THIS WEEK IN CRYPTO
- A shadow fork moves Ethereum closer to The Merge. Developers did their ninth shadow fork test, and every time one of these tests is done it moves the blockchain closer to proof-of-stake. If The Merge goes as planned, it could lower transaction fees dramatically and increase throughput on the blockchain. A fork is a test to get the blockchain ready for "The Merge" from a proof-of-work consensus mechanism to proof-of-stake. Read more here.
- Celsius files for bankruptcy. The group initiated voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings on Wednesday, seeking protection as it looks to stabilize its business and restructure. Cash on hand of $167 million allows enough liquidity to support certain operations during this process, the company said. This makes the embattled digital asset lender the latest firm to fail in the wake of a crypto market crash.
- GameStop launches an NFT marketplace. The platform, which is now open to the public for beta testing, allows users to connect their own digital asset wallets including the recently launched GameStop Wallet. This is the latest push by the videogame retailer, now chaired by Chewy founder and activist investor Ryan Cohen, to invest in a digital future.
- Bitcoin correlation with stocks near the lowest level of 2022. Bitcoin and US stocks are moving less in tandem than at almost any point this year. A 40-day correlation coefficient for the token and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index has fallen below 0.50 to levels last seen in January. If the still-positive tie continues to ebb, that may stir questions about whether beaten-down virtual assets are set for a recovery. Read more here.
- JPMorgan says Bitcoin's cost of production may be down to $13,000. The drop in the production cost estimate is almost entirely due to a decline in electricity use as proxied by the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index. The change is consistent with efforts by miners to protect profitability by deploying more efficient mining rigs, as opposed to a mass exodus. They also say it could be seen as an obstacle to price gains. Source.
- OpenSea to cut workforce by 20%. According to a note shared by OpenSea CEO and founder Devin Finzer on Thursday, the platform is laying off some of its workforces, citing an unprecedented combination of crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability. Meanwhile, Recent crypto market conditions have not only led to a dramatic decrease in crypto prices, but also impending layoffs at crypto exchanges.
- SEC weighs waiving some rules to regulate crypto. Wall Street’s top regulator may use its authority to exempt crypto companies from certain securities laws to help the industry come into compliance, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said Thursday. He mentioned that such an approach is used for asset-backed securities and equity offerings.
- BlockFi stops accepting GBTC shares as collateral. Grayscale had exposure to the collapse of Three Arrows, which at one point owned more than 5% of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. BlockFi already suffered about $80 million in losses from Three Arrows’ bad debt. The New Jersey company has unwound its positions in the investment fund. Read more here.
- UK Court gives the okay signal to sue on Blockchain. In Britain, you can now use the blockchain to sue someone. A UK judge gave the go-ahead to serve legal documents -- the process of bringing a lawsuit to a person’s attention -- over the blockchain ledger by a non-fungible token for the first time, according to court documents made public this week. Read more here.
- The Three Arrows Capital co-founders' whereabouts are unknown. The 3AC saga continues, and it's getting stranger by the day. The crypto hedge fund has been ordered to liquidate and has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., but even its lawyers don't know where its co-founders, Zhu Su and Kyle Davies, are right now. Creditors and liquidators seek cooperation from the founders, who reportedly had as much as $10 billion in AUM.
- Polygon joins Disney’s ‘Accelerator Program’. Ethereum scaling tool Polygon is continuing to scale its Web3 infrastructure via a new project with media conglomerate the Walt Disney Company to Develop AR, NFT, and AI Experiences. Polygon is one of six companies selected to participate in Disney’s 2022 Accelerator program, a business and development program designed to spur the growth of innovative companies around the world.
