Huobi Next?

Plus another presidential campaign accepts BTC

Author

Nathaniel Whittemore
August 07, 2023

The Breakdown First Five - Monday, August 7 2023

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. Suarez Accepts Bitcoin

Miami Mayor and Presidential hopeful Francis Suarez is accepting campaign donations in Bitcoin. Suarez was critical of the Biden administration's strongarm approach to Crypto. He said the underlying technology is about “democratizing opportunities for wealth creation” that are free from manipulation. Suarez is also crusading against a US CBDC, stating that “Nobody wants the federal government knowing where you have your money”.

4. Curving Back Around

Curve has recouped 73% of the funds stolen in last week’s hack, leaving the loss at just $18M. The chaotic event saw MEV bots front-run some hackers, securing the bag and promptly returning funds. The primary hacker returned their ill-gotten gains ahead of a deadline along with an on-chain message proclaiming their genius. Loss of confidence in Curve was always the issue, rather than missing funds. TVL still sits $860M lower than it was prior to the hack.

3. NYAG Investigates DCG

New York Attorney General Letitia James is rumored to be investigating DCG in relation to the Genesis bankruptcy. Controversy arose when a billion dollar bailout of bad debt at Genesis turned out to just be a DCG promissory note. Since then DCG CEO Barry Silbert has come under fire for slow-walking a restructuring of DCG’s debt, with claims he is holding the process hostage. Reports claim at least one former Genesis executive has been interviewed.

2. Coinbase Asks the Major Questions

Coinbase has filed to dismiss the SEC’s lawsuit. Alongside arguments that tokens aren’t securities the brief features a crisp argument that the SEC has no jurisdiction over Crypto due to the Major Questions Doctrine. Essentially, did Congress really intend for the SEC to police Crypto and if not, why should the SEC unilaterally expand their powers. Coinbase claims a trillion dollar industry hangs in the balance. That’s Major.

1. Is Huobi Done?

Rumors of a Huobi insolvency swirled over the weekend as whispers spread that executives were being questioned by police. On-chain data appears to show the platform has just $60M in assets, with user balances last recorded at $630M. The rumors come alongside strange movement in stablecoins, with USDC being steadily redeemed over recent months.

Thanks for reading -NLW