Founder of defunct crypto issuer seeks dismissal of SEC charges for lack of jurisdiction

According to court filings from Friday, lawyers for Do Kwon, founder of the defunct crypto issuer Terraform Labs, have requested a U.S. court to dismiss charges brought against him by the SEC, citing lack of jurisdiction among other reasons.

> Kwon has been on the run since the collapse of his crypto enterprise in May 2022 and was recently arrested in Montenegro for attempting to travel with falsified documents.

RBZ Plans to Introduce Gold-Backed Digital Currency for Zimbabwean Currency Stability

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to introduce a digital currency backed by gold reserves held at the central bank.

Tiger Global's Crypto Bets Take a Hit: $12.7 Billion Venture Fund Sees 20% Loss

Tiger Global Management, a well-known tech investor, has been hit hard by losses from its bets on blue-chip crypto businesses.

> According to private documents cited by The Information, the firm's $12.7 billion venture fund produced a paper loss of 20% as of December 2022.

> This was largely due to half a dozen major crypto startups that contributed to the loss, including investments in FTX, OpenSea, Yuga Labs, MoonPay, Helium, and Worldcoin.

> The investment in OpenSea, for example, dropped from $126.8 million to $30.2 million.

> These losses come after Tiger's flagship hedge fund reported losses of 54.7% for the year in November 2022, and the value of its private funds was marked down by an average of 33% in 2022. Full report here.

Bitcoin and Crypto Market Plunge: Futures Traders Lose $650 Million

Last week, traders holding long positions in futures suffered significant losses due to falling crypto prices.

> According to The Block, around $650 million in longs were liquidated across derivatives exchanges since April 17, with Binance and OKX seeing the most significant volume at $234 million and $197 million, respectively.

> Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, fell consistently throughout the week, with a 9.2% drop to around $27,300, while other cryptocurrencies like Ether, XRP, and MATIC also experienced a plunge.

> The sell-off began on Tuesday and has been linked to a lack of liquidity and a large sell order on Binance. Details here.

Growing the BRICS: Upcoming Cape Town Summit to Address Potential Expansion

As the BRICS coalition of nations prepares for its upcoming annual summit in South Africa, 19 countries have shown interest in becoming members of the group.

> The bloc, which consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, plans to convene in Cape Town from June 2-3 to address the potential expansion, according to South Africa's Ambassador to the group, Anil Sooklal.

> Sooklal mentioned in a recent interview that the topic of discussion would revolve around "the expansion of BRICS and the modalities of how this will happen."

> He added that "thirteen countries have formally asked to join and another six have asked informally. We are getting applications to join every day." Details here.

Bitcoin Outperformance Amid Banking Sector Stress: Analyst Predicts $100,000 Milestone

According to a note published by Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick, the current stress in the traditional banking sector is favorable for Bitcoin's outperformance, leading to a potential for Bitcoin to reach $100,000 by the end of 2024.

>Kendrick also believes that BTC's share of total digital assets market cap could move into the 50-60% range in the next few months from around 45% currently.

>The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and other mid-tier US lenders has solidified the case for Bitcoin as a "decentralized, trustless and scarce digital asset," he added.

> Kendrick attributed the recent increase in Bitcoin's price from below $20,000 to above $30,000 to the associated price jump, which has dramatically increased the profitability of Bitcoin mining companies. Full report here.

Chamath Palihapitiya on SEC Regulations and the Future of Crypto

Cryptocurrencies are facing tough times in America due to regulators' aggressive approach to the industry, according to tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya.

> The tech guru cited Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler's strict stance on cryptocurrency trading platforms following the banking crisis as a key factor in crypto's decline.

> The SEC has been actively enforcing regulations and has charged several crypto firms for allegedly selling unregistered securities, including Bittrex and Coinbase.

> Palihapitiya noted that these companies had "pushed the boundaries" more than other startup sectors and are now "paying the price" for it.

> Palihapitiya, who previously predicted that Bitcoin would climb to $200,000 and had called it the new gold, now has a more cautious view on cryptocurrencies. Continue here.

US Treasury Sanctions North Korean Individuals Linked to Lazarus Group

The United States Treasury Department's sanctioning authority has imposed restrictions on three individuals from North Korea for their involvement with the Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korean cyber-espionage team held responsible for numerous cryptocurrency thefts.

> US officials claim that the proceeds from these thefts are utilized to finance the nation's weapons program.

> Two of the sanctioned individuals, Cheng Hung Man and Wu Huihui, have been identified as over-the-counter (OTC) traders who enabled cryptocurrency transactions on behalf of the Lazarus Group.

> In addition, Sim Hyon Sop has been implicated in providing other forms of financial assistance. The Treasury's investigation linked several Bitcoin addresses to Wu, while associating an ether, arbitrum, and Binance chain address with Sim. Continue here.

Market Consolidation and Uncertainty Impact Crypto Prices

On Monday, Bitcoin (BTC) remained stagnant below $28,000, displaying consolidation in recent times. According to data from CoinDesk, the largest cryptocurrency in the market was trading at roughly $27,350, indicating a decline of 0.4% over the past 24 hours.

> The price of BTC had dropped below the $28,000 mark on Friday, which was part of a two-day decline following a week-long period above $30,000.

> At one stage, Bitcoin had almost hit $27,100.

> Meanwhile, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, Ether (ETH), was being traded at around $1,833 on Monday, representing a decrease of 0.8% from the previous day. Both BTC and ETH had witnessed a 7% and 11% decline, respectively, over the last week.

> The drop in their value can be attributed to investors pondering over macroeconomic and industry uncertainties, including a decrease in the liquidity of the US dollar.

> The CoinDesk Market Index (CMI) that gauges overall crypto market performance has remained almost flat for the day but was down by 9.3% for the week.