Kalam Crypto #90: SBF Trial Underway & U.S. Debt Going Parabolic

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair

Ahlan wa sahlan, and welcome to the 90th edition of CoinMENA's weekly newsletter, Kalam Crypto. This week, ABC Bank in Bahrain goes live with instant blockchain payments, the SBF trial gets underway with damning accusations made by co-founder Gary Wang, Ethereum futures ETF is launched, and U.S. debt is going parabolic! All that and more, so let's dive into this week's letter, and talk crypto:

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Local News 📍

Bank ABC in Bahrain pioneers cross-border blockchain-based payments: Bank ABC has introduced a groundbreaking cross-border corporate payment service using J.P. Morgan's Coin Systems, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). This marks a significant disruption in MENA's financial services sector, offering faster blockchain-based payments for specific corridors to corporates and financial institutions. Bank ABC is the first in the Middle East to pioneer this service, and the soft launch follows extensive collaboration with the CBB, which supported the integration and scaling of the innovative blockchain solution within Bahrain's payments landscape.

Global News 🌍

SBF Trial Underway: During the trial, FTX co-founder Gary Wang made significant revelations. He testified that Alameda Research received special privileges, allowing them to withdraw unlimited funds and maintain a negative balance, unlike other accounts on FTX. According to Wang, Alameda had withdrawn $8 billion from the platform and drawn $65 billion on its line of credit by the time of its collapse. In his testimony, Wang accused SBF of wire fraud, securities fraud, and commodities fraud. These allegations align with Wang's guilty plea, alongside Alameda's Caroline Ellison, in December for conspiracy to commit commodities, wire, and securities fraud.

Ether Futures ETF Launch: After four days of trading, the six ether futures ETFs introduced by ProShares, VanEck, and Bitwise collectively held assets of less than $20 million. This contrasts sharply with the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which reached $1 billion in assets within its initial days on the market in October 2021. The disparity in growth highlights a notable difference in investor interest between ether and bitcoin futures ETFs. 

U.S. Government Debt Going Parabolic: The U.S. national debt crisis is rapidly worsening, with a staggering increase of $275 billion recorded in a single day. Estimates indicate that the U.S. is on a trajectory to add $1 trillion to the national debt within a month. The current U.S. national debt has surged to a staggering $33.442 trillion. The cost of servicing this debt has now surpassed the U.S. spending on defense! Why does this matter? Check out our blog of the week.

Blog of The Week ✍️

This blog post was written just over two months ago, when the U.S. national debt was only $31.9 trillion. 

Tweet Of The Week 🐥

CoinMENA News 🗞️

Double Referral Rewards💰

We've doubled the referral bonus to $10! Invite your friends using your referral link and you will both earn $10 when they sign up & verify their account. This limited-time campaign expires in just 5 days at 11:59 PM, October 15, 2023!

Get 20 USDC 🤑

Deposit or Withdraw USDC via the Stellar network and you can earn your $20 USDC too! This offer is limited to the first 1,000 CoinMENA users to complete such deposit or withdrawal. Terms and conditions apply, see full campaign details in this blog post.

Quiz Corner ✅ 

Last week’s question: According to our Blog of the Week, what is the best way to protect wealth in countries with failing currencies like Egypt and Lebanon? Answer: c) Buying digital dollars (stablecoins) or BTC 

This week’s question: How can users participate in the USDC offer?

A) By sending an email to CoinMENA support

B) By buying Bitcoin

C) By completing a survey

D) By depositing or withdrawing USDC via Stellar

See the answer in next week’s newsletter. Or check out our new learning platform https://university.coinmena.com/