DCG's CEO urged to step down

Coinbase has cut over 2,000 roles since the bear market began. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Market Activity Total Market Cap $856.35B (+0,51%) 24 Hour Volume $33.08B (-14.13%) Notable Movers[(XRP) $0.3717]( (+6.39%) Notable Movers (DeFi)[(CRV) $0.6637]( (+2.71%) Bitcoin Dominance 39,18%[(+0,17%)]( Bitcoin Price[(BTC) $17,418.57 (+0.91%)]( Ethereum Price[(ETH) $1,333.15 (+0.24%)]( Cardano Price[(ADA) $0,3122 (-1.14%)]( Editor's Note Who Is Fighting in Way Too Public a Place? We normally reserve a section of our [weekly Twitter roundup]( for covering the public Twitter feuds, but this online clash between the Winklevoss twins and Barry Silbert is too loud to not be mentioned already. If you haven’t yet seen, Cameron Winklevoss published yesterday a damningly accusatory letter directed at DCG and Barry Silbert specifically, detailing business practices that Cameron believes left his Gemini Earn program high and dry when the bear market came around. Without getting into too much detail, the allegations paint the picture of an increasingly interlocked series of trades back and forth from companies that all owned each other in some way, like trading inside a Russian nesting doll. We will note that DCG has denied the claims and will be investigating legal responses. Regardless of how much of Cameron’s letter is true, the whole fiasco sheds light on just how interlocked the crypto industry is — it doesn’t matter if these trades and loans were illegal, just the fact that they were possible in the first place is illuminating. Crypto prides itself on its decentralization, but then how come the collapse of Luna and the collapse of 3AC and the collapse of FTX and the collapse of Blockfi and the collapse of Voyager and the potential collapse of Gemini are all somehow interconnected, almost as if there was a….central point of failure? [Today’s Top Stories ] Today’s Top Stories [Coinbase slashes another 950 jobs]( ❌ What a difference a year makes. Back in February 2022, Brian Armstrong had boasted that Coinbase was planning to hire 2,000 new staff by the end of the year. Instead, he's laid off more than 2,000. The exchange has cut another 20% of its workforce — 950 roles — in the second brutal round of layoffs during the bear market. In a blog post, Armstrong admitted that Coinbase, alongside most tech firms, "became too focused on growing headcount as a metric for success." He went on to warn of challenging conditions because of the broader economic downturn and fallout from "unscrupulous actors in the industry" — a not-so-subtle dig at FTX. While he said crypto isn't going anywhere, he added: "There could still be further contagion." [FTX exec tries to cut plea deal with Feds]( 👀 FTX's former head of engineering is trying to cut a plea deal with federal prosecutors as an investigation into the exchange's collapse continues, according to Bloomberg. If successful, Nishad Singh would become the third top executive to testify against Sam Bankman-Fried — leaving the 30-year-old entrepreneur increasingly isolated. While no charges have been filed, reports have tied Singh to code used to hide the transfers between FTX and sister trading firm Alameda Research. Regulators allege that Alameda was given a "virtually unlimited line of credit" for losing bets, with FTX customers ultimately picking up the tab. Singh was one of the executives who lived in a huge luxury penthouse with SBF in The Bahamas. [Man jailed for crypto insider trading]( 🚨 A man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for using advance knowledge of cryptocurrencies that were about to be listed on Coinbase to make nearly $900,000. Nikhil Wahi's brother Ishan used to be a product manager on the exchange's asset listing team. While not as big as it once was, the "Coinbase effect" generally still sees new tokens get a substantial price bump after making their debut on the exchange. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: "This sentence makes clear that the cryptocurrency markets are not lawless. There are real consequences to illegal insider trading, wherever and whenever it occurs." The illegal trades involved nine cryptocurrencies, and in separate action, the SEC claims they're all securities. [Andrew Tate to remain behind bars for now]( 👀 Andrew Tate's quest to be freed from 30 days of detention in Romania has failed. The controversial influencer had appeared in court to challenge his arrest on charges of rape, human trafficking and organized crime — with his lawyer arguing there was insufficient evidence to justify his time in custody. Tate's brother Tristan and two Romanian women were also arrested by local officials in December. A tweet posted on Tate's account on Wednesday said: "They said I was at war with an enemy that didn’t exist … Today? They just say I was right." Prosecutors allege the real people who have paid the price are six victims in a case that saw them subjected to "acts of physical violence and mental coercion" — as well as sexual exploitation. [Winklevoss calls for DCG's CEO to step down]( 😱 In his second angry open letter in 10 days, Gemini exchange co-founder Cameron Winklevoss upped his rhetoric — accusing Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert of outright fraud. Winklevoss is calling for him to step down, and has warned: "There is no path forward as long as Barry Silbert remains CEO of DCG." All of this comes as 340,000 customers in the Gemini Earn program continue to be owed $900,000 by Genesis, which is one of DCG's subsidiaries. In a letter to shareholders on Tuesday, Silbert said 2022 had been the most difficult year of his life both personally and professionally, adding: "Bad actors and repeated blow-ups have wreaked havoc on our industry, with ripple effects extending far and wide." [Digital pound 'wouldn't be used for surveillance']( 🇬🇧 A digital pound would not be used as a tool for surveillance, a government minister has said. Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said individual privacy would be a top priority if a central bank digital currency was rolled out — but he stressed that no firm decision on launching one has been made. More than 100 countries are at some stage of investigating, testing or creating CBDCs — but China and Nigeria are the only major economies that actually have one in circulation. India and Turkey are both aiming to launch CBDCs this year, and the European Central Bank has been strongly advocating for a digital euro. The U.S. is at the undecided and not especially eager stage, although testing is ongoing and support is growing. Thanks for reading! Have a great day — more news tomorrow! [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Telegram]( Written by Molly Zuckerman and Connor Sephton Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up here](. WANT MORE CRYPTO BITES? 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