Blockchangers Blog

Weekly Wrap Up #54

Quote of the week: “Crypto assets have experienced a dramatic sell-off that has led to large losses in crypto investment vehicles and caused the failure of algorithmic stablecoins and crypto hedge funds, but spillovers to the broader financial system have been limited so far.”- IMF. Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/imf-global-outlook-suggests-dark-clouds-ahead-for-crypto

Crypto.com & Google Pay Integration: This week Crypto.com and Google Pay announced their partnership; Crypto.com is adding Google Pay as a payment option to buy over 250 cryptocurrencies. The integration is set to go live next week. Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-com-rolls-out-google-pay-integration-as-big-tech-continues-to-embrace-crypto

Voyager Rejects FTX’s Proposal:  FTX and Alameda Ventures made a partial bailout proposal to Voyager Digital this week. Under the proposal, Alameda would purchase all of Voyager Digital’s asset loans, except the loans to Three Arrows Capital. Voyager’s customers could then receive some of the funds if they chose to open an account with FTX. Voyager rejected the offer, as the company believes it will disrupt its bankruptcy process. Additionally, Voyager Digital called it a “low-ball bid dressed up as a white knight rescue.”  Source: https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/bankrupt-voyager-rebuffs-sam-bankman-frieds-low-ball-bid-1074729

Coinbase Faces SEC Investigation: The SEC is investigating Coinbase and whether the platform is offering unregistered securities. This probe came before and was separate from Coinbase’s alleged insider trading scheme. This investigation may lead to regulatory implications for the whole cryptocurrency industry.  Source:

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cryptocurrency/coinbase-faces-challenge-which-may-affect-all-of-crypto?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

Legislation Featuring California: The California Fair Political Practices Commission reversed a 2018 ban; the state will again allow cryptocurrency contributions to state and local political campaigns. California will join 12 other states that explicitly permit political donations in cryptocurrency. Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/california-again-allows-crypto-contributions-to-state-local-political-campaigns

Kraken Under Federal Investigation: Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, is under federal investigation for potential violations of United States sanctions. The exchange allegedly permitted users in Iran and in other locations to buy and sell digital tokens. The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has been investigating Kraken since 2019 and people believe that it will impose a fine as a consequence. Source: https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/u-s-crypto-exchange-kraken-suspected-of-violating-sanctions-nyt-1076287

And, that’s a wrap!

Jordana Cohen,

Associate

Alpha Sigma Capital

Recent Posts

Alpha Sigma Capital
Daniel Siciliano

F. Daniel Siciliano is an Independent Director of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and Chair of the American Immigration Council. He is the former faculty director of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and former Professor of the Practice and Associate Dean at Stanford Law School. His work has included expert testimony in front of both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and for 2009, 2010, and 2011, alongside leading academics and business leaders such as Ben Bernanke, Paul Krugman, and Carl Icahn, Professor Siciliano was named to the “Directorship 100” – a list of the most influential people in corporate governance.

Siciliano was also co-founder, CEO and ultimately Executive Chairman of LawLogix Group, Inc. – a global software technology company named 9 consecutive times to the Inc. 500/5000, several times ranked as one of the Top 100 fastest-growing private software companies in the US and named to the US Hispanic Business 500 (largest) and Hispanic Business 100 (fastest growing) lists for 2010 and 2011. In 2012 he sold a majority stake of the company to PNC Riverarch Capital, continued as Executive Chairman, and led the sale of the company to Hyland Software/Thoma Bravo in 2015.

Siciliano is a co-founder and board member of the Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange (SVDX), Chairman of the national non-partisan American Immigration Council, past-President of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council #1057, and an active member of the Latino Corporate Directors’ Association.


Siciliano’s related areas of expertise include executive compensation, corporate compliance, the legal and social impact of autonomous (AI/robotic) systems, and corporate technology strategy and security. He has served as a governance consultant and trainer to the Board of Directors of dozens of Fortune 1000 companies (including Google, Microsoft, Fedex, Disney, Entergy and Applied Materials), is an angel investor and consultant to several firms and companies in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong, India, and Latin America, and currently serves as an independent director on the board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. He lives in Los Altos, California.