TLDR CRYPTO 2023-11-21

US JUSTICE DEPT REPORTEDLY READY TO SETTLE WITH BINANCE FOR $4B

The DOJ is reportedly close to finalizing a $4 billion settlement with crypto exchange Binance. The settlement would conclude the department's investigation into the company's alleged involvement in money laundering, bank fraud, and sanctions violations. As part of the deal, Binance must meet conditions including the payment of fines, admission of non-compliance, and setting up a monitoring process for future legal compliance.

COINDESK BOUGHT BY CRYPTO EXCHANGE BULLISH

Crypto news outlet CoinDesk announced it was being acquired by Bullish, a crypto exchange led by ex-NYSE president Tom Farley. CoinDesk's parent company DCG has been facing financial issues in the wake of the collapse of FTX. CoinDesk will function as an independent subsidiary with its current management. A new editorial committee will be launched, overseen by former Wall Street Journal editor-in-chief Matt Murray.

SUCLAVE: A NEW AMM DESIGN THAT UTILIZES INTENTS

The $60 billion DeFi market was revolutionized by the UNI V2 protocol, yet it still faces issues linked to volatility and profiteering bots. This piece discusses these issues and proposes a solution, SUClave, which utilizes UNI V4 to afford more profitability to liquidity providers and mitigate the effects of market volatility. The suggested remedy employs an auction mechanism, leading to greater profits for liquidity providers and lower fees for users.

VEGA PROTOCOL UNVEILS DECENTRALIZED PERPETUALS ON LAYER 1 BLOCKCHAIN

Vega Protocol, a trading-focused blockchain, has introduced perpetual futures markets, a community-led feature where members can vote on the specific assets to be included. Previously, the settlements were limited to USDC or equivalent stablecoins, but now any ERC-20 token can be approved for settlements. The Vega Protocol has had over $850 million in trading volume so far.

THE ETHEREUM INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK (1 HOUR READ)

This report from Token Terminal provides in-depth information on Ethereum as an investment. It covers the historical context for open protocols, how they compare to the internet, what the business model of Ethereum is, what the tech stack looks like, tokenomics, valuation frameworks, and more.

LIBMEV - DATA METHODOLOGIES

This post describes how to dive deep into MEV and transactions on ETH. With the help of system-specific tools like cryo and reth, the process is likened to reverse-engineering a puzzle to effectively identify different types of bundles (independent, backrunning, frontrunning, and backrunning) and calculate vital information like ETH tipped, ETH burned, and estimated profit. Moreover, a post-processing pipeline corrects any potential anomalies, thus ensuring the reliability of the data.

SEC SUES CRYPTO COMPANY KRAKEN FOR OPERATING UNREGISTERED EXCHANGE

The SEC has accused crypto firm Kraken of operating an unregistered securities exchange. The charges are yet another example of the SEC's ongoing crusade to enforce stricter regulations on cryptocurrencies. Kraken has refuted these allegations, maintaining that it does not list securities. The SEC's charges also include accusations of poor record-keeping practices and alleged commingling of the company's and customers' funds.

A BASED THESIS

This article outlines the concept and potential advantages of using "based rollups" on the Ethereum blockchain as an alternative to the current rollup frameworks. Based rollups allow for better scalability and interoperability without relying on third-party middleware or sacrificing Ethereum's core properties. The author highlights the simplicity, improved security, and greater economic alignment of based rollups.

TETHER FREEZES $225M LINKED TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING SYNDICATE AMID DOJ INVESTIGATION

Tether froze $225 million in stablecoins tied to a Southeast Asian human trafficking ring, marking the largest-ever stablecoin freeze unrelated to Tether customers.

IMPENDING BITCOIN ETF… BUY THE RUMOR, BUY THE NEWS

Pantera Capital has released a report on whether it expects the approval of Bitcoin ETF applications to be a bullish or bearish event.

DON’T UNDERSTAND BITCOIN? IT'S JUST TALLY STICKS!

Bitcoin's distributed ledger technology, likened to medieval tally sticks in this post, embodies trust and verification principles, offering a secure, transparent ledger system for modern financial transactions.

STATE OF CRYPTO 2023: SPOTLIGHT ON CRYPTO POLICY