Evening News | Bittrex US Files for Bankruptcy; Is BRC-20 the "Revenge Plan" Planned by the BSV Community?

整理：饼干，ChainCatcher

"What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours"

1. Crypto Exchange Bittrex Files for Bankruptcy, Business Outside the U.S. Unaffected

According to CoinDesk, cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex filed for bankruptcy in Delaware, USA, on Monday. Bittrex Global's operations will not be affected, and Bittrex will continue to serve customers outside the U.S. A court document provided by bankruptcy tracking agency Chapter 11 Dockets shows that Bittrex has over 100,000 creditors, with liabilities and assets expected to be between $500 million and $1 billion.

In February, Bittrex's U.S. subsidiary laid off 80 employees and announced in March that it would cease all operations by the end of April. In mid-April, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Bittrex and its CEO, accusing them of operating a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency without registration. (Source link)

2. Lido V2 Upgrade to Launch Final On-Chain Vote on May 12

According to official news, Lido released a progress update for the V2 version: "The final on-chain vote for the V2 upgrade is scheduled for May 12. If there are no issues with the last-minute survey results and the vote is successful, Lido V2 will go live on May 15 after the vote takes effect." (Source link)

3. Binance NFT Market to Support Bitcoin NFT Protocol Ordinals in Late May

According to The Block, Binance's NFT market will start supporting Ordinals trading in late May to further develop Binance's "multi-chain ecosystem." Binance's product head Mayur Kamat stated that Binance users will be able to buy and sell Ordinals without using "a separate Bitcoin wallet." (Source link)

4. SBF's Lawyers Move to Dismiss Most Criminal Charges Against Him

According to Coindesk, in a pre-trial motion on Monday, Bankman-Fried's lawyers moved to dismiss most criminal charges against SBF, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud against FTX customers; conspiracy to commit wire fraud against Alameda Research lenders; and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, arguing that prosecutors failed to "establish a crime due to the lack of a valid property right."

Additionally, the lawyers dismissed charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, unlicensed money transmission, illegal political donations, and bribery, arguing that FTX's failure was due to the "crypto winter" and blaming the U.S. government for the regulatory debates surrounding digital assets over the past few years. However, the lawyers did not attempt to dismiss charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. (Source link)

5. Huang Licheng Criticizes Blur Points System: Protocol and Community Cannot Capture Any Value

Twitter KOL "@machibigbrother" Huang Licheng criticized the Blur points system on social media, stating that the current BLUR points system is no longer what it used to be, and the protocol/community cannot capture any value from transactions. Instead, some risk-free bidding trades are earning points, leading to a feeling of "super pessimism." (Source link)

6. Voyager Now Holds $1.334 Billion in Assets, Proposes Two Initial Recovery Options for Customers

Voyager released an important update regarding initial recoveries for customers on its official blog. According to the article, Voyager now holds $1.334 billion in assets, equivalent to 75.68% of the total claims against Voyager's assets by customers. Due to certain delays, customers will receive an initial compensation estimated at 35.72% of their claim amounts. Depending on the resolution of priority claims disputes with FTX/Alameda, the success of additional claims made by Voyager's plan administrator against third parties, and any future recoveries from Voyager's assets as a creditor in the Three Arrows Capital liquidation, customers may receive additional funds in the future. Subsequent compensation may be determined at the discretion of the plan administrator to be made in cash or cryptocurrency.

Users can choose to receive their initial recovery in cryptocurrency through the Voyager platform or wait until the cryptocurrency withdrawal period ends to receive it in USD. Once the Voyager app is accessible, users will have 30 days to log in and transfer supported cryptocurrencies from their Voyager accounts to designated wallet addresses. Certain unsupported cryptocurrencies (i.e., cryptocurrencies that cannot be transferred from the Voyager platform) and holders of VGX will receive a pro-rata distribution of USDC, which can then be transferred from the platform. If users wish to receive their initial recovery solely in USD, no action is required. After the 30-day cryptocurrency withdrawal window ends, users' accounts will be liquidated, and they will receive USD via check or possible ACH withdrawal. Once the plan is effective, Voyager will provide more information about subsequent steps, including when the 30-day window will open. (Source link)

7. Private Equity Giant Apollo Involved in Celsius Acquisition

According to CoinDesk, citing sources, traditional financial distressed asset investment firm Apollo Global Management, which manages over $500 billion in assets, is involved in the acquisition of the bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius. Previously, Celsius announced three bidders for the auction, and insiders stated that Apollo is one of the investors in the acquisition offer submitted by bidder NovaWulf. Currently, the Celsius auction has been paused, and the deadline for submitting disclosure statements has been extended to May 11, 2023. (Source link)

8. MakerDAO Officially Launches Lending Protocol Spark Protocol

MakerDAO has officially launched the lending protocol Spark Protocol, which is open to all DeFi users. This product is centered around DAI and features lending capabilities for ETH, stETH, DAI, and sDAI. (Source link)

9. Solana Labs' Phone Saga Available for Public Sale, Users Can Apply for Saga Genesis NFT

The Saga phone launched by Solana Labs is now available for public sale, with pre-orders starting to ship to locations including the U.S., Canada, the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Australia, and New Zealand. Saga is deeply integrated with Solana, supporting self-custody key solutions like Seed Vault and providing access to decentralized applications through the Solana DApp Store.

Additionally, Saga users can apply for a Saga Genesis token when setting up their devices. The non-transferable NFT tied to the device is the key for users to earn Saga Rewards, unlocking exclusive content and offers for DApps launched on Solana Mobile and the Solana dApp Store. (Source link)

10. Data: Binance Exchange's BTC Balance Decreased by Nearly 200,000 in the Past 7 Days, Surpassed by Coinbase Pro

According to the latest data from Coinglass, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance has seen an outflow of 193,701.98 BTC in the past 7 days, and its BTC balance has dropped to 396,367.39 BTC, surpassed by Coinbase Pro, which now holds a total of 486,263.26 BTC. (Source link)

"What Interesting Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours"

1. "Behind BRC-20: The 'Revenge Plan' Orchestrated by the BSV Community"

In the process of searching for relevant information, we discovered an interesting phenomenon: the group most enthusiastic about Ordinals is actually a group of former BSV community members, despite the fact that the entire BSV ecosystem has declined, leaving only a few. The route and direction of BRC20 seem to be supported by BSV enthusiasts, who have also managed to regain the spotlight and wealth through BRC20.

2. "Why Bitcoin Miners Earned Over $36 Million in Fees in the Past Week?"

Starting from May 1, the average transaction fee for BTC began to rise significantly, from an initial 2U to now 20U. Currently, the extremely high fee threshold and operational barriers are also hindering the development of BRC20. Whether BRC20 can integrate with the Lightning Network, move beyond the narrative of merely issuing tokens, and incorporate Bitcoin L2 solutions with smart contract capabilities like RGB, is worth paying attention to.

3. "Coinbase Aims to Expand into the Middle East Market, Will the UAE Become a Crypto Haven?"

The UAE has attracted many crypto companies with favorable regulations and a friendly business environment. In February of this year, the UAE Central Bank announced plans to launch a digital currency, which could further boost the country's crypto industry. Armstrong's visit to the UAE highlights the growing interest of Middle Eastern investors and regulators in crypto.