May 2024 Crypto Industry Updates

Content will be sorted chronologically with latest at the bottom.

• Zhao Changpeng, the founder of cryptocurrency giant Binance, receives four months in prison
  • Zhao pleaded guilty last year to violating money-laundering laws after criminals were allowed to use the exchange with no repercussions.
• FTX Offers Billions of Dollars in Compensation
  • FTX, once a major cryptocurrency exchange, collapsed in November 2022 due to financial mismanagement which caused many of its customers to lose funds.
  • The exchange estimates that it owns around $11.2 billion to its creditors and plans to distribute between $14.5 and $16.3 billion
• SEC approved several Spot Ethereum ETF [23 May 2024]
  • SEC approved filings from 8 companies: VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, and Bitwise
  • The ETF allows for direct exposure to Ethereum without the need to personally purchase or store the cryptocurrency. It’s structured similarly to traditional ETFs, making it a seamless and secure way to invest through regulated channels.
• PayPal stablecoin on Solana
  • PayPal has launched its stablecoin PYUSD on Solana.
  • The PYUSD stablecoin offers a “confidential transfers” feature to enable merchants to keep transactions for customers private from the public but still visible to regulators.