The Daily: DWF Labs dismisses partner amid drink spiking allegations, Bhutan's government moves $66 million in bitcoin to Binance and more
Quick Take
- Crypto trading firm DWF Labs has dismissed one of its partners following allegations of drink spiking that surfaced on X.
- The Royal Government of Bhutan deposited 929 BTC, valued at $66 million, to Binance on Tuesday morning.
- A hacker compromised Truth Terminal founder Andy Ayrey’s X account to promote a scam token.
- The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Tuesday! In today's Daily, DWF Labs dismisses one of its partners over drink spiking allegations, Bhutan's government moves $66 million in bitcoin to Binance, a hacker exploits Truth Terminal's X account and more.
Meanwhile, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw $479 million worth of net inflows on Monday — the highest in two weeks — as the foremost cryptocurrency reapproaches its all-time highs.
Let's get started.
DWF Labs dismisses partner over drink spiking allegations
Crypto trading firm DWF Labs has dismissed one of its partners following allegations of drink spiking that surfaced on X.
- The company did not specifically identify the individual but has removed founding partner Eugene Ng from its team page.
- "I never thought I'd personally experience something like this. On the evening of Oct. 24, I was drugged by a partner at DWF Labs at a bar in Hong Kong. I have reported this to the local police and have collected video evidence of him spiking my drink," X user Hana said earlier on Tuesday.
- The firm issued a statement acknowledging the "deeply concerning" allegations and has removed the partner in question from all management and operational roles while the matter is under investigation.
- According to Hana, a waitress said her drink had been spiked multiple times while she was using the restroom at the venue.
- Hana, a web2 venture capitalist looking to break into web3, said she was meeting the alleged attacker to discuss potential career opportunities.
- She posted images of both the incident report and alleged drugging online.
- The Block reached out to Ng and DFW Labs for a statement.
Bhutan government moves $66 million in bitcoin to Binance
The Royal Government of Bhutan deposited 929 BTC, valued at $66 million, to Binance on Tuesday morning, Lookonchain first noted.
- Bhutan initially transferred 100 BTC to Binance at 9:09 a.m. UTC, followed by another 839 BTC at 9:56 a.m., according to the onchain analytics platform Arkham — which began tracking its holdings in September.
- It's the first time the government has sent bitcoin to a crypto exchange since it transferred $24 million in bitcoin to Kraken in July.
- The reason for the latest transfer is unknown, though such deposits to crypto exchanges are often made to sell the assets.
- Following the transfer, Bhutan still holds around 12,456 BTC, worth $886 million, making it the fifth-largest nation-state holder of bitcoin behind the U.S., China, UK and Ukraine, per Bitcoin Treasuries data.
- The country's bitcoin is held in the custody of Druk Holding & Investments, Bhutan's state investment wing.
- However, while many countries have acquired their bitcoin via criminal seizures, Bhutan has been mining bitcoin to build up its reserves, leveraging the country's abundant hydroelectric power to drive eco-friendly mining operations.
Hacker exploits Truth Terminal founder's X account
A hacker compromised Truth Terminal founder Andy Ayrey's X account to promote a scam token.
- The hacker posted a contract address for a token called IB, with the deployer account acquiring 12.5% of its supply.
- The scam token's market cap subsequently surged to over $25 million, followed by a sharp 98% decline after the hacker's sell-off that netted $600,000 from unsuspecting investors.
- Ayrey temporarily regained control of his account, attributing the hack to a SIM swap attack targeting his mobile carrier.
- Truth Terminal, the first chatbot to hold over $1 million in assets, gained popularity for its association with the "GOAT" memecoin and a $50,000 grant from a16z partner Marc Andreessen.
MetaMask developer Consensys lays off 20% of its workforce
MetaMask developer Consensys is laying off 20% of its workforce, citing macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty, according to its CEO Joseph Lubin.
- "To stay competitive, we need to reshape ourselves to be more agile, more effective and even higher-performing," Lubin wrote on X.
- Consensys faces an ongoing legal conflict with the Securities and Exchange Commission over regulatory issues related to its popular web3 non-custodial wallet, including allegations of failing to register as a broker for its MetaMask swaps service.
- Laid-off employees will receive "generous severance packages" and an extended stock options window, Lubin said.
- Last year, former Consensys staff sued Lubin, alleging he failed to live up to equity promises made in the company's startup days.
From $8,000 to $53 million: Bitcoin wallet dormant since 2012 wakes up
A dormant Bitcoin wallet address holding 749 BTC ($53.2 million) made its first transaction in nearly 12 years on Tuesday morning, transferring 159.2 BTC ($11.3 million), according to onchain data.
- The address last sent 10 BTC (approximately $110 at the time) on Nov. 10, 2012, when the 749 BTC balance was worth just $8,000, blockchain monitoring platform Whale Alert noted on X.
- With the foremost cryptocurrency currently trading near all-time highs, the value of the bitcoin transferred has risen nearly 7,000 times since the funds were last moved.
In the next 24 hours
Eurozone GDP data are released at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday. U.S. GDP figures follow at 8:30 a.m.
Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2024 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.