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Daily News Summary 10/10

October 10, 2024 Tóth Balázs
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Sale of Seized PlusToken Ponzi Assets Begins

Crypto assets seized from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme, which operated in 2018-2019, have recently been sold, with around 7,000 ETH liquidated in recent days. The pyramid scheme defrauded approximately 2.6 million people, leading to the confiscation of BTC, ETH, and seven other cryptocurrencies worth around $14 billion through police raids. According to official documents, the seized assets were handed over to Beijing Zhifan Technology Co. to be sold and converted to fiat for compensation purposes.

Optimism’s 5th Airdrop

Layer 2 protocol Optimism has launched its fifth airdrop, distributing 10.3 million OP tokens, valued at $16 million, to 54,700 user addresses. This airdrop specifically rewarded users who interacted with the ecosystem of Superchain and OP Stack-developed blockchains and were active between March 15 and September 15, 2024.

FBI Launches Its Own Token

The Boston federal prosecutor has filed charges against four crypto firms—Gotbit, ZM Quant, CLS Global, and MyTrade—for market manipulation and wash trading schemes that defrauded clients. The indictment implicates 14 executives and employees who engaged in classic pump-and-dump tactics by bribing market makers. The FBI, which was involved in the investigation, created its own token, NexFundAI, to more effectively uncover these fraudulent activities.

Stripe Re-enables USDC Payments

After six years, payment processing giant Stripe has re-enabled crypto payments for U.S. businesses. Companies can now accept USDC payments on the Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon blockchains. This integration is compatible with checkout, payment intent features, and soon with Stripe’s subscription function as well.

Puffer Finance Unveils Tokenomics

Liquid Restaking platform and rollup solution Puffer Finance has announced the release of its new governance token, along with details on the upcoming airdrop claim process. Puffer is offering a total of 1 billion tokens, with an initial supply of 102.3 million. In the ongoing second-round airdrop, 5.5% of the tokens are being distributed.

SEC Sues Cumberland

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues its crackdown on unregistered securities trading. Its latest target is Cumberland DRW LLC, accused of engaging in illegal trading activities with tokens like MATIC, SOL, ATOM, ALGO, and FIL.

Uniswap Launches Unichain Testnet

Uniswap Labs has announced the launch of the testnet for its new layer-2 network, Unichain. Built on the Optimism OP Stack—used by networks like Base and Sony’s layer-2 network Soneium—Unichain is expected to enable faster, cheaper transactions with significantly increased liquidity. Unichain will be part of the broader Superchain ecosystem.

Ethena Makes Strategic Investments

The Ethena DeFi protocol has announced a $46 million investment from its reserve fund into various tokenized funds, including BlackRock’s BUIDL and Sky’s USDS stablecoin. The allocation includes approximately $18 million in BUIDL, $13 million in USDS, $8 million in USDM, and $7 million in USTB, aiming to generate yield from the protocol’s revenue.
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