‘Tis the season for more FTX charges

Welcome backmost to Chain Reaction.

And blessed holidays!

’Tis the play to beryllium jolly and cheque your crypto portfolio earlier buying a fewer much vacation gifts for your household and friends. It’s besides ’tis play for much FTX charges and SBF’s extradition…

More has unfolded successful the FTX illness arsenic its co-founder and erstwhile CTO Gary Wang and the erstwhile Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison have pleaded blameworthy to charges successful regards to their roles successful the crypto exchange’s demise, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Wednesday. Both Wang and Ellison are cooperating with the investigation, Williams added.

And successful akin news, 9 days aft being arrested successful the Bahamas connected a fistful of transgression charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), erstwhile FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is heading backmost to the United States to look them.

Bankman-Fried got his ain level backmost to the U.S. and is expected to beryllium arraigned successful the Federal District Court successful Manhattan. Where he’ll beryllium held successful the states is to beryllium determined, but I’m beauteous definite it won’t beryllium arsenic lavish arsenic his $40 cardinal spot successful the Bahamas — but hey, who’s helium to complain?

Meanwhile, things are getting shaken up successful the NFT satellite arsenic Yuga Labs, creator of blue-chip NFT task Bored Ape Yacht Club, named Activision Blizzard COO Daniel Alegre arsenic its caller CEO. The existent CEO, Nicole Muniz, volition enactment connected arsenic a strategical advisor.

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this week successful web3

Here are immoderate of the biggest crypto stories TechCrunch has covered this week.

Binance.US to bargain Voyager Digital’s assets for $1 billion

It’s been a agelong twelvemonth for Voyager Digital. After filing for bankruptcy, the crypto lender thought it would beryllium capable to instrumentality immoderate funds to its customers by selling its assets to FTX. As you know, things haven’t been going good astatine FTX either. That’s wherefore Binance.US is stepping successful contiguous and offering to bargain Voyager Digital’s assets for $1.022 billion.

Magic Eden exec sees NFT gaming similar the ‘early days of mobile gaming’ (TC+)

Blockchain games person grown exponentially implicit the past twelvemonth arsenic a caller and innovative alternate to the accepted gaming world. While the 2 areas person been wide separated, immoderate marketplace players spot an integrated future. In the past, large gaming companies became hyperfocused connected the mobile gaming abstraction and began acquiring smaller games to compete, Chris Akhavan, main gaming serviceman astatine NFT marketplace Magic Eden, said to TechCrunch. “We deliberation that the aforesaid travel is going to hap successful web3,” Akhavan added.

India cardinal slope main warns crypto volition origin the adjacent fiscal situation if permitted to grow

The Indian cardinal bank’s politician said connected Wednesday that it’s not astatine warfare with crypto, but warned that backstage cryptocurrencies volition origin the adjacent fiscal situation unless its usage is prohibited. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das told a country packed with banking executives and lawmakers that crypto has a immense inherent hazard to the macroeconomic stableness of the nation. “After the improvement of the past 1 year, including the latest occurrence surrounding FTX, I don’t deliberation we request to accidental thing more. Time has proven that crypto is worthy what it’s worthy today.”

Starbucks’ NFT programme whitethorn thrust much integer collectible integrations with large brands (TC+)

As the satellite continues to go much digital, the demands and needs of consumers are changing — and NFTs mightiness beryllium a large portion of the aboriginal for brands looking to shingle up their rewards programs, Adam Brotman, co-CEO and co-founder of Forum3, said to TechCrunch. “We’re proceeding from a batch of different brands, whether they person a loyalty programme oregon not, that what each large brands are contending with close present is that the user is changing,” Brotman, who is besides the erstwhile main integer serviceman of Starbucks, said. “It’s not conscionable Gen Z oregon millennials, but the user successful wide has go much hyperdigitalized and much appreciative of integer goods.”

Audit steadfast Mazars ceases proof-of-reserves enactment for Binance and others

Global audit steadfast Mazars has deleted the website that hosted proofs-of-reserves enactment for cryptocurrency exchanges. The institution told Bloomberg that it is suspending its enactment with crypto companies connected proofs-of-reserves reports going forward. Clients of the audit steadfast see Crypto.com and Kucoin. But the astir salient lawsuit was Binance.

the latest pod

Chain Reaction’s archetypal play ended earlier this period and we’ll beryllium bringing caller contented backmost successful the New Year.

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follow the money

1. Crypto trading steadfast Amber raises $300 million as it seeks extortion for FTX-hit customers
2. Revel raises $7.8 million to go the Instagram and Robinhood of NFT platforms
3. Foundation raises $7 million to instrumentality ‘sovereignty’ to a chaotic crypto world
4. Bitcoin improvement steadfast Layer 2 Labs raises $3 cardinal successful a effect round
5. Arrakis Finance raises $4 cardinal for its decentralized marketplace making infrastructure

This database was compiled with accusation from Messari arsenic good arsenic TechCrunch’s ain reporting.