NYDFS Releases Guidance on Importance of Segregation and Separate Accounting for Customer Funds in Crypto Industry

On Monday, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) published guidance on custodial structures to help protect customers’ money if a crypto firm goes bankrupt. New York’s top financial regulator stressed that businesses should not commingle customer funds and that customer funds should be segregated with separate accounting. FTX Collapse Prompts NYDFS to Issue … Read more

Sam Bankman-Fried Disputes FTX US ‘Shortfall’ Claims, Critics Skeptical of Excel Spreadsheet Defense

Following an update from FTX debtors about the $5.5 billion discovered by administrators during an investigation, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) took to Twitter to share a blog post from his Substack newsletter. SBF stated that the presentation published by litigation firm Sullivan & Cromwell is “extremely misleading” and that FTX US is solvent … Read more

Ethereum Validator Count Surpasses 500,000 Ahead of Upcoming Shanghai Hard Fork

According to statistics, the number of Ethereum network validators on the Beacon chain exceeded 500,000 as of Jan. 12, 2023. The validator milestone comes as Ethereum core developers prepare for the Shanghai hard fork. Five days ago, Ethereum core developers launched a developer network environment called “devnet 2” for the upcoming upgrade. Ethereum Developers Launch … Read more

Onchain Researchers Discover $63M in Ethereum From Harmony Bridge Attack Moved, Hackers Attempt to Launder Funds on Major Exchanges

On Jan. 15, 2023, onchain researchers discovered that funds stolen during the Harmony bridge attack had been moved. The suspected thieves, who are allegedly associated with the North Korean hacking syndicate Lazarus Group, moved 41,000 ethereum, worth $63.2 million at current exchange rates. Onchain Researchers Track Stolen Ethereum From Harmony Bridge Attack and Help Major … Read more

Combined Transactions on Arbitrum and Optimism L2 Chains Outpace Ethereum’s Daily Transfer Count 

Since The Merge, Ethereum’s onchain fees have been considerably lower. However, combined transaction volume on layer two (L2) chains Arbitrum and Optimism has outpaced Ethereum’s onchain transaction output. On Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023, Ethereum processed 1.10 million onchain transactions, while combined transactions on Arbitrum and Optimism reached 1.32 million for the same day. Rise of … Read more

Disgraced FTX Co-Founder Accused of Moving $684K in Crypto Assets While Under House Arrest

According to an analyst on Dec. 29, 2022, the disgraced co-founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), may have cashed out $684,000 in crypto assets while under house arrest. If the funds were spent by SBF, it goes against the court’s release conditions that note the former FTX executive is not allowed to spend more than … Read more

Onchain Sleuths Discover Funds Linked to Alameda Swapped for ETH, USDT, BTC by a Mysterious Entity

On Dec. 27, 2022, a number of onchain researchers noticed that funds connected to Alameda Research and FTX have moved and have been swapped for other tokens. Reports show the hacker known as the ‘FTX Accounts Drainer,’ traded large sums of ERC20 tokens for digital assets like tether, ethereum, and bitcoin. Funds Tied to Sam … Read more

Stats Show Ethereum Transaction Fees Have Remained Under $5 During the Last 175 Days

Fees tied to the Ethereum network have been under the $5 region per transaction during the last 175 days, according to statistics. Metrics show that on Dec. 10, 2022, the average ethereum transfer is around 0.0023 ether or $2.87 while the median-sized gas fee is around 0.00097 ether or $1.23 per transfer. Ethereum gas metrics … Read more

Bitcoin’s Third Largest Wallet Changed Hands, but Onchain Data Shows It’s Likely the Same Owner

Last year and during the first half of 2022, speculators assumed the third-largest bitcoin address was a ‘mysterious whale,’ even though the wallet had shown strong characteristics of being a cryptocurrency exchange. The address known as “1P5ZED” has since been replaced by another address, after the wallet started to transfer its entire bitcoin balance in … Read more