Tether launches another stablecoin, $100 million in crypto is stolen from the Harmony network, and Binance US begins a trade fee war. These stories and more this week in crypto.
Tether Launches British Pound Stablecoin
The world’s largest steelcoin issuer, Tether, has announced the launch of a new stablecoin pegged to the British pound sterling. The new token, with the ticker GBPT, will initially launch on the Ethereum blockchain. The announcement comes after Tether recently launched the Mexican peso-peg coin MXNT.
100 million dollars stolen in blockchain hack
Hackers have stolen $100 million worth of crypto from Horizon, a cross-chain bridge built by Harmony Network. The Harmony team has already released the identity of the individual believed to be responsible for the incident. The incident follows similar attacks on blockchain bridges, including the $600 million hack of the Ronin network earlier this year.
Is Binance US Starting a Trade Fee War?
Binance US has eliminated bitcoin transaction fees on its platform for customers using USD and USD stablecoins, making it the lowest-cost provider in the market. Experts in the industry say the move could trigger a backlash from Coinbase and spark a trade fee war between exchanges.
Solana is working on a crypto phone.
Blockchain company Solana Labs has revealed Saga, a powerful Android smartphone that will be released in early 2023, to continue its quest for crypto to go mobile. The company unveiled the Solana Mobile Stack (SMS) software kit, which provides tools for building Android mobile applications and games, as well as a decentralized app store.
BoE: Crypto will survive
John Cunliffe, deputy governor of the Bank of England, has suggested that the survivors of the crypto winter could be the tech companies of the future with competitors like Amazon. Cunliffe compared the recent collapse of the crypto market to the dotcom bubble at the turn of the millennium, saying the technology was there as many companies left.
Goldman Sachs to buy Celsius assets
Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs is seeking $2 billion in pledges from investors to buy distressed assets at a steep discount if troubled crypto lender Celsius goes bankrupt. The proposed deal would allow investors to buy Celsius’ assets, possibly at a steep discount to the cryptocurrency’s bankruptcy filing.
BlockFi secures $250 million in credit
Another struggling crypto lender, BlockFi, secured a $250 million credit line from crypto exchange FTX this week, providing access to capital that will further strengthen its balance sheet and platform. BlockFi CEO Zach Prince announced the payout a day after FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried said the exchange plans to bail out troubled crypto companies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has partnered with Binance.
Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a partnership with Binance to promote NFTs. As part of a multi-year agreement, the Portuguese football star will create a series of NFT sets for sale on the Binance platform. The first set will be released later this year to give fans the chance to own an iconic piece of sporting history.
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That’s what happened in crypto this week, see you next week.