Weekly News Highlights | Binance Labs CEO and Executive Director Depart; Former OpenSea Product Head Arrested for Insider Trading

Organizer: Linqi, Chain Catcher

Important News

1. South Korean authorities summon all employees of Terra developer Terraform Labs for investigation

On May 30, news from JTBC reported that the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team of the Southern District Prosecutor's Office in Seoul, South Korea, has summoned all employees of Terraform Labs, the developer of Luna and Terra, for investigation and obtained relevant materials. It is understood that these employees participated in the initial development of Luna and Terra in 2019.

According to a statement obtained by the prosecution, even though there were objections to the launch of Luna and Terra at the time, Do Kwon forcibly launched the token. Former employees stated that the objections arose because the pilot model had already failed internally. It was also pointed out that if investors were paid interest rates in the tens of percentages without stable collateral or a profit model, there might be an initial rush, but at some point, it would inevitably collapse due to the inability to sustain interest payments and value fluctuations.

It is reported that prosecutors are focusing on whether executives at Terraform Labs, including Do Kwon, were aware of the design flaws of Luna and Terra in advance. Additionally, prosecutors will investigate whether Do Kwon engaged in price manipulation and whether the country's cryptocurrency exchanges passed appropriate listing review procedures. (Source link)

2. Binance Labs head to leave, Executive Director Nicole Zhang has already left last month

On June 3, news reported that Bill Qian, the head of Binance Labs, the incubation and investment arm of Binance, is set to leave, while Executive Director Nicole Zhang has already left last month. A Binance spokesperson confirmed this news and stated that Bill is leaving for personal reasons.

It is understood that both executives at Binance Labs have worked at Binance for over two years. According to their LinkedIn profiles, Bill Qian joined Binance Labs in March 2020 after leaving JD.com, where he served as an investment director for over five years. (Source link)

3. Vice Premier Liu He: Strengthen research on network information technology, emphasize innovation in blockchain and digital currency technologies

On May 31, news from Xinhua reported that Liu He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony of the 16th Academicians Conference of the Chinese Academy of Engineering on the morning of May 30 and delivered a speech. Liu He emphasized that in accordance with the requirements of "preventing the pandemic, stabilizing the economy, and ensuring safe development," efforts should be made to strengthen research in several areas based on existing work. Among them, he mentioned strengthening research on network information technology. Ensuring the controllability of the network technology system, enhancing the research and development of artificial intelligence technology, and emphasizing innovation in blockchain, digital currency, and other technologies. (Source link)

4. Ethereum The Merge upgrade to launch on Ropsten testnet on June 8

On May 31, news reported that the Ethereum Foundation blog released an announcement regarding the Ropsten merge, stating that the Ethereum The Merge upgrade will launch on the Ropsten testnet on June 8 and will go live on the Ethereum mainnet later this year. The new Ropsten beacon chain was launched on May 30 to provide consensus for the network.

Additionally, it is expected that on June 2, the Ropsten beacon chain will upgrade to merge-compatible protocol rules (Bellatrix) at slot 24000. After that, the terminal total difficulty (TTD) will be selected to activate the merge on the proof-of-work (PoW) chain. It is reported that another statement will be released on June 3, 2022, detailing the terminal total difficulty for the Ropsten merge. (Source link)

5. U.S. Department of Justice announces arrest and indictment of former OpenSea product head Nate Chastain for insider trading

On June 2, news reported that the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office, today announced the indictment of Nate Chastain, the former product head of OpenSea, for wire fraud and money laundering related to an insider trading scheme involving NFTs, using confidential information about which NFTs would be displayed on the OpenSea homepage to gain personal financial benefits. Nate Chastain was arrested in New York City on the morning of June 1 and will appear in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

The investigation revealed that at least from June 2021 to September 2021, Chastain secretly purchased dozens of NFTs shortly before they were displayed on OpenSea, using confidential business information about which NFTs would be showcased on its homepage. After these NFTs appeared on OpenSea, Chastain sold them at 2 to 5 times the initial purchase price. To cover up the fraud, Chastain conducted these transactions using anonymous digital currency wallets and anonymous accounts on OpenSea. After being exposed in September last year, Chastain left OpenSea. (Source link)

6. Anchor protocol exploited due to oracle price vulnerability after launch of new Terra chain, resulting in a loss of about $800,000

On May 30, news from U.Today reported that after the launch of the new Terra chain, the oracle price of LUNC (Luna Classic) reached $5, while the actual price was far below $5. A user on the Anchor platform noticed this vulnerability and deposited about 20 million Lido Bonded Luna tokens, which the platform considered to be worth $100 million, while the actual value should be around $200,000. The user borrowed 40 million UST and ultimately withdrew and profited about $800,000. (Source link)

7. CertiK: Hackers have caused losses of about $1.76 billion since the beginning of the year

On June 1, news reported that blockchain security company CertiK tweeted that significant events in the Web3 space due to exploits, hacking, and scams have caused losses of approximately $1.76 billion since the beginning of 2022. (Source link)

8. Solana mainnet goes down again for about 4.5 hours due to a bug in the persistent random number feature

On June 2, news reported that according to @SolanStatus on Twitter, the Solana mainnet went down again around 12:30 AM and stopped block production due to a bug in the persistent random number feature, causing some nodes in the network to consider the block invalid and unable to reach consensus. Around 5 AM, Solana mainnet validators collaborated to restart the Solana network, disabling the persistent random number feature, and block production has now resumed. (Source link)

9. Web3 credential network Project Galaxy announces launch of BNB application sidechain GAL Chain

On June 2, news reported that Web3 credential network Project Galaxy announced the launch of GAL Chain, a BNB application sidechain (BAS) supported by NodeReal Semita, with the testnet currently under development. Through the new GAL Chain, Project Galaxy aims to enable users to manage and contribute digital credentials for its ecosystem, which can then be utilized through its application modules, oracle credentials, and API credentials. (Source link)

10. Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution BOBA Network announces it will become the first multi-chain execution layer

On June 3, news reported that Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution BOBA Network announced a partnership with Moonbeam and Fantom to become the first multi-chain execution layer, with its blockchain scaling solution now able to build multi-chain environments with all EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchains.

Through this collaboration, Boba expands its scope from traditional Layer 2 to execution layer, combining its existing large-scale performance scalability with an additional feature set, providing developers with smarter tools to build more dynamic dApps. (Source link)

11. BitMEX founder: Bitcoin price of $25,000 to $27,000 is the bottom of this cycle

On June 2, news reported that BitMEX founder Arthur Hayes stated in a recent article that after LFG sold 80,000 physical bitcoins, he is more convinced that the price range of $25,000 to $27,000 for Bitcoin is the bottom of this cycle. Regarding his previous statement that ETH would reach $10,000 by the end of the year, Arthur Hayes expressed that he still believes in that target number but is less confident about the timing. (Source link)

Important Financing/Venture Capital News

1. DAO compensation payment system Utopia completes $23 million Series A financing, led by Paradigm

On June 1, news reported that the DAO compensation payment system Utopia announced the completion of $23 million in Series A financing, led by Paradigm, with participation from Kindred Ventures, Circle Ventures, Gusto, Coinbase Ventures, Infinity Ventures Crypto, Distributed Global, and Fourth Revolution Capital. The new funds will be used to develop and expand the team and further enhance DAO functionalities, including token ownership, ledger design, and personnel management.

Since its launch last year, Utopia has partnered with various crypto organizations, including OlympusDAO, Lido, Friends with Benefits, Yield Guild Games, Badger DAO, Illuvium DAO, Fingerprints DAO, SushiSwap, Tracer DAO, and Pleasr DAO. (Source link)

2. DeFi compliance service provider Astra Protocol is raising $100 million in Series A financing at a $500 million valuation

On June 1, news reported that DeFi compliance service provider Astra Protocol announced it is raising $100 million in Series A financing at a $500 million valuation, with Republic becoming the first investor in this round.

It is reported that Astra provides decentralized compliance services for DeFi smart contracts, mainly including AML and KYC functionalities, and completed a $9 million financing last December with Republic as the main investor. (Source link)

3. Binance Labs completes $500 million investment fund to promote blockchain and Web3 technologies

On June 1, news reported that Binance Labs, the venture capital and innovation incubation arm of Binance, announced the completion of a $500 million investment fund, with investors being leading institutional investors globally, including DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, and several family offices, as well as some corporations as limited partners. The new fund will invest in projects that expand the use cases of crypto assets and promote the adoption of Web3 and blockchain technologies.

Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stated, "In the world of Web3, the connection between values, people, and economies is crucial. If we can combine these three elements to build an ecosystem together, we can accelerate the adoption of blockchain technology and crypto assets. This newly completed fund aims to discover promising Web3 projects and founders in areas such as DeFi, NFTs, gaming, metaverse, and social, supporting them to grow into builders and leaders in their respective fields." (Source link)

4. Blockchain infrastructure provider InfStones completes $66 million financing, led by SoftBank Vision Fund and GGV Capital

On June 2, news reported that blockchain infrastructure provider InfStones completed $66 million in financing, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and GGV Capital, with participation from INCE Capital, 10T Fund, SNZ Holding, and A&T Capital. The funds raised will help InfStones develop its team, establish its blockchain infrastructure solutions, expand into new markets, and seek potential partnerships and acquisition opportunities. (Source link)

5. Animoca Brands announces full acquisition of game development company Notre Game

On June 3, news reported that Animoca Brands announced it has completed the full acquisition of game development company Notre Game. Founded in 2016, Notre Game successfully developed the card-collecting mobile game "Scratch Wars." It is currently developing "Scratch Lords," a new NFT P2E game based on the success and game mechanics of Scratch Wars.

Animoca Brands stated in the announcement that after the acquisition is completed, the management and employees of Notre Game will continue to operate the company. As part of Animoca Brands, Notre Game will be able to expand its products to global markets and gain access to a wealth of networks, resources, and expertise within the Animoca Brands group. (Source link)

6. Crypto research firm Messari receives $12.5 million developer grant from The Graph Foundation

On June 3, news reported that crypto research firm Messari announced it has received a $12.5 million developer grant from The Graph Foundation, which Messari will use to increase resources and continue to advance its mission of open data. (Source link)