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Top Cryptocurrency News of the Day - 8/10/2024

Writer's picture: PatriciaPatricia


Are you curious about the latest in the crypto world? Here’s a rundown of today’s key trends and events affecting Bitcoin prices, blockchain technology, DeFi, NFTs, Web3, and crypto regulations.


Ex-FTX Exec ‘Not Worried’ About Reporting to Prison on Oct. 11


Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, will report to a federal correctional institution on October 11th to begin serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence. Despite the gravity of his situation, Salame has been downplaying the severity of his legal predicament in various social media posts since his sentencing on May 28th, referring to his upcoming time in prison as an “exciting” adventure and likening it to a summer camp experience.



Salame’s legal team has requested that he serve his sentence at the United States Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Cumberland, a medium-security facility in Maryland, conveniently located near his home. This facility has housed other notable individuals, such as Jack Abramoff, a former DC lobbyist embroiled in one of the largest lobbying scandals in U.S. history. Abramoff served three and a half years at the institution before his release in 2010 after being convicted of fraud, tax evasion, and conspiracy to bribe public officials.


Salame, one of the FTX executives implicated in criminal charges following the exchange's collapse, pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defrauding the Federal Election Commission. He was the only defendant named alongside Sam Bankman-Fried in the indictment, although Bankman-Fried did not testify during the criminal proceedings against Salame.


Cat-Themed SHIB Rival Listed on Leading US Exchange


Kraken, a prominent cryptocurrency exchange, announced on Thursday its listing of the "Cat in a Dog’s World" (MEW) meme coin. Despite this development, the value of MEW has declined by over 15% within the past 24 hours, as reported by CoinGecko.



The Solana-based MEW token was introduced in March 2024 as a challenger to the dominance of canine-themed meme coins. However, like most meme-based cryptocurrencies, it lacks significant utility or specific use cases.


Currently, MEW stands as the worst-performing meme coin among those with a market capitalization exceeding $500 million.


It is worth noting that MEW is not the only cat-themed meme cryptocurrency experiencing a sharp decline. Popcat (POPCAT) and Mog Coin (MOG) have suffered losses of 12.1% over the same 24-hour period.


In contrast, Dogecoin (DOGE), the leading canine meme coin, has seen a decline of less than 5%, while Shiba Inu (SHIB), its primary competitor, has decreased by 5.5%. Notably, none of the major canine-themed meme coins have registered double-digit drops during this period.


Canine-themed coins have retained a dominant position over their feline-themed rivals.


Tradias Secures Funding, BaFin license, eyes European Expansion.


Tradias, the digital assets division of the German-licensed and regulated Bankhaus Scheich, has been granted a securities trading bank license by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). Additionally, the firm recently concluded a successful Series A funding round.


Tradias had previously operated under Bankhaus Scheich’s BaFin license.


In its license announcement, Tradias strongly hinted at future expansion plans. The CEO of Tradias, Michael Reinhard stated that the license would "open a new chapter of accelerated growth and solidify our position as a leading regulated player in the digital assets space."


Bankhaus Scheich established Tradias in 2020 as an over-the-counter trading platform for cryptocurrencies and security tokens. The platform is also a market maker, offering crypto loans and liquidity services.


While the company has not disclosed specific details regarding its funding round, it described the process as “successful” and noted that it maintains a “strong balance sheet.” In 2023, it was reported that Deutsche Bank’s asset management division, DWS Group, had expressed interest in investing in Tradias.


According to Bloomberg, the Series A funding primarily attracted investments from family offices and affluent private investors in German-speaking regions. This fresh capital is expected to increase the firm’s staff count from 90 to 100 employees by the end of the year.


Figment Capital leads $3 million seed round for Semantic Layer.


Semantic Layer, a developer of decentralized application (dApp) infrastructure, has secured $3 million in seed funding, marking the total capital raised by the firm to date.


Figment Capital led the funding round. It included participation from Hack VC, Robot Ventures, Bankless Ventures, Fenbushi Capital, Anagram, and Perridon Ventures, as stated in a release shared with The Block.


Semantic Layer aims to strengthen transaction execution infrastructure through its proprietary tools: Verifiable Aggregation Rules (VAR) and Verifiable Sequencing Rules (VSR). These tools are designed to provide dApps with enhanced control over transaction ordering and bundling across multiple blockchains.


Integrated into the company's application-specific sequencing (ASS) framework, VAR and VSR aim to minimize maximal extractable value (MEV) leakage and enable dApps to intercept malicious transactions using "circuit breakers."


Daniel Tong, co-founder of Semantic Layer, explained that the primary goal of this funding is to develop the core elements of the semantic layer and to increase market awareness of the ASS framework, including sponsoring research and hosting developer engagement events.


Polychain, Franklin Templeton back Bitlayer’s $9M Series A extension

Bitcoin layer-2 platform Bitlayer has expanded its Series A funding round, securing additional investment from previous backers Franklin Templeton Digital Assets and Polychain Capital.


According to an announcement on October 8, Bitlayer raised an additional $9 million, with participation from SCB Limited, RW3 Ventures, Selini Capital, and G-20 Group.



Bitlayer is known for its OpVM solution, a novel technology that integrates two distinct types of proofs, fraud proofs (BitVM) and validity proofs (using OP CAT) to create a comprehensive verification framework for Bitcoin’s base layer. This solution allows the network to validate a wide array of computations, enhancing the security and efficiency of protocols operating on the Bitcoin network.


Bitlayer’s mainnet, which launched in April 2024, generated nearly $900 million in fees in September alone, as reported by DefiLlama. Currently, the platform has a total value locked (TVL) of $380.7 million. The additional capital raised will be directed towards supporting the launch of Bitlayer v2.


The company has also received backing from prominent venture firms, including Framework Ventures, ABCDE, StarkWare, OKX Ventures, Alliance DAO, and UTXO Management. Earlier this year, Bitlayer secured $5 million in a seed round, followed by an $11 million Series A round in July. This latest extension brings its total funding to $25 million.

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