Do Kwon arrested, Arbitrum airdrop dominates layer 2, MakerDAO votes to retain USDC

Fugitive Do Kwon arrested in Montenegro

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon was caught trying to leave Montenegro with falsified documents on Thursday, according to Montenegrin officials.

Kwon has been on the run for six months following the $40 billion collapse of the Terra ecosystem in May.

Interpol issued a red notice for him in September.

Kwon is also currently sought by prosecutors in his home country of South Korea.

US prosecutors filed criminal charges against Kwon following his arrest.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Kown and Terraform Labs in February, using the case as another codgel to hammer in its standpoint that cryptocurrencies are securities.

NOW READ: Six month manhunt for Terra co-founder Do Kwon ends with arrest in Montenegro and numerous questions

Arbitrum token launch sees 1 billion ARB airdropped

The biggest crypto airdrop of the year occurred Thursday, as popular layer 2 protocol Arbitrum launched its long-awaited ARB token.

Over 1 billion ARB were airdropped to approved wallets, reaching over 600,000 recipients in minutes.

The market cap for $ARB stabilised near $1.8 billion within a few hours, cementing the leading layer 2 as a key player in the quest for low transaction fees on Ethereum.

Layer 2 protocols bundle Ethereum transactions in a separate layer, enabling cheaper fees for traders.

NOW READ: Hacker poised to pocket 2.8 million tokens in ‘compromised’ Arbitrum airdrop

Metaverse NFTs set $311m record trading numbers in 2023

NFTs may have found a new home in the metaverse, with the ecosystem reporting record trading numbers in 2023.

Virtual land trading has reached new highs in volume, with 147,000 trades worth $311 million having changed hands since January.

NFT contender Blur has much to do with the uptick in NFT volume following a rough year in 2022, as the ecosystem slashed royalties and attracted new users to the NFT space.

NOW READ: Coinbase ‘welcomes’ legal battle with SEC amid signs of widening crypto crackdown

MakerDAO votes to retain USDC as reserve stablecoin despite recent depeg

Despite an industry-shaking depeg earlier in March, MakerDAO’s community has voted to retain USDC stablecoin as the primary reserve token for its own DAI stablecoin.

The Thursday vote passed with 79% approval, meaning DAI’s fate remains tied to USDC.

The move comes following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – a partner of USDC parent company Circle – which left $3.3 billion of USDC reserves frozen and set off a depeg from dollar parity that dropped as low as 82 cents during a chaotic weekend.

The stablecoin recovered by the following Monday, but the lingering effects of the depeg caused lending protocol MakerDAO’s community to reappraise its reserve system which leans heavily on USDC.

NOW READ: Crypto investors drive USDC rebound amid Silicon Valley Bank fallout

Failed lender Blockfi sells $4.7m in assets at auction

Failed crypto lender Blockfi has sold $4.7 million in assets as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

A bankruptcy judge ruled that Blockfi could sell the assets following an auction process, with a party named US Farms as the final buyer.

Blockfi’s mining division took a hit along with other bitcoin mining firms in 2022, as power costs rose and bitcoin fell in value.

NOW READ: Standard Chartered crypto spinoff Zodia Markets gears up for Abu Dhabi expansion

More web3 news from around the web...

Crypto is banned in China, but Binance employees and support volunteers tell people how to bypass the ban – CNBC

DRPC launches with aim to decentralise Ethereum access – The Defiant

DeFi protocol ROOK ‘gagged’ from sharing roadmap by blients, CEO says – CoinDesk