Unregulated crypto exchanges will continue to fall like dominoes post-FTX, with plenty more “meltdowns” to come, warns Shark Tank star and investor Kevin O’Leary. O’Leary, a former spokesperson and proponent for the now-bankrupt FTX exchange, told Kitco anchor David Lin in a Jan. 17 interview that the collapse was just one in a long line of “unregulated exchanges” likely to fail: “If you’re asking me if there’s going to be another meltdown to zero? Absolutely. 100% it’ll happen, and it’ll keep happening over, and over and over again.” Unregulated exchanges are those that aren't subject to regular auditing, aren’t registered …

Despite a wave of heavy crypto layoffs to start the new year, employees in technical and engineering roles, as well as senior management, will likely continue to see “strong demand” for their skills, recruitment professionals believe. It’s been a tough first few weeks of 2023 for crypto businesses and their staff. Within just two weeks, the market has already seen more than 1,600 crypto-related job cuts as a result of continued market volatility and uncertainty. However, not all departments have seen the same level of cuts. SAFU: Senior-level tech and engineering Rob Paone, founder and CEO of crypto recruitment firm …

The debtors behind FTX have identified $5.5 billion in liquid assets but reported a “substantial shortfall of digital assets” at the bankrupt crypto exchange and its U.S. arm. In a Jan. 17 announcement, FTX said it had identified $1.7 billion in cash, $3.5 billion in crypto assets and $0.3 billion in securities following the firm filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November. The debtors added that they had identified roughly $1.6 billion in digital assets associated with FTX.com — including roughly $426 million being held by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas — and $181 million connected to FTX US. …

In a wide-ranging discussion, a panel of blockchain industry personalities at the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded that the economy will become increasingly tokenized in the future. Carbon credits, housing, electricity, government bonds, forex, and other real-world assets will be traded on the blockchain, according to the panel. The event, titled Tokenized Economies, Coming Alive, featured Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, Bitkub Capital CEO Jirayut Srupsrisopa (also known as “Topp”), Finland Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harraka, and Yield Guild Games Co-Founder Beryl Li. According to Topp, the Thai central bank will be implementing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) …

Masa Finance has launched the first soulbound identity protocol for the Ethereum mainnet, according to a Jan. 17 press release shared with Cointelegraph. The protocol will allow for standardized soulbound tokens to be minted on Ethereum for Know Your Customer verification, credit scores and other use cases. Soulbound tokens are tokens that cannot be transferred from one wallet to another. The concept was popularized via a blog post from Vitalik Buterin, who argued that these tokens could be used to signify governance rights for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols or to prove that a person has attended an event. Speaking to …

Despite the ongoing crypto winter, which has affected many businesses in the greater Web3 space, investments continue pouring into the space. On Jan. 17, the Hong Kong-based global asset manager HashKey Capital announced the closing of a $500 million investment round for its FinTech Investment Fund III. According to the company, Fund III will be used to invest in infrastructures, toolings and applications that will help push mass adoption of blockchain and crypto technologies. Speaking with Cointelegraph, Xiao Xiao, an investment director at HashKey Capital, said the synergies in the Web3 space are a key factor to what keeps investors …

In a candid interview with Cointelegraph at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Anthony Scaramucci, cofounder of SkyBridge Capital, lambasted Sam Bankman-Fried and shed light on his crypto portfolio. Scaramucci trusted the former CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) of FTX, which imploded in late 2021. Scaramucci said in a panel preceding the interview that the “Ninth circle of hell” is reserved for SBF. He added further color to the comments in discussion with Cointelegraph: “I actually thought he was the Mark Zuckerberg of crypto. I didn't realize he was the Bernie Madoff. And that's something I have to own. And so …

Silvergate Bank, which currently faces a class-action lawsuit over its FTX and Alameda dealings, has announced a $1 billion net loss attributable to common shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2022. In a report published by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the digital asset bank highlighted that it saw significant outflows of deposits in the last quarter of 2022 and made actions to maintain cash liquidity, including wholesale funding and selling debt securities. The company also pointed out that there's a "transformational shift" within the digital asset space and noted that a crisis of confidence throughout the …

Embattled crypto lending platform Vauld one more time gets the period of creditor protection from a Singapore court. The company should come up with a revival plan before Feb. 28. As reported by Bloomberg on Jan. 17, Vauld has been granted more than a month to close its negotiations with one of two digital-asset fund managers to take over the executive control of the tokens stuck on its platform. Apparently, the Singapore high court was satisfied by the company’s claim that the negotiations have entered to the “advanced stage.” In July 2022 the platform halted the withdrawals for its 800,000 …

SkyBridge Capital managing partner Anthony Scaramucci has opened up about the “betrayal” he felt over the actions of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who he said he once considered a “friend.” Speaking at Casper Lab’s Blockchain Hub event in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16, Scaramucci emphasized that in the aftermath of the FTX debacle, he felt “betrayed” by Bankman-Fried given that he had a close friendship with both him and his family. “I have to tell you that the betrayal and the fraud, its bad on a lot of different levels, it certainly hurt me reputationally, but i’m just talking about …

Mike McGlone, Bloomberg's senior commodity strategist believes Bitcoin (BTC) could be developing a "bottom" in the same way it did prior to 2019's bull run but said there is a major difference this time around. During a Jan. 16 interview with crypto podcaster Scott Melker, McGlone argued unlike in 2018 when financial institutions such as the Federal Reserve were easing interest rates, this time they’re still tightening along with "every central bank." "Back then the Fed already started easing and we held the bottom and broke out higher and then we had that issue in 2019," he said. "Right now …

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), and decentralized finance (DeFi) are redefining how charities raise donations and distribute funds to those most in need. Through ever-evolving crypto and blockchain-related technology, crypto philanthropists told Cointelegraph that they've witnessed “new wealth distribution mechanisms" never seen before. “Philanthropy has traditionally been seen as a high-cost-of-entry, individualistic activity but with web3, collective decision-making bodies like DAOs can use tools that streamline financial coordination and encourage more participation,” explained Omar Antila, Product Lead at Crypto for Charity. “Crypto enables new innovative fundraising strategies, like charitable NFT-drop campaigns, or allowing people to pool their crypto …