Binance Updates Briefing.

Binance reportedly moved $3.9 billion worth of Tether, and CZ should remain in the country until his sentencing.

November 23, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Hello, and welcome to De.Nomics newsletter, your daily digest to stay ahead in the world of Web3 and decentralized technologies at a regional focus. Today, we have plenty of trending news and stories. So, get your cup of tea and some biscuits, and let’s go ahead.
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The Blends Briefs
TL’DR: Here’s a sneak peek into today’s newsletter

  • Binance Updates Briefing.

  • KyberSwap DEX Exploited for $46 million.

  • Singapore’s Game Studio Matr1x Fire Raises $10 Million for NFT Mobile Shooter.

  • South Korea to Pilot CBDC With 100K Citizens in 2024.

Global Biscuits

Binance Updates Briefing.
Binance reportedly moved $3.9 billion worth of Tether (USDT) from one cold wallet to another on November 9, just days before the exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The move raises questions about the purpose of the transfer and whether it is related to the settlement. The funds were moved from one Binance cold wallet (Binance-Cold 2) to another (Binance 3), with most of the funds in USDT. The timing and amount of the transfer have led to speculation about its connection to the settlement, but Binance has not provided clarification.

The U.S. prosecutors have argued that CZ should remain in the country until his sentencing, citing a "substantial risk of flight." CZ is currently barred from being an executive with Binance for at least three years after the exchange appoints an independent monitor. Prosecutors believe that Zhao, a UAE citizen with substantial wealth outside the U.S., poses a flight risk and should not be allowed to return to the UAE before his sentencing on February 23, 2024.

KyberSwap DEX Exploited for $46 million.
KyberSwap, a decentralized exchange aggregator, has reportedly experienced a security incident, leading to an exploit that resulted in the theft of around $46 million in various crypto assets. The funds were taken from KyberSwap Elastic across multiple blockchains, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and Base. The attacker left an on-chain message indicating the intention to start negotiations with protocol developers and DAO members. KyberSwap's total value locked (TVL) plummeted by 68%, and its TVL currently stands at $27 million. The incident has led to a temporary dip in the price of the Kyber Network Crystal (KNC) token.

Tastes of the regions

Singapore’s Game Studio Matr1x Fire Raises $10 Million for NFT Mobile Shooter.
Matr1x, an NFT gaming company based in Singapore, has raised $10 million in funding for its mobile gaming projects. The funding round was led by Folius Ventures, with SevenX as a co-lead investor. Other investors included ABCDE Capital, Jambo, Initiate Capital, and Find Satoshi Lab. Matr1x has now raised a total of $20 million in VC funding. The studio's flagship product, Matr1x Fire, is a first-person shooter game for mobile devices, and the company has also released two NFT collections. The latest funding will support the development of Matr1x Fire and other mobile gaming projects.

South Korea to Pilot CBDC With 100K Citizens in 2024.
South Korea is set to launch a pilot program for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) involving 100,000 citizens in the first quarter of 2024. The pilot program will be conducted jointly by the Bank of Korea (BOK) and financial regulators, including the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). Approximately 0.2% of the country's population will be able to use CBDC tokens issued by commercial banks to purchase goods. The pilot aims to address issues with existing government-issued grant systems, such as high transaction fees, slow settlement, and fraud concerns. China has been leading in the development of its digital yuan, while South Korea is among the first to explore CBDCs.

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