Daily Digest - 24 March 2023

Headlines

▌Terra co-founder Do Kwon was arrested in Montenegro US federal prosecutors filed criminal fraud charges against Do Kwon

Montenegro’s Department of Internal Affairs reported that Terra co-founder Do Kwon has been arrested.

Montenegro’s Interior Minister Filip Adzic revealed that Do Kwon was arrested by police at Podgorica Airport for using forged documents, and his identity was later confirmed by South Korea’s National Police Agency.

Hours after the arrest, federal prosecutors in New York brought formal charges to him. The charges include conspiracy to commit fraud, commodity fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to manipulate markets, according to the indictment.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed civil charges against Terraform and Do Kwon for defrauding investors and selling unregistered securities and securities swaps.

According to previous news, Montenegro Interior Minister Filip Adzic announced that Do Kwon was arrested by the police at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro earlier on Thursday using forged documents. South Korea's National Police Agency later confirmed his identity.

Policies

▌The U.S. Congress proposes a bill to encourage Bitcoin mining in the United States

The U.S. House of Representatives submitted Resolution 238, on the importance of proof-of-work mining to the United States’ ability to meet its energy goals and grow its economy.

According to the document PoW mining can help energy development become a key pillar of the growth of the US economy, infrastructure, and national security; digital asset workload proof mining can promote energy development through cooperation with the energy sector, generate explosive growth in innovation, and improve the US economy’s energy independence.

The document also stated that digital asset workload proof mining is an important part of the United States' ability to achieve energy independence and sustained national security; that the United States should invest in the digital asset industry to promote sustainable employment growth and innovative development, etc.

▌SEC Issues Investor Alert Urging Caution in Encrypted Asset Securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an investor alert, urging caution in crypto asset securities.

The SEC stated that even crypto companies that provide proof of reserves may not be able to ensure that the entity holds sufficient assets, and those companies that provide crypto asset investments and services may not comply with U.S. laws.

Unregistered offerings of crypto-asset securities may not provide critical information, including audited financial statements, from making informed decisions.

▌The US CFTC Technical Advisory Committee held a discussion meeting on DeFi

The Technical Advisory Committee of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) held a discussion meeting on DeFi.

Encryption company executives introduced to the CFTC key issues affecting the field, including vulnerability exploitation, decentralisation and digital identity.

The committee will focus on using DeFi, what problems DeFi solves, and the proposed legal and policy framework. As previously reported, the US CFTC has appointed executives from encryption companies such as Circle, TRM, and Fireblocks to join the Technical Advisory Committee.

Blockchain Application

▌LandVault, a metaverse development company, completed a financing of US$37 million, led by Softbank and others

Metaverse development company LandVault announced the completion of a new round of financing of US$37 million, led by TheSandbox, Softbank, and Kingsway Capital, with participation from HodlCo, GeminiFrontierFund, and others. LandVault has already created Metaverse infrastructure with partners such as Heineken, L'Oréal and Mastercard over the past two years, and the company will use the funding to continue its Web3 expansion and create AI tools while expanding across Asia, Dubai, Europe and US team size.