Scenius Sync (Issue #132)
Bo Knows Crypto, Nic Carter's Case Against BTC Strategic Reserve, First Combo ETFs Approved, Tether's Strategic $775M Rumble Investment, & Crypto.com Wants A Piece of Prediction Markets
Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.
Welcome to The Scenius Sync.
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Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.
Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.
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Essential News 🗞
Trump Names Bo Hines Executive Director of Presidential Digital Asset Advisory Committee
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has appointed former college football player Bo Hines to the new crypto council. Announced Sunday, Hines will be onboard as the executive director of the Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets. The 29-year-old acknowledged the appointment in a December 23 post on X.
More coverage from The Block here.
Relatedly, Trump Names Crypto-Friendly Stephen Miran as Chair of Council of Economic Advisers
Castle Island’s Nic Carter makes a full case against strategic Bitcoin Reserve
Among Bitcoin enthusiasts, the notion of a Strategic Reserve is almost a foregone conclusion. But Nic Carter doesn’t think it’s likely, nor does he think it’s a good idea.
Binance.US plans to restore USD services in early 2025 — Interim CEO
Binance.US, the United States-based arm of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, plans to resume US dollar services early next year, according to interim CEO Norman Reed. Binance.US is “closer than ever” to restoring USD services and targets achieving this milestone in early 2025, Reed said in a blog post on Dec. 18. “Alongside the return of USD, we are committed to cementing our reputation as the best crypto platform for low fees and high rewards,” he added. Reed’s remarks came days after Binance CEO Richard Teng said it was too early to discuss whether the exchange might re-establish itself in the US, during a Bloomberg TV interview on Dec. 9.
SEC fines Jump Trading subsidiary $123 million for propping up TerraUSD stablecoin during depeg
The SEC and Tai Mo Shan, a subsidiary of Jump Trading’s crypto unit, have reached an agreement for the latter to pay about $123 million in fines after it spent $20 million to help prop up the TerraUSD stablecoin in May 2021. Tai Mo Shan will pay the penalty without admitting to or denying the SEC’s findings, pursuant to the agreement.
Former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks takes board seat at MicroStrategy
Bitcoin bull Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy has brought former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks and two other executives onto its board. The appointments follow Nasdaq’s recent announcement of MicroStrategy’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100. Brian Brooks, Jane Dietze — who also sits on Galaxy Digital’s board — and Gregg Winiarski, chief legal officer at Fanatics Holdings, have joined MicroStrategy’s board of directors. Their addition brings the total number of MicroStrategy board members to nine, according to a Dec. 20 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Meanwhile, MicroStrategy buys over 5,000 bitcoin for $561 million, bringing total holdings to 444,262 BTC
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
SEC approves first spot Bitcoin and Ethereum combo ETFs from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton
The U.S. SEC has approved filings from the Nasdaq and Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of crypto index exchange-traded funds from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, respectively. Both the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF and Franklin Crypto Index ETF will initially hold spot bitcoin and spot ether based on their respective market capitalizations, so an approximate 80/20 split in bitcoin’s favor, and are likely to launch in January, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. “The spot bitcoin/ether combo ETFs have been approved by the SEC (as predicted),” Balchunas posted to X late Thursday. “Launch likely in January. They’re mkt cap weight so 80/20 btc/eth approx. Notable that Hashdex and Frankie are first. Good for them.” “Will be interesting to see if BlackRock or others attempt to piggyback on this and launch similar ETFs,” The ETF Store President Nate Geraci noted. “Regardless, I expect there will be meaningful demand for these products. Advisors LOVE diversification. Especially in an emerging asset class such as crypto.
Rumble Announces $775 Million Strategic Investment from Tether
The transaction Unifies Two Leaders in Decentralization, Rumble CEO Retains Controlling Stake Strategic Investment Results in Mission-Aligned Investor and Supporter. Rumble Will Use $250 Million of Proceeds to Further Solidify Balance Sheet and Accelerate Growth Initiatives. Remaining Proceeds Will Be Used to Fund Self Tender Offer for up to 70 Million of Rumble’s Class A Common Stock to Provide Liquidity to Stockholders at Same Price as Tether Investment.
Coverage from the Block here: Tether to make $775 million 'strategic investment' in Rumble, shares rally 44.6%
Binance and Kraken lead $10 million investment into rapidly-growing decentralized stablecoin Usual
Venture wings for crypto exchanges Binance and Kraken led a $10 million Series A funding round for Usual, the fast-growing stablecoin startup, according to a statement on Monday. Other backers include Ethena, the synthetic dollar platform; Ondo, the firm specializing in real-world assets; and Echo, a decentralized crowdfunding platform founded by crypto luminary Jordan Fish (widely known as Cobie), along with several other notable investors. Launched in early 2024, the protocol’s community-focused, yield-bearing USD0 token has grown to become the seventh-largest stablecoin by market cap.
Web3 Startup The Grid Is Building Google Maps for Blockchain Data
Newly unveiled The Grid is a Web3 structuring and verifying system, which could be the "map" data needed to make the blockchain world more accessible than ever before. After working on this for seven years, The Grid is coming into the limelight as a meta standard that can help data platforms connect to the blockchain more effectively.
Crypto.com launches Polymarket-style sports prediction market in the US
Crypto.com wants a piece of the prediction market made famous by Polymarket during the U.S. presidential election. The cryptocurrency exchange is kicking off its own prediction platform-type of service by offering users in the U.S. the chance to bet on who will win certain sporting events. Like on Polymarket, people can bet on, for example, what team will win a specific sporting event like the National Football League's Super Bowl. "Sports Event Trading is a CFTC-regulated derivatives trading feature available in the Crypto.com App and on the Crypto.com Web," the company said in a blog post. "It presents you with a straightforward Yes/No decision based on whether you believe an outcome of a sporting event will occur."