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Dallas Mavericks Owner And Dogecoin Supporter Mark Cuban Comes Under Fire For Previously Promoting Embattled Voyager

Mark Brennan
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Dallas Mavericks Owner And Dogecoin Supporter Mark Cuban Comes Under Fire For Previously Promoting Embattled Voyager

 

Mavericks fans call out Cuban as their assets get tied up in the Voyager debacle.


 

Fans of the Dallas Mavericks hurt by the insolvency concerns around crypto lender Voyager are making their displeasure against billionaire Mark Cuban who promoted the platform to them known, as the New York Post reported.

“Shame on Mark for partnering with them,” a fan is quoted as saying on Reddit, even as another quipped, “Thank you Mr. Cuban. Getting your fans to trust unstable exchanges. Brilliant.”

It is worth noting that the Mavericks inked a 5-year partnership deal with Voyager in October last year, offering fans a $100 reward for trading on the platform. In a press conference with Voyager chief Steve Ehrlich, responding to a question about what a newbie should know before getting into crypto, Cuban reportedly said:

“Yeah, you’re spending your money, so always be careful,” adding, “But the other thing, look, there are investments, things like Shiba Inu and Dogecoin, those aren’t investments. But Voyager … this is a good way to learn and it’s something you can do on your smartphone. You can start getting into this and saving your money and that’s just a unique opportunity.”

However, things have not gone as Cuban, and the Maverick fans hoped. Several crypto lending platforms, including Voyager, have buckled under pressure this year as the value of cryptocurrencies continues to plummet in the face of inflation concerns that have led central banks to raise rates, a situation worsened in May with the collapse of the Terra ecosystem.

Voyager, as reported by The Crypto Basic, due to insolvency concerns, halted activity on its platform and has since filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York on Wednesday. It is worth noting that the core of a Chapter 11 filing is to allow an embattled firm to reorganize to pay its debts over time. It is worth noting that at the time of writing, it remains unclear how Voyager plans to do this and how long it would take.

According to the filings, Voyager’s biggest debtors include embattled Three Arrows Capital, which they have already served a default notice, Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research, in a surprising turn of events, and Galaxy Digital amongst others.

voyager debts

Image source: Twitter

SEC Wants To Exclude 10 of Ripple’s Expert Testimony Retained by Ripple, Larsen or Bradley Garlinghouse

Mark Brennan
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SEC Wants To Exclude 10 of Ripple’s Expert Testimony Retained by Ripple, Larsen or Bradley Garlinghouse

SEC Requests to File One Large Motion of 120 Pages to Exclude 10 of Ripple’s Expert Testimony.


The SEC is requesting to file an omnibus motion that will limit or exclude 10 of Ripple’s expert testimony.

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has requested permission to file one large motion of up to 120 pages long, which will result in the limitation or exclusion of some experts’ testimony retained by Ripple in the ongoing lawsuit.

According to a recently filed letter, the SEC intends to limit or exclude the testimony of 10 experts initially retained by the Defendants, Ripple, Brad Garlinghouse, and Chris Larsen.

The agency noted that the 10 experts had already submitted numerous reports on different subject matters regarding the lawsuit. Notably, the reports submitted by these experts total more than 500 pages, with the exclusion of exhibits.

“To conserve judicial and SEC resources, the SEC proposes to file one omnibus motion, which combines what would otherwise be 10 separate motions against Defendants’ experts into one single brief,” the Securities and Exchange Commission noted.

The SEC asserted that the proposed 120-page limit motion is below the total number of combined pages that would have been filed to all the experts if the SEC complies with the order of a 15-page limit per expert.

Interestingly, the SEC stated that Ripple and Individual Defendants – Larsen and Garlinghouse – are not against the request to file the omnibus motion. However, Defendant’s request that it also be granted the same page limit for their response is in opposition to the SEC’s motion.

“For these reasons, the SEC requests that the court grant this motion. The SEC has submitted as Exhibit A hereto a proposed order reflecting this request,” the agency concluded.

Meanwhile, attorney James K. Filan, who shared the development on Twitter today, said the exhibit was not attached to the letter noted by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

@freddyriz while commenting on the matter said: “This is highly routine and ordinary in high-stakes litigation. Ripple will be moving to strike all of the SEC’s experts as well. Now you know why Ripple just staffed up with 2 more attorneys.”

Ripple and SEC Fight Over Amici’s Participation in Expert Challenge

The expert challenges is expected to commence very soon. Recall that both Ripple and the SEC have been in an argument over the testimony of one of the agency’s experts.

The issue pertains to a request filed by attorney John Deaton to represent over 67,000 XRP holders in the upcoming expert challenge involving one of SEC’s experts.

Interestingly, the SEC objected to the request filed by attorney Deaton, who was granted amici status earlier in the lawsuit. The SEC has requested that it file its opposition to the request under seal, claiming that if its opposition is made public, it would expose the expert in question to harassment and threats.

Ripple, on the other hand, requested that the SEC redact the portions of its opposition that may pose a threat to the expert, and publicize the other parts.

Cardano Detractor Gets Thrashing By Charles Hoskinson For Spreading False Claims About Vasil Hard fork

Albert Brown
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Cardano Detractor Gets Thrashing By Charles Hoskinson For Spreading False Claims About Vasil Hard fork

 

Cardano officials take turns to educate a Twitter troll about the new Vassil upgrade.


 

The Cardano network recently underwent the latest and long-awaited upgrade that came as a hard fork. It’s called the Vassil upgrade. Vassil is among several hard forks the network has gone through over the last few years. The upgrade, named in honor of long-standing Cardano member Vasil St Dabov, is expected to enhance the network’s performance, especially with smart contract functionality and scaling, as well as other features. The fork has successfully been launched on testnet.

However, there seems to have been a misconception of the real workings of the new upgrade. As is always the case, internet trolls don’t take the time to fact-check rumors. One such troll made a false claim about the new Cardano upgrade. He soon got educated about it.

What He Said

According to the Thorchain.bull, all dApps running on the Plutus version will not be compatible with the new Vassil upgrade. He claimed that all current smart contracts would have to be re-written to fit the new system. Interestingly, the Twitter handle of the poster suggests that he is a THOR CHAIN supporter. Thor is a blockchain network that may be trying to compete with Cardano.

“Most Cardano smart contracts an incompatible with the new update Vasil and will have to be re-written. Can’t make this sh.t up.”

 

Hoskinson Blasts Back

Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson weighed the matter and informed ThorChain about something he might have missed. According to Charles, the new upgrade comes with the HFC (Hard Fork Combinator) that lets the dApps running on any version of Plutus function seamlessly with the Vassil upgrade after the installation of the HFC.

The CEO wasn’t happy about the misinformation that usually spreads on social media with no facts to back it up. He said that after the HFC event all contracts will function seamlessly with the new upgrade.

“The entire reason we built the HFC and Plutus versioning is to ensure this doesn’t happen. It’s incredible to see the FUD and stupidity from Twitter trolls, but that’s life. After the HFC event, all contracts will still function.”

 

Tim Harrison Joins In

Charles Hoskinson wasn’t the only official to feel the need to clear the air about the Vassil upgrade. Tim Harrison, who is affiliated with Cardano’s IOHK, said that both Plutus Versions 1 and 2 will play a part in an expanded and pipelined network and that developers should take advantage of it.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele Join Trolls, Mocks Bitcoin Critic Peter Schiff Over Bank Closure

Mark Brennan
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El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele Join Trolls, Mocks Bitcoin Critic Peter Schiff Over Bank Closure

 

Bukele teases Schiff over bank closure.



President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has joined the rest of crypto Twitter to tease gold supporter and Bitcoin detractor Peter Schiff over the closure of his bank in a tweet on Wednesday.

Responding to a January tweet from Schiff, where the Bitcoin critic mocked MicroStrategy’s Michael Saylor and Nayib Bukele over the lackluster performance of Bitcoin, Bukele on Wednesday tweeted:

“How’s your bank going?”

 

Schiff has remained a vocal detractor of the leading digital asset by market cap, often calling it a pyramid scheme and taking every opportunity to mock and call out its supporters. “When are you going to stop throwing taxpayer’s money away helping whales unload their Bitcoin? The dips won’t stop, so if you don’t stop buying, El Salvador won’t stop losing,” tweeted the gold bug in May, responding to El Salvador buying the dip once again. 

And last November, in a direct shot at Bukele, he tweeted, “Do they have impeachment in El Salvador?”

Peter Schiff also Blasted MicroStrategy’s Latest Bitcoin Purchase, Saying BTC More Downside Would Make Saylor Waste More Money.

The economist had revealed the closure of his bank in a tweet on Sunday. According to Schiff, the bank in Puerto Rico had been closed for failing to meet the minimum required net capital. However, Schiff lamented the closure, saying regulators were blocking a deal he had lined up to sell the bank to a buyer willing to provide the required capital over old investigations surrounding his banks for tax evasion and money laundering.

According to Schiff, regulators have locked up customer accounts, and he fears they may lose their funds. While Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions says the bank is currently operating on negative capital and, as such insolvent, Schiff has denied these claims saying the bank has enough to cover its deposits.

However, Schiff’s complaints of being targeted by the government have attracted the mockery of crypto Twitter, who have not missed the chance to point out how Bitcoin is resistant to all of these. “Perhaps a non-sovereign, hard-capped supply, global, immutable, decentralized, digital store of value would have been better. Good luck nonetheless, Peter,” tweeted BNB Chain.

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Now Accepts Dogecoin (DOGE) Payments For Loop Rides 

Lele Jima
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Elon Musk’s Boring Company Now Accepts Dogecoin (DOGE) Payments For Loop Rides 

The Boring Company’s users can now make payments for rides on its Las Vegas transit system Loop, using meme-based cryptocurrency Dogecoin (DOGE). 



According to a CNN report today, the new payment solution was launched on Friday at the event of the opening of a new Loop station outside the city of Las Vegas. 

Loop Services

The Boring Company’s Loop is a public transport system that conveys passengers in Tesla vehicles to their destination with no intermediate stops. 

These Tesla vehicles are driven at 35 mph, which is way lower than Elon Musk’s fast cars that move at 150 mph. However, Musk, the founder of The Boring Company, is planning to enhance the speed of the vehicles the infrastructure firm uses. 

Loop Payment Offering

Loop rides are free, but plans are being made to request payment from passengers soon. When payment for Loop rides eventually commences, passengers will be charged $1.50 for single rides, while day passes can be obtained at $2.50. 

Making payments for the transport service is easy. Passengers can purchase tickets for rides by scanning a QR on the wall at the new Resorts World station. 

People can choose to make payments using the biggest memecoin or pay for rides using their credit cards. 

Musk Fostering Dogecoin Adoption

Notably, the initiative is part of efforts by the Tesla exec to support Dogecoin’s mainstream adoption. Musk has continued to support Dogecoin across his businesses, including Tesla and SpaceX. 

The tech mogul, who recently got approval to purchase Twitter, announced that DOGE enthusiasts can now purchase merchandise from SpaceX. 

Musk’s support of DOGE was instrumental in pushing the cryptocurrency, which launched as a joke in 2013, to prominence, following a series of tweets in 2020. 

However, Musk’s support of DOGE earned him a $258 billion lawsuit from an aggrieved Dogecoin investor, who claimed the tech mogul was involved in the promotion of Dogecoin he referred to as a pyramid scheme.   

Musk responded in a recent report that he had never told anyone to purchase DOGE. 

DOGE Soars 2.6%

News of The Boring Company’s support of DOGE had a slight impact on the value of the cryptocurrency. Dogecoin is up 2.6% in the last 24 hours, as the cryptocurrency changes hands around $0.068, according to data on Coingecko.  

Breaking: Court Denies Ripple Move to Add Two Attorneys to Its Legal Team in the SEC Lawsuit

Mark Brennan
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Breaking: Court Denies Ripple Move to Add Two Attorneys to Its Legal Team in the SEC Lawsuit

The court has denied Ripple’s efforts to add two new attorneys from Kellogg Hansen. 


The court denied a recent effort by Ripple to add two attorneys to its legal team in the ongoing lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The motion to admit the two attorneys from Kellogg Hansen, Kylie Kim, and Clayton Masterman, was denied because the duo did not comply with local rules.

Attorney James K. Filan, a former federal U.S. prosecutor who has consistently shared updates about the Ripple v. SEC lawsuit, disclosed on Twitter today that the attorneys’ affidavits were not notarized. .

“Motions for Admission denied for failure to comply with the local rules. [The] affidavits were not notarized,” attorney Filan said.

News of Ripple adding Kim and Masterman to its legal team in the ongoing lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission was widely published yesterday.

However, analysts opined that both attorneys may not be allowed to join the Defense counsel team because onboarding them may prolong the legal proceeding beyond expectations.

As reported, the lawsuit is expected to be completed on or before March 31, 2023. The Ripple community is eager to see the end of the case because of the damage the lawsuit has done to the value of their XRP holdings since December 2020.

Do Kwon Trouble Deepens As U.S. and South Korean Authorities to Jointly Investigate Terra Ecosystem Tokens’ Collapse

Lele Jima
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0
Do Kwon Trouble Deepens As U.S. and South Korean Authorities to Jointly Investigate Terra Ecosystem Tokens’ Collapse

Both countries have agreed to share relevant information about all ongoing investigations, including the Terra incident. 



South Korean Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon recently met with United States financial regulators in New York in a bid for both countries to collaborate and investigate cryptocurrency-related crimes. 

Local news outlet Yonhap News Agency noted in a report that the meeting, which took place on Tuesday this week, was attended by Dong-hoon, Scott Hartman, chief of the Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force, and Andrea M. Griswold, co-chief of the Securities and Commodities Task Force. 

Terra Incident Tops the List of Crypto Crimes

Both U.S. officials are from the Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The main agenda of the meeting was centered around strengthening the relationship between authorities in Korea and the United States which would lead to the exchange of essential information in the fight against financial crimes in the crypto space. 

The authorities reached an agreement to exchange data related to their latest investigations, including information about the collapse of the Terra ecosystem. 

Massive Investigations Trail Terra’s Collapse

TerraForm Labs, the company behind the Terra cryptocurrency project, has been under the watchful eye of relevant authorities since May. 

Recall that Terra’s flagship algorithmic stablecoin, UST, lost its peg to the dollar in early May, which also led to the collapse of its sister token LUNA. 

After the Terra collapse incident, financial authorities launched a series of investigations to unravel the actual cause of the issue. 

The development prompted South Korea to rebirth a special crime unit to lead the investigation. 

It is worth noting that South Korea is focused on investigating fraud charges surrounding the Terra project that contributed to the massive crash of UST and LUNA. 

On the other hand, authorities from the United States, specifically from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are investigating whether Terra breached U.S. securities law via the marketing of TerraUSD and LUNA before the tokens collapse. 

So far, several reports have emerged indicting Do Kwon, the founder of Terra and the company’s top executives, for being the major cause of Terra’s collapse. 

However, Kwon has denied all reports, claiming they are part of efforts by the media to cause further damage to TFL’s reputation. 

Surprisingly The world-famous Hacking group  ‘Anonymous’ also Vowed to Expose Terra’s Do Kwon’s Shady Dealings.

 

Wyre Integrates Moneygram and Stellar Powered Global Crypto-to-Cash Service

Mark Brennan
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Wyre Integrates Moneygram and Stellar Powered Global Crypto-to-Cash Service

Wyre can now provide their users the ability to seamlessly transition between cash and crypto.



Wyre, a leading cryptocurrency infrastructure provider, announced today that it would integrate with the first-of-its-kind global on/off-ramp service for digital wallets launched on the Stellar network last month by MoneyGram, a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments. The service is being offered on the Stellar network.

The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and expansion of Stellar, provided funding for establishing this service. This service is a huge step in bridging the gap between fiat and digital currencies on a massive scale.

Wyre’s new integration now allows its partners to construct various fintech applications and platforms to enable consumers to convert between cash and cryptocurrencies effortlessly.

Wyre can now give its over 15 million end-users the potential to either use fiat currency to load digital currencies into their digital wallets to access the digital economy or cash out their digital currencies to improve the value of their holdings. 

This feature is made possible by the Stellar blockchain, an open-source, public blockchain that enables money to be tokenized and moved internationally. MoneyGram’s global retail partner network also plays a role in making this capability possible.

Where authorized by law, MoneyGram has now extended the service’s cash-out capabilities internationally, enabling businesses using Wyre to provide their consumers the ability to convert digital assets into local currency from almost anywhere in the globe. For the first 12 months, MoneyGram is also providing this as a no-fee service, meaning there is presently no direct cost to the end-user.

‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Predicts Bitcoin Profits In Three to Five Years

Mark Brennan
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‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Predicts Bitcoin Profits In Three to Five Years

 

According to Wolf of Wall Street, profits from Bitcoin might be realized in three to five years.



The illustrious stockbroker Jordan Belfort, whose biography served as the basis for the critically acclaimed film “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which was released in 2013, has remarked that he would be surprised if an investment in Bitcoin would not prove lucrative within the next three to five years.

When considering an investment in Bitcoin, the prominent consultant and sales coach who was once convicted of committing financial crimes advised investors to focus on the long term rather than a shorter time frame of 12 or 24 months.

Because this kind of asset has a strong possibility of increasing in value during this time period, Jordan Belfort, who is now an author and public speaker, advises investors in Bitcoin to hold on to their holdings for at least 36 months. He makes this recommendation in order to emphasize the significance of this point.

Jordan Belfort has not always been sympathetic to the predicament of bitcoin, which is now the most popular cryptocurrency in the world. In 2018, he said that Bitcoin is based on the Great Fools Theory and that investors should leave its system to save themselves from losing all of their money. He also suggested that Bitcoin should be banned.

According to statistics provided by CoinGecko, Belfort’s remarks come at a time when Bitcoin prices have dropped by more than 55 percent year-to-date to a level lower than 20,000 United States Dollars.

It has a limited supply, and as inflation keeps going and going, there will come a time when Bitcoin will start to trade more like a store of value and less like a growth stock, according to Belfort, who now believes that the underlying fundamentals of Bitcoin are strong.

Binance CEO Meets President Of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) For Crypto Adoption In The Country

Mark Brennan
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Binance CEO Meets President Of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) For Crypto Adoption In The Country

 

Blockchain adoption is growing in Africa and Binance is fueling the change.



For a long time, technology has been mostly adopted massively in Europe and the Americas before China joined in. Africa has lagged behind. Now, with blockchain technology and access to smartphones, Africa can join the club and get her people banked. One person at the forefront of this change is Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao.

Just recently, countries like El Salvador and Kazakhstan adopted blockchain and crypto technologies.

Blockchain To Bank The Unbanked

A huge number of the population in Africa is unbanked. This is majorly due to the many hustles involved in using traditional banking systems and the lack of access to proper technology. It is estimated that Binance will impact the lives of between 10-20% of the African population. That’s a lot of people in a continent with over a billion people. CZ said this himself. With blockchain, people can transact from anywhere. This is why Binance’s CEO went to meet the President of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

According To Wikipedia “Côte d’Ivoire is a West African country with beach resorts, rainforests and a French-colonial legacy. Abidjan, on the Atlantic coast, is the country’s major urban center. Its modern landmarks include zigguratlike, concrete La Pyramide and St. Paul’s Cathedral, a swooping structure tethered to a massive cross. North of the central business district, Banco National Park is a rainforest preserve with hiking trails.”

The main agenda is to bring blockchain technology closer to the people of Côte d’Ivoire. Undoubtedly, other African countries will want a share of this global cake.

Binance And CZ Leading The Charge

CZ took to Twitter to let everyone know of the new development in fostering blockchain and crypto adoption in the African continent. Even the Ivorian side took their part in spreading the good news.

Binance CEO met with the President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to discuss the integration of crypto in the country.

CZ has been known as a pretty pro-tech champion in the industry. A few days ago, he encouraged people to purchase Bitcoin dips to reap in the future. Getting more people in the game is the first step to driving adoption that will eventually change the world’s financial setting. At this rate, it’s hard to refute the gains made over the past few years. With President Alassane OUATTARA already “Binanced” Côte d’Ivoire will now be part of this revolution.

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