Cryptocurrency Prices Fall as Dogecoin Leads the Losses

 The value of various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, declined over the past > week, with Dogecoin seeing the largest losses. While some crypto stocks performed well, the exchange Coinbase saw a 1.8% increase and shares in Block rose 4.95%, the firm MicroStrategy experienced a drop of approximately 14.5%. Ripple's XRP also declined by 4%, and several dog-themed memecoins, including Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Dogelon Mars, saw decreases of over 10%, 3%, and 5% respectively. The value of Bitcoin was approximately $16,710 as of Monday, representing a 0.7% decrease in the past seven days, and Ethereum declined by 0.2% in the same period to trade around $1220 levels.

Dogecoin Foundation Announces New Development Fund for Dogecoin Core Project

The Dogecoin Foundation has announced the creation of a new development fund for the Dogecoin Core project. The fund will be managed by existing core developers and members of the Dogecoin Foundation board and will be transparently documented through forthcoming blog posts detailing all expenditures and developments. To support the development of the Dogecoin Core project, the Foundation has transferred 5 million Dogecoin to the fund. The fund will have a three-out-of-five signature threshold, with custodians including Chromatic, a Dogecoin Core developer; Marshall Hayner, a member of the Dogecoin Foundation board; Michi Lumin, a Dogecoin Core developer and board member; Patrick Lodder, a Dogecoin Core developer; and Ross Nicoll, a former Dogecoin Core developer, according to the foundation. Continue reading.

Citigroup Concerned by Alameda Research's Lack of Risk-Management, Passes on Partnership

Banking behemoth Citigroup considered partnering with Alameda Research, a now-bankrupt crypto trading firm, to launch a crypto lending business in 2020, however, decided against it due to concerns about the firm's lack of a risk-management framework and vague answers to questions. Austin Campbell, the former co-head of digital assets rates trading at Citigroup, told the Wall Street Journal, "The thing that I picked up on immediately that was causing us heartburn was the complete lack of a risk-management framework that they could articulate in any meaningful way." The report, citing former employees, states that Alameda Research experienced significant losses due to its trading algorithm. The algorithm was meant to make a large number of automated and rapid trades, but the firm ended up losing money by incorrectly predicting price movements. Details here.

Cryptocurrency Attacks Slow Down in December, Resulting in Lowest Monthly Loss of Year

The month of December saw a significant decrease in the amount of cryptocurrency stolen by hackers and exploiters, with a total of $62.2 million worth of assets taken. This marks the lowest monthly figure for the year, according to blockchain security firm CertiK. Of the 23 major attacks that occurred during the month, exit scams were responsible for the greatest value at $15.5 million, while flash loan-based exploits accounted for $7.6 million. The Helio Protocol incident on Dec. 2, in which a trader took advantage of a price discrepancy to borrow millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency, resulted in the largest loss of $15 million. More here.

Crypto Entrepreneur Cameron Winklevoss Calls Out Barry Silbert for Alleged Delay Tactics In Resolving $900M Debt Dispute

Cryptocurrency entrepreneur Cameron Winklevoss has accused Barry Silbert, another businessman, of using "bad faith stall tactics" in an attempt to resolve a dispute between their two companies that arose from the collapse of FTX. Winklevoss's company, Gemini Trust Co., had offered investors the chance to earn up to 8% interest on their digital coins by lending them to one of Silbert's firms, Genesis Global Capital, through Digital Currency Group (DCG). However, the redemptions for this product, called Earn, were suspended in November after it was revealed that $175 million was locked in an account on the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Continue reading.

SushiSwap to Retire Kashi Lending Platform and MISO Token Launchpad Due to Poor Design and Resource Constraints

SushiSwap, a decentralized exchange, has announced that it will be retiring two of its offerings, the Kashi lending platform, and MISO token launchpad, due to poor design and a lack of resources, according to its chief technology officer, Matthew Lilley.

> SushiSwap plans to wind down these offerings in the first quarter of 2023 and will focus solely on its core decentralized exchange, which currently has $390 million in total value locked.

> Kashi and MISO, both introduced in March 2021, were intended to allow users to borrow crypto assets and fund DeFi projects through crowdfunding, respectively, but neither gained significant traction among users. More here.

Bitcoin Developer Luke Dashjr Reports Wallet Hack and Loss of $3.3 Million Due to PGP Key Compromise

Bitcoin developer Luke Dashjr has reported that his wallet was hacked and approximately 200 BTC, worth approximately $3.3 million at current market prices, was stolen. Dashjr claimed that the hack was due to a compromise of his Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) key, which is used to encrypt and decrypt data. The exact cause of the exploit is not yet known, but some speculate that a server Dashjr used may have been accessed to steal data, including the private keys to his bitcoin wallet.In November, Dashjr mentioned that his server had been compromised. Full story here.