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The new feature will allow users to reap staking rewards without requiring them to serve as validators for the blockchain’s transactions.

This year’s CoinDesk Consensus event, which will bring key policy and technical debates to the forefront, is especially important. While the withdrawal of a handful of previously agreed-upon speaking assignments undermines full representation on both sides of the issues, non-U.S. jurisdiction involvement will make 2023’s Consensus one to remember.

DRW denied being an investor in OPNX, founded by 3AC executives, after the exchange said on Twitter it invested along side others.

The crypto exchange founded by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies following the collapse of their hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) revealed several investors today, but at least one has denied any involvement.  

“DRW is not an investor in OPNX, nor are any of its affiliates investors in OPNX,” a spokesperson for the firm told The Block via email. 

The firm’s investors were initially questioned by BlockTower CIO Ari Paul.

OPNX had shared in a tweet thread that its backers included firms like Taiwanese venture capital firm AppWorks and high-frequency trading firm Susquehanna. Other investors named in the thread include: MIAX Group, a U.S. equity options exchange; the Hong Kong unit of China Merchant Bank; Token Bay Capital, a Hong Kong investment fund; the VC firm Nascent; and Tuwaiq, a Saudi Arabian digital asset fund.

OPNX CEO Leslie Lamb did not immediately respond to request for comment from The Block.

© 2023 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.

A key financial oversight council chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is aiming to tighten rules on risk assessment and for nonbank companies after the high-profile Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures last month.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council is taking up two proposals: A framework for identifying and responding to financial stability risks, and new guidance for designating nonbank financial companies for regulatory supervision. 

“Last month’s events show us that our work is not yet done. The authority for emergency interventions is critical. But equally as important is a supervisory and regulatory regime that can help prevent financial disruptions from starting and spreading in the first place,” Yellen said in prepared remarks.

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse sent shockwaves through the tech industry last month. Circle, for example, held $3.3 billion of its USDC stablecoin reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, which was closed by regulators amid a bank run. 

Shortly after, New York regulators closed the crypto-friendly Signature Bank. Former Rep. Barney Frank, who sits on Signature’s board, claimed that regulators targeted the bank over its ties to crypto. Regulators dispute Frank’s claim.

Janet Yellen, Elizabeth Warren knock Trump-era rules

Existing guidance for non-bank financial institutions that was issued during the Trump administration “created inappropriate hurdles as part of the designation process,” Yellen said, adding that the process can take six years to complete. 

“That is an unrealistic timeline that could prevent the council from acting to address an emerging risk to financial stability before it’s too late,” Yellen said.

The council will discuss the proposals and vote on whether to issue them for public comment today, Yellen said. FSOC voting members include Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., cheered the council’s new guidance for designating nonbank financial companies for regulatory supervision. 

“We saw in the 2008 crisis how financial institutions that aren’t banks – including insurance companies, mortgage issuers, and hedge funds – can be big enough and risky enough to crash our whole economy,” Warren said in a statement. “The Trump administration put us all in danger by significantly weakening financial regulators’ oversight of these giant corporations, and now FSOC should follow through by using this tool to ensure the stability of our financial system.” 

© 2023 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.

OPNX had included DRW in list of “major investors” in a tweet earlier Friday.

City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, the first American politician to take his official salary in bitcoin, thinks the recent resurgence of artificial intelligence is a sign that the current crypto winter will end. 

“That’s exciting for me,” Suarez told The Block after he held a wide ranging discussion on artificial intelligence with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt at the eMerge Americas 2023 conference in Miami. “That’s when the use cases come up. When you thawed out of that AI winter, that’s when when all of these incredible use cases came up. I think that’s a great opportunity for us.”

Schmidt, who served as CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, recounted a similar period of AI winter before the current explosion of language-based models.

Miami mayor @FrancisSuarez and former Google CEO @ericschmidt discuss God, human consciousness and AI pic.twitter.com/OqdPronfJ6

— Nathan Crooks (@nmcrooks) April 21, 2023

“Many decades ago, when I was a grad student, AI was really hot. And the only problem is none of it worked, for all sorts of reasons,” Schmidt said, referring to a winter period during which he went on to work on other things. “There was this explosion of new AI techniques that started in roughly 2011. And then all the sudden computers got better at vision than humans. That’s a pretty big deal. And they they started playing games better than humans.”

Suarez, a Republican who leads the U.S. Conference of Mayors, in 2021 became the first American politician to take an official salary in bitcoin, announcing the plan just days before the cryptocurrency reached an all-time high of $68,789. He’s also been a vocal proponent of positioning Miami as a new center of tech, finance and crypto.

Presidential jokes?

Suarez also mentioned activity that could signal broader future plans.

“I just came from New Hampshire. I won’t tell you what I was doing over there,” Suarez told Schmidt, who was quick note the state was important for Republicans in presidential elections.

“The mayor is freezing himself to get ready to run in New Hampshire,” Schmidt joked, soliciting widespread applause. “That’s the headline.”

© 2023 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.

The megastar reportedly dodged a catastrophic deal with FTX by asking one simple question.

OPNX, the crypto exchange founded by Su Zhu and Kyle Davies following the collapse of their hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), revealed the identities of its investors for the first time. 

The firm’s backers include Taiwanese venture capital firm AppWorks, high-frequency trading firm Susquehanna and the VC arm of trading firm DRW, OPNX said in a tweet thread. The other investors announced include: MIAX Group, a U.S. equity options exchange; the Hong Kong unit of China Merchant Bank; Token Bay Capital, a Hong Kong investment fund; the VC firm Nascent; and Tuwaiq, a Saudi Arabian digital asset fund.

While financial terms weren’t disclosed, Zhu told the Wall Street Journal in February that OPNX raised about $25 million in funding for the project.

OPNX, which launched earlier this month, is Zhu and Davies’ shot at redemption after Three Arrows Capital imploded last year. The former classmates teamed up with Coinflex CEO Mark Lamb to launch the venture via a rebranding of the erstwhile derivatives venue. The exchange intends to support trading in bankruptcy claims tied to failed exchanges, like Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX. Lamb’s wife, Leslie Lamb, is the firm’s chief executive officer.

OPNX’s Hong Kong headquarters

The new exchange confirmed today that it has set up shop in Hong Kong. It had previously been reported to be based in Dubai. 

OPNX’s investors “contributed not just capital, but also incredible feedback throughout the process of refining our vision, product offerings, tokenomics, legal framework & decision to relocate to HK,” the exchange said. “It was their commitment to help the industry, together, that made OPNX happen.”

OPNX has had a slow start, seeing just $13.64 in volume across both spot and perpetual derivatives trading in its first 24 hours.

© 2023 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.

The former U.S. president’s second collection isn’t as successful as his first drop was, while Sotheby’s plans to sell an impressive NFT collection seized from Three Arrows Capital.