Adrian E. Alvarez, Esq.🚀

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐬 - 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 The new report from Castle Island Ventures and Brevan Howard Digital Howard Ventures underscores how stablecoins are driving financial innovation and inclusion across emerging markets. Key highlights include: $2.6 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐇1 2024: Stablecoins settled over $2.6 trillion in value, surpassing traditional crypto assets. While access to crypto (50 percent) in the most popular motivation to use stablecoins, noncrypto uses such as access to dollars (47 percent), yield generation (39 percent), and transactional purposes are popular 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧: USD backed stablecoins become the dominant transfer of value mechanism. The second most popular currency referenced by stablecoins is the Euro, with a supply as of June 2024 of $617 million, or 0.38 percent of the overall stablecoin market 𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Brazil, Nigeria, India, and other key markets are seeing a shift to stablecoins for remittances, payroll, and currency substitution. Nigerian users have the highest stablecoin affinity among the countries surveyed – by far. 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬: Stablecoins offer faster settlement, reduced fees, and greater financial access in markets with unstable banking systems. Of the non-trading use cases, currency conversion (to dollars) is the most frequently reported activity, followed by paying for goods, cross border payments, and paying or receiving a salary 𝐘𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Users increasingly use stablecoins to earn interest through DeFi protocols. https://lnkd.in/gbDx2jVn #Blockchain #FinTech #Stablecoins #EmergingMarkets #FinancialInclusion

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Bankruptcy lawyers representing customers impacted by the dramatic crash of cryptocurrency exchange FTX 17 months ago say that the vast majority of victims will receive their money back — plus interest. The news comes six months after FTX co-founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) was found guilty on seven counts related to fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering, with some $8 billion of customers’ funds going missing. SBF was hit with a 25-year prison sentence in March, and ordered to pay $11 billion in forfeiture. The crypto mogul filed an appeal last month that could last years. After filing for bankruptcy in late 2022, SBF stood down and U.S. attorney John J. Ray III was brought in as CEO and “chief restructuring officer,” charged with overseeing FTX’s reorganization. Shortly after taking over, Ray said in testimony that despite some of the audits that had been done previously at FTX, he didn’t 'trust a single piece of paper in this organization.' In the months that followed, Ray and his team set about tracking the missing funds, with some $8 billion placed in real estate, political donations, and VC investments — including a $500 million investment in AI company Anthropic before the generative AI boom, which the FTX estate managed to sell earlier this year for $884 million." #finance #equipmentfinance #equipmentleasing #financialservices #corporatefinance #crypto #ftx #sbf #bankruptcy https://lnkd.in/eAeHx7GW

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🚨 The Casual "OK" Trap: How an Informal Agreement Is Like Duct Tape on a Leaky Boat (And could Leave You Out-of-Pocket)🚨 A Scenario That Happens Way Too Often: You're a crypto trader. You get hit with a margin call while you’re on the go. You quickly message your trading counterparty: “Hey, I’m traveling right now. Can I get an extra day to top up?” They reply: “Sure thing!” You breathe a sigh of relief, thinking you’re in the clear. But… are you really? Here’s Where Things Can Go Sideways: Most trading contracts require formal written approval for changes or extensions to margin calls. And guess what? A casual “OK” on Telegram probably doesn’t meet those standards. What Could Go Wrong? While convenient, informal agreements are like using duct tape to fix a leaky boat—they don’t hold up when things get rough. Your counterparty could turn around and say, "Well, that wasn’t official—you didn’t follow the proper steps." Next thing you know, you’re in breach of contract. Instead of just covering your margin call, under an unfavourable contract, you could be on the hook for way more than you expected. We're talking many multiples of your actual margin call! 😱 Steps to Avoid the Casual "OK" Trap: 👉 Double-Check Your Contract: Make sure you know the rules for extending margin calls. Ignorance is not bliss. 👉 Confirm in Writing: If your contract says email, make sure you send that email, even if you already agreed on Telegram. Attach the Telegram message for good measure! 👉 Keep a Paper Trail: If Telegram is your go-to, take screenshots. Telegram messages can be edited, and you don’t want a he-said-she-said situation later. By taking these precautions, you’ll avoid nasty surprises and keep your profits safe. For more tips and tricks, follow my ✦Surviving Margin Calls: Fine Print Essentials for Crypto Traders✦ series!

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You are a crypto developer, market-maker, token issuer ... etc and you want to know what the focus of the US SEC has been over the last three years in terms of enforcement: Who do they typically go after and how and is the SEC becoming more or less aggressive? Below is a graph that will help you answer those questions. Here's a summary to comment on the graph and fill in some detail: 1. Number of Actions: There has been a consistent increase in the total number of enforcement actions each year. The number of litigations increased from 14 in 2021 to 24 in 2022 but slightly decreased to 26 in 2023. The number of administrative proceedings remained constant at 6 in 2021 and 2022, but surged to 20 in 2023. 2. Monetary Penalties: The total monetary penalties imposed have also shown a steady increase over the years, from $2.35 billion in 2021 to $2.89 billion in 2023. 3. Trends by Type of Crypto Industry Participant: a) Issuers of Unregistered Securities: Predominantly targeted, reflecting the SEC's focus on ICOs and other unregistered securities offerings. b) Exchanges and Broker-Dealers: Increasing attention, especially notable with actions against unregistered exchanges like Poloniex in 2021 and others in subsequent years. c) Promoters and Individual Participants: Consistently targeted, often for fraudulent schemes and unregistered offerings. Overall, the data indicates a growing intensity in SEC enforcement actions, both in terms of frequency and financial impact, with a particular focus on unregistered securities offerings and fraudulent activities within the cryptocurrency industry. ​[Data from: https://lnkd.in/dZewsH6J), interpretation by Fed Salinas of Nous Evolution Legal. Contact me for more information.

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Interesting article discussing increased M&A activity in bitcoin mining companies, in part because the shares of these companies are undervalued. Mergers #Acquisitions #Bitcoin

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