Australian Crypto Exchange Announces Massive Layoffs
Swyftx has fired more than a third of its staff, with the ongoing cryptocurrency winter becoming increasingly brutal.
Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital to Acquire Celsius' GK8 in Bankruptcy Garage Sale
Mike Novogratz-led investment firm Galaxy Digital Holdings has won the bidding to buy GK8, an institutional digital asset self-custody platform owned by Celsius Network — pending court approvals and certain closing conditions. According to a Dec. 2 blog post from GK8 and a press release from Galaxy, if the acquisition goes ahead, Galaxy will acquire the platform's nearly 40-strong team as part of the deal including cryptographers and blockchain engineers and the GK8's team office in Tel Aviv. (Cointelegraph)
Bitget Shares Merkle Tree Proof of Reserves to Enhance Transparency
Leading global cryptocurrency exchange, Bitget, announces today that it is launching its Proof of Reserves Page, which will demonstrate to users that we are a full-reserve exchange, as supported by its Proof of Reserves (“PoR”), using the cryptographic-audited Merkle tree method, and that users’ assets stored on the platform are safeguarded. (ambcrypto)
'I Wanted to Punch Kanye' — Free Speech Waffler Elon Musk’s Nonsensical Take on Bitcoin, CBDCs, and Censorship
“Vox Populi, Vox Dei, man.” So says self-proclaimed Chief Twit Elon Musk from a private jet flying high above the world during a Twitter Spaces appearance on Sunday, Dec. 4 (JST). It does sound nice to say, but the voice of the mob should never be the voice of “God.” The reasons are myriad. Suffice it to say that in the same way failed crypto-exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried supposedly set off Musk’s BS detector, so should Musk be setting off our own alarm bells. His actions simply don’t match his nice-sounding words, and anyone who refuses to understand free speech is also going to miss the boat on crypto and economic freedom. (Bitcoin.com)
Binance Custody to Safekeep Wemade’s WEMIX Cryptocurrency
Wemade Co. Ltd. announced on Sunday that Binance Institutional Services will take custody of its native cryptocurrency, WEMIX, amid the South Korean blockchain game maker’s ongoing legal dispute against local cryptocurrency exchanges. Last week, Wemade filed injunctions against the exchanges to invalidate the decision to delist WEMIX. The Seoul Central District Court is expected to finalize its decision on the injunction on Dec. 7, a day before the planned delisting. (forkast)
Singapore's AirCarbon Exchange Looks to Raise $50m in Series B Funding
Singapore-based carbon trading exchange and clearing house AirCarbon Exchange is looking to raise $50 million in its upcoming Series B round that is expected to close in end-March or early-April next year, a top executive of the firm told DealStreetAsia.The round has already piqued the interest of 17 parties including banks, financial institutions, and traditional energy players, said AirCarbon's co-founder and chief-emissions officer Thomas McMahon. Existing investors are also likely to re-up in the round, McMahon added, without divulging names.
Crypto Exchange Bybit Plans to Cut 30% of Staff to ‘Navigate Market Slowdown’
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit plans to cut 30% of its staff as part of a company reorganization, cofounder and chief executive officer Ben Zhou said in a statement shared with Forkast on Sunday. Zhou added that the company’s priority is to ensure that its business operations remain unaffected and that its clients’ assets remain safe and assured. (forkast)
EU Went All Out on a Metaverse Party, Barely Anyone Came
The European Union’s (EU’s) foreign aid department is understood to have dished out nearly $408,000 (€387,000) on a metaverse and hosted a party on Nov. 29 to celebrate, but only six people reportedly turned up. Devex reporter Vince Chadwick tweeted a video on Nov. 29 showing his metaverse avatar attending the “gala” and said “after initial bemused chats with the roughly five other humans who showed up, I am alone.” (Cointelegraph)
Reddit’ NFT Minting hits New High
Reddit’s nonfungible token (NFT) collection hit another milestone on Dec. 3 with a record 255,000 of its “avatars” minted in the one day. The new minting record beat the previous all-time highs on Aug. 30 and 31, which saw just over 200,000 Reddit avatars minted each day. (Cointelegraph)
Blackrock CEO on FTX Collapse: Most Crypto Companies Aren't Going to Be Around
The CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, says that most crypto companies will not be around following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. However, the executive is still optimistic about blockchain technology. (Bitcoin.com)
