Image Credits: TechCrunch
There are some events in your life that you look back on and think to yourself, “Wow, that was a really tough time.” We all have memories like that and I think the crypto community definitely shares one (or more) of those experiences together. For example, the Terra/LUNA collapse back in May. So when Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon resurfaced to speak publicly — after being somewhat silent following one of the biggest downfalls in the crypto industry — emotions were flowing for many.
Hello and welcome back to the Chain Reaction podcast, where we unpack and explain the latest crypto news, drama and trends, breaking it down block by block for the crypto curious. This week, Jacquelyn and Anita dove into Coinage’s interview with Kwon, Galaxy Digital terminating its $1.2 billion proposed acquisition of BitGo and Crypto.com laying off more people while also registering with United Kingdom’s financial services regulator. (Lucas is on vacation for one more week and we are looking forward to getting a postcard … any day now).
This week, an interview with Kwon caused a whirlwind of emotions across the “crypto Twitter” community after he spoke on air for the first time since the Terra empire, which was nearing $100 billion in value, collapsed and wiped out trillions of dollars across the crypto ecosystem. While Kwon said he was wrong, “bet big” and thinks he “lost,” many community members weren’t sure if the remorse was genuine or an attempt to remedy his extremely damaged image.
Kwon also claimed South Korean prosecutors haven’t been in contact with him and he hasn’t been charged with anything — even though law enforcement is barring his employees from leaving the country. A lot of questions remain, but the NFTV series Coinage said it plans to release more clips from the two-day interview soon.
Separately, Galaxy Digital broke things off with BitGo after it alleged that the crypto custodian failed to provide its audited financial statements from 2021, which would violate the terms it agreed upon. BitGo wasn’t too happy about that and called Galaxy’s actions “improper” and plans to hold the firm “legally accountable” while seeking over $100 million in damages.
This all comes after Galaxy reported its second-quarter earnings earlier this month with a loss of $554.7 million and as the firm is awaiting SEC review and stock exchange approval for a U.S.-based Nasdaq listing. All in all, it looks like Galaxy is too busy focusing on itself to fulfill prior commitments. A source close to BitGo said that a number of entities have reached out to them for a deal, so maybe there will be a happy ever after, after all.
Lastly, we talked shop on what’s going on with Crypto.com after the company did a second round of layoffs – worse than their previous cuts of 5% in June, which they blamed on the crypto bear market at the time. The firm isn’t the first one to double dip into layoffs, which has become a growing trend in the digital asset industry and across other sectors as the overall economy continues to remain shaky. Crypto.com also had some better news for itself as it announced it has registered with the United Kingdom’s financial services regulator, which means it has approval to offer crypto asset services and products for users in the U.K. compliantly.
Make sure to tune in on Tuesday next week for an interview with Mad Realities co-founder Devin Lewtan on all things web3 media and television.
Chain Reaction podcast episodes come out every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m. PDT. Subscribe to us on Apple, Spotify or your alternative podcast platform of choice to keep up with us every week.
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