Grayscale Investments reveals the resignation of Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale’s parent company.
In an official statement issued on December 26, Grayscale Investments, the leading cryptocurrency investment firm and operator of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, announced significant changes to its board of directors.
Barry Silbert, founder and CEO of Digital Currency Group (DCG), Grayscale’s parent company, will resign from Grayscale’s board of directors. This decision was formalized in the 8-K document filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Accompanying Silbert’s resignation, Mark Murphy, current president of DCG, has also announced his resignation from the board of Grayscale Investments. Both resignations will be effective January 1, 2024.
To fill these gaps in the board, the addition of new members has been announced as of the aforementioned date. Mark Shifke, Matthew Kummell and Edward McGee will be the appointed replacements, bringing their skills and experiences to the strategic direction of Grayscale Investments.
Financial Challenges for Crypto Companies in 2023: 70% Drop in Financing
2023 has left its mark on the cryptocurrency sector, with a drastic change in the funding that companies in this space have managed to raise. Despite an impressive market rally, with Bitcoin leading a 150% rally, the numbers paint a less optimistic picture.
Recent data reveals that cryptocurrency companies raised around $6.25 billion in funding over the past year. This figure marks a significant decrease compared to the collection of approximately $22 billion in 2022.
The crypto market faced significant challenges in 2023, with the collapse of large companies such as Terraform Labs and FTX, leaving a palpable mark on investor confidence. This negative impact resulted in a decline in venture capitalist interest in the crypto sector throughout the year.
Scammers Use Google Ads to Steal Cryptocurrencies Worth USD 3 Million in 24 Hours
The wave of scams in the cryptocurrency world has reached alarming proportions, with scammers managing to steal approximately $3 million in just 24 hours. Cleverly using Google Ads as their tool of choice, criminals continue to advertise malicious fake websites, employing software designed to drain digital wallets.
Scam Sniffer, an entity specialized in fraud detection, revealed that attackers used ads on Google to trick cryptocurrency users into accessing fake versions of Web3 websites. Among the affected platforms are Zapper, Lido, Stargate, DefiLlama, Orbiter Finance and Radient. On December 25,
Scam Sniffer updated its database with new incidents of phishing sites associated with the same addresses of the attackers, “another victim lost $653K worth of WBTC, USDC, and WETH to phishing scams about 12 minutes ago,” as informed on December 25.
Tether Issues 1 billion USDT in Inventory Replenishment
Tether, the operator of the world’s leading stablecoin, Tether USDT, has announced the issuance of an additional 1 billion USDT, marked as “authorized but not issued.” According to statements by CEO Paolo Ardoino.
Blockchain transaction tracker Whale Alert used its platform on X on December 25 to alert users about the issuance of one billion USDT by Tether Treasury.
“PSA: 1B USDt inventory replenish on Ethereum Network. Note this is an authorized but not issued transaction, meaning that this amount will be used as inventory for next period issuance requests and chain swaps,” reads the post.
In response to the notification, Paolo Ardoino posted a public service announcement in the Whale Alert thread on X, explaining that the transaction represents an “inventory replenish” on the Ethereum blockchain.
By Audy Castaneda
