FTX Bankruptcy Case: U.S. Trustee Opposes Subpoena Requests for Founder and Staff

The U.S. Trustee, a branch of the Department of Justice responsible for bankruptcy cases, has opposed proposals to subpoena Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, along with his family and senior staff. The plans are set to be discussed at a hearing on Wednesday. However, the U.S. Trustee, Andrew Vara, stated in a legal filing that this would duplicate the examination of the exchange's downfall, which has not yet been appointed. The appointment of an independent examiner will be discussed at a hearing on Monday, with the new CEO of FTX, John Ray, scheduled to give testimony. Vara added that if the court directs the appointment of an examiner, their responsibilities would include investigating the same entities and transactions that the proposed subpoenas would target. More here.

Binance Acquires Gopax to Strengthen Its Presence in South Korea

In a significant move, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has acquired a majority stake in the South Korean crypto trading platform Gopax. This move marks Binance's return to the South Korean market after a two-year absence. The funding for the acquisition came from the Industry Recovery Initiative, a finance-driven investment project to which Binance committed $1 billion. Binance's chief business officer, Yibo Ling, confirmed that the company has acquired a "significant" equity position in Gopax, but the details of the deal have not been disclosed. However, Ling stated that the primary objective of the deal was to support customers and ensure they can withdraw their assets. Details here.

China's Crackdown on Free Speech Reaches Damus Social Network

Jack Dorsey-backed Twitter alternative Damus, which features integration with the Bitcoin Lightning Network, has been banned from the China App Store. According to Damus, they received a notification from Apple that the Cyberspace Administration of China deemed the app to contain "illegal content" because it is an "Information Services with Attribute of Public Opinions or Capable of Social Mobilization." Damus operates on top of Nostr, a decentralized social network that touts itself as "censorship-resistant." The former CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey, has provided funding for Nostr with a 14 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) donation (worth approximately $245,000 at the time of the donation).  More here .

Microstrategy Co-Founder Challenges Charlie Munger's Criticism of Cryptocurrencies

Taunting Charlie Munger for his criticism of cryptocurrencies, Microstrategy co-founder Michael Saylor on Friday said had the Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman spent a hundred hours studying problems plaguing countries outside the U.S., he would be more bullish on Bitcoin than Saylor himself. Saylor further said Munger’s criticisms on crypto weren’t totally off and there were 10,000 cryptos that were gambling. “I sympathize with him on that matter but Charlie and the other critics are continuously prodded for an opinion on Bitcoin and they haven’t had the time to study it. If he was a business leader in South America, or Africa or Asia and spent 100 hours studying the problems, he would be more bullish on Bitcoin than I am,” he said, speaking with CNBC. Full report here.

Layoffs at PLGO as Company Prepares For Extended Economic Winter

Protocol Labs (PL), a technology company that develops computing infrastructure, has laid off 21% of its workforce, citing a global economic downturn and an extended cryptocurrency winter as reasons for the move.The layoffs impacted PLGO teams including PL Corp, PL Member Services, Network Goods, PL Outercore, and PL Starfleet. The affected employees will receive a standard severance package and placement services will be offered by the PL Talent team. "To ensure teams are well positioned to weather this extended winter, we have to reduce costs further. Although we worked extremely hard to avoid this, we’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by 89 roles (approximately 21%)," said Juan Benet, the founder of Protocol Labs, in a blog post. More here.

Pantera Capital Co-CIO Joey Krug Steps Down, New Executive Committee Takes Over

Joey Krug, the co-Chief Investment Officer of Pantera Capital, has stepped down from his position at the venture capital and investment firm. According to a letter sent out to partners, Joey joined Pantera Capital in 2017 and managed the firm's early-stage token fund, which suffered significant losses in the past year. In light of this development, the responsibilities previously held by Krug will be taken over by a newly formed executive management committee. In the letter, Pantera's founder and CEO, Dan Morehead, expressed regret at Krug's departure, but emphasized that the transition would be smooth. "While Joey is a friend and we are naturally sad to see him go, we expect the transition to be seamless," Morehead stated.  More here.

Indian Crypto Exchange WazirX Relocates Funds from Binance Amid Ongoing Dispute

In response to Binance's decision to cut off its services, WazirX has announced the transfer of its operational funds held with Binance to other wallets. The move was confirmed in a tweet by the Indian crypto exchange, assuring users that their funds are safe and secure, and trading activities will not be impacted. However, the amount of the transferred funds remains undisclosed. Binance, on the other hand, stated in a blog post that Zanmai Labs, the parent company of WazirX, has been asked to remove its funds from the Binance-held accounts due to "misleading claims" about Binance's involvement in WazirX's operations. Binance clarified that they only provided tech solutions for WazirX's exchange operations and never managed or controlled the Indian exchange's activities. Read More

Emergent Fidelity Files For Bankruptcy Amid Stock Battle

Emergent Fidelity Technologies, the offshore entity that holds 55 million shares of Robinhood Markets, filed for bankruptcy on Friday, as multiple parties try to claim ownership of the stock. The worth of the Robinhood shares is estimated to be over $590 million at current market prices and has been seized by the US government. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing gives Emergent Fidelity and its liquidators, appointed by a court in Antigua, the power to defend their assets and creditors' interests in the US. "Given the many parties claiming to be creditors or outright owners of the debtor's assets in proceedings in the US, the liquidators believe that Chapter 11 protection is the only practical way to empower the debtor to defend itself, the assets, and its creditors' interests in the US," said Angela Barkhouse, one of the liquidators appointed by the court in Antigua. Full report here.

Dogecoin's Daring Dash To $1 With Libdogecoin 0.1.2

Dogecoin is set to release a new version of its blockchain tool, Libdogecoin, according to Michi Lumin, a core engineer of Dogecoin. The updated version 0.1.2 will come with improved features, such as mnemonic/seedphrase generation, QR code production, and better support for Microsoft Visual C++ and Visual Studio, Michin said. The Dogecoin Foundation aims to make it easier for developers to integrate products with the DOGE ecosystem through the use of Libdogecoin. The foundation believes that this implementation will lead to greater innovation within the community. With Elon Musk's recent moves towards crypto payments on Twitter, there is growing interest in Dogecoin, which is currently valued at $0.098128, a 34% increase from the start of the year. Read More

Altcoin Frenzy: Bitcoin And Ether Remain Steady As Other Cryptocurrencies Soar

Heading into the weekend, Bitcoin and Ether remained steady, despite declining on Friday due to a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. Meanwhile, altcoins saw significant gains with Optimism, Fantom, ImmutableX, and Dydx surging 33%, 34%, 40%, and 31% respectively. Cryptocurrency-related companies saw a decline with Coinbase down 8.38% and Block Inc dropping 4.19%. Silvergate's stock fluctuated with a 20% drop following reports of a fraud probe. MicroStrategy reported a net loss of $249.7 million, compared to a loss of $90 million the previous year, due to a digital asset impairment charge. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust saw a slight decrease of 0.16% while Grayscale Ethereum Trust fell 3%. More here.