The Breakdown First Five - Monday, June 3, 2024

Welcome back to The Breakdown First Five — the 5 most interesting and/or important stories in bitcoin, crypto, and markets to start your day.

5. $305M Bitcoin Heist

Japanese crypto exchange DMM Bitcoin has reported a $305M hack. Initially framed as an “unauthorized leak”, it now appears that private keys were compromised. The exchange claims that customer deposits will be fully guaranteed, with the hole filled with “support from our group companies.” Withdrawals and Bitcoin purchases are still halted. The exchange claims to have 370,000 customers. 

4. Uniswap Postpones Fee Switch

The Uniswap Foundation has delayed a vote that would activate staking and delegation rewards, returning value to token holders. The Foundation claims that a stakeholder “raised a new issue relating to this work that requires additional diligence.” There was no mention of the recently issued wells notice, which raised concerns that the UNI token may be an unregistered security. 

3. Tether Invests In Bitdeer

Tether has purchased $100M worth of shares in Bitcoin miner Bitdeer. The deal includes a warrant to purchase a further $50M over 12 months. Bitdeer intends to use the capital to expand operations and develop advanced ASIC chips. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said, ““We anticipate close collaboration with Bitdeer across several key infrastructure areas moving forward.”

2. Coinbase Pushes For Rules

Coinbase have filed their final brief in the lawsuit to force the SEC to write crypto rules. They said the SEC is engaging in a “purposeful effort to destroy an industry by demanding the impossible.” Coinbase first made a formal request for rulemaking in July 2022, with the SEC claiming that existing rules already cover the industry. This ensuing lawsuit is now being heard on appeal. 

1. Biden Veto Ends Crypto Outreach

The President has vetoed the repeal of SAB121. The removal of this SEC accounting guidance became the first litmus test of crypto support in Congress, gathering the votes of 33 Dems. Most assume that delivering on the promise to veto was not a part of the Biden campaign’s crypto outreach, even though it was dumped on a Friday night presumably to avoid press coverage. The industry is viewing this as the end of any hope of bipartisanship on crypto policy.