Scenius Sync (Issue #69)

'Crypto Aid Israel' Launches to Raise Funds Amid Gaza Conflict, FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang Spills the Beans, Yuga Labs Cuts Employees, & Maker Goes Nuclear

Scenius: The intelligence and the intuition of a whole cultural scene. The communal form of the concept of genius.

Welcome to The Scenius Sync.

Our mission with this concise publication is twofold:

1. Share the essential stories driving the crypto industry and markets.

2. Highlight innovative applications and mainstream adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.

If you find this newsletter valuable, please subscribe and share The Scenius Sync with your network 💪

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Essential News 🗞

1. Bankman-Fried's House of Cards? FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang Spills the Beans on Alleged Misuse of Client Funds

   • On Friday, FTX’s co-founder, Gary Wang, delivered a riveting testimony to federal prosecutors, alleging that CEO Sam Bankman-Fried covertly diverted billions from customer accounts to fuel trades for his hedge fund, Alameda Research. Wang detailed how Bankman-Fried allegedly instructed him to devise a specialized trading tool, enabling Alameda to overdraw its account, tapping into FTX clients’ funds without their knowledge.

2. Coinbase, OKX and Binance partner with UK firms as regulations come into force

   • Coinbase and OKX have partnered with crypto startup Archax to get financial promotions approved. At the same time, Binance said it has partnered with decade-old peer-to-peer lending firm Rebuilding Society. The FCA placed other exchanges — including HTX and KuCoin — on a warning list of unauthorized firms. 

3. Polygon co-founder steps down, will contribute ‘from the sidelines’

   • Jaynti Kanani, the co-founder of Polygon, announced that he has stepped back “from the day-to-day grind” on the project for the first time in six years.

     In an Oct. 4 X (formerly Twitter) thread, Kanani said he planned to focus “on new adventures” while contributing to Polygon “from the sidelines.” Along with software engineers including Sandeep Nailwal, Anurag Arjun, and Mihailo Bjelic, Kanani helped found the Matic network in 2017, which was later rebranded to Polygon.

4. Judge Torres rejects the SEC's motion for an interlocutory appeal in Ripple case

   • District Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s move to certify for interlocutory appeal in its battle with crypto firm Ripple, noting the agency did not demonstrate that the appeal would “materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.” A trial is then set for April 23, 2024. Ripple and the SEC are expected to submit pretrial filings by the end of the year, Torres said. 

5. Yuga Labs cuts employees, focuses on metaverse extension amid restructuring

   • Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre announced a company restructuring and workforce reductions in a Friday memo.  "After a recent period of thoughtful consideration, I have decided that we need to restructure the Yuga Labs teams," Alegre wrote in a blog post. "The implication of these changes is that a number of roles have been eliminated across the company, impacting some of your colleagues."

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Israel War Prompts Crypto Firms Including Fireblocks, MarketAcross to Start Aid Fund

   • Crypto and web3 communities in Israel said Monday they have established Crypto Aid Israel, to raise funds for Israeli citizens who have been displaced and in need of humanitarian aid due to the outbreak of war with Hamas.

     The organization will host a multi-signature wallet – controlled jointly by multiple parties – to collect donations denominated in multiple cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ether as well as the dollar-linked stablecoins USDT and USDC, according to a press release from Crypto Aid Israel.

   • More coverage from Decrypt here.

2. Uranium-Backed Stablecoin? Maker Proposal Goes Nuclear

   • The so-called Endgame Plan is evolving quickly–and weirdly–over at Maker.

     Now, after adding vanilla t-bills and accounts payable to the blockchain, a new proposal is looking to add tokenized uranium. “Our goal is to democratize ownership of uranium by providing stability value, and easier access to exposure to a commodity that is growing in importance,” reads the proposal penned by Uranium3o8. The element is growing in popularity of late as various nations either restart their nuclear ambitions in the name of energy or lay out fresh plans to reboot their power grids.

3. Pfizer-backed DAO launches community-funded biotech firm

   • Decentralized science project VitaDAO has launched Matrix Biosciences, seeded with $300,000 and future funding via IP-NFT fractionalization. The biotech firm aims to revolutionize treatments for cancer and aging-related diseases, leveraging research into naked mole rats.

4. Tokenized U.S. Treasuries Arrive on Coinbase’s Base with Backed’s RWA Token Issuance

   • Switzerland-based tokenization firm Backed Finance has expanded its tokenized short-term U.S. Treasury offering to crypto exchange Coinbase’s Base blockchain. The issuance marks the first real-world asset token issued on the Base network. Issued under the Swiss tokenized securities law, Backed’s bIB01 crypto token is a blockchain-based version of BlackRock's short-term U.S. Treasuries ETF that offers a 5.25% annual yield to investors. The offering is available to qualified investors and licensed distributors who passed the firm’s KYC and AML checks. U.S. investors and entities are restricted from buying the token.

5. Solana's latest update brings native support for private blockchain transactions

   • Solana’s v1.16 update introduces “Confidential Transfers,” enhancing user privacy with encrypted SPL token transactions. The update improves Solana’s zero-knowledge-proof capabilities and reduces validator hardware requirements.