Evening News | Amber Group will lay off hundreds of employees again this month; Zhao Changpeng clarifies market rumors, stating that he is not the crypto savior
Goldman Sachs is conducting due diligence on several cryptocurrency companies and may spend tens of millions of dollars on acquisitions or investments; Nexo will gradually exit the U.S. market in the coming months.整理：饼干，ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours"
1. Amber Group to Lay Off Hundreds Again This Month, Plans to Spin Off Profitable Product AmberFin, Mainland Office Prepares to Terminate Lease
Cryptocurrency financial services platform Amber Group is set to lay off hundreds of employees again in December after conducting layoffs of about 30%-40% in September, and has requested domestic employees to work from home and clear out the office; some laid-off employees are seeking to assert their rights due to delayed compensation payments, with Amber HR responding that the delay is due to bank settlement issues.
After completing the layoffs in September, Amber Group laid off about 80 more employees in November. Some Amber employees are preparing to sue Amber due to their inability to receive severance payments as per the compensation agreement. The company internally stated that Amber is facing obstacles with its foreign exchange settlement limits at the end of the year and is actively raising funds by processing some obsolete fixed assets and recovering office rental deposits.
Several former Amber employees laid off in November did not receive their due severance payments as stipulated in their contracts at the beginning of December. Additionally, they have been unable to contact relevant senior personnel at Amber and can only receive vague responses from HR. Currently, many employees who are owed compensation have chosen to pursue labor arbitration.
On-chain analyst Lookonchain stated that Amber's six Ethereum wallets have a total asset value of $9.46 million, but later, The Block's research vice president Larry Cermak replied in a tweet that there are 11 wallet addresses marked as Amber. In the evening, Amber managing partner Annabelle Huang responded in a tweet: user funds are safe, and withdrawal functions are operating as usual. (Source Link)
2. Celsius: Exclusivity Period for Restructuring Approved to Extend Until February Next Year, Applying to Sell Stablecoins to Maintain Operations
Celsius tweeted, "Celsius participated in two hearings today and continues to engage in dialogue with key stakeholders regarding our case. This morning, we discussed the motion to approve the sale of stablecoins aimed at providing liquidity for our ongoing operations, as we are committed to maximizing value for all stakeholders. The judge indicated he would announce his decision soon, likely next week. This afternoon, the court approved the extension of the exclusivity period for the restructuring plan until February 15, 2023. During this period, Celsius has the exclusive right to submit a Chapter 11 restructuring plan. We intend to use this time to continue planning for an independent business."
Previously, it was reported that Celsius's bidding process has been approved by a U.S. federal judge, allowing asset sales before the end of the year, with the final bidding deadline set for December 12. Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan) will rule on the ownership of assets in Celsius's interest-bearing accounts. (Source Link)
3. Gemini Co-Founder: Creditor Committee Established, Returning Funds is Gemini's Top Priority
Cameron Winklevoss, president and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, stated on social media that on December 3, 2022, Gemini formed a creditor committee with other creditors regarding the Earn business to organize coordination and jointly address issues. Additionally, Cameron Winklevoss stated, "Returning customer funds is our top priority, and we are operating with the utmost urgency."
Previous Report indicated that Genesis owes Gemini customers $900 million. According to insiders, Gemini is attempting to recover the funds. Another insider noted that Gemini has established a creditor committee to recover funds from Genesis and its parent company DCG. (Source Link)
4. Nexo: Gradual Exit from the U.S. Market Over the Next Few Months, Immediately Stops Earn Interest Product Services in the U.S.
Cryptocurrency lending platform Nexo announced on Monday that it will cease offering products and services in the U.S. over the next few months, immediately stopping the use of its Earn Interest product in eight states and will no longer contract with any new U.S. customers for Earn products. However, Nexo has not yet provided a specific timeline for a complete withdrawal from the U.S.
In a related blog post, Nexo stated that it has been negotiating with state and federal regulators in the U.S. Although regulators initially encouraged cooperation, recent events (such as the FTX collapse) have led these negotiations to a "dead end." (Source Link)
5. Reuters: Goldman Sachs Conducting Due Diligence on Several Crypto Companies, May Invest Tens of Millions of Dollars
Mathew McDermott, head of digital assets at Goldman Sachs, stated that the collapse of FTX has led cryptocurrency participants to seek more trustworthy and regulated investment platforms, providing large banks with opportunities to take over business. He added that Goldman Sachs is conducting due diligence on many different crypto companies but did not disclose details.
Reportedly, McDermott mentioned in an interview last month that they are indeed seeing some very interesting opportunities with more reasonable pricing. McDermott stated, "In terms of sentiment, this will certainly cause the market to retreat, there is no doubt about that. But to reiterate, the underlying technology continues to perform." (Reuters)
6. Sui Releases Testnet Wave 1 Recap, Testnet Wave 2 to Launch Early Next Year
Layer 1 public chain Sui Network reviewed the recently concluded Sui Testnet Wave 1 and expects Testnet Wave 2 to launch in early 2023.
During the operation of Sui Testnet Wave 1, network tests such as Genesis, Monitoring, Communication, Mitigation, and Updates were completed, addressing issues such as consensus stagnation, updating consensus status for lagging validators, and the root causes of memory leaks. The total number of transactions processed reached 22 million, with a total of 11 million on-chain NFTs.
Sui also stated that Testnet Wave 2 will launch in early 2023, focusing on epoch management, token economics, and staking delegation. (Source Link)
7. Nike's RTFKT to Launch First Web3 Sneakers Cryptokicks iRL, Limited to 19,000 Pairs
Nike's crypto fashion brand RTFKT will launch Web3 smart sneakers Cryptokicks iRL, featuring automatic lacing, haptic feedback, enhanced lighting, gesture control, walking detection, wireless charging, WM NFC connectivity, app integration, AI/ML algorithms, and will also support Move to Earn functionality.
It is reported that the sneakers are limited to 19,000 pairs and come in four color options: Blackout, Stone, Ice, and Space Matter. During the minting process, they will be sold as NFTs, and the minter will receive a pair of Cryptokicks iRL sneakers as a digital asset NFT and a physical pair of sneakers. RTFKT's WM chip can link digital and physical items. Public registration will take place from December 7 to 9, and Lace Engine NFT holders can participate in private minting starting at 23:30 Beijing time on December 12, with public minting starting at 21:00 Beijing time on December 14.
Additionally, users participating in the lottery must hold an RTFKT account, a WalletConnect-supported crypto wallet (with at least 0.5 ETH), and a U.S. shipping address. The shipping time for the sneakers and the download time for the RTFKT Cryptokicks iRL app will both be in May 2023. (Source Link)
8. Zhao Changpeng Clarifies Views on "CZ Wants to Be the Savior of Crypto," "FTX Was Killed by a Third Party," and Other Narratives
Binance founder Zhao Changpeng tweeted a list of some misconceptions he has seen recently:
First: Regarding the narrative "CZ wants to be the savior of cryptocurrency," Zhao Changpeng stated, "Cryptocurrency does not need saving and is doing very well; that is the beauty of decentralization. We are just a part of it. We want to help other good projects that may be facing cash flow issues due to recent events. This aligns with our collective best interests."
Second: In response to the view that "FTX was killed by a third party," Zhao Changpeng stated, "No, FTX killed itself (and their users) because they stole billions of dollars of user funds."
Third: Regarding the perspective that "SBF had good intentions but just made some mistakes," Zhao Changpeng stated, "Lying is never done with good intentions."
Fourth: In response to the view that "CZ's tweet destroyed FTX," Zhao Changpeng stated that a tweet cannot destroy any healthy business; however, data shows that Alameda Research's former CEO Caroline Ellison's statement about being "willing to buy FTT at $22" may be the real reason people abandoned FTT. SBF perpetuated a narrative that painted me and others as "bad guys," and SBF is one of the biggest fraudsters in history, also a master manipulator in media and among key opinion leaders.
Fifth: Regarding "SBF vs CZ: An Epic Showdown," Zhao Changpeng stated, "We do not focus on competitors because when this industry only touches 6% of the population, it is a waste of time and resources. We hope multiple exchanges, blockchains, wallets, etc., can coexist in the ecosystem." (Source Link)
9. Blur's Second Airdrop Now Open for Claims, Third Airdrop Scheduled for January Next Year
The second round of airdrops from the NFT marketplace Blur is now open for claims. Blur stated that the scale of the second airdrop is ten times that of the first, and users have 14 days to claim it through bidding. The second airdrop is calculated based on the NFTs listed on Blur, considering their likelihood of being sold and the dynamic scores of NFT collections.
Additionally, users can start earning points for Blur's third airdrop when they place bids. This will be Blur's final and largest airdrop. Even if users do not meet the criteria for the second airdrop, they can still earn points for the third airdrop. The third airdrop will end in January next year, at which time the BLUR token will also be launched. (Source Link)
"What Exciting Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours"
1. "Vitalik: Five Exciting Applications in the Ethereum Application Ecosystem"
The world today is no longer the world it once was; some key applications are being adopted continuously, meeting people's real needs. Therefore, Vitalik Buterin has changed his previous viewpoint; what interests him about Ethereum is no longer the undiscovered potential but several specific applications that have been validated and will become increasingly powerful. What are these applications, and which ones is he no longer optimistic about? This is the content of this article.
According to statistics from Rootdata, there were a total of 94 publicly disclosed financing events in the crypto primary market throughout November, involving approximately $1.272 billion. This is the first time this year's monthly investment count has fallen below 100. Due to the lag in project financing news releases, this downward trend is expected to become more pronounced in the coming months.
3. "Hardware Wallets and MPC Wallets Gaining Popularity, Wallet Sector Entering a Dividend Period"
Since CoinDesk exposed Alameda Research's balance sheet at the beginning of November, the collapse of FTX and its derivative crises are ushering in the darkest period in the crypto world. Over the past month, both institutional investors and individual retail investors have been transmitting panic, with one of their primary concerns being fund security. After the FTX collapse, has the crypto wallet sector truly entered a dividend period?
