SEC cracks down on Coinbase and Tron, while Do Kwon is arrested abroad

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It was a big week in the crypto world as the US Securities and Exchange Commission cracked down on major crypto companies like Coinbase and Tron — more on that below — and Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, has reportedly been arrested in Montenegro, according to an official. of the local government.

On Thursday morning, Filip Adzic, Montenegro’s interior minister, tweeted in Bosnian that Kwon was arrested at the airport of Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, with forged documents.

Kwon has been under investigation for the past 11 months since the collapse of Terra/LUNA, which wiped out approximately $40 billion from the cryptocurrency market.

In mid-September, Kwon tweeted, “I’m not ‘on the run’ or anything like that – to any government agency that has expressed an interest in communicating, we are fully cooperating and have nothing to hide.”

While Kwon rejected claims that he was not hiding from authorities, prosecutors have refuted those claims.

In late September, his whereabouts were unknown and Interpol issued a red notice asking law enforcement around the world to find and arrest him. Soon after, the South Korean government ordered Kwon to surrender his passport or risk having it revoked.

Kwon has said the charges brought against him by South Korean prosecutors are illegitimate and politically motivated, TechCrunch previously reported.

Fast forward to February, prosecutors in South Korea traveled to Serbia, believing Kwon was staying there. In mid-February, the US Securities and Exchange Commission charged Terraform Labs and Kwon with defrauding US investors who bought their crypto asset, LUNA, and the not-so-stable stablecoin, Terra.

With Kwon wearing shiny silver handcuffs, it’ll be interesting to see what happens next. To be determined.

This week in web3

Coinbase Stock Drops After SEC Wells Notification, Possible Prelude To ‘Enforcement Action’

US crypto giant Coinbase today received a notice from Wells from the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to a Coinbase SEC filing related to the matter, the company writes that government agency staff have “informed the company that it has made a ‘preliminary decision’ to recommend that the SEC file an enforcement action against the company for alleged violations of the federal securities law. ”

Since TikTok and Coinbase deal with regulators, some questions are easier than others (TC+)

We learned last night that the SEC has sent Coinbase a notice from Wells, a prelude to taking enforcement action against the US crypto giant for possible “violations of federal securities laws.” The company intends to take the fight, said the CEO. But exactly How the SEC thinks Coinbase may be breaking the rules will help us determine which course of action makes the most sense. While regulatory action against TikTok feels pretty straightforward, in Coinbase’s case, we’re in the middle of something much more gray area.

SEC Sues Tron Founder and Celebrities Including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and Soulja Boy for Crypto Securities Violations

The SEC also took legal action Wednesday against Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, for alleged securities violations. The government agency is also suing a handful of celebrities and influencers, including Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Soulja Boy, Austin Mahone, Michelle Mason, Lil Yachty, Ne-Yo and Akon. All the celebrities except Soulja Boy and Mahone have agreed to pay a total of more than $400,000 “in payout, interest and penalties” to settle the charges, admitting or denying guilt in relation to the SEC allegations.

Web3 gaming will onboard up to 100 million gamers in next 2 years, Polygon and Immutable presidents predict (TC+)

Robbie Ferguson, co-founder and president of web3 gaming company Immutable, and Ryan Wyatt, president of layer-2 chain Polygon Labs, told TechCrunch+ that web3 will add the first 10 million to 100 million gamers within a year or two. “We are going to see 40% of web3 games [ever] built going live in the next 12 to 18 months, which will be a huge number of tries or shots on target to have those 100 million players,” Ferguson added. If this prediction comes true, it would mean a massive wave of adoption that will drive the decentralized game industry previously did not have.

Magic Eden launches Bitcoin marketplace as Ordinal subscriptions continue to grow

Magic Eden, one of the largest cross-chain NFT platforms, launched a Bitcoin marketplace for digital artifacts, the company announced on Tuesday. “We are already a multichain platform and believe that adding Bitcoin will connect us to a deep community of people and a rapidly growing collectibles market thanks to Ordinals,” Zhuoxun Yin, COO and co-founder of Magic Eden, told TechCrunch. “Adding a Bitcoin marketplace allows us to continue our multichain vision.” Prior to the announcement, Magic Eden supported NFT trading on Solana and Polygon and provided aggregated listings for Ethereum-based NFTs.

The latest pod

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Follow the money

  1. Seed Club Ventures emerges from stealth with a $25 million fund targeting DAOs
  2. eToro Secures $250 Million at a $3.5 Billion Valuation After Scrapping SPAC
  3. OP3N raises $28 million to build “WhatsApp meets Amazon” for web3
  4. Crypto exchange Bitget invests $30 million in multichain wallet Bitkeep
  5. DAO-Managed Tomi Raises $40 Million for Its “Alternative Internet”

This list was compiled using information from Messari and TechCrunch’s own reporting.





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