Scenius Sync (Issue #88)

Celsius Distributes $2B of Crypto, FTX Lawyers Sued, Pudgies Flip Apes As Yuga Labs Acquires Proof, & Coinbase Surges After Crushing The Street's Expectations

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.

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Essential News 🗞

1. Celsius distributes $2B of crypto to 172K creditors

   • Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender Celsius has announced that most eligible creditors have now collected their liquid crypto distributions from its two distribution agents: payments giant PayPal and crypto exchange Coinbase.

     In a recent court filing, Kirkland & Ellis — the legal team representing Celsius — provided an update on the creditor distributions outlined in the restructuring plan. This follows Celsius’ recent announcement that it exited bankruptcy, which it initially filed for in July 2022.

2. FTX creditors file class action against bankruptcy lawyers over ties to FTX prior to its collapse

   • FTX’s bankruptcy law firm Sullivan and Cromwell is facing a class action that alleges it was so closely involved with the exchange prior to its collapse that it should be held partially responsible for its actions. The class action focuses on the number of times that S&C worked as outside counsel for FTX prior to its collapse. Through these dealings, it alleges, the law firm gained knowledge of the exchange’s workings and ultimately supported it in its fraudulent behavior. “While customers of FTX, Class Members, lost everything, S&C was able to gain millions from the FTX fraud. S&C served as primary legal counsel to FTX for the 16 months preceding FTX’s collapse, during which time S&C billed around $8.5 million in fees,” it says.

3. Crypto exchange Coinbase posts first profit in two years on robust trading

   • Feb 15 (Reuters) - Coinbase Global (COIN) on Thursday posted its first quarterly profit since 2021 on sturdy trading volumes due to a resurgence of interest in crypto, sending its shares up nearly 13% after the bell.

   • More coverage from Coindesk: Coinbase Shares Surge After It Crushes Wall Street Expectations

4. Japan seeks to allow certain VCs to invest directly in crypto and Web3 startups

   • The ministry said in a Friday announcement that the approved revision, which contains amendments to the Act on Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness, would expand strategic investment to provide support for local startups and medium-sized companies. Such revision would allow venture capital firms to invest in projects that only issue cryptocurrencies, local news outlet Coinpost reported on Saturday. The proposed revision to existing law, if enacted, could be a huge opportunity for Web3 startups in Japan, one local expert said.

5. FixedFloat appears to have been exploited for $26.1 million in bitcoin, ether

   • Crypto exchange FixedFloat appears to have been exploited for $26.1 million in bitcoin and ether, according to on-chain data. Since the unexpected fund movements, the exchange has been put into maintenance mode and remains down.

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Crypto funds hit $2.5 billion weekly inflow record amid growing spot Bitcoin ETF interest

   • Crypto funds at asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares registered record inflows totaling $2.45 billion globally last week, according to CoinShares’ latest report. Dominated by the new U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, year-to-date inflows to digital asset investment products now stand at $5.2 billion. Combined with recent price increases, assets under management at the crypto investment firms now stand at $67 billion — the highest level since December 2021 amid the peak of the last bull market.

2. Uniswap V4 launch, featuring 'hooks,' tentatively set for Q3

   • The Uniswap version 4 protocol launch is tentatively scheduled for Q3 this year. Launch timing depends on Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade in March and subsequent security audits. V4 aims for a more modular structure with “hooks” for customizing liquidity pools.

3. Bored Apes' creator Yuga Labs acquires Proof, takes over Moonbirds NFT brand

   • Yuga Labs, arguably the biggest NFT studio in the industry, is getting even bigger. The company announced it has acquired rival non-fungible token creator Proof, which is best known for its Moonbirds collection. "As a company committed to championing art, culture, and community on the blockchain, we’re excited to have PROOF join the Yuga ecosystem," said Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre in a statement. Yuga Labs declined to reveal any details regarding the acquisition when asked how much the company may have paid to acquire Proof, which was founded by entrepreneur Kevin Rose.

   • In related news, a surge in sales earlier in the week is fueling insider trading speculation after Yuga Labs revealed its acquisition of Proof and Moonbirds. See coverage here.

4. Pudgy Penguins briefly flips Bored Ape Yacht Club in floor price

   • Pudgy Penguins briefly overtook Bored Ape Yacht Club in floor price earlier today — as its rapid rise over the last few months has caught up with the sliding prices of apes. At around 11:00 AM UTC on February 17th, the floor price for one Pudgy Penguin was 22.2 ETH ($61,780), while Bored Apes had a floor price of just 22.1 ETH ($61,500), according to data from Parsec Finance.

5. NFT Lender Arcade Reveals Airdrop for Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin Collectors

   • Arcade, the Ethereum-based DeFi protocol for NFT lending, will launch the next airdrop of its native ARCD token next week, the company has announced.  On February 21, bundles of 750 ARCD tokens will be airdropped to 4,000 lucky holders of select NFT and Bitcoin Ordinals collections frequently used as loan collateral on Arcade. Some 2,000 wallets holding Ethereum-based NFTs Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgys, and Sappy Seals will be randomly selected for the airdrop’s allowlist.