Tragedy struck in Turkey and Syria at the beginning of this week when two consecutive earthquakes sent shockwaves across hundreds of miles, with over 12,000 deaths recorded. However, the crypto community has demonstrated its collective humanitarian efforts to provide relief for victims in the affected region.
Crypto asset donations towards victims of the devastating earthquakes have surpassed $9 million with pledges from notable firms like Binance, OKX, and Kucoin.
Recall that in February 2022, in what was described as “the world’s first crypto war,” the crypto community, involving prominent figures like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sent millions in donations to support the Ukraine Government and NGOs operating in the area after Russia invaded the nation.
These efforts are laudable and will continue to preach to believers and critics the liberating and revolutionary message of blockchain technology.
Here are major crypto stories from around the world this week
Tether reports gains
On Thursday, Tether Holdings Limited, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin $USDT, reported a $700 million profit in the fourth quarter. Tether ended the year with zero commercial paper and at least $67 billion in consolidated total assets and excess reserves of at least $960 million.
Additionally, it reduced its secured loans as promised before the end of the year and continues to work on reducing secured loans throughout 2023.
CTO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino, said on Twitter that the company had demonstrated a superior approach to risk management which has helped the stablecoin issuer maintain its leadership while consolidating profits.
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Do Kwon search intensifies
The hunt for the defunct Terra founder, Do Kwon, intensified this week with South Korean officials reportedly confirming they sent at least two people to Serbia to track him down.
According to a report from Bloomberg on Tuesday, the prosecutor’s office in Seoul said the reports “aren’t false” regarding members of its team going to Serbia to find Kwon. In December, South Korean-based publication Chosun Media reported that a state intelligence official informed them that Kwon had based himself in Serbia.
Kwon has been accused of being on the run since September 24, when South Korean prosecutors issued an arrest warrant against him, an accusation that he denied in October. The 31-year-old troubled entrepreneur has also been accused of breaching capital markets laws.
Crypto donations to Turkey
The digital asset community has shown solidarity by donating several virtual assets to bolster rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria. At the forefront of the community’s response are Binance, Tether, Bitfinex, OKX, and Kucoin, who have so far pledged a total of $9 million in aid to the victims of the massive earthquakes.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, also announced an airdrop worth $5 million for users in the region.
“The recent earthquakes in Turkey have had a devastating impact on so many people and communities. We hope that our efforts will bring some relief to those affected. We are also calling on our industry peers to once again come together to offer support in these times of crisis,” Zhao stated in a press release.
Avalanche has joined the fundraising campaign by announcing a donation of $1 million worth of AVAX to relief efforts in both countries:
“Turkey is close to the heart of the Avalanche Foundation and community, and the funds will help people recover faster in the wake of this tragedy. It is time to come together and shows that crypto is a force for good and a sign of hope for all of us who are hurting.”
FTX debtors want returns from politicians
As part of attempts to recover settlement funds for many aggrieved creditors, FTX is reaching out to United States politicians who may have financially benefited from Sam Bankman-Fried’s generosity to return the money.
A release reveals that $93 million doled out between March 2020 to November 2022 have been targeted for recoupment. The exchange has now provided an official directory for lawmakers seeking the right channel to return the donations.
Recall that since the exit of Sam Bankman-Fried, the exchange has continued down the narrow path of recovery with John Ray III as its CEO. The idea is to gather all possible recoups and generate enough funds to make a financial settlement pool for small claims. Ray had also hinted at restarting the exchange as soon as the dust settled.
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Cow Swap exploited
CoW Swap, a decentralised exchange (DEX), was exploited on Tuesday, and the attacker has siphoned over $180,000 in funds. According to a PeckShield report on the incident, at least $123,000 in DAI, $50,000 in BNB, and $7,400 in ETH were moved using two wallets.
“The attacker seems to have used CoWSwap’s GPv2Settlement contract and was tricked ten days ago into approving SwapGuard for DAI spending. This was followed by using triggering SwapGuard to transfer out DAI from GPv2Settlement. The SwapGuard function reportedly allows anyone to make arbitrary function calls. The current sum that is exploited exceeds $180,000.”
This incident marks yet another attack on the DeFi space. Recall that the market saw billions stolen in 2022.
Here is all from us this week. See you same time next week!
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