Nouns DAO fractures in $27 million split

September 15, 2023

Nouns DAO fractures in $27 million split

A pixel art illustration of a figure with a white teacup for a head, wearing boxy pink sunglasses and a green sweater

Nouns DAO, one of the most prominent Ethereum DAOs, has split into two projects after holders of around 56% of the Nouns NFTs in circulation voted to "ragequit". This means that they have forked into a new DAO, taking 16,757 ETH (~$27.3 million) of the original DAO's treasury with them.

Nouns NFTs have been popular since the project's launch in 2021, and in mid-2022 enjoyed a floor price of over 100 ETH (then over $150,000). Now they tend to sell for around 35 ETH (~$57,000). The DAO has used its substantial treasury to fund a wide range of projects, from creating Nouns short films, to distributing eyeglasses to kids, to partnering with Bud Light for a Super Bowl commercial in 2022.

Now, however, more than half of the project has opted to leave, with some leavers citing flawed decisionmaking and lack of leadership. As for the new fork, some Nouns owners may choose to "ragequit" — that is, forfeit their NFT and cash out their portion of the treasury (around 35.5 ETH, or $57,850, apiece). Some arbitrageurs have been buying Noun NFTs for months, hoping to use this ragequit functionality to profit.

"Nouns Fork: Disgruntled NFT Holders Exit With $27 Million From Treasury", Decrypt [archive]

September 15, 2023

NFL quarterback Trevor Lawrence, others settle FTX class action claims

Collage of photos of Trevor Lawrence, Kevin Paffrath, and Tom Nash

Trevor Lawrence, Kevin Paffrath, and Tom Nash (attribution)

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has agreed to settle claims against him made in a class action lawsuit by FTX customers who say his endorsement of the fallen crypto exchange contributed their decision to use it. Also settling are finance YouTuber and crypto shills Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash. The terms of the settlements were not disclosed.

Lawrence, Paffrath, and Nash are far from the only people facing class actions over their endorsements of FTX. Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Steph Curry, Shaquille O'Neal, Larry David, are also facing lawsuits over their activities in promoting the firm.

"Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence Settles FTX Endorsement Lawsuit", Bloomberg [archive]

September 15, 2023

Remitano hacked for $2.7 million

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Crypto exchange Remitano suffered a hack in which $2.7 million in Tether (USDT), USDC, and Ankr was drained from the exchange's hot wallets across three blockchains. Luckily for them, Tether was able to freeze $1.9 million of the stolen funds, substantially reducing the attacker's profits.

Remitano acknowledged the hack, writing that they had suffered a "data breach from a third-party source". They have claimed that users' assets will not be affected by the theft.

Remitano is a peer-to-peer crypto exchange focused on emerging markets, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Venezuela, and Malaysia.

"Latest Updates on Recent Security Incident On Remitano", Remitano [archive]
"Remitano exchange hacked for $2.7M; $1.4M frozen by Tether", CoinTelegraph [archive]
"Remitano", Rekt [archive]

September 15, 2023

Crypto booster Mark Cuban hacked for $870,000

Mark Cuban (attribution)

Billionaire crypto evangelist Mark Cuban apparently fell victim to a hack when an attacker was able to siphon around $870,000 in multiple cryptocurrencies from a wallet belonging to him. Cuban later acknowledged the hack to DL News. "They must have been watching," he said, explaining that "I'm pretty sure I downloaded a version of MetaMask with some shit in it".

This isn't the first time Cuban has been burned by the crypto industry. In June 2021, he lost "enough that I wasn't happy about it" in the collapse of the Titan stablecoin. Cuban is also a defendant in a class action lawsuit related to his endorsement of Voyager, a crypto broker that collapsed in July 2022.

"Mark Cuban on how he lost $870k to crypto scam — 'They must have been watching'", DL News [archive]

September 14, 2023

Genesis closes trading entirely

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After announcing on September 5 that Genesis would be closing their U.S. spot trading business in a "decision ... made voluntarily and for business reasons", Genesis has now announced that they will be closing all trading. They again write that "This decision was made voluntarily and for business reasons" - the kind of statement that gets less believable the more they repeat it.

Although Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, portions of its business were excluded from the bankruptcy and continued to operate.

"Genesis Has Ceased All Crypto Trading Services: Spokesperson", CoinDesk [archive]

September 13, 2023

SEC charges Mila Kunis-backed Stoner Cats NFT project

An illustrated beige cat, with eyes pointed in opposite directions, wearing a yellow rain hat on a rainy day. It's holding a roll of $100 bills in one hand and a baggie of marijuana in the other

Stoner Cat #7605 (attribution)

In a rather amusing press release, the SEC announced they had charged "Stoner Cats 2 LLC" with conducting an unregistered securities offering when they raised $8.2 million selling NFTs that were intended to finance an animated web series called Stoner Cats.

The series was developed by Mila Kunis and her production company, and she, Ashton Kutcher, and Chris Rock all performed in the show, which ultimately aired six episodes accessible only to those who hold the NFTs. The premise, according to the SEC, is "house cats that become sentient after being exposed to their owner's medical marijuana".

The SEC determined that the project had marketed the NFTs as an investment in a web series enterprise, and had therefore violated securities laws by not registering with the SEC. Stoner Cats 2 LLC agreed to a cease-and-desist order, and will pay a $1 millon penalty.

SEC order [archive]
"SEC Charges Creator of Stoner Cats Web Series for Unregistered Offering of NFTs", SEC press release [archive]

September 12, 2023

OneCoin cofounder gets 20 years in prison

Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood photographed in front of a OneCoin branded backdrop

Ruja Ignatova and Karl Sebastian Greenwood (attribution)

Karl Sebastian Greenwood, co-founder of the notorious OneCoin ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. He will also forfeit $300 million, much of which he spent on real estate, luxury vacations, and a yacht.

OneCoin operated out of Bulgaria, and was founded by Greenwood and "Cryptoqueen" Ruja Ignatova, the latter of whom has been on Europol's most wanted list since May 2022. The fraud amounted to around $4 billion and affected at least 3.5 million victims.

"Co-Founder Of Multibillion-Dollar Cryptocurrency Scheme “OneCoin” Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison", press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York [archive]

September 12, 2023

Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder bails as the company cuts 1/3 of its employees

Brian Shroder, wearing a Binance shirt under a suit coat

Brian Shroder (attribution)

Brian Shroder, the CEO of Binance's US entity, has left the crypto exchange as it faces an existential lawsuit from the U.S. SEC. Shroder is only the latest exec to leave Binance and its various regional arms in what is becoming a mass exodus in recent months. The company has also lost its general counsel, chief strategy officer, head of investigations, a senior VP of compliance, and two leaders of Binance's Russian arm.

Simultaneously, Binance.US announced it would be cutting 1/3 of its employees, or more than 100 people. This is the second staffing cut since the SEC lawsuit was filed in June — Binance.US cut around 50 positions, then around 10% of employees, shortly after the lawsuit was announced. The primary Binance entity also fired more than 1,000 people in July.

"Binance.US CEO Leaves Embattled Crypto Exchange", The Wall Street Journal [archive]

September 12, 2023

CoinEx hacked for $70 million

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Various blockchain watchers noticed suspicious transfers from a hot wallet known to belong to the CoinEx cryptocurrency exchange. CoinEx later confirmed a "security incident" involving "unauthorized transactions", and disclosed that around $70 million was stolen. Outside researchers have suggested that the thieves appear to be a part of the North Korean state-sponsored hacking group, Lazarus.

CoinEx is based out of Hong Kong, and was recently forced to stop serving US customers as part of a settlement with the New York Attorney General which also required them to pay a $1.7 million fine.

September 11, 2023

Developer steals $1 million from the group behind Milady NFTs

A pixel art image of a humanoid robot holding a paint palette, with a small dog by its feet, and a desert with a cactus in the background

Bonkler #150 (attribution)

A developer working on an NFT project spearheaded by Remilia, the DAO behind the Milady NFT project, stole around $1 million from the group by diverting fees generated by their new Bonkler "experimental finance art project". According to leader Charlotte Fang, the developer "also seized codebases and coordinated with two others on the team in an attempt to seize control of our social media, followed by demands for a significant portion of our treasury, including the NFT reserves." Fang stated that they believed they knew the thief's identity and had filed a lawsuit against them, and promised that they "will now be dealt with through the heavy hand of the law".

Remilia is a very controversial group, particularly after it was exposed that leader Charlotte Fang was a major figure in a white supremacist cult known as Kali Yuga Accelerationism (abbreviated "kaliacc"), and involved in a 4chan suicide cult.

Fang announced the theft on September 11 in a tweet accompanied by a glitch art image derived from a photo of the Twin Towers engulfed in flames and smoke shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

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