Cryptocurrencies

Cosmos Interchain Foundation budgets $26M for ecosystem development in 2024

The amount allocated is down from a budget of $40 million in 2023.

Switzerland-based Interchain Foundation (ICF), the core developer behind the cross-chain communications protocol Cosmos, will allocate $26.4 million for maintaining the said ecosystem next year.

According to a Dec. 13 announcement seen by Cointelegraph, the ICF 2024 roadmap “prioritizes funding for the Interchain Stack’s optimal functionality.” Out of the amount, $3 million will be allocated to CometBFT, Cosmos’ Byzantine fault-tolerant engine for state machine replication. Meanwhile, $4.5 million will go toward the Cosmos software development kit, and $7.5 million will be allocated to Cosmos’ native inter-blockchain communications protocol (IBC).

The remaining $4.155 million will go toward smart contract framework CosmWasm, digital library CosmJS, and ecosystem security audits. “This year’s funding program is designed to fortify the free-to-use, open-source Interchain Stack, serving as a catalyst for enhanced blockchain interconnectedness,” said ICF board director Maria Gomez, adding, “The role we play in the ecosystem is that of a steward that aids the interchain to achieve its goal of interoperable sovereignty.”

Crypto hacking losses plunge by nearly 50% in 2023: Report

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs credits this decline to enhanced security measures, law enforcement and industry coordination.

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs says losses from cryptocurrency hacking in 2023 are down more than 50% from 2022, thanks to improvements in industry security.

TRM Labs’ report published on Dec. 13 reveals that losses from 160 hacks to crypto projects amounted to about $1.7 billion in 2023, less than half the $4 billion stolen from internet protocols in 2022.

TRM Labs said the decline is due to enhanced security measures, which have seen the cryptocurrency industry incorporate real-time transaction monitoring and anomaly detection systems, strengthening digital wallets and exchange platforms.

3AC co-founder Su Zhu to be released by year-end after court grilling: Report

Three Arrows Capital co-founder Su Zhu has faced his first interrogation in a Singapore court and is reportedly set to be released soon.

Su Zhu, co-founder of bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Three Arrows Capital (3AC), is reportedly set to be released this month after facing an extensive interrogation in a Singapore court.

Zhu was arrested in Singapore in September 2023 when he attempted to flee the country after a local court sentenced him to four months of imprisonment. At the time, 3AC’s joint liquidator, Teneo, said that Zhu was planning to assist on matters related to 3AC and to help recover assets from the defunct firm.

According to Bloomberg’s Dec. 13 report, Zhu faced his first interrogation in Singapore this week, responding to Teneo lawyers in a two-day court hearing. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said lawyers sought details about how the fund failed and the whereabouts of assets. According to Bloomberg’s sources, Zhu is to be released this month based on standard provisions for good behavior.

SEC wants Binance guilt admission added to own case

Binance said the SEC hasn’t demonstrated that the resolutions reached with the DOJ are pertinent to the regulator’s “faulty claims” against Binance Holdings and former CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Binance Holdings and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have reacted to a move by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include Binance’s admission of guilt to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its own legal proceedings.

In a Dec. 12 filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Binance insisted the SEC’s attempt to include the $4.3 billion guilty plea and settlement agreement with the DOJ in the continuing case was procedurally incorrect and should not be allowed.

The ongoing Binance-SEC legal case began on June 5, 2023, when the agency accused the company of 13 securities law violations, including that Zhao and Binance managed customer assets on Binance.US and mixed or redirected customer assets.

Former US President Donald Trump launches ‘MugShot’-themed NFT drop

“Never surrender!” the former U.S. president wrote.

Former United States President Donald Trump is launching a third nonfungible token (NFT) drop, dubbed “MugShot,” centered around the theme of his ongoing criminal indictments.

According to the Dec. 12 announcement, the trading cards are purchasable via either credit card or Wrapped Ether (wETH) and are not transferrable until Dec. 31, 2024. Users will need to provide Know Your Customer (KYC) information to purchase the NFTs, even if they choose to pay with crypto. In explaining the rationale behind the collection, the collection‘s website reads:

Priced at $99 each, users who purchase 47 or more digital trading cards are eligible to receive “a piece of the president’s ACTUAL suit from his famous mugshot & dinner at Mar-a-Lago with the President.” This is Trump’s third NFT drop following previous successes. Melania Trump, former first lady of the United States and wife of Donald Trump, has also previously launched an NFT collection.

Two individuals indicted for $25M AI crypto trading scam: DOJ

Defendants David Gilbert Saffron and Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. allegedly solicited users’ deposits for investment and used them for lavish personal expenditures.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has indicted two individuals for allegedly operating a $25-million artificial intelligence (AI) crypto-trading Ponzi scheme.

According to the Dec. 12 announcement, Australian national David Gilbert Saffron and Los Angeles resident Vincent Anthony Mazzotta Jr. are accused of operating trading programs that “falsely promised to employ an artificial intelligence automated trading bot to trade victims’ investments in cryptocurrency markets and earn high-yield profits.”

After receiving users’ deposits, however, the two individuals allegedly spent the money on “private chartered jet flights, luxury hotel accommodations, private mansion rentals, a personal chef, and private security guards.”

Crypto platform WOO X partners with market maker Wintermute for liquidity boost

Aside from Wintermute, other leading liquidity providers, including Selini Capital and Black Code Group, also support WOO X.

Crypto exchange platform Woo X has partnered with Wintermute, a crypto market maker and liquidity provider with over $3.6 trillion in cumulative trading volume. Wintermute will act as the designated liquidity provider for the crypto exchange.

The latest partnership between the two crypto-focused platforms is part of a proactive and transparent effort to onboard top-tier liquidity providers. The London and Singapore-based liquidity provider Wintermute is one of several market makers collaborating with the crypto platform.

Other liquidity providers, such as Selini Capital and Black Code Group, also support WOO X. Selini Capital, for example, has consistently contributed 15–25% of all maker volume on Perpetual Protocol.

More US senators back Elizabeth Warren’s AML bill targeting crypto

The legislation, reintroduced in July, already has the support of several U.S. lawmakers, but critics have suggested it could threaten financial freedom and privacy.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, an outspoken critic of digital assets in the United States government, has announced that five more senators have agreed to cosponsor one of her bills aimed at cracking down on money laundering.

In a Dec. 11 announcement, Senator Warren said Senators Raphael Warnock, Laphonza Butler, Chris Van Hollen, John Hickenlooper and Ben Ray Luján had backed her Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act, reintroduced in July. According to Warren, the legislation specifically targeted illicit uses of crypto assets for money laundering and financing terrorism.

“I’m glad that five new senators are joining the fight to take action, including three members of the Banking Committee,” said Warren. “Our bipartisan bill is the toughest proposal on the table cracking down on crypto’s illicit use and giving regulators more tools in their toolbox.”

FIFA launches NFT collection amid 2023 Club World Cup

FIFA NFTs, minted on Algorand, have totaled only $2.4 million in trading volume since their inception last September.

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the body governing international soccer competitions, will launch its own nonfungible token (NFT) collection ahead of the 2023 Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia in collaboration with blockchain firm Modex.

According to the Dec. 11 announcement, an inaugural collection of 100 NFTs will premiere on Dec. 15 and feature the chance to secure tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 final. In addition, a total of 900 other digital collectibles will be issued on the Polygon network and OpenSea this month, comprising memorable moments from the ongoing tournament and digital versions of memorabilia.

“Scheduled to kick off in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on December 12, the FIFA Club World Cup brings together seven of the world’s greatest football teams. The champions of FIFA’s six confederations are all participating,” FIFA wrote. The NFTs will be available on FIFA’s namesake platform, FIFA+ Collect. The NFT platform was launched in September 2022 and is powered by Algorand.

X-Spot granted trademark injunction against Huobi Global in Hong Kong

The ruling only applies to the use of the trademark in Hong Kong until a final decision is issued at trial.

X-Spot Global Limited, a company owned by Huobi Global exchange (now HTX) co-founder Leon Li, has won an injunction against Huobi Global for the latter to cease its use of the Chinese-equivalent “Huobi” trademark in Hong Kong.

According to a recent decision with the Hong Kong High Court, the HTX exchange will be barred from using the trademark name Huobi (火幣) and the Chinese business name “火必,” which is “confusingly similar” to the English trademark in Hong Kong, pending a final trial on the matter. Presiding judge Mimmie Chan J wrote:

Court documents reveal that the Huobi trademark was registered in 2019 in Hong Kong. In September 2022, Huobi Global was sold by co-founders Li and Du Jun to About Capital Management, an entity linked to Chinese blockchain personality Justin Sun.