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Paxos breaks up with Binance, Coinbase sales fall 76%, Polygon Labs cuts staff

Paxos breaks up with Binance, Coinbase sales fall 76%, Polygon Labs cuts staff
MakerDAO CEO Rune Christensen, left, and Polygon CEO Sandeep Nailwal, right.

Paxos severs ties with Binance, engages SEC in ‘constructive discussion’

Paxos CEO Charles Cascarilla told employees Tuesday that the company has cut ties with major exchange Binance, stating the partnership “no longer aligns” with Paxos’ strategy. The announcement comes a week after the Securities and Exchange Commission gave Paxos a Wells notice, which alerts companies of impending litigation, in regards to its issuance of Binance-branded BUSD. Now, Paxos has reportedly entered into a “constructive discussion” with the market watchdog.

Aave and MakerDAO get cold feet with Paxos-issued stablecoins

DeFi protocols Aave and MakerDAO are distancing themselves from Paxos after it stopped minting BUSD. DeFi lending protocol Aave’s governance community voted Sunday to freeze Aave’s $11 million BUSD market and allow users to switch to other stablecoins instead. Paxos’ situation has also created a stalemate in MakerDAO’s governance body, with a much-hyped potential partnership between the two companies now hanging in limbo. The deal has not moved beyond a forum discussion to a formal on-chain vote, with a MakerDAO delegate referring to the deal as “a tricky situation” on the protocol’s forum.

Coinbase beats estimates, but hints at layoffs

‘We are nimble, we will take necessary steps’

—  Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas

Coinbase beat revenue estimates on Thursday, but the exchange’s quarterly revenue was down 76% compared to the same period in 2021. The biggest US crypto exchange posted a $557 million loss in the fourth quarter, blaming overall market trends for the downturn. Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas hinted at letting more staff go to address the company’s problems, despite two rounds of layoffs in the past year.

CoinShares loses 97% in income

European asset manager CoinShares reported a whopping 97% decline in income in 2022, pulling in a mere £3 million ($3.63 million) compared to £113.4 million in 2021. CoinShares is one of many companies among FTX’s $3.1 billion debit sheet. Despite the losses, CoinShares’ CEO jean-Marie Mognetti maintained that the balance sheet “remained solid.”

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Polygon Labs cuts 20% of workforce

Polygon Labs is cutting 20% of its workforce. The move comes just months after it announced plans to expand the company’s staff by 40%. It followed a company-wide consolidation of “multiple business units,” Polygon Labs said. The Ethereum scaling platform said employees would receive severance pay regardless of post or duration at the company, and went on to tout its reserves and forward-looking strategy. Still, the layoffs highlight a wider trend of Big Tech on the decline.

SBF seeking tech expert to advise court in bail hearing

Sam Bankman-Fried’s lawyers told a judge they’re looking for a tech expert to advise the court on Tuesday. Last week, prosecutors asked for tighter bail terms for the beleaguered ex-CEO of defunct exchange FTX, citing his use of VPNs and encrypted messaging apps. The disgraced FTX founder’s lawyers maintain he only used a VPN to watch last week’s Super Bowl broadcast, but presiding Judge Lewis Kaplan barred Bankman-Fried from the technology until the matter is settled in an upcoming hearing.

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A previous version of this story incorrectly said Coinshares’ revenue fell 97%. It was the company’s income.