The Scenius Sync (Issue #30)

Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade Slated for March, Huobi Layoffs & Coinbase Reaches $100m Settlement With NY

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. FTX's US Leadership & Bahamas Liquidators Say They've 'Resolved' Most of Their Issues meanwhile U.S. Authorities Launch Page to Notify FTX Alleged Fraud Victims

   • After weeks of disagreement, FTX's U.S. leadership and the company's Bahamas wing's court-appointed liquidators have formed a cooperation agreement addressing how assets may be inventoried and disposed of, among other issues, a press release Friday said.

   • In related news, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York has launched a page on its website appealing to Sam Bankman-Fried’s alleged victims of fraud at FTX to come forward and informing them about court proceedings. According to the court filing, the number of victims in the FTX case made it “impractical” to rely on more traditional methods of notification.

2. Crypto Exchange Huobi Says it Will Cut Staff by 20%

   • After days of rumors surrounding layoffs at Huobi, the Singapore-based crypto exchange confirmed it would cut about 20% of its overall staff. The layoffs would see Huobi join crypto exchanges including Coinbase, Crypto.com and Kraken in making sweeping cuts to staff numbers.

3. Coinbase Reaches a $100M Settlement with New York Regulators

   • The New York Department of Financial Services announced a $100 million settlement with Coinbase for failures in its compliance program, which the regulator said made the crypto exchange vulnerable to criminal conduct ranging from money laundering to narcotics trafficking.  Coinbase will pay a $50 million penalty to New York State and has agreed to invest an additional $50 million in compliance.

4. Crypto Conglomerate DCG Closes Wealth-Management Business as Its Transfers to Genesis Draw US Investigations

   • Digital Currency Group, the cryptocurrency conglomerate whose Genesis Global Trading division just announced more layoffs, said it's shutting down a wealth-management division called HQ. The division reportedly had more than $3.5 billion in assets.

   • Meanwhile, U.S. authorities are investigating the flow of funds between Digital Currency Group and its Genesis lending subsidiary, according to a report by Bloomberg. 

5. CFTC Files its Own Case Against Mango Markets Exploiter

   • The CFTC joins the Justice Department in filing a case against Avraham Eisenberg over alleged manipulation of decentralized swaps markets. 

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Innovation & Adoption 💡📈

1. Ethereum Developers Eye February Public Testnet for Shanghai Upgrade

   • The planned Shanghai upgrade of the Ethereum network will focus exclusively on ETH withdrawals. With a planned launch of the upgraded mainnet sometime in March, users will be able to access coins that have been staked on the network. These coins became temporarily inaccessible as part of The Merge — when Ethereum transitioned to proof-of-stake consensus in September.

2. Turkey to Use Blockchain-Based Digital Identity for Online Public Services

   • Shortly after its central bank completed its first CBDC tests, Turkey announced a blockchain-based digital identity application.

3. Mastercard Taps Polygon for Web3 Artist Accelerator

   • Mastercard plans to leverage Polygon to help guide musical artists into the Web3 space, including with minting their own NFTs, building an online presence, and establishing a community.

4. Hong Kong Firm With Ties to Bitmain Reorganizes to Focus on Crypto Asset Management and Hedging

   • In the past year or so Hong Kong has lagged behind its peer cities, like Singapore and Dubai, due to concerns over its regulatory landscape and the influence of mainland China, which has banned crypto trading and mining. However, since November authorities in the city have made their desire clear to bring Hong Kong back on the crypto map.

5. Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset to Launch This Spring

   • After several years of development, Apple’s first major step into the metaverse—a high-end, mixed-reality headset—will reportedly be unveiled to the world for the first time this spring.