DeFi DeBrief #4 | T-minus 7 days ⏳

TL;DR:

• The Merge clears penultimate hurdle
• Crypto.com sends $70m instead of $70
• Michael Saylor accused of tax fraud

Onwards 👇

The Merge is imminent ⚡️

Two days ago, the Ethereum core developers successfully launched Bellatrix, the upgrade that initiates the merge on Ethereum 2.0’s consensus layer. This was the penultimate hurdle to clear before The Merge ‘proper’ can happen.

The upgrade wasn’t entirely smooth — some 5% of validators dropped offline, raising questions about network readiness. That said, developers have high confidence that The Merge will pass without a major hitch.

Around this time next week, we’ll know.

Why should you care?

The Merge is expected to complete around the 15th of September. A final upgrade will change the way Ethereum is created and validated, moving the blockchain from proof of work to proof of stake.

The upgrade will reduce Ethereum’s energy consumption by upwards of 99.5%, alongside boosting network security. It has been a long time coming, but with Bellatrix now complete, there’s just one last hurdle to clear.

Crypto.com adds several too many 0’s 💸

One of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, Crypto.com, accidentally transferred over $7 million to an Australian customer instead of just $70. To make matters worse, it took the company almost seven months to spot the error.

The mistake only came to light following an audit, but not before the fortunate recipient had cashed out almost $1m on a luxury five-bedroom home. Now the company is asking the courts to help it recoup the cash.

IN THE HEADLINES

DC sues Michael Saylor for tax fraud 🏦

The District of Columbia is taking Michael Saylor to court for allegedly never paying income tax in the district in the more than ten years he has lived there. The lawsuit came to light in a tweet from the Attorney General, Karl A. Racine.

The attorney general’s office added that it is suing MicroStrategy, too, “for conspiring to help him evade taxes he legally owes on hundreds of millions of dollars he’s earned while living” in Washington.

Racine alleges that Saylor has avoided paying over $25m in taxes to DC and is seeking back taxes, damages, civil penalties, expenses and fees.

Five short reads catching our eye this week:

1. El Salvador to invest $200m in ‘Bitcoin Beach’
2. Standing orders and direct debits now available in BTC
3. FASB sets out stall for clear accounting rules for crypto
4. Binance to convert USDC to BUSD on the exchange
5. Vitalik Buterin on the state of crypto (longer read)

TEMPERATURE CHECK 🔥

• BTC: $18,815.21 (7.63%, 7 days)
• ETH: $1,520.94 (5.72%, 7 days)
• TVL in DeFi: $56.8bn
• Fear & Greed: 24 (extreme fear)

*Data last updated at 08:00 on 7th September.

I’ve said “we might have merged by then” twice on meetings today and it feels pretty surreal tbh! It’s happening ✨

— Tim Beiko | timbeiko.eth 🐼 (@TimBeiko) September 6, 2022

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