The most important events of 2023 digital currencies

Although 2023 was marred by numerous scandals, bankruptcies, frauds and lawsuits, it could still be one of the industry’s best years in 14 years. This year’s most prominent figures, Sam Benkman-Fried, Chang Peng Zhao and Alex Machinsky, are people whose names are now associated with fraud. However, the price of Bitcoin is up 160% this year, two major lawsuits have been settled in favor of the cryptocurrency industry, and the first spot Bitcoin ETFs are expected to launch in January.

In this report to overview The most important events of 2023 We paid in the digital currency industry. Reviewing these events is not without grace and can help form a clearer picture of the future of the digital currency market and industry in the minds of investors and activists in this field.

Important events of 2023 digital currencies

The year 2023 for digital currencies was associated with important events and incidents, talking about all of them requires a very long article. In this article, we have briefly reviewed 16 key and influential events of this year, which include:

• Deployment of the Ordinals protocol in the Bitcoin network
• Closing the Kraken share program
• Bankruptcy of Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature banks
• Arbitrum token airdrop
• Arrest of two Kwans in Montenegro
• Complaint of the United States Exchange Commission against Binance and Coinbase
• Blackrock’s entry into the digital currency industry
• The historic ruling of the court in the case of the United States Exchange Commission’s complaint against Ripple
• The launch of PayPal USD stable coin
• Setting up the layer 2 base network
• Japan’s largest investment bank launches bitcoin fund
• Ethereum Futures ETFs Begin Trading in the United States
• Sam Benkman Farid was found guilty of all 7 charges
• US Department of Justice complaint against Binance and Changpeng Zhao
• Complaint against Cristiano Ronaldo for Binance advertisement
• Issuing the final order to confiscate 69,370 Silk Road Bitcoins by the US government

Deployment of the Ordinals protocol in the Bitcoin network

A developer named Casey Rodarmor launched the Ordinals protocol on the Bitcoin mainnet in January 2023 (Day 1401). This protocol allows users to record any digital content such as text, photo or video in the form of NFT in this blockchain. Until May 31 (10 June 1402), more than 10 million inscriptions were created on the Bitcoin network, and the value of the fee paid for them exceeded 40 million dollars. Of course, this protocol has been the most important reason for the 25% increase in Bitcoin transaction fees in the past year.

Closing the Kraken share program

American exchange Kraken ended its shareholding program in February and announced that it had agreed to pay a $30 million fine as part of its settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The regulatory agency had accused Kraken of selling securities without permission.

For several years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has been planning to limit programs for making profits from digital currencies. In 2021, this regulator had a dispute with Coinbase over the launch of a lending program, and BlockFi was forced to pay a $100 million fine in 2022.

Bankruptcy of Silvergate, Silicon Valley and Signature banks

In March, two banks focused on the cryptocurrency industry and the largest US tech startup bank went bankrupt in less than a week. The actions of the US government to support the depositors of these banks at that time caused instability in the stablecoin market.

Silvergate, and Signature Banks were the biggest lenders to the cryptocurrency industry. Roughly half of the US startups that were backed by venture capital, including venture capital funds and some digital currency companies, also kept their cash in Silicon Valley banks.

Arbitrum token airdrop

The Arbitrum Network was launched in 2021 as an Ethereum Layer 2 scalability solution. In March 2023 (Esfand 1401), Arbitrum Foundation announced the launch of Dao Arbitrum and its sovereign token ARB. On March 23 (April 3), about one billion tokens from the total 10 billion token supply were distributed among eligible users, which is considered one of the largest and most successful airdrops in the history of digital currencies.

Arrest of two Kwans in Montenegro

Du Kovan, one of the founders of Terraform Labs and accused of the collapse of the $40 billion Terra Luna ecosystem, was arrested in Montenegro at the end of March (early April). He was arrested when he tried to fly from Podgorica, the capital, to Dubai with fake documents. The Montenegrin court found Kwan guilty of forging official documents and sentenced him to 4 months in prison.

Montenegrin authorities planned to extradite Cowan to the United States after his sentence was completed. However, the appeals court canceled his extradition order by accepting the appeal of his defense lawyers in late December.

Complaint of the United States Exchange Commission against Binance and Coinbase

In an unprecedented move, the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed complaints against the exchanges Binance and Coinbase in June. The most important major charge against Binance was the commingling of billions of dollars of user assets. The exchange was also accused of flouting its own regulations to facilitate the participation of wealthy US investors on Binance’s global platform.

The Coinbase exchange was also accused of operating as an unlicensed broker and exchange. The US Securities and Exchange Commission claimed that the exchange’s flagship services, including its brokerage, exchange, and equity programs, violated securities market regulations.

Blackrock’s entry into the digital currency industry

In July, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to offer a Bitcoin ETF, or exchange-traded fund, to companies such as Fidelity, VanEck, BitWise and Wisdom. To join, they had previously registered for a license. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink made a bold statement in an interview with CNBC at the time, saying Bitcoin could revolutionize finance.

The historic ruling of the court in the case of the United States Exchange Commission’s complaint against Ripple

The cryptocurrency industry won a major victory on July 13 during the investigation of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s complaint against Ripple Labs. Judge Annalisa Torres ruled that Ripple did not violate federal securities laws by selling its tokens on cryptocurrency exchanges. In October, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it would no longer pursue its lawsuit against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, the company’s executive director, for alleged violations of securities market rules.

The launch of PayPal USD stable coin

In August, fintech company PayPal announced the launch of its USD stablecoin called PYUSD in cooperation with Pexos. This stablecoin, currently launched on the Ethereum network, is backed by dollar deposits, short-term US Treasury bills and cash equivalents. The company is trying to challenge the dichotomy created by Tether and USDCoin in the digital currency ecosystem.

Setting up the layer 2 base network

After a test launch in February, Coinbase launched the Base Network as an Ethereum Layer 2 solution in August. This blockchain is built on OP Stack; An open source framework for creating Optimistic rollups developed by the Optimism Foundation.

Japan’s largest investment bank launches bitcoin fund

In September, Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Nomura, the largest investment bank in Japan, launched its own Bitcoin acceptance fund for institutional investors. The product follows the launch of Japan’s first cryptocurrency-based fund by SBI Holdings in 2021, reflecting the country’s growing investor interest in digital assets.

Ethereum Futures ETFs Begin Trading in the United States

The most significant event in October was the start of Ethereum Futures ETF trading for the first time in the United States. Investment firms ProShares, VanEck, BitWise, Valkyrie, Kelly and Volshares listed a total of 9 ETFs on the Chicago Stock Exchange. Contrary to the wide acceptance of the market when ProShares launched the first Bitcoin Futures ETF in 2021, the trading volume of these ETFs on the first day of launch was not significant.

Sam Benkman Farid was found guilty of all 7 charges

During Sam Benkman Farid’s trial in November, the jury found the 31-year-old former CEO of FTX exchange guilty on all 7 charges. “Sam Benkmanfried has perpetrated one of the largest financial frauds in American history,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said outside court after the news was announced. His sentencing date is scheduled for March 28, 2024 (April 9, 1403) and he could be sentenced to a maximum of 115 years in prison.

US Department of Justice complaint against Binance and Changpeng Zhao

After the United States Department of Justice sued Binance and Changpeng Zhao, the exchange announced that it had agreed to pay a $4.3 billion fine. According to reports, $3.4 billion of this amount is for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network fine and $968 million is for the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) fine. During the lawsuit, Chang Peng Zhao, the then CEO of Binance, also stepped down and Richard Teng was appointed as his replacement.

Complaint against Cristiano Ronaldo for Binance advertisement

A group of plaintiffs in the United States sued Cristiano Ronaldo for promoting Binance. The plaintiffs allege that Ronaldo’s endorsement led them to a losing investment and are still seeking more than $1 billion in damages.

Issuing the final order to confiscate 69,370 Silk Road Bitcoins by the US government

An appeals court in late December issued a final order for the US government to confiscate 69,370 bitcoins and other digital currencies from the Silk Road dark web marketplace. The United States Department of Justice seized these assets in 2022 and pursued their official seizure.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder and director of Silk Road Bazaar from 2011 to 2013, is currently serving a life sentence in prison. The site, which was used to sell drugs and guns, was shut down after Ulbricht was arrested by the FBI. In 2022, Ulbricht relinquished ownership of these bitcoins and agreed to use the assets to pay off his debt to the US government.