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Crypto markets surged over the past seven days as some major stocks declined on bad earnings news. 

Bitcoin was trading at $20,608 today, up 7% over the past week, while ether gained 20% in the same period to trade at $1,595, according to data via Coinbase. 

Short liquidations between Tuesday and Wednesday reached $1.28 billion, according to The Block’s data dashboard. 

Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX accounted for around 80% of all liquidations as rising prices caught futures traders off guard. There was another $447 million in short liquidations on Saturday, with FTX accounting for over $340 million.

Throughout the week there was more than $2.2 billion in short and long liquidations. Short liquidations alone are approaching $2 billion. 

Meanwhile, altcoins also experienced high growth during the week. Cardano and Solana’s native coins both registered gains of more than 15%.

Dogecoin soared above $0.10 as Elon Musk finally completed his deal to purchase Twitter. The dog-themed memecoin is up more than 90% over the past seven days, while shiba inu and dogelon mars grew 22% and 64%, respectively. 

Earnings round-up

Meta’s earnings revealed a $3.7 billion hole in its balance sheet on Wednesday due to spending on its metaverse division, Reality Labs. Meta’s stock jumped to $140 after hours before settling at $105.02, a nearly 20% loss. 

Wednesday’s revelation means that Reality Labs has lost an eye-watering $9.4 billion this year. The social media giant closed the week at $99.20, down 22% for the week. 

WisdomTree met expectations with its earnings report on Friday while revealing a decline in its crypto holdings. The firm’s assets under management fell from $265 million to $178 million during the third quarter — down 56% year-to-date.

A raft of crypto-related earnings is coming down the pipeline next week. Coinshares is first up on Monday, posting earnings at 9 a.m. Eastern. 

MicroStrategy delivers its third-quarter results on Tuesday. New CEO Phong Le has been in charge of the software firm since August, having assumed the position from Michael Saylor during the last earnings period. Robinhood will share its earnings report on Wednesday, although the firm dropped earnings earlier than planned in January and August. 

Mastercard and Mercadolibre share earnings on Thursday. 

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Mark Zuckerberg may love the metaverse, but here’s one upcoming web3 game he may not be too happy about. The Rabbit Hole features characters that are “posed to defend Web3 from the corporate overlord, Metazuckbot.”

Metazuckbot runs the in-game ZuckCorp, where the thuggish but cute bunny protagonists from the My Pet Hooligan NFT collection were previously imprisoned and forced to mine Karrot. Now free, they roam the city alongside the villain’s former slaves, ZuckBots, which were also released as an NFT collection earlier this week.

The game is the product of indie animation technology company AMGI Studios, which has received funding from the likes of Yield Guild Games, Emfarsis, Delphi Digital and Bitkraft Ventures. Its 50-strong team includes developers with experience working on Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, as well as artists and animators from Pixar and Disney.

“We’re always exploring what makes us laugh and what we would like to see in a game. With the Zuckbot-related lore, it was mainly inspired from the fact that big corporations are mining our data and making the users the prey for them to profit off of. We were basically tapping into the ethos of what we see happening around us,” said COO and producer Luke Paglia.

The NFT launch came the same day as Meta’s dismal Q3 earnings announcement. Shares tanked following reports of a $9.4 billion loss for the year to date for Reality Labs, Meta’s metaverse department.

While Zuckerberg believes his investment in the metaverse will pay dividends in the long term, he’s having trouble convincing people — including at his own company. A poll of Meta employees in May found only 58% understood the company’s metaverse strategy.

Maybe Metazuckbot will have more metaverse success. The Rabbit Hole is slated for release in Q4 2022 or Q1 2023 on the Epic Games Store.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX, may cash in up to $100 million from Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter.

The exchange executive owned about $50 million to $100 million worth of stock in the social media giant before the acquisition completed on Thursday, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told The Block. Musk paid $44 billion to take Twitter private, which would put Bankman-Fried’s stake at around 0.1% to 0.2%.

FTX declined to comment to The Block and Twitter didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, completed his purchase of Twitter last week following months of wrangling. He made an immediate mark on the firm by firing CEO Parag Agrawal and other top executives — while tweeting a conciliatory message to advertisers that “Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world.” Twitter’s shares were suspended from trading on Friday, before being officially delisted on Nov. 8. 

Bankman-Fried had planned to be part of the Musk-Twitter deal but ended up not investing, the source said. Axios reported earlier this month that the FTX boss told Musk he was no longer interested after a phone call between the two. 

Billionaire meeting

SBF, as the crypto executive is known, had committed to putting up as much as $15 billion, according to a series of texts that became public last month as part of Twitter’s lawsuit to force Musk to complete the transaction.

Bankman-Fried’s advisor Will MacAskill had attempted to set up a meeting between the two billionaires in March, but Musk seemed to have doubted Bankman-Fried’s capability to invest in Twitter, per the series of texts. Musk had asked MacAskill whether Bankman-Fried had “huge amounts of money.” At the time, MacAskill had said that Bankman-Fried was worth about $24 billion and would be willing to contribute as much as $8 billion to $15 billion. Later in April, MacAskill discussed financing with Morgan Stanley banker Michael Grimes and Grimes told Musk that Bankman-Fried would be willing to commit up to $5 billion.

Musk still appeared less interested in the deal, saying he didn’t want to “have a laborious blockchain debate” with Bankman-Fried.

Meanwhile, FTX rival Binance is now a confirmed investor in Twitter. Binance had committed $500 million to invest in the social network alongside Musk’s buyout and ended up wiring that much amount last week, Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao tweeted on Friday. At the $44 billion price, Binance’s stake in Twitter comes to around 1.1%. 

As part of its investment, Binance aims to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together to broaden the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology, according to Zhao.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Hacktober is almost over. In what’s likely to be a record-breaking year for hacks, this month saw the worst of it, with BNB Chain, Mango Markets, Team Finance, UvToken and FriesDAO among those targeted. Here’s hoping for a quieter November.

Meanwhile, companies are continuing to announce their earnings for Q3, an important vote is scheduled for the Cosmos community on Monday and the first ever NFT.London will start on Thursday.

Earnings calls 

Meta reported more than $9 billion in losses relating to its metaverse division Reality Labs earlier this week, resulting in a sharp sell-off.  With overall expenses at the company rising at the social media business struggling, people have little patience for Mark Zuckerberg’s pet metaverse projects.

Laith Khalaf, head investment analysis at AJ Bell said “spouting on about the metaverse when in the here and now the social media business is struggling is about as palatable for the market as Jack banging on about magic beans to his mother when all she wants is to put food on the table.”

Let’s hope other firms get a better response to their reports. Several more crypto and crypto-curious companies are set to announce their Q3 earnings over the next week.  Microstrategy will hold its earnings call on Tuesday, followed by Robinhood on Wednesday. On Thursday, Block, Coinbase and Paypal are also expected to announce their results. 

Cosmos community vote

The delayed Oct. 24 Cosmos community vote on its new security model for the network’s central blockchain will take place on Monday.  Called The Hub, Cosmos developers have proposed some new functionalities including interchain security and some changes to Cosmos Hub’s native token, ATOM. 

NFT.London

NFT.London, the British spinoff of NFT.NYC, will kick off on Thursday. It’s the first time the event is coming to the UK and follows the New York edition earlier this year. Despite 15,000 attendees, conference goers noted a lack of interest in talks with lackluster attendance at sessions and little audience participation.

Nevertheless, expect plenty of NFT-themed weirdness including an NFT vending machine and a Bored and Hungry and McCains pop-up eatery collaboration. 

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Dogecoin was up 51.9% percent on Saturday afternoon, after billionaire and dogecoin fan Elon Musk finalized his Twitter takeover. 

Dogecoin was trading at $0.128303 on Saturday afternoon, according to CoinGecko. The memecoin’s value has surged over the last four days, when Musk’s long-awaited acquisition became official. 

Musk has called dogecoin “the people’s crypto” and floated allowing users to pay in dogecoin for premium Twitter features. 

The memecoin has seen a 116.7% price increase in the last week, and was ranked as the eighth largest cryptocurrency on CoinGecko’s platform. 

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Quick Take

• In this weekly series, we dive into some of the most interesting data and developments across the Layer 1 blockchain landscape, from DeFi and bridges to network activity and funding
• BNB Chain has been a stalwart in the DeFi ecosystem since its initial surge to prominence in 2021, maintaining a significant share of volume and TVL throughout a volatile year in crypto
• Much of its consistency can be attributed to the enduring popularity of the PancakeSwap DEX
• As the stablecoin landscape has started to evolve with the rising usage of BUSD on trading platforms, DeFi development on BNB Chain has started to become increasingly focused on enhancing stablecoin and BNB liquidity in the ecosystem

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FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried could back off lobbying for crypto legislation, the exchange boss hinted days after igniting a contentious policy debate. 

“Crypto Twitter, take the wheel,” Bankman-Fried said in a Twitter thread.

For days, Bankman-Fried has been embroiled in a dispute over crypto policy regulation. He published a lengthy crypto policy blog last week that was met with scorn by some industry insiders. Critics were particularly frustrated by Bankman-Fried’s views on how to regulate decentralized finance projects. 

Bankman-Fried went as far as to debate ShapeShift CEO Erik Voorhees for two hours on Friday. The live-streamed program was hosted by the crypto podcast Bankless. A day later, Bankman-Fried said he’d leave the future of the crypto policy debate to others online — even if he disagrees with their views. 

“I won’t push against the community’s strategy,” Bankman-Fried said. “Even where I think it might not be the most effective way to accomplish the goal.” A spokesperson did not immediately comment on Saturday. 

Behind the scenes, Bankman-Fried has pressed lawmakers to pass a market regulation bill filed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and John Boozman, R-Ark. The Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act would give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more regulatory power over crypto exchanges. A recent draft of the bill would also allow for a decentralized finance study that would influence future policymaking. 

Bankman-Fried wouldn’t say whether he plans to tamp down his lobbying efforts on the Stabenow-Boozman bill. He did, however, offer a warning to the industry.

“I hope, for all our sakes, that the crypto Twitter community has carefully considered all of the details of possible bills and policy proposals, and that the crypto Twitter community correctly understands the details of policymaking and negotiation and alliances in DC,” Bankman-Fried said. “There are a huge number of [possible] paths here — some fairly subtle — and I worry that some people haven’t fully thought out, empirically, what the result would be of possible decisions we could make.”

“But hopefully I’m wrong about that,” he added.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Bank of America is seeking a crypto policy expert to keep tabs on digital asset regulation and identify “key risks” fintech could pose to its business. 

The posting of the job ad for a public policy analysis and insights manager for crypto comes as large institutions and lawmakers take a more serious look at digital assets.

“We seek a policy analysis and insights manager who will identify emerging issues and evaluate the potential impact to the enterprise, with a primary focus on fintech/cyber/AI/crypto/stablecoins/blockchain,” Bank of America wrote in the job posting.

The candidate for Bank of America’s crypto job would be responsible for analyzing policy proposals, drafting legislation, developing advocacy strategies and building coalitions within the industry. The role would also entail writing bill amendments and comments to regulators, along with drafting testimony to present to lawmakers and regulators, among other tasks.

The role would also involve identifying “key risks that emerging financial technologies and fintech business models may pose,” according to the job posting.

The bank posted the job opening on LinkedIn last week. The move comes as policymakers in Washington, D.C. weigh new regulations for the crypto market. The House Financial Services Committee has drafted stablecoin legislation that would create a federal framework around the industry and temporarily ban payment coins not backed by outside assets, although the bill has stalled. 

The banking giant has become more active in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space in recent years. The firm, for instance, began clearing cash-settled bitcoin futures last year and joined Paxos’s blockchain-based settlement network for equities.

Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday. 

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

Billionaire Elon Musk entered Twitter headquarters carrying what appeared to be a bathroom sink, then the Tesla and SpaceX CEO left with the keys and $44 billion less in his wallet as he completed his takeover of the company and ended a months-long saga on Friday, according to multiple reports.

Bloomberg today suggested several ways that Musk, who has had a complicated relationship with cryptocurrencies, might bring more crypto into Twitter, including using blockchain to reduce the presence of bots, a subject that had ignited a legal battle between Musk and the company that threatened the acquisition.

Musk, Bloomberg pointed out, is a freedom of speech champion of sorts who may lift Twitter’s bans against some users. This position might align him with many crypto believers in the decentralization of blockchains, which Musk has at times discussed using to reduce spam and promote free speech, though he has also declared that “blockchain Twitter isn’t possible.”

A Musk “super app” expanding Twitter into messaging, games, payments and more may be in the cards, Bloomberg said, and digital assets may play a part in that. NFTs may also enter the picture, though Musk has shunned them in the past.

Additionally, crypto exchange operator Binance has been confirmed as an equity investor in Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. “We’re excited to be able to help Elon realize a new vision for Twitter. We aim to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together in order to broaden the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology,” Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao said in a statement.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

No week in crypto goes without eye-catching headlines. Crypto news in the past week saw a continuation of some familiar as well as new trends. Some of the notable items included Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, Meta’s dwindling financials, Google’s foray into Ethereum blockchain node services as well the severe impact of the crypto market on venture funds. To summarize, here are the stories that got us talking last week: 

Elon begins reign at Twitter

Elon Musk completed the Twitter acquisition deal. The tech entrepreneur and Tesla CEO took the reins at Twitter as well, entering the firm’s headquarters with what appeared to be a bathroom sink. The billionaire even changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit.”

After trying to back out of the deal in July and being sued by Twitter, Musk reversed his position last month, saying that he did indeed want to move forward with the acquisition. Still, Musk’s takeover comes at a time when the microblogging platform is struggling to keep its most active users, according to a Reuters report.

A major revelation regarding this deal came with Binance, the biggest crypto exchange by volume, saying it’s now a part owner at Twitter. Binance committed $500 million to invest in the $44 billion acquisition, The Block reported. “Our initial commitment remains the same and we look forward to exploring opportunities to grow the partnership in the future,” a Binance spokesperson told The Block.

As far as crypto goes, there are expectations that the platform may pivot to adding more blockchain features. 

Meta’s giant losses

Social media giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook, released a third-quarter earnings report that disclosed staggering losses. The company said that its metaverse division, Reality Labs, posted a $3.7 billion loss. Year-to-date, the division has totaled losses of $9.4 billion. This prompted major selloffs of the company’s stock and its market capitalization dropped to less than $300 billion.

Meta said that it does not “anticipate that Reality Labs operating losses” will increase significantly next year. Meta is the world’s largest social media company, overseeing platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Outside of Reality Labs, Meta continues to generate robust advertising revenue quarter after quarter with its core apps businesses.

In October of 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta, embracing metaverse technology at the height of its popularity. The metaverse is a virtual space where users can interact with one another and own various assets. While still an abstract concept, the metaverse is often discussed interchangeably with crypto, NFTs and blockchain technology.

Google offers Ethereum blockchain node service

The cloud division of tech giant Google forayed into public blockchain infrastructure services, starting with Ethereum. On Friday, Google Cloud started a fully managed node hosting service called “blockchain node engine.” 

The node engine is designed for web3 developers, allowing them to deploy smart contracts and write data on a dedicated node. A blockchain node hosts and synchronizes a copy of the network’s transaction history. As such, this product aims to streamline the process of setting up nodes, as well as the complications of hosting them on your own hardware. 

Google’s first supported blockchain for node engine is Ethereum, though the firm has shown interest in providing additional support for other blockchains in the future. Google began assembling a web3-focused team earlier this year, eyeing the development of hosted services for blockchain developers. Earlier this month, the search engine giant began to natively support data for Ethereum wallet balances. 

VCs hit by drop in crypto prices

The bear market is taking its toll on some of the industry’s biggest venture firms. Take for example, Pantera Capital, a notable crypto venture firm that has had a bad year. Pantera’s early stage token fund fell 71% in value through the end of September, according to an investor presentation obtained by The Block. 

The news comes at a time when many tokens and cryptocurrencies are down by more than 50% amid depressed macro market sentiment. And it’s not just Pantera. Andresen Horowitz (A16z), one of the largest crypto investors, has seen a 40% drop in value for its flagship crypto fund, the WSJ reported. 

MakerDAO passes vote to break its DAO

MakerDAO, the issuer of DAI stablecoin, passed a governance vote to break its project into multiple organizations. This marks a big change for one of crypto’s largest autonomous organizations (DAOs). The MakerDAO community on Monday passed a proposal called “Endgame” and with it set the stage for a new governance architecture for the DAO. Endgame, when implemented, will break up MakerDAO into smaller clusters called “MetaDAOs.”

MetaDAOs will function independently from one another and have their own parallel governance structures. This will lead to separate tokens and decision-making architecture for each MetaDAO. While the vote passed, some community members said MakerDAO’s founder Rune Christensen wielded undue influence over it. That’s because more than 70% of the “yes” votes cast by delegates were from voting blocs with ties to the Maker founder, which raised issues about governance centralization.

Some DAO members voting in opposition accused Christensen of “organization capture” —  a situation where a special interest takes precedence over the general interest of a group.

© 2022 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.