GM, frens! Ambire here with our weekly newsletter. Today we’ll be discussing Mt. Gox FUD getting destroyed once again as it pushes back repayments by a year, SEC Crypto Chief threatening crypto again, Ethereum being the only used crypto network in the future, Worldcoin’s team getting detained in Kenya and the rise of a new rival for Friends Tech. Let’s get down to it:

Mt. Gox pushes back repayment by 12 months

It seems that the worries of many crypto investors are alleviated, at least for now, as Mt. Gox released an announcement on Thursday delaying the deadline for its creditor repayments from October 31st, 2023 to October 31st, 2024.

The so-called "Mt. Gox FUD" was a frequent topic of discussion in the crypto community for a long time, as crypto investors were fearing that a massive wad of BTC would be released onto the market, potentially destabilizing the BTC prices.

Mt. Gox was one of the first cryptocurrency exchanges when it was founded in 2010, and in 2014 it suffered a major hack that resulted in the theft of 850,000 BTC. Although Mt. Gox managed to recover around 20% of the stolen tokens after the hack, creditors have been looking for some sort of relief ever since.

A recent report by UBS has confirmed that the repayment of Mt. Gox has the potential to impact BTC prices. However, it is important to note that bitcoin itself would not be destabilized, considering the significant volume of tokens being released.

Now that the deadline has been pushed back another 12 months, it seems that fellow crypto investors needn't worry about an unexpected flood of BTC causing another major sell-off. At least for another year.

SEC’s Crypto Chief calls for war

The SEC's war on crypto continues, and now David Hirsch, head of the Cryptocurrency Assets and Cyber Unit of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has warned to crypto exchanges and DeFi projects.

Speaking at the Securities Enforcement Forum Center in Chicago, Hirsch stated that the agency is currently investigating several firms engaging in activities similar to Coinbase and Binance, who have already received criminal charges.

He emphasized that many other businesses on the SEC's radar operate similarly.

"We will continue to make these accusations," Hirsch said, adding that the SEC is also looking into intermediaries, distributors, exchanges, stock exchange institutions and others operating in this field who also aren’t, in their opinion, fulfilling their obligations.

This particular war cry from the SEC's crypto Chief reiterates the agency's commitment to destroying crypto as an asset class, and it's clear that their sights are set on the industry as a whole.

It's not clear whether they will find success in their quest, but it's obvious that the SEC feels confident enough to move forward with their unholy crusade.

Ethereum: The TCP/IP of Blockchain tech?

We see different takes and opinions pop up all the time, but this one from a recent CoinDesk article grabbed our attention. Paul Brody, EY’s Global Blockchain Leader wrote an article that compared Ethereum to how networking started with a bunch of different incompatible networks such as ARPANET, IBM's SNA, Xerox's IDP and more.

He further explained that just like TCP/IP unified all networks, Ethereum is becoming the one-stop solution for blockchain.

So the key takeaway from this according to Brody is that different Layer 2s can cater to different needs while Ethereum serves as the glue connecting them all together. It's not a one-size-fits all solution but instead it will adapt to everyone's need, be it business, financial transactions and in the end, overtake all specialized blockchains, similar to TCP/IP that in the end overtook all specialized networks.

However, whether Ethereum can truly become the unifying force for all blockchain networks can be debated. Ethereum faces challenges such as scalability issues, high gas fees, and competition from other blockchain platforms. While Ethereum 2.0 was supposed to address some of these concerns by transitioning to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and improving scalability, it's unclear when will we fully achieve this ambitious goal.

The crypto space is highly dynamic, and blockchain technology is evolving pretty fast. Ethereum's success in becoming the de facto standard for blockchain interoperability will depend on its devs' ability to address these massive problems and maintain its relevance in this constantly changing space.

WorldCoin adventures in Kenya

ChatGPT founder's controversial crypto project is stirring up a storm in Kenya. WorldCoin's CEO Alex Blania and chief legal counsel Thomas Scott were reportedly detained by Kenyan authorities in Nairobi Airport, however, it was later reported that US authorities blocked the detainment.

The project was immediately banned in Kenya after it came out. The Kenyan government had also set up an independent committee to investigate the impacts of WorldCoin. Allegedly, 350,000 Kenyans had agreed to have their irises scanned as part of the project in exchange for just ~$40 in tokens.

Kenya's interior cabinet secretary Kithure Kindiki has since claimed that the US blocked the detainment of the WorldCoin executives as they have not yet been found guilty of any crime, however, this statement was denied by a WorldCoin spokesperson.

Shockingly, Sam Altman, the co-founder of WorldCoin was spotted at a closed-door meeting with US Ambassador in Kenya Meg Whitman, and Kenyan President William Ruto. During the committee hearing, Blania claimed that WorldCoin had invested $4.8 million in Kenya and always had Kenyan citizens' best interests in mind.

This is just one of the controversies surrounding WorldCoin as more and more people are raising alarms about its ethical and privacy implications. It's more than likely that an investigation in Kenya will not affect Sam Altman's big plans for WorldCoin, though.

FT's new rival is on the rise

Friend.Tech has become one of the most popular dapps/narratives recently, so it's only natural that this would happen.

Post.Tech, Friend.Tech's rival app on the Arbitrum blockchain, is starting to see an increase in activity for the first time. The site has recorded more than $1.8 million in trading volume in a 24-hour period and is up to 87,000 daily transactions compared to Friend.Tech's 15,700 wallets per day.

The key differences between PT and FT are that PT is based on Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbitrum while FT operates on Base. Additionally, in FT only the channel owner has access to all messages while every PT user in a channel has access to all messages.

PT is also giving out lump sums of cash, distributed proportionally to user activity while FT rewarded users with points. This approach is reminiscent of Blur NFT platform that attempted to aggressively undercut OpenSea's margin with hefty rewards and focus on creator royalties.

Will PT be able to sustain growth after the initial airdrop incentives have run out? Will users stay attracted to such high fees and a steep barrier of entry? Who’s going to be the king of ‘shares’ in the end? It remains to be seen what the future holds for these type of apps, but one thing is certain - it's an incredibly interesting development in the crypto space.

Other worthy reads

Sad stats from 0xSisyphus:

List of ARB grant proposals from GMX Intern:

“Optimism dumped $116m of OP” from CoinDesk

The fun page

That's all for now, frens.

We'll see you next week. And remember, the market conditions are temporary, but our commitment to building a better DeFi is here to stay. Thanks for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you back next week. Cheers!

Yours, The 🔥 Team

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