SEC - Page 289

In a recent tweet, Shibburn explorer revealed that the Shiba Inu community had transferred a staggering 1,653,845,435 SHIB meme coins to dead-end wallets.

While this number seems substantial, daily burns have been fluctuating, often plummeting below zero and resulting in losses.

However, on June 30, there was a remarkable surge in the burn rate of Shiba Inu, witnessing a 1,800% increase as 50,258,924 SHIB were locked in unspendable wallet addresses.

Nonetheless, this week has only seen a few instances of daily SHIB burns on the rise.

During the month of June, Shytoshi Kusama, the lead developer, posted enigmatic tweets that may have inspired the SHIB community to burn more of these meme coins.

One tweet mentioned “Something physical coming,” hinting at a new partnership between SHIB and Shibcals. Shibcals specializes in transferring SHIB “into the physical world,” creating tangible SHIB-themed clothing, merchandise, and other touchable items beyond the realm of computer and smartphone screens.

Additionally, Kusama’s second tweet and a Telegram message in the “Shibarium Tech” channel mentioned that SHIB was “going somewhere.” Kusama clarified that this “somewhere” referred to a location “outside the USA.”

Speculations arose suggesting that the SHIB team might be heading to Canada soon to participate in the ETHToronto conference.

This move would pay homage to Vitalik Buterin, as Shiba Inu was initially launched on the Ethereum chain. It is also possible that the launch of the Layer-2 solution, Shibarium, will take place in Canada.

In a recent Telegram post, Kusama mentioned that the date and plan were unchangeable and already set, referring to it as a “launch strategy.”

Shibarium’s testnet was launched on March 11 and has since achieved significant utility milestones, with 17,019,690 linked wallets and a total of 25,955,919 transactions, according to Puppyscan.

In conclusion, the Shiba Inu community has witnessed substantial transfers of SHIB meme coins to dead-end wallets.

Despite daily burn rates fluctuating, a notable surge was observed on June 30. The lead developer’s cryptic tweets have fueled speculation among the community, with some anticipating a new partnership involving SHIB’s physical representation and a potential move outside the USA.

The possibility of the SHIB team’s involvement in the ETHToronto conference and the launch of Shibarium in Canada has also been discussed.

Shibarium’s testnet has already achieved significant milestones, demonstrating its growing utility.

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Maple Finance Launches Direct Lending Program, Filling Void Left by Bankrupt Lenders

Maple Finance, a Web3 lending platform, has unveiled the launch of its direct lending program, aimed at replacing the services previously offered by now-defunct lenders such as Celsius and BlockFi.

The platform’s development team shared a fact sheet on June 28, highlighting their intention to roll out the first lending pool in July.

Maple Finance serves as a blockchain institutional capital marketplace, facilitating loans for Web3 businesses seeking funds for product launches and expansions.

Previously, the platform relied on credit professionals known as “pool delegates” to provide capital for these loans.

Notably, Celsius utilized Maple to establish a Wrapped Ether (WETH) lending pool in February 2022.

However, during the bear market of 2022, several prominent Web3 lenders faced bankruptcy. Celsius ceased operations in July, followed by BlockFi in November, and Genesis in January.

In response, Maple Finance’s team announced on June 28 that they would step into the role of a lender on the platform in certain cases.

Leveraging their credit underwriting expertise, they will source capital from institutional allocators to support creditworthy borrowers.

This means that individuals who are unable to secure loans from other providers may have the opportunity to obtain them through Maple’s new program, Maple Direct.

According to the team, this program is necessary due to the exit of major Web3 lenders from the space, with traditional lenders lacking the required focus and expertise to underwrite for innovative Web3 technology firms.

The first direct lending pool will focus on infrastructure, asset management, and liquidity providers. Capital allocators, including Crypto Funds, DAOs, VCs, HNWI, Yield Aggregators, and Family Offices, have been invited to participate in the program and earn yield on their investments.

The announcement emphasized that Maple will continue expanding its existing services, indicating that Maple Direct will not replace the current platform, which features competing lenders.

In the past, Maple Finance faced challenges due to the bankruptcies of FTX and Alameda Research in November.

One borrower, Aurus Global, experienced payment issues as a result, and Maple severed ties with Orthogonal Trading over perceived misrepresentations.

However, the platform quickly rebounded, releasing version 2.0 of its software in December.

With its direct lending program, Maple Finance aims to fill the void left by the collapse of major Web3 lenders and provide creditworthy borrowers with the necessary capital for their projects.

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Solana’s Cardinal protocol is ceasing operations due to economic conditions, after raising $4.4 million approximately a year ago to enhance the utility of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

The protocol recently announced on Twitter that users should make their withdrawals by August 26.

Cardinal Labs, an infrastructure provider, had focused on supporting NFT use cases on the Solana network by offering protocols and software development kits (SDKs) for various purposes, including staking, rentals, subscriptions, royalties, and trading.

As per the closing schedule, certain operations will be halted on July 19.

These include staking pool creations, token management, NFT rentals and rental extensions, social media handles, and new deposits.

Users are required to complete their withdrawals by August 26, when the two-month notice period ends.

The Cardinal team expressed their efforts to navigate the challenging macroeconomic environment since their inception 18 months ago.

They acknowledged that NFT-based products have gained traction but mentioned that they have remained confined within the crypto maximalist community.

In July 2022, Cardinal raised $4.4 million in a seed funding round co-led by Protagonist, a crypto venture firm, and Solana Ventures, along with participation from Animoca Brands, Delphi Digital, CMS Holdings, and Alameda Research, the sister company of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.

A spokesperson clarified that Alameda’s investment constituted a small portion of the funding round and did not contribute to the protocol’s financial difficulties.

Neo Ventures also provided $750,000 in pre-seed funding in 2021. In total, Cardinal secured $5.2 million in funding over 18 months, attracting over 65,000 staked NFTs on the protocol by July 2022.

Despite the challenging times, the NFT market is gradually maturing.

A recent report from DappRadar indicates that the NFT market had a promising start to the year, with Q1 2023 being the best quarter since Q2 2022.

Although trade volume decreased in March, overall performance remained strong due to intense competition among NFT marketplaces.

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Italy’s top banking authority is advocating for a robust and risk-based regulatory framework for stablecoins in order to prevent a worst-case scenario of a “run” on stablecoins.

The central bank’s latest report, titled “Markets, Infrastructures and Payment Systems” for June, emphasizes the need for regulators to apply financial conduct standards to stablecoin issuers.

The report highlights the significant consumer harm caused by the rise of cryptocurrencies and the boom and bust cycles experienced in an unregulated environment.

The Italian bank considers stablecoin issuers to be a priority for regulatory attention due to their close connection to decentralized finance (DeFi).

It asserts that implementing a strong and risk-based regulation of stablecoins is crucial to reduce the fragility of the DeFi ecosystem, given the asset class’s prominent role in decentralized finance.

Furthermore, the report states that stablecoins have not proven to be stable at all, citing the collapse of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, TerraClassicUSD (USTC), in May 2022.

The bank argues that the industry needs to dispel the “decentralization illusion” by recognizing that many decentralized protocols are controlled by core stakeholders who often benefit disproportionately.

The Italian banking authority suggests that such projects should be required to operate within traditional, accountable business structures before participating in the regulated financial sector.

However, the report clarifies that not all crypto assets or activities should be subject to financial services regulation.

It proposes that regulation should primarily focus on those crypto assets that serve customers’ financial needs through payment or investment functions.

In addition to financial applications, the report acknowledges the non-financial use cases enabled by blockchain technology, including decentralized identification, real estate, supply chain management, voting, and carbon credits.

Italy’s central bank also emphasizes the importance of international cooperation and the establishment of an international regulatory framework.

Since the technology operates beyond national borders, a coordinated effort is necessary to effectively regulate the crypto industry.

In conclusion, Italy’s top banking authority calls for a robust and risk-based regulatory approach to stablecoins, highlighting the need to prevent “runs” on stablecoin issuers.

It emphasizes the connection between stablecoins and DeFi and advocates for synchronization in policy interventions.

The report also emphasizes the importance of dispelling the illusion of decentralization and suggests international cooperation for the establishment of a regulatory framework.

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During a panel discussion at Collision 2023 in Toronto, Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of Skybridge Capital and former White House communications director, expressed his concerns about the impact of disgraced crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried on the regulatory landscape in the United States.

According to Scaramucci, Bankman-Fried’s actions have had a detrimental effect on the industry.

Scaramucci stated that Bankman-Fried’s behavior had not only embarrassed politicians but also resulted in a swing towards over-regulation and excessive prosecutorial oversight in the United States.

He pointed out that Bankman-Fried had made substantial donations to politicians, including spending a significant amount of time with Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

However, the subsequent controversies surrounding Bankman-Fried’s activities had caused a backlash and a shift towards stricter regulations.

When asked about the crypto regulatory environment in Canada compared to the United States, Scaramucci praised Canada for learning from the mistakes of the US and adopting a different approach.

He explained that Canada had actively engaged with industry players to develop fair regulations and protect against bad actors.

By working closely with legislators, they had established guidelines that fostered the growth of the Canadian crypto and digital asset space.

Scaramucci also commented on the future of cryptocurrency exchanges and expressed his admiration for Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, who is a Canadian national.

He commended CZ’s execution and the growth of Binance, which has become a dominant player in the market.

However, Scaramucci noted that transparency had been a concern and criticized some past actions. He emphasized that while the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Binance, no criminal charges have been brought forth yet.

In his closing statements, Scaramucci acknowledged that CZ would face criticism but maintained that he would remain the most influential person in the crypto industry.

Scaramucci highlighted CZ’s platform as the key to achieving mass adoption of cryptocurrency while maintaining legitimacy and operating in major jurisdictions worldwide.

Scaramucci’s remarks at the panel underscored his belief that Bankman-Fried’s actions had negatively impacted the crypto regulatory environment in the United States.

In contrast, he praised Canada for its collaborative approach to regulation and expressed optimism about the future of cryptocurrency exchanges under CZ’s leadership.

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