This Week on Crypto Twitter: CZ Says ‘Ignore FUD’ After CFTC Lawsuit, Matt Damon Buys Crypto.com Ad

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Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt

In the crypto media this week, the biggest news was news that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)Americas, the top derivatives regulator, is suing Binance, the top crypto exchange by trading volume, with CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao, allegedly for not being fired. derivatives trading.

The trial does not end there. The exchange is also accused of having insufficient anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) checks, knowingly evading or helping US customers evade regulators, and even trading against its own clients.

The new lawsuit wasn’t a huge talking point on crypto Twitter, likely since the industry already knows that federal enforcement action against Binance at this point is like water off a duck’s back. The exchange is also in the midst of ongoing investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

When the news broke, Zhao simply tweeted 4 which, as he made clear in a tweet in January, is shorthand for Ignoring FUD, Fake News, Attacks, etc.

Crypto analytics firm Nansen researched the chain and saw that Binance customers weren’t fazed by the news either.

Meanwhile, that day, the worlds of Gucci and Bored Ape Yacht Club collided in an announcement from the fashion house. Last year, Gucci started accepting crypto in select stores.

CryptoSlate data analyst James Stratten pointed out that Bitcoin’s hashrate growth over the past three months was the third-highest adjustment in the past five years, although the reason has mystified him. Hash rate is a metric to determine the combined computing power of the entire Bitcoin network and it typically climbs as new mining rigs are rolled out.

On a 3-month rolling basis of the #Bitcoin hash rate (noise cancellation), this is the third most aggressive upward adjustment in the past 5 years.

Only twice was there more substantial growth.

May 2021 – 70% (following mining ban in China). After 2019 pic.twitter.com/jocblsgAZ4

James V. Streets (@jimmyvs24) March 27, 2023

Polygon on Monday launched the long-awaited mainnet for its new Polygon zkEVM network. Polygon zkEVM is an Ethereum scaling solution, meaning it processes transactions faster and cheaper than Ethereum’s own mainnet, easing the burden of smart contract-enabled blockchain world’s most popular high-functionality. The creator of Ethereums, Vitalik Buterin, sent a hidden message during the first transaction.

That’s not all he did

British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey became the latest addition to the cryptoverse that day.

Michael Saylor, founder and president of cloud software company MicroStrategy, felt good. Hed paid off a huge loan and bought more Bitcoin. His company’s total holdings today are worth an estimated $3.8 million, although as of last year his war chest contained less BTC and was worth more than $6 billion.

MicroStrategy repaid its $205 million Silvergate loan at a 22% discount. As of 3/23/23, $MSTR acquired ~6,455 additional bitcoins for ~$150 million at an average of ~$23,238 per #bitcoin and held ~138,955 BTC acquired for ~$4.14 billion at an average of ~$23,238 per #bitcoin. average of ~$29,817 per bitcoin. https://t.co/ALp9VLkTpt

Michael Saylor (@saylor) March 27, 2023

Tether CTO Paolo Ardino shilled some USDT on Wednesday.

USDt stands the test of time. #tether is on track for another record quarter, growing its additional equity (in addition to reserves) to >1.6 billion and counting. Ask yourself: how many banks can say they are so oversized? Answer: none. Fractional reserve by a property https://t.co/D7I2WwnD6D

Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) March 29, 2023

Gabor Gurbacs, founder of community-focused crypto loyalty platform PointsVille compared the recent performance of the two major stablecoins and found two entirely different stories.

Tether (USDT) market capitalization increased by approx. $9 billion in the last month.

USD Coin (USDC) market capitalization decreased by approx. $11 billion in the last month.

USDT reserves are now well over 2x that of USDC, $79 billion vs. $33 billion, respectively. pic.twitter.com/u5Nw9C1tyP

Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) March 29, 2023

On Wednesday, Coinbase embarked on political crypto propaganda comparing the different regulatory climates in various first-world countries to suggest that U.S. lawmakers are lagging behind.

1 million tech jobs are at risk of going overseas. As the US heads down a path of regulatory uncertainty, the EU, UK, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Japan are all creating enabling environments for crypto to thrive so that they can capitalize on the next wave of innovation. pic.twitter.com/2UMkFxajcM

Coinbase (@coinbase) March 29, 2023

Meanwhile, US Senator Elizabeth Warren kicked off her anti-crypto re-election campaign with propaganda that day.

A video of Matt Damon explaining his decision to do the widely circulated Crypto.com ad made the rounds on Thursday. In it, he tells an endearing anecdote that somewhat redeems the crypto exchange.

A Twitter account dedicated to IRL collectibles has posted news regarding French footballer Kylian Mbappes Sorare NFT. Judging by the responses, many were polarized on this issue.

LATEST NEWS

Kylian Mbappes Unique 1/1 Sorare card has just been auctioned for $195,563.87.

This surpasses the all-time record for its most expensive physical card. ($161,130)

Which one do you prefer ? pic.twitter.com/ltOTtYxafH

The Collectibles Guru (@ericwhiteback) March 30, 2023

Finally, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong spoke out on Friday against a widely circulated open letter calling for a halt to AI research. The petition has so far been signed by Twitter/SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, as well as numerous tech luminaries from industry and academia.

Count me among the people who think that’s a bad idea.

There are no experts to decide on this question, and many disparate players will never agree. Committees and bureaucracy will solve nothing.

As with many technologies, there are dangers, but we must keep walking https://t.co/iM0sKOVTaw

Brian Armstrong (@brian_armstrong) March 31, 2023

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