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#HotColumn#Wintermute to Sue Near Foundation Over Failure to Honor $11M Stablecoin Redemption Deal With FTX
Evgeny Gaevoy, the founder and CEO of the crypto market-making firm Wintermute, has revealed plans to sue the Near Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the Near protocol, over its failure to honor a stablecoin deal entered in August.
According to a tweet, Gaevoy intends to pursue all legal avenues against the Near Foundation and Aurora Labs – the development company behind Aurora, an Ethereum Virtual Machine blockchain that runs on the Near protocol.
The Back Story
Following the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, the bankrupt firm has been liquidating its assets to maximize distributions for creditors. Wintermute, which has been involved in the process since March, was asked to facilitate the sale of 11.2 million USN, a Near-native stablecoin.
USN was initially designed to be an algorithmic stablecoin, but due to Terra’s UST collapse, the asset was upgraded to a non-algorithmic model in June 2022 to be fully backed by Tether (USDT) on a 1:1 basis. After the upgrade, USN experienced a $40 million collateral gap, which caused the Near Foundation to create a USN Protection Programme in October 2022. The program was launched to make users whole, and the $40 million grant was sent to a subsidiary of Aurora Labs. #ContentStar#SFC
SEBA Bank’s Hong Subsidiary Receives Crypto Regulatory License From SFC
Switzerland-based crypto-focused financial institution SEBA Bank has secured a regulatory license from Hong Kong regulators through its local wholly-owned subsidiary, enabling the entity to offer regulated cryptocurrency services to institutional investors in the city-state.
The full license comes three months after SEBA received in-principle approval from the Hong Kong regulators and nearly a year after the Swiss crypto bank first established an office in the region.
SEBA Fully Licensed to Operate in Hong Kong
SEBA Hong Kong, a subsidiary of SEBA Bank, received a license from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) as part of the bank’s global expansion plans, according to an announcement on Nov. 8, 2023.
The new license allows SEBA Hong Kong to deal with and distribute all manner of securities, which include products related to digital assets such as over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. Also, the entity will be able to offer advice on digital assets and securities and further “conduct asset management for discretionary accounts in both traditional securities and virtual assets.”
SEBA Hong Kong’s SFC license will enable the firm to cater to institutional and professional investors in the city-state, as stated in the official announcement, some of which include funds, high-net-worth individuals, and corporate treasuries.