ChatGPT goes crypto

Plus the breakup no one saw coming

Author

Angelina Berger
May 02, 2023

Welcome back. ICYMI, there’s some exciting news over on the Coinsider YouTube channel—we’re thrilled to welcome an additional host, Gemmy, to join Kevin in explaining the biggest themes in crypto, stocks, and investing! Expanding the team means expanding our capacity for even more quality crypto content, so stay tuned. Welcome, Gemmy!

Today: Binance.US backs out of the Voyager deal, Zimbabwe looks to blockchain to curb inflation, and Solana embraces ChatGPT. Let’s dive in.

—Angelina

Binance.US Drops Voyager Digital

Binance.US cancelled its $1 billion asset purchase deal with bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital last week—putting an end to five months of legal drama.

What happened: Binance.US took Voyager Digital by surprise by abruptly terminating the deal last week. Why? In a tweet, Binance.US cited the "hostile and uncertain regulatory climate in the United States" that has "introduced an unpredictable operating environment impacting the entire American business community."

This is the latest twist in Voyager’s path to reimbursing investors. A quick recap:

  • After filing for bankruptcy last July, Voyager struck a deal with FTX to sell its distressed assets. But that agreement fell through when FTX collapsed in November.

  • In December 2022, Binance.US offered more than $1 billion to buy Voyager’s assets. The deal seemed to be creditors’ best bet to get their money back and was approved by 97% of Voyager account holders.

  • While creditors approved, U.S. regulators did not. The SEC and New York’s financial regulator sought to block the deal in February, arguing that it violated securities laws and state registration rules.

Then just two weeks ago, the federal government gave the green light for the deal to move forward—which makes Binance’s sudden termination all the more surprising.

Where does this leave creditors? Voyager creditors will still get about 40% to 65% of their money back, according to Voyager’s representing law firm. This depends on whether FTX wins its lawsuit against Voyager and claws back $446 million in loan repayments from the bankrupt crypto lender.

Gold-Backed Crypto to the Rescue

Zimbabwe’s central bank is launching a gold-backed digital currency as legal tender this month. The tokens will be backed by the country's gold reserves and are designed to help citizens hedge against the rapidly declining value of the Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL), Zimbabwe’s national currency.

Some context: Since weathering a major hyperinflation crisis in 2008, Zimbabwe has struggled to bring inflation rates down. In April, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate clocked in at 75.2%, and $1 currently trades for more than 1,000 ZWL.

The reasoning: Technically a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the new tokens are better thought of as digital gold or a store of value.

  • Zimbabwe already introduced physical gold coins last year, but the digital version has one key advantage: It lowers the barrier to entry.

  • Digital gold gives citizens access to an asset class that otherwise requires physically holding precious metals, which can be both cumbersome and unsafe.

Big picture: Due to various economic challenges, the adoption of CBDCs and private cryptos has been on the rise in many African countries. According to Chainalysis, the crypto market in North Africa and the Middle East is the fastest growing in the world.

Solana feat. ChatGPT

In the most talked-about crossover since Jay-Z feat. Linkin Park, ChatGPT is coming to Solana.

The TL;DR: Solana Labs announced that it created a Solana-specific ChatGPT plugin last week. It will let users interact with the Solana network directly from ChatGPT, allowing the chatbot to check wallet balances, transfer Solana-native tokens, and purchase NFTs.

When will it drop? Whenever OpenAI rolls out its new plugin feature (date TBD), according to Solana Labs.

FYI: The Solana community appears to be bullish on AI as of late—last week, the Solana Foundation committed $1 million to fund projects that build AI tools on Solana.

In other news:

  • SushiSwap plans to revamp its tokenomics model following April’s $3 million hack.

  • Meta’s metaverse division racked up nearly $4 billion in losses in Q1.

  • Here are five key takeaways from this year’s Consensus conference.

  • Venmo is enabling fiat-to-crypto payments.

  • Binance will reenter Japan five years after folding its operations in the country.

Crypto Job Board

  • Vibe Manager sound like a cool title? Then managing Molecule’s Berlin office could be the job for you,

  • UK-based fintech startup Plutus is looking for a Customer Support Agent.

  • DeLabs is hiring a Director of Growth to make DeGods the largest NFT project in the world.

And that’s what you need on your radar today in crypto. Do AI integrations into crypto have a future? Shoot me a reply with your thoughts. See you back here next Tuesday!