The Daily: Grayscale's MKR fund, Coinbase in Hawaii, Bitfarms co-founder leaves board and more
Quick Take
- Grayscale’s latest fund for qualified investors tracks MakerDAO’s MKR token
- Coinbase to offer cryptocurrency services in Hawaii
- Bitfarms co-founder Nicolas Bonta steps down from board
- The following is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Grayscale launches MKR fund
- This new trust allows qualified investors and institutions to gain exposure to MakerDAO’s governance token MKR.
- The decentralized exchange MakerDAO issues the DAI stablecoin, the third-largest stablecoin with a market cap exceeding $5 billion.
- MakerDAO is currently undergoing a transformation under its "Endgame" plan, aiming to expand into on-chain credit and real-world asset markets with new products and services managed by "subDAOs."
- Grayscale's two largest products, Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, both started as closed-end trusts, which can cause price divergence from the underlying assets since direct withdrawals aren't allowed.
- Grayscale offers at least 17 private single-asset funds for various protocol tokens.
Coinbase offers crypto services in Hawaii
- The move follows regulatory changes by Hawaii's Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Financial Institutions that clarified rules for cryptocurrency firms.
- Coinbase had previously exited Hawaii in 2017 due to strict regulations requiring one-to-one cash reserves for bitcoin holdings.
- Hawaii's Digital Currency Innovation Lab, which allowed crypto firms to operate without a state license, ended on June 30, but companies can still do business in Hawaii under federal regulations.
Bitfarms co-founder steps down from board
- Bonta played a key role in Bitfarms' foundation, development and international expansion, particularly in Latin America.
- U.S.-based Riot Platforms, which attempted to acquire Bitfarms earlier this year, has become its largest shareholder and is pushing to reconstitute the board.
- Bitfarms reported a $27 million net loss in its recent earnings report, with revenue down 16% due to decreased block rewards following Bitcoin's April halving event.
Possible BitGo wallet moves $2 billion worth of Mt. Gox bitcoin
- Arkham speculated that the wallet might belong to cryptocurrency exchange BitGo, indicating the Mt. Gox saga could be nearing its final phase of creditor repayments.
- The bc1q26 wallet, believed to be BitGo's, transferred nearly $2 billion worth of bitcoin to another wallet a few hours after initiating a test transaction.
- The movement of these funds suggests that the process of repaying Mt. Gox creditors, ongoing since July, may be nearing completion.
Essential nets $11 million in Series A funding
- The round included participation from IOSG Ventures, the Spartan Group, Mirana Ventures and other prominent investors.
- Essential plans to launch its testnet in 2024 and mainnet in 2025, alongside its token, while also expanding its team.
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