BlockFi, a crypto lending platform, has announced its emergence from insolvency. This news comes shortly after FTX, another major player in the crypto industry, successfully reclaimed approximately $7 billion in assets. FTX debtors estimate that a total of $8.7 billion has been misappropriated from customers, making BlockFi one of the exchange’s largest creditors. This means that BlockFi’s ability to recover its assets is directly tied to FTX’s success in recovering its own.
Meanwhile, FTX’s new management is exploring various options for the future of the exchange. This includes the possibility of selling the entire exchange, partnering with another entity to revive it, or even attempting an independent comeback. BlockFi, on the other hand, has no choice but to wind down its operations, as stated in its court filings.
In other news, investment firm BlackRock’s proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), called iShares, has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). This listing suggests that the ETF may receive approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes that BlackRock may have already received the green light from the SEC, based on the timing of the listing. The SEC has until January 10, 2024, to make a final decision on the ETF’s approval.
Furthermore, BlockFi has emerged from bankruptcy and is now allowing wallet withdrawals for some of its creditors. The platform’s blog post states that withdrawals are currently available to nearly all Wallet customers, with BlockFi Interest Account and Loan customers being able to withdraw assets in early 2024. BlockFi can now focus on recovering assets from other firms that owe it money, including Three Arrows Capital and FTX.
In the world of hardware wallets, Ledger is rolling out a cloud-based private key recovery tool despite facing criticism from the crypto community. Users can now subscribe to this paid service provided by Coincover, which allows them to back up their secret recovery phrase. Ledger had paused the recovery service earlier this year after receiving backlash from the community. However, the company has now released the open-source code for the Ledger Recover tool on GitHub.
Finally, Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency project, will cease paying its Orb Operators in USD Coin (USDC) and switch to its native Worldcoin (WLD) token. This change will be implemented as early as next month and will affect most jurisdictions. Worldcoin sees this move as a transitional phase following the project’s official launch. The supply of the WLD token has increased from approximately 100 million at the time of launch to around 134 million.
Overall, these developments in the crypto industry showcase the ongoing challenges and opportunities faced by various companies. As the market continues to evolve, stakeholders must adapt and find new ways to navigate the ever-changing landscape.
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