First Mover Asia: Blockchain-Enabled SIM Card for Crypto Investors Fuels Conflux Growth; Bitcoin Holds Near $27.3K After Fed Decision

ALSO: The SIM card offers the security of a hardware crypto wallet but with more convenience, says Conflux’s chief technology officer in a Q&A with CoinDesk's Shaurya Malwa.

FTX Bankruptcy Estate to Claw Back $460M From Modulo Capital

Alameda Research seeded little-known Bahamas-based hedge fund Modulo Capital with $475m in 2022. The recovery includes $404m of cash.

Binance Curb on Zero-Fee Trading May Cost Market Share, Boost TrueUSD Stablecoin: Kaiko Research Head

Binance abolished almost all zero fee trading pairs from its platform after nine months, only keeping the promotion for the TUSD-bitcoin pair.

Rapid Bank Runs Reveal Deposits Are Now Magic Internet Money, Too

SEC Warns Coinbase It's Pursuing Enforcement Action Over Securities Violations

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) may soon face an enforcement action tied to its listing of potential unregistered securities, the company said Wednesday.

Kraken to Suspend ACH Deposits and Withdrawals Following Silvergate Shutdown

The exchange says no other services will be affected by this change.

In Defense of a Digital Dollar

Fears about mass financial surveillance are real with CBDCs, but banning them, as Republicans have recently proposed, will not help. Instead, more research is needed, says Ananya Kumar.

Bitcoin Sinks Below $27K as Federal Reserve, Powell Keep Focus on Inflation

The U.S. central bank confirmed expectations of raising the rate by 25 basis points.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Privacy and the Politicization of the Digital Dollar

The putative presidential candidate’s plan to ban a CBDC at state-level is unworkable constitutionally. But it’s still worrying for the future of money in the U.S., says JP Schnapper-Casteras.

Tron Network’s TRX Drops 13% Following SEC Charges Against Justin Sun

Other Sun-related tokens such as SUN, JUST and HT also took hits amid the SEC allegations.

SEC Sues Jake Paul for 'Illegally Touting' Justin Sun-Linked Cryptos

The securities regulator said Paul participated in a scheme to illegally promote TRX and/or BTT.

Meta’s NFTease and AI’s Impact on Web3

Meta Platforms announced it was ending its support for NFTs after less than a year from its initial test program. The move is a setback for Web3 creators who use social media to promote their art and interact with their community – and signals that Meta maybe hasn’t yet figured out how to dive into Web3.

Tron Founder Justin Sun Sued by U.S. SEC on Securities, Market Manipulation Charges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Justin Sun Wednesday on allegations of selling and airdropping unregistered securities, fraud and market manipulation.

SVB Financial’s First Bankruptcy Hearing ‘Wasn’t Really So Routine,’ Says Legal Expert

The holding company needs access to the FDIC-locked funds in order to pay back its creditors and support its two external operations, says Kleinberg, Kaplan partner, Dov Kleiner.

Straith Schreder: The Future of Content Is Collaborative

In a CoinDesk interview Straith Schreder, Executive Creative Director at Palm NFT Studio, shares why participatory artwork might actually work for your Web3 brand.

Crypto Exchange Coinbase Suspends Algorand Staking Rewards

Coinbase did not give a specific reason for terminating the rewards.

Federal Reserve Hikes Rates by 25 Basis Points

Recent bank failures had market participants questioning if the U.S. central bank would follow through with its previous intention to further tighten monetary policy.

Bitcoin Emerges as Safe Haven as Traditional Finance Faces Turmoil

Conflicting data creates the question of how the Fed will react to both rising inflation and failing banks - and whether bitcoin will be a lifeboat.

The Reality Behind the Crypto Banking Crackdown: ‘Operation Choke Point 2.0’ Is Here

Banking enforcement targeting legal crypto businesses appears to violate the FDIC's mandate. It may also be amplifying financial contagion.

‘Smart Money’ Tools Reveal Where Crypto Capital Is Moving

Tools that track “whale activity” can provide real-time insight into how capital is moving in digital assets such as bitcoin and liquid staked ether and can inform investing decisions.

Unstoppable Domains to Roll Out Web3 Messaging Service on Polygon

The domain provider will allow users to send encrypted messages to one another, helping Web3 projects foster community.

Crypto Game Aavegotchi to Build Custom Blockchain Using Polygon Technology

Gotchichain is a permissioned version of Polygon optimized for Aavegotchi-themed games and dapps.

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz Proposes Ban on a CBDC

The effort by the Texas senator adds to a similar state-level measure proposed earlier this week by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Telegram Users Can Now Transfer USDT Through Chats

USDT has been added to Telegram's @wallet bot, expanding the messaging app's facility for buying and selling crypto.

French Lawmakers Agree to Effectively Ban Crypto Influencer Promotions

Social media stars wouldn’t be allowed to shill unlicensed crypto under anti-scam plans voted on by the National Assembly’s Economics Committee Wednesday

European Crypto Startups Raised Record $5.7B in VC Funding in 2022

A new report from crypto VC firm RockawayX and startup data provider Dealroom showed strength in the region despite the crypto winter.

Web3 Community Management Platform TYB Joins Shopify App Store

TYB (Try Your Best) is built on the Avalanche blockchain and provides brands with tools to expand their customer loyalty programs.

ConsenSys’ MetaMask Institutional Starts Staking Marketplace With Allnodes, Blockdaemon, Kiln

The unveiling of the new marketplace comes just weeks before Ethereum’s much-anticipated Shanghai hard fork that should spur growth in staking services.

Immersion Cooling Firm LiquidStack Secures Series B Funding to Build Manufacturing in U.S.

The company can reduce the carbon footprint, land and water use of bitcoin miners through its technology.

Bitcoin Mining Firm Navier Starts Tokenized Hashrate Marketplace for 'Qualified' Customers

The Navier platform is intended to give users more control over their acquired hashrate, and enable them to sell it on.

First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Traders Await Fed's Decision

The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for March 22, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesk’s daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

Nigeria's eNaira Wallet Use, Transactions Climb Amid Cash Shortages: Bloomberg

The number of eNaira wallets has jumped more than 12-fold to 13 million since October.

Crypto Exchange Bitget Invests $30M in Digital Wallet BitKeep

Singapore-based crypto exchange Bitget has invested $30 million in decentralized multi-chain wallet BitKeep to become its controlling stakeholder, according to a press release.

EU Banking Authority to Hire Crypto Experts as It Prepares for MiCA Law

The Paris-based agency will have to supervise large stablecoins and make rules under the landmark licensing legislation

Crypto Finance and Apex Group to Offer Institutional Crypto Products

Crypto Finance will provide Apex with the digital infrastructure needed to issue structured investment products.

Latest Ethereum Blocks Suggest Validators Are Reversing Censorship

Non-censoring relays such as Agnostic and ultra sound are delivering more data blocks on Ethereum than Flashbots, the one-time king of MEV-delivering relays.

XRP Token Surges on Positive Outlook in Ripple vs. SEC Case

XRP tokens have jumped 20% in the past 24 hours as Ripple defendants heralded a positive view in its ongoing case with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Copper to Lay Off Up to 15% of Staff, Focus on Crypto Custody, Settlement

The process is just getting under way and the company, which employs just over 300 staff, said it cannot put an exact number on job losses.

Crypto Exchange Luno Rejiggers Leadership Roles as It Seeks to Boost Investor Base, Eyes Public Listing

CEO Marcus Swanepoel is moving into a new role as executive chairman, and COO James Lanigan has been promoted to CEO.

Binance Launchpad for Space ID Tokens Receives Over $2.8B in BNB Commitments

Over 8.4 million bnb tokens have been committed to the Space ID token sale, which was raising $2.5 million from exchange users.

Tether Stability Made It the Safest Stablecoin Bet Amid U.S. Banking Crisis, Analysts Say

Tether sold at a slight premium earlier this month even as most stablecoins were dented.

S. Korean Gaming Giant Nexon to Use Polygon for Popular MapleStory Universe

MapleStory Universe will launch a private Supernet on Polygon for the new game.

Blockchain-Based Debt Protocol Obligate Records First Bond Issuance on Polygon Network

Swiss commodities trading firm Muff Trading AG issued corporate bonds using Obligate’s decentralized finance platform, which is set to open to the public on 27 March.

Australian Regulator Tells Banks to Report Exposure to Startups and Crypto-Related Business: Report

The move comes in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and global lender volatility, the Australian Financial Review reported.

First Mover Asia: Traders Focused on Liquidity, FOMC as Asia Opens Its Business Day

ARK Invest Sells $13.5M Coinbase Shares After Steady Buying Streak

Before this sale, ARK Invest owned 9.9 million shares of the crypto exchange worth $575 million.

Looking at Some Unanswered Signature and Silvergate Bank Questions

It seems the crypto industry still has some questions about Signature and Silvergate’s shutdowns.

Hacker vs. Hacker: North Koreans Attempt to Phish Euler Exploiter of $200M in Crypto, Experts Say

The wallet that stole $200 million in crypto from DeFi protocol Euler Finance was the target of an apparent phishing campaign from North Korean hackers, according to analysts.

White House Takes Aim at Crypto in Scathing Economic Report

The report, authored by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, laid out a number of issues seen within the digital asset ecosystem.

U.S. Senate’s Warren Calls for Crackdown on ‘Sham’ Crypto Audits

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and another prominent colleague urged the U.S. auditing watchdog to take action against “sham audits” of crypto companies, citing the contribution of such audits to the recent stresses in the U.S. banking system.