Crypto News Roundup: August 22, 2023 🗞️

Welcome to the Crypto News Roundup, where I bring you the latest and most important stories from the world of crypto. Today, I have some exciting updates on Friend.Tech, Coinbase, Vitalik Buterin, and Titan Global Management. Let’s dive in!

Friend.Tech Denies Data Leak Allegations 🙅‍♂️

Friend.Tech, the popular SocialFi platform that allows users to earn rewards for engaging with their friends on social media, has denied the claims made by The Block that its database of over 100,000 users was leaked. The Block reported that a hacker had obtained the personal information of Friend.Tech users, including their names, email addresses, phone numbers, wallet addresses, and Twitter usernames.

However, the Friend.Tech team issued a statement saying that the report was false and that no data breach had occurred. They explained that the hacker had simply scraped their public API, which shows the association between public wallet addresses and public Twitter usernames. They compared this to someone hacking a Twitter account by looking at the public tweets. They also assured their users that their data was safe and secure.

Friend.Tech is one of the most successful SocialFi platforms in the crypto space, with over 1.5 million users and $300 million in total value locked (TVL). It allows users to create and join communities based on their interests and earn rewards in FRND tokens for interacting with their friends. It also integrates with other popular DeFi protocols such as Aave, Compound, and Uniswap.

Coinbase Takes Stake in Circle and Dissolves Centre Consortium 🤝

Coinbase Global Inc., the largest U.S. crypto exchange, has taken a minority stake in Circle, the leading stablecoin issuer and fintech company. The two companies have also announced that they are dissolving their Centre Consortium partnership, which was responsible for issuing and governing the USDC stablecoin until now.

USDC is one of the most widely used stablecoins in the crypto market, with a market cap of over $30 billion. It is backed by U.S. dollars held in reserve by regulated financial institutions and audited regularly by independent firms. It is also supported by multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, Stellar, and Tron.

According to a press release, Coinbase and Circle will now bring the issuance and governance of USDC fully in-house, with Circle becoming the sole issuer and administrator of USDC. The two companies will also share the revenue from USDC based on the amount of USDC held on each of their platforms, as well as the interest income generated from the broader distribution and usage of USDC. The press release also revealed that USDC will be launching on six new blockchains soon.

Coinbase and Circle stated that this move will allow them to focus on their core businesses and accelerate the growth and adoption of USDC across the crypto ecosystem. They also expressed their commitment to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, compliance, and security for USDC.

ETH Linked to Vitalik Buterin Is on the Move 💸

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum and one of the most influential figures in crypto, has moved 600 ETH to the U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase yesterday. This is according to data from Ethereum block explorer Etherscan, which shows that Vitalik transferred 600 ETH from his main wallet address to a Coinbase address.

On-chain analytics firm Arkham data shows that Vitalik has moved around $3.6 million in ETH to exchanges including Kraken, Gemini, and Coinbase since the start of the year. This amounts to about 10% of his total ETH holdings, which are estimated to be worth over $36 million at current prices.

It is not clear what Vitalik intends to do with his ETH transfers, but some speculate that he might be cashing out some of his profits or diversifying his portfolio. Others suggest that he might be donating some of his ETH to charitable causes or funding Ethereum-related projects. Vitalik is known for his philanthropic activities and his support for various initiatives in the crypto space.

Vitalik is also one of the main drivers behind Ethereum 2.0, the long-awaited upgrade that will transition Ethereum from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to a proof-of-stake (PoS) one. This will make Ethereum more scalable, secure, and energy-efficient. Ethereum 2.0 is expected to launch by early 2024.

SEC Charges Titan Global Management Over Crypto-Related Violations 🚨

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged New York-based fintech investment adviser Titan Global Management with securities violations related to its crypto offerings. The SEC alleged that Titan misled its customers by using hypothetical performance metrics in its advertisements for its Titan Crypto strategy.

The Titan Crypto strategy is one of the four investment strategies offered by Titan, which claims to provide access to hedge fund-like returns for retail investors. The Titan Crypto strategy invests in a basket of cryptocurrencies selected by Titan’s algorithm and rebalanced periodically. According to the SEC, Titan used hypothetical performance results of up to 2,700% for the Titan Crypto strategy in its ads, without disclosing that they were based on back-tested data and not actual returns.

The SEC also accused Titan of failing to implement adequate policies and procedures to prevent the use of misleading advertisements and to ensure the accuracy of its performance calculations. The SEC stated that Titan violated the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933.

Titan has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and will pay over $192,000 in disgorgement as well as a civil penalty of $850,000 that will go to affected customers. Titan also stated that it has cooperated with the SEC’s inquiry and has made significant investments to enhance its compliance program. Titan currently has over $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) and over 50,000 customers.

Conclusion

That’s all for today’s Crypto News Roundup. Stay tuned for more updates and insights from the crypto world. And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for more exclusive content and offers. Until next time, happy trading! 

Sources 🔗

1. Friend.Tech Denies Report That Database of Over 100K Users Was Leaked | Source: Cointelegraph
2. Coinbase Takes Stake in Stablecoin Issuer Circle | Source: Bloomberg
3. ETH Linked to Vitalik Buterin Is on the Move | Source: Decrypt
4. SEC Charges Fintech Firm Titan Global Management Over Crypto-Related Violations | Source: The Block

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