CryptoSlate Wrapped Daily: Binance takes aim at cyber financial crime; CEL tanks after Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky resigns CryptoSlate Wrapped Daily: Binance takes aim at cyber financial crime; CEL tanks after Celsius’ Alex Mashinsky resigns
CEL drops by 7.5% after Celsius CEO announces resignation, the Ethereum Push Notification Service rebrands as Push Protocol, and much more in this edition of CryptoSlate Wrapped Daily.
3 min read
Updated: Apr. 28, 2023 at 5:55 pm UTC
Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
The biggest news in the cryptosphere for Sept. 27 includes Binance’s new global program that aims at helping law enforcement fight cybercrime, FTX’s acquisition of the bankrupt Voyager, and Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s resignation.
CryptoSlate Top Stories
Binance launches new program to help law enforcement fight cyber crime
Binance announced the launch of its new Global Law Enforcement Training Program on Sept. 27. The program will aid law enforcement worldwide in detecting cyber financial crime and assist in prosecuting criminals.
The Program will be led by a selective few with hands-on global experience in cyber financial crime from the Binance investigations team, which grew exponentially over the past year.
FTX wins bid to acquire bankrupt Voyager’s assets
Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager had been meeting with numerous investors, including exchange gain FTX, that were interested in purchasing the company. On Sept. 27, Voyager announced that FTX won the bid to acquire the company.
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky resigns; CEL tanks
Celsius Network’s CEO Alex Mashinsky announced his resignation from the company on Sept. 27. Celsius’ native token, CEL, responded to the announcement by tanking 7.5% to reach $1.37.
Celsius Network announced the appointment of Chris Ferraro as the Chief Restructuring Officer and the interim CEO immediately after Mashinsky’s resignation announcement.
EPNS rebrands to Push Protocol as it moves to a multi-chain future
The Ethereum Push Notification Service (EPNS) announced that it rebranded to “Push Protocol” on Sept. 27. According to the announcement, push protocol indicates the first step of the service toward becoming a multi-chain communication feature.
ATOM up 3% as Cosmos releases new whitepaper
The whitepaper on the Cosmos (ATOM) update got released on Sept. 27. Even though the document is in a state of proposal, ATOM responded by recording a 3.4% increase to reach $14.57 at the time of reporting.
The proposal suggests adding interchain security to Cosmos hub to turn it into an interchain web. The draft also offers updates to increase ATOM’s utility and value.
Ethereum proof-of-stake client bug caught and patched without incident
Ethereum (ETH) developers detected a bug with the Besu Ethereum client before it could create a consensus error in networks. The find was posted on the Hyperledger GitHub repository, and it was understood that “no production networks had transactions that would trigger this failure.”
Polkadot looks to 10x transaction speed in new updates
Polkadot (DOT) announced upcoming improvements to the network, which include its asynchronous backing update that’ll increase the transaction speed by at least 10x.
The asynchronous backing update will shorten parachain block time to six seconds, thereby increasing each block’s space by five to ten. The new update will be ready for Kusama deployment by the year-end.
California issues cease, refrain order to Nexo over offering clients an Earn Interest Product
California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation attempted to refrain order for the crypto lender Nexo. The charge accuses Nexo of allegedly behaving “against interest-bearing cryptocurrency accounts.”
On the other hand, Nexo responded by saying it stopped onboarding new users from the U.S. to its Earn Interest Product in Feb. 2022.
Usage of non-renewable energy in Bitcoin mining increased by 13% in 2021
According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), sustainable energy usage in Bitcoin (BTC) mining decreased by 13% in 2021 compared to 2020.
The numbers show that over 40% of Bitcoin mining was done using renewable energy sources in 2020. This percentage fell to 28.48% in 2021, which led to a 63% increase in greenhouse gas emissions.
DeFi needs to be regulated ‘carefully and thoughtfully,’ says Fed chair, Jerome Powell
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Chair Jerome Powell spoke at a roundtable conference on Sept.27 and called on lawmakers to take cautious steps when regulating DeFi protocols. He said that regulators have to be:
“…very careful about how crypto activities are taken within the regulatory perimeter.”
He added that central banks will always be the main trust factor behind money, while stablecoins only “borrow” the trust from their issuer.
Nexo acquires stake in Summit National Bank to expand U.S. offering
Nexo inked a deal with Summit National Bank that’ll enable Nexo to offer various services in the U.S., including bank accounts, asset-backed loans, card programs, and custodial solutions.
Research Highlight
Research: Bitcoin on-chain metrics suggest the bottom is now in
Analyzing various metrics, the CryptoSlate research team concluded that Bitcoin bottom had been reached.
The conclusion was drawn after looking into the percentage of Bitcoin addresses in profit, market value to realized value (MVRV), and supply in profit and loss. These metrics have been under the CryptoSlate radar, and just last month, they indicated that Bitcoin could have fallen further. However, all three showed signs of Bitcoin reaching its bottom this month.
Crypto Market
Bitcoin (BTC) was down 0.57% in the last 24 hours to reach $19,030. Ethereum (ETH), was also down 0.26%, reaching $1,321.
Biggest Gainers (24h)
- Quant (QNT): +12.52%
- Reserve Rights (RSR): +10.22%
- STEPN (GMT): +7.44%
Biggest Losers (24h)
- Terra Classic (LUNC): -9.52%
- Algorand (ALGO): -6.22%
- XRP (XRP): -5.7%
Mentioned in this article
Bitcoin 
Celsius 
Ethereum 
Polkadot 
Cosmos 
Terra Classic 
Algorand 
XRP 
Quant 
Reserve Rights 
GMT 
Celsius Network 
Binance 
Nexo 
Voyager 
FTX 
Alex Mashinsky 
Sam Bankman-Fried 
Changpeng Zhao 
Jerome Powell Author 
Zeynep Geylan
Zeynep is an academic who turned to crypto in 2018. Originating in social sciences, she is especially interested in the social impact of blockchain and cryptocurrencies and strongly believes in their transmuting power.
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In this article
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Celsius
$0.19203
Celsius Network is a P2P decentralized lending & borrowing platform.
Ethereum
$3,468.01
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps).
Polkadot
$7.31680
Polkadot development is on track to deliver the most robust platform for security, scalability, and innovation.
Cosmos
$6.91880
Cosmos is a blockchain ecosystem where thousands of dApps interoperate to create the foundation for a new token economy.
Terra Classic
$0.00011
Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems.
Algorand
$0.34677
Algorand removes the technical barriers that for years undermined mainstream blockchain adoption: decentralization, scale, and security.
XRP
$2.28726
The XRP Ledger is a decentralized cryptographic ledger powered by a network of peer-to-peer servers.
Quant
$112.514
Quant’s mission is to unlock the power of blockchain for everyone, by delivering interoperable ecosystems and real-world solutions that simply work: lowering costs, enabling new business and mitigating risk..
Reserve Rights
$0.01143
Reserve is a stable, global currency (a stablecoin) and a digital payment system for people and businesses in countries with high inflation..
GMT
$0.14508
STEPN is a Web3 lifestyle app with fun social elements and gamification design.
Celsius Network
Celsius Network is a bankrupt cryptocurrency lending company that was founded in 2017 and headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.
Binance
Binance is a global cryptocurrency exchange that provides a platform for trading more than 100 cryptocurrencies.
Nexo
Nexo is a leading global financial institution specializing in digital asset services, particularly focusing on cryptocurrency lending, exchange, and financial management solutions.
Voyager
Voyager Digital is a bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange company in the United States that was founded in 2018.
FTX
FTX is a defunct cryptocurrency exchange, currently in bankruptcy proceedings, that was founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and Zixiao “Gary” Wang in May 2019.
Alex Mashinsky, born in 1965 in the Soviet Union to a Jewish family, moved to Israel in the 1970s.
Sam Bankman-Fried is the former CEO, and co-founder of defunct crypto exchange FTX and Alameda Research.
Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as “CZ,” is a notable figure in the cryptocurrency world, primarily for founding and leading Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume.
Jerome Powell first took office as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System on February 5, 2018, for a four-year term.
