Alameda Withdraws Lawsuit Against Grayscale, Kraken Appointments, and Other Crypto Industry Developments

We have compiled the most important news from the crypto industry over the past two weeks.

Alameda Research Withdraws Lawsuit Against Grayscale

The management of the bankrupt trading firm Alameda Research withdrew lawsuits against Grayscale Investments, its CEO Michael Sonnenshein, Digital Currency Group, and its head Barry Silbert.

The firm sought “permission to redeem trusts and reduce their management fees” to unlock assets worth over $9 billion.

Alameda’s decision followed the conversion of GBTC into a spot bitcoin ETF.

Earlier, CoinDesk journalists reported on the sale of GBTC shares worth $908 million from the bankruptcy estate of FTX. This could have put pressure on the price of the first cryptocurrency. 

Kraken Hires Two Compliance Professionals for Global Expansion

Bitcoin exchange Kraken recruited former top managers from N26 and Coinbase for “further growth amid a changing global regulatory environment.”

Gilles BianRosa will serve as COO and Chief Product Officer. Previously, he held positions as Chief Product Officer at N26, SoundCloud, and Samsung Electronics.

Marcus Hughes will lead Kraken’s global regulatory strategy after serving as Managing Director for Europe and Chief Legal Officer for international expansion at Coinbase.

In November, the platform’s co-founder Jesse Powell stated that the company is “playing the long game,” despite the emergence of “new reputational threats” to the industry. 

Taurus Receives FINMA Approval for Retail Tokenized Securities Platform

Swiss infrastructure startup Taurus received approval from FINMA to launch the TDX platform for tokenized securities and digital assets, focusing on retail clients.

“Private markets 2.0 need to be digitized. Buying private equity should be as simple as buying a book on Amazon,” said TDX Product Head Yann Isola.

On January 23, the US-based tokenization platform Ondo Finance announced the opening of its first office in the APAC.

Core Scientific Shares Relisted on Nasdaq

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific completed its restructuring process and achieved the relisting of its shares on Nasdaq. 

Earlier this year, a bankruptcy court approved the mining company’s reorganization plan with the relisting of shares on Nasdaq.

In December, the firm indicated mid-to-late January 2024 as the timeline for implementing the initiative. As a result, shareholders will receive approximately 60% of the new equity capital of Core Scientific, and it will fully repay its debt.

This followed a preliminary agreement with stakeholders on the distribution of convertible bonds and shares.

Following the reorganization, the miner expects to maintain its leading position by operating 202,000 cryptocurrency mining units, with plans to increase to 336,000 by 2027. The company anticipates annual revenue of $583 million in 2024, rising to ~$968 million by 2027.

In January, Core Scientific confirmed an oversubscribed demand for an additional $55 million equity rights offering.

Bitfarms Completes Land Purchase in Paraguay for 100 MW Bitcoin Mining Facility

Mining company Bitfarms acquired a plot of land in Yguazu, Paraguay, for the construction of a new 100 MW mining complex.

The management noted that the initiative will allow up to 85% of needs to be met with low-cost green energy, contributing to environmentally sustainable bitcoin mining.

The company reiterated plans to increase its hash rate to 21 EH/s in 2024 by exercising the option to purchase Bitmain’s Antminer T21.

Also on ForkLog:

• Changpeng Zhao offered a $4.5 billion bail to the court for departure to the UAE.
• The number of SEC lawsuits against crypto firms increased by 50%.
• Tesla maintained its bitcoin position throughout 2023.
• CommEX allowed all users to post P2P ads.
• Nexo demanded $3 billion in damages from Bulgarian authorities.
• OKX began investigating the reasons for the 50% drop in the OKB token.
• Abra will return $13.6 million to clients under an agreement with the Texas regulator.
• Mt.Gox confirmed client addresses for compensation.

Weekend Reading Suggestions

On January 24, the SEC postponed its decision on BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF until March 10. The agency’s head, Gary Gensler, urged not to create hype around the instrument, citing the “limited” registration of a similar bitcoin-based product.

ForkLog, in a News+ format, examined the reasons behind the decision and explored the positions of optimists and pessimists regarding the potential approval of the product.