Arbitrum, the popular layer 2 scaling solution, recently airdropped its governance token, ARB, to users who interacted with its platform. The token is supposed to enable decentralized governance of the protocol and its parameters, but its governance has led to significant community backlash.

Popular cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex has announced it will wind down its U.S. operations due to the challenging regulatory and economic environment. The move won’t impact Bittrex Global, the international arm of the exchange based in Liechtenstein.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Space X, and Twitter, has asked a US judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

 Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Arbitrum Foundation Faces Backlash Over $1 Billion Token Allocation
• Crypto Exchange Bittrex to Wind Down US Operations
• Elon Musk Looks to Dismiss $258 Billion Dogecoin Lawsuit

Arbitrum Foundation Faces Backlash Over $1 Billion Token Allocation

Arbitrum, the popular layer 2 scaling solution, recently airdropped its governance token, ARB, to users who interacted with its platform. The token is supposed to enable decentralized governance of the protocol and its parameters, but its governance has led to significant community backlash.

The first governance proposal made by the Arbitrum Foundation, the entity behind the project, dubbed AIP-1, sought to allocate 750 million ARB, worth around $1 billion, to the Foundation’s budget for special grants, reimbursements, and operational costs.

The Foundation claimed that the proposal was only a ratification of a decision that had already been made and that some of the tokens were already sold for stablecoins. In response, ARB token holders accused the Foundation of being undemocratic, untransparent and possibly fraudulent.

The backlash was so strong that the Foundation had to backtrack and hold redos. The Foundation pledged to split the proposal into parts and provide more context and accountability for its budget and actions, while making it clear it has no near-term plans to sell more tokens.

Arbitrum is a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum that aims to provide fast, cheap and secure transactions, using a technique called optimistic rollup, which allows users to execute transactions on a sidechain and periodically submit proofs to the main chain.

Crypto Exchange Bittrex to Wind Down US Operations

Popular cryptocurrency trading platform Bittrex has announced it will wind down its U.S. operations due to the challenging regulatory and economic environment. The move won’t impact Bittrex Global, the international arm of the exchange based in Liechtenstein.

Bittrex has, in a recent announcement, provided a timeline for customers to withdraw their funds and cease trading activities on its US platform. Users have until April 7, 2023, to set up bank accounts for wire transfers, and trading will come to a halt on April 14, 2023.

Fiat wire withdrawal and ACH withdrawal deadlines are April 24 and April 27, 2023, respectively. April 29, 2023, will be the last full day for users to withdraw their cryptocurrency, with Bittrex US operations officially ceasing on April 30, 2023.

Bittrex urges its users to withdraw their funds before the deadline to prevent account disablement and potential inaccessibility of their funds for an indefinite period.

Users with balances higher than their withdrawal limits may have to split their withdrawals over several days. Bittrex aims to ensure that all wallets are online until the deadline, but it cannot assure that every wallet will be operational.

Elon Musk Looks to Dismiss $258 Billion Dogecoin Lawsuit

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Space X, and Twitter, has asked a US judge to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

The lawsuit was filed by Dogecoin investors, and saw Musk’s lawyers call it a “fanciful work of fiction” over the Twitter chief’s “innocuous and often silly tweets” about the cryptocurrency. Musk’s lawyers argued that investors never explained how Musk intended to defraud anyone.

They also said that Musk’s statements, such as “no highs, no lows, only Doge” were too vague to support a fraud claim. His defense noted that their is “nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion.”

The court, they said, should “put a stop to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the complaint.” In a footnote, they also rejected investors’ claims that DOGE qualifies as a security.

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