Reading time 4m25s
GM.
3AC is back and possibly worse than ever — Su Zhu and pals are starting a new crypto exchange called GTX. Is it the spiritual successor to FTX? Please, no 🙏
And in other news, Russia and Iran are working on a stablecoin that’s backed by gold. Is it the next USD, or will it not even make it past Russia’s own history of crypto restrictions?
Don’t worry, we’ve got the stories (and the memes) — and you already KNOW we got the trivia.
What company had the largest fundraising round in crypto history?
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Today's Agenda:
- 3AC Founders Starting “GTX”? 🤢
- Russia + Iran Gold-Backed Collab 😬
- Japan Calls for Crypto Regulation 🧑⚖️
- Singapore Lender Gets a Lifeline 🙏
- Seoul Opens Public Metaverse!! 💯
Man, this would be funnier if it was just a joke and not reality 😅
The founders of 3AC, Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, are working with Coinflex’s co-founders to fund a new crypto exchange.
Yes, you did indeed read that correctly.
The founders of 3AC, one of the greatest failures in crypto history (so far), are once again asking for your money. Scammers gonna scam, I guess.
This is kind of like if SBF came back and said, “You know what? I should definitely start a new exchange after FTX. Everyone would love that.”
The worst part of all is that its name is “GTX” because “G comes after F.” As in, it’s the spiritual successor to FTX 🤦
Wait till you hear their business plan, though. They’re going to “allow” people who lost money to FTX, Celsius, and other failed companies transfer their claims to GTX to get a magical token called “USDG” to trade.
They’re creating value out of nothing. A Ponzi scheme, if you will.
Unsurprisingly, the memes have been spicy:
I just don’t like it at all. In what way is this supposed to look genuine and non-shady, Su Zhu? Where’s the honor in this, Davies?
Thankfully, they’ve at least decided not to use the name “GTX” after Twitter absolutely tore them apart for it.
We’ll see if the exchange even makes it off the ground — here’s hoping it doesn’t.
Russia, the country who launched a war against Ukraine, and Iran are planning a stablecoin for cross-border transactions.
This stablecoin would be backed by gold and used in place of fiat like the US dollar.
Opinions are mixed on how this could play out and what it could mean. Could this mean Russia potentially creating the next world currency and having control over it? Who knows.
It all depends, though. Neither Russia nor Iran are known for their gold reserves, and if they were truly going to establish a gold-backed crypto, they’d probably need to do the following:
- Increase their gold reserves.
- Actually verify (audit) their reserves.
And #2 feels like an impossible hurdle — what country would trust an audit of the most dangerous nation in the world at this time? It wouldn’t make sense for all of us to start using Russia’s new currency while it’s waging war with Ukraine.
Of course, anything can happen, but I feel a bit skeptical of this move to say the least.
The Bank of Russia has historically been anti-crypto, and for any of this to even start, they’ll need to regulate crypto transactions this year (for the first time ever). We’ll see if that step even gets taken.
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Other Top Stories Today 📢
Mamoru Yanase, deputy director-general of the Financial Services Agency’s Strategy Development and Management Bureau in Japan, wants to treat crypto just like traditional financial markets — with solid, tight rules and regulations. These comments came in light of the FTX collapse. Yanase showed clear perspective on the situation, seeming to understand that the meltdown was not “crypto’s fault,” but the fault of “loose governance, lax internal controls and the absence of regulation and supervision.”
Vauld, a crypto lending company that halted withdrawals from 800k customers in July of last year due to receiving $200m of withdrawals in just two weeks, has been given more time to come up with a gameplan. Wild to think of the difference of scale between some companies in the crypto space — Binance handled billions in withdrawals last month, no problem, but Vauld just wasn’t on that level. Singapore seems to want its crypto companies to succeed, which is a good sign for crypto adoption, even if Vauld isn’t in the best of spots right now.
Residents of South Korea’s capital can now use state services through the metaverse directly, including official document access, complaint filing, and receiving answers to questions on filing taxes. They’ll also be able to see virtual versions of all the attractions that the city has to offer. This metaverse cost Seoul’s government roughly $1.6M to create, and it’s just the first phase. The second phase will focus on senior citizens who physically cannot get to city offices in person.
Web3 Resource of the Day
Where Did Bitcoin Come From? — the True Story - Video from ColdFusion
In this video, ColdFusion takes us on a deep dive into the heart of Bitcoin, past the surface level of how it works and into its “origin story.” From Satoshi Nakamoto to the early forum days, the video does a great job of leading you through BTC’s history and actually telling the story in a compelling way. My favorite quote from Chamath Palihapitiya, Canadian-American venture capitalist, speaking on the nature of the Bitcoin revolution: “Yeah, this will be born out of a people’s desire to have unfettered access to capital.”
You’re Doing a Great Job
And you don’t hear it enough. Seriously, I think you’re crushing it. Thanks for spending time with us here today.
And remember, reader, to watch out for those nasty, clever scam coins. Oh wait —
NVM. Carry on 😅
That’s all for today, frens!
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DISCLAIMER: This is not financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Do your own research.