The trustee overseeing Mt. Gox’s assets has announced another delay in distributing the remaining funds to creditors, pushing the deadline by one year to October 31, 2025. The initial repayments started in July 2024.  

Uniswap's upcoming layer-two blockchain, Unichain, is poised to significantly benefit Uniswap Labs and possibly holders of UNI, Uniswap’s governance token. According to Michael Nadeau, Founder of The DeFi Report, Unichain could generate close to $500 million annually in fees—funds that would have otherwise gone to Ethereum validators. 

Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, has officially begun serving his seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence at FCI Cumberland, a medium-security federal correctional institution in Maryland. This follows his guilty plea in September for conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Mt. Gox Creditor Repayments Delayed to 2025
• Uniswap to Capture $368M in Settlement Fees from Ethereum Validators with Unichain
• Former FTX Exec Begins 7.5-Year Prison Term
• Retail Derivatives Exchanges’ Open Interest

Mt. Gox Creditor Repayments Delayed to 2025

The trustee overseeing Mt. Gox’s assets has announced another delay in distributing the remaining funds to creditors, pushing the deadline by one year to October 31, 2025. This follows the initial repayments that started in July 2024.

Mt. Gox, once the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, collapsed after a major hack in 2014, leading to the loss of hundreds of thousands of BTC from customer wallets. The exchange’s downfall marked a significant event in Bitcoin's history, and its recovery process has been slow due to the complex legal proceedings involved.

Despite beginning repayments, a substantial amount of crypto remains tied up. According to data from Arkham Intelligence, Mt. Gox-linked wallets still hold 44,900 BTC worth approximately $2.8 billion.

The trustee’s recent statement attributes the delay to the fact that many creditors have not yet completed the necessary procedures to receive their repayments. Various issues in the repayment process have contributed to the delay, with some creditors facing difficulties that have slowed the distribution.

The delay has sparked interest in how creditors might handle their funds when they eventually receive them. Analysts from Coinbase noted that the extension could ease concerns in the short term about potential market disruption caused by creditors selling their recovered bitcoin on the open market.

Uniswap to Capture $368M in Settlement Fees from Ethereum Validators with Unichain

Michael Nadeau, the founder of The DeFi Report, said on social media that Uniswap had generated nearly $1.3 billion in trading and settlement fees across five chains over the past year, yet Uniswap Labs or UNI token holders have captured none of that value.

According to Nadeau, 100% of the fees have gone to liquidity providers (LPs), Ethereum validators, MEV bots, and Layer-2 sequencers. He noted this dynamic will shift with the launch of Uniswap's new Layer 2 blockchain, Unichain, designed to enhance scalability for decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, later in 2024.

He emphasized that Uniswap Labs and UNI token holders will now be able to capture settlement fees, which previously amounted to $368 million going to Ethereum validators. Additionally, Nadeau highlighted that Uniswap will also capture Miner Extractable Value (MEV), estimated at $100 million, by owning the validators on Unichain.

Nadeau pointed out that LPs will continue to receive 100% of trading fees and may have the opportunity to participate in both settlement and MEV once Unichain is live. He mentioned that the winners of this move include Uniswap Labs, UNI token holders, and LPs, as they will benefit from the new settlement and MEV capture. Nadeau also identified Optimism as a beneficiary, given that it will receive a percentage of the settlement and MEV from Unichain.

Former FTX Exec Begins 7.5-Year Prison Term

Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, has officially begun serving his seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence at FCI Cumberland, a medium-security federal correctional institution in Maryland. This follows his guilty plea in September for conspiring to make unlawful political contributions and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of FTX who Salame had close ties with, was sentenced earlier this year to nearly 25 years in prison for his role in FTX's collapse, while former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison received a two-year sentence last month.

Salame’s legal team had recently sought to delay his prison term until December, citing ongoing recovery from a dog bite injury sustained in the summer. However, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan denied the request, stating that Salame appeared fully recovered based on his recent appearance in an interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson.

In the interview, Salame criticized the judicial process surrounding his case, claiming that certain aspects of his involvement with FTX were misrepresented. During the sentencing, Judge Kaplan emphasized that Salame prioritized his own interests, accusing him of metaphorically “getting in the lifeboat first” as FTX imploded.

Salame’s partner, Michelle Bond, is also embroiled in legal troubles. She faces charges for allegedly participating in an unlawful campaign finance scheme linked to her unsuccessful 2022 run for a U.S. House seat. Salame has indicated that while incarcerated, he plans to teach a course on digital assets and economics.

Retail Derivatives Exchanges’ Open Interest Rose 32% in September

Open interest on retail derivatives exchanges rose 32.1% to $53.8 billion last month, driven by heightened speculation from traders following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by 50bps. OKX saw the largest rise, with a 32% jump to $12.8 billion.

It was followed by Bybit’s 28.5% jump to $5.97 billion, and by Bitget’s 28.2% rise to $9.65 billion. Leading cryptocurrency exchange Binance saw open interest rise 27.5% to $18 billion in September.

Dig deeper into the world of cryptocurrency trading with CCData’s latest Exchange Review report.

 

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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