Headlines
▌The UK Finalizes Plans to Regulate the Cryptocurrency Industry
It is reported that the British Ministry of Finance is finalizing a package of comprehensive rules to regulate the cryptocurrency industry. Ministers are due to start consultations on a new regulatory regime shortly after the FTX debacle injected new urgency into the government's pledge to clean up the financial sector. Sources said the plan would allow Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to oversee cryptocurrencies more broadly, including overseeing how companies operate and advertise their products, and sales of bitcoin from overseas into the UK market would also be restricted.
Cryptocurrency
▌Bitcoin Foundation Establishes New Technology Center in Ghana
The Bitcoin Foundation (Built With Bitcoin Foundation, referred to as BWB) established a new technology center in Ghana. The official opening ceremony of the center was held on Thursday. BWB hopes to educate and train at least 400 residents in the first year of operation. The "Bitcoin Tech Hub" will focus on financial and technology education and aims to "foster a safe learning environment."
▌KuCoin Engages Mazars to Conduct Third-Party Proof of Reserves Verification Procedures
KuCoin, one of the largest exchanges worldwide, announced that it has engaged Mazars, a leading international audit, tax and advisory firm, to provide a third-party factual findings report. Mazars will offer KuCoin’s customers and prospective customers additional transparency and reporting on whether their in-scope assets are collateralized. Furthermore, it will provide the details to showcase KuCoin’s proof of reserves and customer liability, respectively, which will also account for customers' main, trade, margin, robot, and contract accounts, etc. for BTC, ETH, USDT, and USDC.
▌Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison Reportedly Spotted at a Coffee Shop in Manhattan
Speculation has run amok on SBF, but little was heard about Caroline Ellison until now. Twitter user Autism Capital tweeted on the morning of Dec. 5:“PLEASE CONFIRM: A user claims they spotted Caroline Ellison at Ground Support Coffee on West Broad in SoHo Manhattan at 8:15 AM. This would mean she is not in Hong Kong and is in NY, not in custody.” At the time of publishing, these are still unverified claims. Another Twitter account, Wall Street Silver, put forth speculation that Ellison was in town to seek an ‘immunity deal’ to testify against SBF.
▌GameStop Cuts More Staff—Including Crypto Wallet Engineers
Video game retailer GameStop has laid off another round of employees today ahead of its upcoming earnings report, according to reports and social media posts from affected individuals. The team behind the company's crypto wallet was particularly hard hit, according to Axios. Multiple former employees have shared public status updates about the layoffs on LinkedIn today, including blockchain and iOS engineer Brandon Jenniges, who wrote that he was impacted by the company’s move.
▌Circle $USDC Cancels Plans to Go Public at a $4.5 Billion Valuation
Circle, the company behind stablecoin USDC, has terminated its agreement with special-purpose acquisition company Concord Acquisition Corp., thereby stepping back from its plan to go public. The firm said on Monday that the board of both companies approved the move. The stablecoin issuer had announced plans to go public in July 2021, with a valuation of $4.5 billion. The valuation was later doubled when the firms amended their terms in February.