The Scenius Sync (Issue #5)
Disney Chooses Polygon, Celsius Files, & Germany and U.S. Share Top Crypto Spot
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Essential News 🗞
Circle Discloses Full Breakdown of $55.7B USDC Reserves
As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance trust and transparency, Circle shared a detailed look at the assets backing the USDC reserve, which were comprised of $13.58 bn in cash held at regulated financial institutions and $42.12 bn in 3-month U.S. Treasuries. All held in segregated accounts for the benefit of USDC holders, and separate from Circle’s operations.
Embattled Crypto Lender Celsius Files for Bankruptcy Protection
Crypto company Celsius has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after a month of turmoil. Celsius said it would look to stabilize its business by restructuring in a way “that maximizes value for all stakeholders.” Celsius said it has $167 million in cash on hand to support operations in the meantime.
Vladimir Putin Signs Ban on Crypto Payments in Russia
The law bans the use of digital securities and utility tokens as a means of payment for goods, services and products in Russia and comes after much debate between the Russian government and central bank.
Former Ripple Advisor Michael Barr Will Supervise the Federal Reserve
As a US central bank supervisor, Barr is expected to scale daily oversight of both the biggest lenders and smaller financial firms that play a part in the overall economy. He’ll also be in charge of developing regulatory policies for cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, which have been priorities for the Biden administration.
Ethereum Layer 2 StarkWare Confirms Launch of StarkNet Token
The StarkNet token will be used to help decentralize ownership of the Layer 2 network and reward operators for validating transactions.
Innovation & Adoption 💡📈
Polygon Selected to Participate in Disney’s 2022 Accelerator Program
Ethereum scaling solution Polygon has been selected as one of six projects to participate in Disney’s Accelerator Program to build on Polygon’s Web3 technology.
According to data from GameStop, its NFT marketplace has so far seen over 5,700 ETH in trading volume or about $8.9 million at time of writing.
Central African Republic Set to Launch Sango Bitcoin Sidechain
After becoming the first African country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender in April, the country will launch the Sango Platform on July 25th. Sango will function as a private bitcoin sidechain with Sango Coin (SANGO) as the native currency of the ecosystem with a total supply of 21 billion tokens.
Germany and the US Share the Top Spot in the Global Crypto Rankings
According to Coincubs, an analytics firm, the U.S. and Germany are tied as the leading countries driving the burgeoning crypto asset class. Progressive regulations and institutional adoption drive cryptocurrency use in both countries.
Prominent Crypto Venture Fund Multicoin Capital Announces $430m Fund
Multicoin describes spending more and more time on “things that directly face consumers” and that they are most excited about: proof of physical work, DataDAOs, Creator Monetization, Consumer Products, New Business Models for Collaborating on IP, Web3 Infrastructure, Open Finance, India, and DAO Tooling.