Meta tests prediction app, DOJ seeks $1.2B from Binance hack, and more

The following piece is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, published every weekday afternoon.

Happy Friday! Bitcoin dropped beneath $69,000 as turmoil linked to Nvidia compounded broader market anxieties surrounding the interest rate path of the Federal Reserve.

Today’s newsletter covers Meta evaluating a prediction-market app among its staff, the Department of Justice taking steps to recover $1.2 billion tied to the Binance security breach, two inactive bitcoin wallets transferring 100 BTC following a span of over 16 years, and additional stories.

Simultaneously, Hyperliquid surpassed Bybit, Kraken, and OKX in terms of open interest, while MEGA eliminated 20% of its personnel.

P.S. Make sure to visit The Latent, our sister publication focused on artificial intelligence. Sign up for The Latent Daily here and explore all other newsletters from The Block here. Furthermore, follow The Block and The Latent on X for further updates.

Meta tries out prediction-market platform utilizing points instead of cash: WSJ

Meta has initiated trials for a prediction-market application with its employees, permitting them to place wagers using points instead of actual currency, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

• The software, currently designated as Takes, incorporates “cred” points, which is short for credibility. Participants accumulate points when their forecasts are right and forfeit them when wrong.
• This initiative was initially disclosed in June under the moniker Arena, at which point Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg instructed staff members to build an independent prediction-market tool.
• The program remains unavailable to the general public, and it is uncertain whether Meta will ultimately launch it commercially. This trial takes place as Kalshi and Polymarket deal with legal challenges from states regarding their event contracts.

DOJ moves to confiscate $1.2 billion from Binance exploit, halts North Korean deepfake plot

The U.S. Department of Justice secured authorization from a court to freeze or seize over $1.2 billion pilfered from Binance and interrupted a separate crypto theft operation originating from North Korea.

• The Binance funds form a fraction of the more than $2.7 billion secured via collaborative efforts between American agencies and private firms, with investigators continuing tracking operations for the stolen capital.
• The DOJ pointed to North Korean military cybercriminals known as TraderTraitor as the culprits behind the Binance intrusion, which saw more than $6 billion siphoned from the platform in October.
• In a separate action, the DOJ took control of cloud infrastructure utilized in an operation dubbed FaceStealer by the FBI, which has generated upwards of $400 million in cryptocurrency thefts spanning 18 months.

Dormant bitcoin wallets shift 100 BTC following a period exceeding 16 years

Two Bitcoin wallets that remained dormant for upward of 16 years completed a transfer of 100 BTC collectively on Friday, valued at approximately $6.9 million.

• Both wallets originally obtained 50 BTC apiece as mining payouts back in September 2010, when the digital assets were valued around $3 per wallet.
• The transactions happened just over two minutes apart, with a portion of the bitcoin later being consolidated into a fresh address.
• The identities of the holders, the motivation behind the movements, and whether both wallets belong to the exact same entity remain undisclosed.

JPMorgan boosts Strategy stake by 36%, maintains $540 million in BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF

JPMorgan expanded its holdings in Strategy shares by 36% through the third quarter, reaching 848,932 shares as of September 30, based on its most recent filing with the SEC.

• That investment was calculated at about $131.3 million as September concluded, rising from the 624,387 shares held at the end of June.
• The financial institution likewise retained 11.4 million shares of the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), amounting to roughly $540 million, reflecting a 9.6% increase in shares compared to the previous quarter.
• Additional disclosed crypto-associated positions featured 1.58 million shares of Coinbase, equity in Robinhood, and investments in several publicly traded bitcoin mining firms.

White House puts forward four candidates for SEC and CFTC vacancies

The White House put forward four names to occupy open positions at the Securities and Exchange Commission along with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

• Nathan Anonick and Matthew Rowland were designated for the CFTC, whereas Kristin Johnson and Steven Levine were designated for the SEC.
• Both Anonick and Rowland have previously collaborated on the Clarity Act, while Johnson, who is a past CFTC commissioner, has frequently spoken on cryptocurrency oversight.

Over the coming week

• The United States is scheduled to publish October retail sales, industrial production, and import prices on Tuesday; housing starts along with Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday; weekly claims for unemployment benefits on Thursday; and November consumer sentiment metrics on Friday.
• The eurozone will publish September industrial production figures on Monday; November ZEW economic sentiment statistics on Tuesday; final October inflation figures alongside the ECB Financial Stability Review on Wednesday; third-quarter labor cost statistics on Thursday; and negotiated wage acceleration as well as November consumer confidence metrics on Friday.
• Significant token unlocks scheduled for next week involve Cronos (CRO), Arbitrum (ARB), LayerZero (ZRO), Connex (CONX), Starknet (STRK), and KAITO (KAITO).

Stay up to date effortlessly utilizing The Block’s daily summary highlighting the most impactful happenings across the digital asset sector.