born with the perfect legal team already in the room.

If anyone could make sure Sam's actions stayed within legal grey areas or completely unenforceable by US regulators, it's them.

On this note, Sam has repeated in every interview that none of these questionable actions were done with funds from the US version of FTX. There indeed was a completely separate site for US investors, and if someone from the US tried to access the FTX for the rest of the world, they would find themselves blocked from signing up.

Sam remaining in the Bahamas doesn't help him avoid anything, the Bahamas does have an extradition treaty with the US, so if US regulators charged him with a crime, the government in the Bahamas would arrest Sam and put him on an airplane.  Most seem to believe he's 'obviously guilty' - so why hasn't he been extradited?

But his parents weren't his only source for guidance...

Gary Gensler is the head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. A man named Ryne Miller was Gensler's lead counsel at his previous role as CFTC Chairman.

Ryne Miller has been working at FTX for a little over one year - now he's their general legal council.

"His industry expertise and leadership will be critical as we forge cooperative working relationships with U.S. regulators" FTX said in an official press release at the time. In that same statement, Ryne Miller confirms he will be "working alongside U.S. regulators" for FTX's benefit.

These are the people who helped make sure the US branch of FTX stayed completely separate from FTX International...

FTX international is registered in Antigua and Barbuda, a small island with no capital gains tax, no wealth or inheritance taxes, and no personal income tax.

In every interview Sam has stated that the US version of FTX could open up to users immediately, and they will find all of their funds there untouched. If true, it's likely Sam violated no US laws.

If only his non-US company broke any laws, and none of it's victims were US citizens - the US justice system isn't interested.

We've covered some of what Texas has done so far to draw in the crypto industry.

As they continue with that goal, The Texas Work Group on Blockchain Matters, which includes members from government, academia, and business, has proposed that Bitcoin would "fit naturally into the balance sheet of the state of Texas."

There is a movement in Texas to have some of the state's reserves held in bitcoin, and this group is proposing a legal framework to the state legislature to make this possible (BTC).

There are already cities in Texas that have implemented this...

Fort Worth, a city in Texas where many Bitcoin mining companies have set up shop, is one of the few that has begun to include bitcoin in its official financial statements.

Further, the report recommends a set of public policies that encourage the use and adoption of crypto assets, arguing that doing so "would be a powerful indicator that the interests of Texas are aligned with (crypto) business operators."

To Promote Real-World / Retail Use of Crypto, they propose 2 years with NO TAXES on crypto transactions...

They also believe a "sales tax exemption" would be helpful in spreading the use of bitcoin for everyday purchases. This would be for the purchase of goods and services for a period of two years.

The group says that this would increase demand from Texans by encouraging businesses to accept cryptocurrency payments.

The cryptocurrency industry, and mining firms in particular, have provided employment and economic stimulus to previously underserved rural areas, according to the Texas Task Force.

But Now Texas' is facing growing competition coming from other states...

There is consensus among Florida's state leadership that crypto has promise, and more recently, California has signaled that it is preparing its own incentives to lure them in.

But I'm starting to wonder if being more crypto-friendly than Texas is even possible - if they follow through by actually turning these proposals into policies, they're going to be hard to beat. 

Starting to honestly wonder if it's time to move the Global Crypto Press from Silicon Valley to the loan star state. 

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

One of the most interesting things to watch in the Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) fallout are those who previously praised him, now trying to figure out why they ever said things that sound completely insane today.

In all fairness, while Sam's wrongdoings were deliberate and dishonest - blaming everyone who once worked with, or once simply liked the guy is going a step too far, in my opinion. If the accusations we've heard are true, you can be sure very few people knew the truth

Sam had accumulated a sizeable list of endorsements, and it wasn't made up of a bunch of easily scammed or gullible people...

Even the person who begun FTX's downfall first believed they were legit.  Binance CEO 'CZ' started the avalanche that would burry Sam and FTX by sending out of tweet when he lost confidence in the company - but before that, he trusted Sam and FTX enough to have $2 billion of his assets tied up in their FTX's official token, FTT.

Earning trust within an industry can be a chain reaction, where getting 'in' with one person who is more established than yourself can lead to a dozen more if you play your cards right.  So who was the first 'big name' in crypto to publicly link themselves with Sam? I have no idea, and they aren't to blame for this anyway.

While researching another story I came across this, the only organization that I've seen address the situation by adding disclaimers to their old write-ups about Sam.

The organization is called 80,000 Hours, and they say their goal is to 'provide research and support to help students and graduates switch into careers that effectively tackle the world’s most pressing problems' 80,000 hours refers to the average time someone will spend working in their chosen career in their entire lifetime. 

What was a page on their site containing 10 paragraphs of pure praise for SBF, now begins with a statement:

 Our statement regarding the collapse of FTX

The collapse of FTX is likely to cause a tremendous amount of harm – to customers, employees, and many others who have relied on FTX. We are deeply concerned about those affected and, along with our community, are grappling with how to respond.

Though we do not know for sure whether anything illegal happened, we unequivocally condemn any immoral or illegal actions that may have taken place.

Prior to this, we had celebrated Sam Bankman-Fried’s apparent success, had held him up as a positive example of someone pursuing a high-impact career, and had written about how we encouraged him to use a strategy of earning to give (for example, on this page). We feel shaken by recent events, and are not sure exactly what to say or think.

In the meantime, we will start by removing instances on our site where Sam was highlighted as a positive example of someone pursuing a high-impact career, since, to say the least, we no longer endorse that. We are leaving up discussions of Sam in places that seem important for transparency, for example this blog post on the growth of effective altruism in 2021, and this user story.

In the coming weeks and months we will be thinking hard about what we should do going forward and ways in which we should have acted differently.

If you are out there trying the best you can to use your career to help solve the world’s most pressing problems with honesty and integrity, we also want to say we support and value you.

We are following the situation closely and hope to write more soon.

Dogecoin, the tenth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $10.5 billion, outperformed any of the other top 50 coins over the last 24 hours, with gains of over 15%. 

For the week, DOGECOIN gained nearly 30% and was only outperformed by Telegram's TON token.

Behind The Rise...

Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter nw seems to be a 'sure thing', as the Tesla and SpaceX CEO walked through the doors of the Twitter offices earlier today. 

From what we can tell, social sentiment is driving the price, with people assuming Twitter will eventually implement the use of Dogecoin, somehow.

Bad Time To Bet Against The DOGE...

Almost $9 million in Dogecoin futures positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, almost all by people taking short positions.

The increased attention going to DOGE seems to have spread to its main competitor, SHIBA, which posted gains of around 7%. 

It's Easy To Downplay the strength of DOGE - but this 'joke coin' is showing some legitimately strong fundamentals...

A large, seemingly majority of people holding DOGE today appear to be true believers in the coin's long-term potential.

Wallets holding DOGE for more than 1 year are currently at an all-time high of 2.8 million, according to IntoTheBlock. 

Also, wallets that buy and sell within a month are at an all-time low - only 132,000 wallets can be considered 'short-term traders' - this is the lowest since mid 2020.

Recently, Dogecoin was the reason for a new lawsuit that has been filed against Elon Musk...

We spoke with the lawyer representing those suing Elon, while initially reaching out to us first, he refuses to answer some very basic questions on issues vital to the case, read about that here.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

You would think someone with a valid legal case against someone else would happily answer any questions related to it - there's no possibility that simply answering them honestly would end up hurting the case... right?

To be clear - the people behind this lawsuit are aggressively seeking media attention.  

Us, along with multiple other outlets have received regular updates on the case in the form of press releases from NY based lawyer Evan Spencer.  Both these press release and the lawsuit itself seem to follow a format of initially sounding serious, citing dates and price movements, like it revolves around relatively simple math. 

Then things slowly drift, and you find yourself reading 'unhinged' rants, seemingly as the author becomes and more consumed by negative emotions with each mention of the name 'Elon Musk'.

For example, the lawsuit begins with:

"Musk, together with SpaceX, Tesla, Inc., the Boring Company, the Dogecoin Foundation, and the "Doge Army," became de facto partners in a multi-billion-dollar racketeering enterprise which intentionally manipulated the market to drive the price of Dogecoin from $0.002 to $0.73 in two years, an increase of 36,000%. Subsequently, in May of 2022, Musk recklessly caused the price to drop 92% from $.073 to $0.05, an aggregate of nearly $86 billion, when his actions spawned the crypto-crash of 2021/2022."

I'll point out why much of this is misleading; for now, I'm simply showing how the lawsuit sounds like it could be legit...initially. 

But once you're a few pages into the lawsuit, you find yourself reading rants that no longer involve Elon Musk...or Dogecoin.

Like they thought, "Our case is sounding a bit weak... I think we need to turn up the heat - ALL CRYPTO may be EVIL!".

Just like that, you're reading rants about a website that closed 9 years ago when the owners were arrested for selling drugs and other 'black market' goods using Bitcoin as the platform's currency.  If you guessed what I'm talking about, you're probably correct - somehow, Silk Road is mentioned in this lawsuit happening nearly a decade later. 

 "The Silk Road fallout, supra, a now-defunct billion-dollar empire dedicated to the sale of illicit drugs using Bitcoin, further illustrates that crypto’s intended use as currency, in addition to its exploitation as an investment, merits further regulatory scrutiny."

Predictably, no effort was made to see if the 'further scrutiny' already exists - it does.  To anyone in crypto, this tactic used to attack crypto is considered outdated and debunked for years - it takes a combination of someone misinformed and desperate to even attempt it.

The truth is so easy to find, I can only assume they never even looked...

In reality, about 2.1% of transactions in crypto are connected to something illegal. This is confirmed by  the analytics firm that works with the FBI, translating blockchain data into actionable intelligence to catch these criminals, Chainalysis.

According to the UN, as much as 5% of ALL global currency is being used to facilitate something illegal, meaning Fiat currency, specifically paper cash, remains the preferred format of currency in the criminal underworld. 

Ironically, they demonstrate an accurate understanding of the public ledger/blockchain behind every cryptocurrency, and how it gives anyone access to a lifelong record of every transaction that was made using that cryptocurrency.  But then seem unable to guess why many criminals actually avoid crypto.

When answering questions is considered a risk...

Under what circumstances would the party making the accusations against another want to avoid answering questions?  If you're the victim, completely innocent, and can clearly explain who victimized you and how they did it - then there is no question that could possibly lead to any other conclusion.

Refusing is a red flag (just my personal opinion, of course, it isn't a definitive sign that something shady is going on), but I cannot think of any time in my life when I was confident enough to accuse someone of something negative, but scared someone could ask a question that would result in my claims sounding invalid. 

Here are the questions we asked the lawyer suing Elon Musk, and his excuse for not answering them...

It's worth noting that before the lawyer read them, he said he would have a response for me the following day.  When the following day came, he said they could not answer questions.  Specifically telling me:

"I am not at liberty to answer any of your direct questions at this time.  After the case is fully pleaded and briefed with the district court, I would be happy to let you interview me and some of my clients. 

However, until that time, I cannot compromise the rights and interests of my clients to appease the demands of the media."

Also worth noting, there were only 2 questions.  The team came up with something like 10 legitimate things to ask, but in the end we all agreed that the validity of the case would be determined by these 2 factors.

Question #1:

Elon Musk first mentioned Dogecoin in a 2019 tweet. Anyone who bought it then is STILL up 2900% on their investment. Elon Musk has mentioned it occasionally ever since.

So let's go with the idea that your client truly admired Elon Musk, which is why Elon mentioning something was so persuasive.   But if that was the case, the timeline is very off. 

Your client could have lagged a full 20 months after Musk first mentioned Dogecoin, and if he bought some then, his profits would be over 500% still today.

But your client waited 2 years or more to act on Musk's endorsement. 

Can you explain how Elon Musk's endorsement was both irresistible to your client, and at the same time, something they didn't get around to doing for nearly 2 years? 

Question #2:

Has Elon Musk sold ANY Dogecoin? He said he hasn't. 

There's been no mention of a mysterious wallet dumping massive amounts of Dogecoin, suspected to belong to Elon.

Not only does he claim to have never sold, he says he's bought more as the price declined. 

Your lawsuit frames him as a scammer running a pyramid scheme, but if he's telling the truth, this would be the first time in history the mastermind behind the multi-million dollar scam forgot the most important part - to profit. 

What is your evidence that Musk did indeed profit? Otherwise, his investment lost an even higher percentage as your client - this has never been said about the person at the top of a pyramid scheme before.

Why it really is this simple...

Because it appears that Elon's endorsement of Dogecoin was NOT so influential that those suing him felt compelled to buy some when they found out he was a fan.  More like they saw/heard Elon was a fan of Dogecoin, reacted by doing literally nothing for an extended period of time, then nearly 2 years after Musk first spoke of it, bought some Dogecoin. 

Now the only remaining claim revolves around the idea that Elon manipulated the price of Dogecoin for personal gain - but as far as anyone knows, he hasn't gained a penny. 

If Elon is telling the truth, that he sold none, and even bought more as the price declined - the entire lawsuit becomes impossible to make sense of, none of Musk's actions fit their claims.

The lawyer representing those suing Musk did however agree to speak with us 'After the case is fully pleaded and briefed with the district court' - we may have all our answers by then, if not, we will take them up on the offer. 

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News

Crypto assets have played a role in financing both sides in the war between Russia and Ukraine, something we started seeing signs of almost immediately upon its start.

Now Ukraine is allocating some of its limited resources and manpower to this digital front, according to the Ukraine Security Service - a law enforcement agency that says they successfully deployed what's vaguely being called a 'mechanism' to 'block wallets of Russian volunteers who raise funds for the Russian army'.

However, this actually went much further than 'blocking' a transaction. It actually appears no  transactions were blocked - but they did block who could access it. Ukraine then proceeded to seize the funds sent to the unnamed 'Russian volunteer' - then tracked him down and arrested him. 

According to the Ukraine Security Service, they did this with 'the assistance of foreign crypto exchanges.' which remain unnamed.

Total value of the crypto was approximately $20,000 USD.

The simplified version....

Crypto exchanges in pro-Ukraine nations are locking out Russian users, and letting Ukrainian authorities in to take their funds.

As always, bold moves tend to come with increased risks, and it's worth pausing to realize we wouldn't want to hear Russia or one of its allies did this to a UK or US citizen under the justification of the account owner supporting Ukraine.

This isn't my opinion, it's been official policy of the US not to do this.

The US and its allies have a long history of 'freezing' funds, not spending them. The amount of money US and UK citizens have held in foreign banks or businesses at any given moment is why "no you can't have it, but we also won't take it for ourselves" is a mutually beneficial policy during conflict.

The financial war...

While the media rarely goes into detail on actions done quietly behind the scenes, both sides have been surprisingly aggressive when it comes to using their authority over financial intuitions and businesses if they believe taking certain actions will result in inflicting economic damage on the other. 

US and NATO Allies have frozen Russia's accounts in their banks, in the US alone there is over $600 million they now cannot access. Russian gold imports are also banned, and Russian flights can no longer enter the US, UK, EU and Canadian airspace. 

While everything mentioned so far is fairly traditional and predictable when it comes to sanctions, the NATO member nations have another layer of sanctions intended to target Putin's wealthy friends and other influential Russians. Over 1000 individuals and their businesses with assets within the reach of governments supporting Ukraine have had them frozen or seized. Not just cash, anything belonging to the people on this list is potentially up for grabs. These sanctions are meant to disrupt the lives of one man instead of an entire country—the goal being to leave Putin surrounded by frustrated people motivated to see the war end.

Russia has hit back...

The most impactful so far was Putin's decision to stop accepting US dollars for their oil. While this may not sound like a big deal at first, it's important to note that all oil from around the world is typically purchased with US dollars. Whether it be from Russia or the Middle East, the USD was considered the standard currency everyone agreed upon.

Then factor in how much oil Russia sells, up to $700 million PER DAY - and you understand how requiring all transactions for Russian oil to use their currency (the Ruble) saved it from collapsing, after losing nearly half its value at the beginning of the war.

Protect Yourself...

While average citizens from the countries involved in the conflict have not been targeted by any governments involved so far, that's something we could potentially see change if the conflict escalates and intensifies.

Remember, the offer of removing sanctions and resuming business with Russia is on the table as a reward for ending the war. That's the entire purpose of imposing sanctions in the first place.

But if Putin continues military operations in Ukraine much longer, ignoring the sanctions, we reach a point where neither country intends to work with the other any time soon. This is when orders to seize anything belonging to people from that rival nation become an option.

My advice: if this were to happen, the announcement would come after it’s done, so now is a good time protect your assets by making sure none are sitting on a Russia-based exchange, or any other investment platform.

The downside of Ukraine openly boasting about seizing crypto belonging to a Russian citizen is that Russia could do the same, and claim they’re simply giving an equal response.

-----------
Author: Ross Davis
Silicon Valley Newsroom
GCP | Breaking Crypto News