Blockchain dynamics: December 1, 2023 early reference

00：00-08：30

Keywords: About 74% of Bitcoin addresses hold less than 0.01 BTC, the United Kingdom issued a notice on Wednesday that cryptocurrency users are encouraged to voluntarily report unpaid taxes to avoid penalties, the total TVL of liquid staking protocol accounts reaches $26.8 billion, many enforcement cases initiated by the SEC seem to have no pattern or justification, decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) activity has recovered, and crypto lender Celsius Network may have to seek a new creditor vote on its proposed transition to a bitcoin mining business, Kraken faces SEC charges and plans to defend and respond to the lawsuit in court

1 . The United Kingdom issued a notice on Wednesday that cryptocurrency users are encouraged to voluntarily report unpaid taxes to avoid penalties, according to Golden Finance. Experts say a government survey in 2022 showed that 72% of UK crypto owners did not read its crypto tax guide, but ignorance cannot be counted as an excuse for tax evasion. David Lesperance, founder of tax consulting firm Lesperance and Associates, believes that UK regulators can use a variety of strategies, including a list of whistleblowers and creditors who have recently gone bankrupt, to track down undeclared cryptocurrencies. If an investor has funds in a failed crypto company such as FTX or Clesius, then that investor may be “named as a creditor” in bankruptcy proceedings. In addition, the Treasury Department may need to invest more resources and hire companies like Palantir to help with the investigation.

2 . According to a report released by RedStone Oracles, the total TVL of liquid staking protocol accounts reached $26.8 billion, according to a report released by RedStone Oracles. Liquid staking protocols issue tradable digital assets in the form of LiquidS tokens (LSTs), and they provide users with a convenient way to participate in cryptocurrency staking without the complexity of running validator nodes and hardware management. LSTfi is a subset of decentralized finance (DeFi) that leverages liquid staking tokens such as stETH, rETH, WBETH, or cbETH to enable innovative yield strategies to maximize returns, according to the report.

3 . U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Peirce said at an industry conference that many of the enforcement cases initiated by the SEC do not seem to have any pattern or reason. In 2023, the SEC increased enforcement actions involving securities offerings by 48%, one of which was the agency’s case against NFT issuer Stoner Cats 2 LLC, with Peirce saying, “I don’t think its primary goal is to discourage people from buying Stoner Cats.” When asked what she thinks of the SEC’s “outcome” on crypto, Peirce didn’t give a clear answer, saying, “We need to stick to the authority given to us by Congress, not go beyond the scope of the original regulation.” ”

4 . JPMorgan Chase & Co. said in a research note on Thursday that decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) activity has recovered in recent months as expectations of the approval of U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have improved sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. According to the report, this increase comes after a nearly two-year slowdown, “so there is optimism that the worst may be behind us in terms of the medium-term trajectory of DeFi/NFT activity.” The Ethereum blockchain does not appear to have benefited from the recent resurgence in DeFi and NFT activity and faces issues related to “network scalability, low transaction speeds, and high fees,” as well as increased competition from other layer-1 chains, the report said.

5 . According to people familiar with the matter, OpenAI plans to sell shares at a company valuation of about $86 billion, with the bidding deadline extended to January 5, 2024, according to people familiar with the matter.

6 . Circle sent a letter to U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren refuting claims that they were involved in illegal financing. In the letter, Circle mentioned that it did not provide banking services to Justin Sun, the TRON Foundation, or HTX. “Circle will not directly or indirectly facilitate or finance Hamas (or any other illegal actors) and will not provide banking services to Justin Sun,” the company said in the letter. Neither Sun nor any entity owned or controlled by Sun, including the TRON Foundation or Huobi Global, currently has an account with Circle. The letter adds: To date, the U.S. government has not explicitly designated Sun or its entities as Specially Designated Nationals, and despite this, Circle terminated all accounts held by Sun and its affiliates in February 2023. ”

7 . Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said on the X platform that the approval window for spot bitcoin ETFs is expected to be between January 5 and 10, 2024. According to SEC filings, the comment period for Franklin/Hashdex ended on Jan. 5 and the comment deadline for Ark/21 was Jan. 10.

8 . According to a report released by Grayscale, as of November 6, 2023, about 74% of Bitcoin addresses held less than 0.01 BTC, worth about $350. Only 2.3% of Bitcoin owners own 1 BTC or more (each Bitcoin is worth about $35,000 as of November 6, 2023). In addition, as of November 6, 2023, the top five wallet addresses by holding Bitcoin are either cryptocurrency exchanges or government entities.

9 . U.S. bankruptcy judge Martin Glenn said at a court hearing on Thursday that crypto lender Celsius Network may have to seek a new creditor vote on its proposal to transform into a bitcoin mining business, Golden Finance reported. Celsius said last week that it had scaled back its post-bankruptcy business plans to focus solely on bitcoin mining, citing the SEC’s skepticism about other planned business lines. Glenn expressed disappointment at Celsius’ late turn, saying he was “record-breaking” about Celsius’ need for a deal with the SEC. The judge said it was not a deal voted by creditors and that the amended agreement could face “strong opposition” from creditors.

10. According to a memo released this week, the SEC met with Grayscale on Thursday to discuss a potential conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into ETFs. SEC officials also met with BlackRock representatives and Nasdaq. In addition, Grayscale recently hired long-time Invesco ETF executive John Hoffman as managing director. Hoffman will serve as Grayscale’s head of distribution and strategic partnerships, signaling that the crypto asset manager is preparing to launch the fund once it is approved.

11. Kraken Chief Legal Officer (CLO) Marco Santori confirmed in an interview with CNBC that Kraken faces charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and plans to defend and respond to the lawsuit in court, according to Golden Finance. Santori said the SEC claims that Kraken is a clearing exchange and investment contract broker-dealer. None of these things exist, nothing like this exists, it’s completely hollow stuff made up by the agency, so we don’t agree. Santori also claimed that the SEC’s actions were bad policy, noting that other countries are developing legislative regulatory frameworks that are “appropriate for the purposes of cryptoasset companies.” But he acknowledged that although the United States has not yet done so, members of Congress are working to achieve it. He stressed that Kraken does not intend to evade regulation, but rather calls for a legal framework that “makes sense for the crypto ecosystem.”

12. Investors in Tiger Global Management’s largest venture capital fund, according to people familiar with the matter, suffered an 18% paper loss at the end of September after the company slashed valuations of several portfolio companies. The nearly $13 billion Private Investment Partners 15 fund has slashed the valuation of Superhuman, an AI-powered email company, by 45 percent and the privacy search engine platform DuckDuckGo by 72 percent, according to people familiar with the matter. Tiger Global also reduced its stake in Bored Ape Yacht Club by 69% and NFT marketplace OpenSea by 94%, according to people familiar with the matter. Tiger Global slashed the valuation of its venture fund by about 33% last year, resulting in a $23 billion loss in value. The PIP 15 fund completed its last close at the beginning of last year.

Source: Golden Finance