blockbank Crypto News Desk #60
Fideum Group: Finalists at Mastercard Lighthouse Program
Fideum Group has made it to the finals of the prestigious Mastercard Lighthouse Program, happening at Slush. This is more than just recognition; it’s a fantastic chance for us to showcase our latest fintech innovations and forge meaningful connections.
The event is scheduled for November 30th at Slush — Messukeskus Siipi Valo, Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. You can meet our team members, including Anastasija Plotnikova, Kelghe D’Cruz, and Darren Franceschini, who will be there to provide insights into our fintech strategies.
What’s more, don’t forget to swing by our booth on December 1st. We’re eager to discuss our recent achievements, our Series A journey, and our impact on the digital finance landscape.
On the way to this grand finale, we’ve also secured the People’s Choice Award and the Baltic Class Winner title at Mastercard Lighthouse.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Involvement in Binance Lawsuit
Cristiano Ronaldo, the renowned football star, finds himself entangled in a class-action lawsuit over his promotional activities with Binance, a leading cryptocurrency exchange. The lawsuit, filed in a Florida district court, accuses Ronaldo of promoting unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance, particularly through his nonfungible tokens (NFTs) collections tied to the exchange.
The crux of the complaint lies in the alleged influence Ronaldo’s promotions had on his massive social media following, estimated at 850 million. His involvement with Binance reportedly led to a significant boost in the exchange’s popularity, evidenced by a 500% spike in searches post the initial NFT sale. The plaintiffs argue that Ronaldo, given his investment experience, should have been aware of the implications of promoting unregistered crypto securities.
The lawsuit also highlights a failure to disclose payments for these promotions, as required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s guidelines for celebrity endorsements in cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, face their own legal challenges, including a hefty $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. government for anti-money laundering law violations and running an unregistered money-transmitting business. The SEC has also filed a lawsuit against Binance for selling unregistered securities and is investigating potential misappropriation of customer funds.
Genesis and DCG Settle $620M Lawsuit with Repayment Agreement
Genesis, a bankrupt crypto lender, has reached a repayment agreement with its parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG). This deal aims to resolve a lawsuit initiated by Genesis to recover approximately $620 million in overdue loans from DCG. According to the agreement filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, DCG will pay off its outstanding loans of $324.5 million by April 2024, with Genesis maintaining the right to pursue any unpaid amounts.
This settlement is expected to offer Genesis immediate and substantial short-term benefits, helping to avoid the costs and complications associated with prolonged litigation. It also forms a crucial part of Genesis’ strategy to repay its creditors, whose approval is required before the plan is finalized by Judge Sean Lean.
This development comes amidst Genesis’ broader legal challenges, including a lawsuit against the crypto exchange Gemini, seeking to recover nearly $670 million. Additionally, both Genesis and Gemini are facing legal action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York authorities, with allegations of selling unregistered securities and defrauding investors. Genesis had filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 following a suspension of withdrawals in November 2022.
KyberSwap Hacker Negotiates Terms Through On-Chain Message After $46M Crypto Heist
the individual responsible for the $46 million theft against KyberSwap, a cross-chain decentralized exchange, has sent an on-chain message to KyberSwap executives, tokenholders, and liquidity providers. In this message, dated November 28, the exploiter demanded a more civil approach from KyberSwap’s side, threatening to delay negotiations for the return of the stolen funds if the hostilities continued. They expressed willingness to negotiate and proposed releasing a statement about a potential treaty with KyberSwap on November 30, provided that the current hostile environment ceases.
KyberSwap had initially proposed a bounty deal, suggesting that the hacker return 90% of the stolen funds while keeping the remaining 10%. However, following the hacker’s non-compliance, KyberSwap’s team threatened to take legal action against them.
Meanwhile, KyberSwap has successfully recovered $4.67 million of the $46 million exploited on November 26 from front-running bot operators on the Polygon and Avalanche networks. As of the latest update, KyberSwap’s team has not yet responded to the exploiter’s recent message and is presumably awaiting the proposed treaty from the hacker.
The hack, which occurred on November 22, was described by decentralized finance expert Doug Colkitt as a complex and carefully engineered exploit using an “infinite money glitch” across several networks, including Avalanche, Polygon, Ethereum, and layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base.
Animoca Brands Set to Revolutionize Telegram with Largest Validator Role on TON Blockchain
Animoca Brands, a prominent Web3 investment firm, is poised to become the largest validator on The Open Network (TON) blockchain. This move is part of a broader strategy to integrate blockchain-based gaming into Telegram’s platform, which boasts 800 million users. The partnership involves significant investment from Animoca in TON, including funding, research, and the development of an analytics platform for third-party applications within the TON ecosystem.
Animoca’s focus on TON’s ecosystem is driven by its potential to foster cryptocurrency and GameFi adoption. The firm plans to support TON Play, a gaming infrastructure project, enabling the creation and launch of gaming applications on Telegram. This includes the possibility of porting existing web-based games and a selection of over 400 Web3 gaming titles from Animoca’s portfolio to the messaging app.
Justin Hyun, TON Foundation’s director of growth, highlights the significance of Animoca’s analytics platform and research in enhancing the Web3 experience for Telegram users. Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu emphasizes that this investment aligns with the company’s goal to transition from Web2 to Web3, demonstrating their belief in TON’s vision to mainstream Web3.
This partnership marks Animoca’s second venture as a validator of a proof-of-stake blockchain protocol, following their involvement with Chiliz Chain in November 2023. Initially developed by Telegram, TON’s development was taken over by a group of open-source developers after Telegram abandoned it due to legal challenges, leading to the establishment of the TON Foundation in May 2021.
Mercedes F1 and MLB Sued Over FTX Promotion Amid Crypto Exchange Scandal
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team and Major League Baseball (MLB) have been implicated in a lawsuit related to the FTX cryptocurrency exchange scandal. A group of FTX users filed twin class-action lawsuits in a Florida district court, accusing Mercedes F1 and MLB of aiding and abetting FTX’s alleged fraud and promoting unregistered securities. In 2021, both entities had promotional deals with FTX, which involved displaying the exchange’s logo on cars, uniforms, and other materials in the case of Mercedes F1, and on MLB umpire uniforms.
This lawsuit is part of a wider legal backlash against FTX and those associated with its promotions. The same group of FTX users is also suing celebrities who endorsed the exchange, including Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Brady, under similar allegations. Some of these celebrities have attempted to dismiss the suits, claiming they did not encourage depositing money onto FTX.
The background of these legal issues is the conviction of FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried on several charges, including fraud and money laundering. Following FTX’s bankruptcy filing in November 2022, MLB and Mercedes F1 terminated their promotional contracts with the crypto exchange and removed its branding from their platforms.
