Read in the Digest:
- Sam Bankman-Fried says “I’ve committed no fraud” and FTX US is fully solvent
- Crypto exchange Kraken cuts 1,100 jobs as crypto winter bites harder
- Telegram to launch a decentralized exchange and self-custodial wallets
- Bitcoin (BTC) climbs above $17,000 as Fed Chair signals slowing rate hikes
- Perpetuals-focused decentralized exchange GMX flips Uniswap in daily fees earned
Sam Bankman-Fried says “I’ve committed no fraud” and FTX US is Fully Solvent
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced boy king of crypto, told a conference in New York on Wednesday that he “didn’t do a good job” at upholding his responsibilities but maintained he “didn’t ever try to commit fraud.”
The fallen crypto billionaire, who is down to $100,000, said he saw FTX “as a thriving business and I was shocked by what happened this month.” He agrees that he completely failed at risk and it now feels embarrassing.
Despite filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11th, Bankman-Fried went on to claim that FXT US was fully solvent and “withdrawals could be opened up today and everyone could be made whole from that.”
Bankman-Fried also believes that LedgerX, which was acquired by his bankrupt crypto exchange, and FTX US derivatives could “even be running right now.”
Flipsider:
- In calling for more regulation of crypto, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the FTX collapse was a “Lehman moment” for the industry.
Why You Should Care
While being labeled as the villain, Bankman-Fried looks to tell his side of the story about the FTX collapse through his interview.
Crypto Exchange Kraken Cuts 1,100 Jobs as Crypto Winter Bites Harder
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken on Wednesday, November 30th, announced that it will lay off 30% of its global staff. This amounts to around 1,100 people. The crypto winter is clearly biting as hard as ever.
Kraken explained via a blog post that the company responded to the macroeconomic and geopolitical factors that have weighed on financial markets. Their actions included slowing hiring and avoiding large marketing commitments.
The market conditions led to Kraken experiencing “significantly lower trading volumes and fewer client sign-ups.” The exchange was also exposed to FTX, holding over 9,000 FTT before the collapse.
However, the exchange notes that it resorted to laying offs as “negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand.”
Flipsider:
- Kraken’s layoffs come as a surprise. The exchange earlier said it was looking to expand globally while other companies laid off staff.
Why You Should Care
Staff layoffs have become commonplace as tough market conditions crippled demand for crypto this year.
Telegram to Launch a Decentralized Exchange and Self-Custodial Wallets
Following its success with Fragment – a fully decentralized auction platform on The Open Network (TON) – Telegram has announced plans to launch a suite of decentralized cryptocurrency products.
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram made the announcement on Wednesday, November 30th that the messaging app will launch its own decentralized crypto ecosystem including a decentralized exchange (DEX) and non-custodial wallets.
Agreeing with the growing calls for decentralization, Durov said “cryptocurrency users should switch to trustless transactions and self-hosted wallets that don’t rely on any single third party.”
According to Durov, decentralized platforms have the potential to “give the power back to the people” after centralization concentrated power “in the hands of a few who began to abuse their power.”
Flipsider:
- Despite increasing calls for DeFi, the sector is not without its own challenges, losing $2.9 billion to hacks since the start of the year.
Why You Should Care
Telegram looks to use its decentralized suite to fix the wrongs caused by excessive centralization, which let down hundreds of thousands of crypto users.
Bitcoin (BTC) Climbs Above $17,000 as Fed Chair Signals Slowing Rate Hikes
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) jumped as high as $17,200 on Wednesday, along with stocks. This comes after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted at less aggressive interest rate hikes in the coming months.
After four consecutive months of raising interest rates by 0.75 percentage points to tackle the raging inflation, the Apex bank is expected to raise interest rates by 0.50 percentage points in the next meeting.
Before the announcement was made, Bitcoin (BTC) traded under $16,300. It then rallied in anticipation of the news to trade at an interday high of $17,194 – its highest price since November 11, when FTX announced its bankruptcy.
The 2-day price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Flipsider:
- In its latest blog post, the European Central Bank (ECB) has claimed that this is ‘bitcoin’s last stand,’ before heading toward ‘irrelevance.’
Why You Should Care
A smaller interest rate hike by the Fed would reduce the pressure on more volatile markets and could see cryptos turn bullish.
Perpetuals-Focused Decentralized Exchange GMX Flips Uniswap in Daily Fees Earned
GMX, a perpetual-focused decentralized exchange has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the sudden collapse of FTX. The exchange’s swift downfall saw many crypto users migrate from centralized exchanges.
According to on-chain data provided by Delphi Digital, GMX earned $1.15 million in trading fees on Monday, November 28th. This caused it to surpass Uniswap for the first time, having generated $1.06 million.
GMX, which allows users to trade perpetual or futures with no expiration date and an intermediary via smart contracts, is now ranked as the fifth-largest decentralized application on Token Terminal.
The rise correlates with the increasing calls for self-custody in the crypto community. GMX’s rise to the top is even more impressive given the exchange only launched in September 2021. Additionally, it made its debut on Ethereum rival Avalanche at the beginning of this year.
Flipsider:
- Although there is significant growth in the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, the problem of security is yet to be fixed. Over $2.9 billion was stolen in hacks this year alone.
Why You Should Care
The migration of users in the wake of FTX’s demise has also helped GMX mature into a formidable challenger to established companies such as Uniswap.