Satoshi, is it you?

Gm. Dare we say it: The Merge has merged, and smoothly at that. For 15 long minutes, we watched with bated breath as Ethereum completed the long anticipated transition to proof-of-stake yesterday. But honestly…in light of all the hype leading up to the Merge, we were expecting a little more ETH price action. Still, we’re excited to see what this new crypto era will bring.

Today: Suing Craig Wright, when TradFi meets DeFi, and Do Kwon’s arrest warrant. Let’s go.

—Angelina & Vincent

Proving Who Satoshi Nakamoto Is Not?

Craig Wright has leveled lawsuit after lawsuit against journalists, developers, and crypto companies in his efforts to prove that he is, in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin’s mysterious founder. Now, the pseudonymous bitcoiner Hodlonaut (real name: Magnus Granath) is trying to put an end to Wright’s litigation with his own lawsuit—against Wright himself in a Norwegian court.

Some context: Wright is an Australian computer scientist who has been claiming he's Satoshi since 2015. Cryptography experts have said Wright would need to confirm a bitcoin transaction using Satoshi’s private keys or sign a message on the bitcoin blockchain with those keys to prove that he created bitcoin. Wright has failed to do either.

Hodlonaut’s claim? The sheer volume of litigation that Wright has pursued against other bitcoiners could be dangerous for bitcoin’s future security. Wright has served 16 bitcoin developers in efforts to get them to return funds that might not be his. Bitcoiners like Hodlonaut are concerned that his many lawsuits against bitcoin operators could dissuade bright minds from working on bitcoin.

Which brings us to today: During the Norwegian court proceedings, Wright declined again to provide cryptographic proof of his Satoshi-ness. Instead, his lawyer leaned heavily on Wright’s convincing of an early bitcoin developer, Gavin Andresen, that Wright was in fact Satoshi. Andresen later testified that Wright had tricked him using “gobbledegook proof” that he possessed Satoshi’s keys.

As for Hodlonaut’s case: His legal team brought on auditing giant KPMG to look into Wright’s evidence.

Big picture: So far, Wright has never been fined by a court for his litigious practices, but if Hodlonaut is successful in his case against Wright, this could be the start of the end of Wright’s long legal campaign to prove he started it all. —Vincent

When TradFi Meets DeFi

Imagine a world in which your local bank lets you deposit your bitcoin alongside your fiat. While that may seem unlikely right now, crypto service platform Abra is working on making it a reality. This week, Abra announced plans for a new crypto bank that sits at the intersection of TradFi and DeFi.

Abra Bank—set to launch in 2023—would be among the first fully regulated banks dedicated to digital assets. The details:

• Abra Bank will be a U.S. state-chartered institution, allowing Americans to deposit and bank cryptocurrencies using the infrastructure of traditional banking.

• The bank will offer accessible fiat on- and off-ramps to crypto (which could solve the issue of accessibility responsible for the creation of stablecoins).

• Abra International, expected to launch later this year, will deliver similar banking services to customers outside of the U.S.

Why it matters: The crypto industry desperately needs fully regulated, state-chartered banks. Because crypto companies typically lack access to the TradFi system, they’re often forced to turn to shady processing firms for financial services—which can seriously endanger customer funds.

Bottom line: While Celsius and Voyager are imploding, Abra’s commitment to take on bank-level regulation (which comes with heavy capital requirements) indicates that there is hope for centralized crypto lenders. —Angelina

The International Hunt for Do Kwon

After the collapse of Terra's algorithmic stablecoin LUNA, a South Korean court has issued arrest warrants for co-founder Do Kwon and six other Terra members.

The warrants come after prosecutors raided the other home of fellow Terra co-founder Daniel Shin. South Korea is investigating Kwon for allegedly evading taxes by putting income into a crypto offshore account. This warrant seems to be focused squarely on a capital markets violation.

Elsewhere: The U.S. SEC is also examining LUNA's crash to determine if Kwon broke securities laws by marketing the stablecoin. The case could affect any stablecoin that promises a 1-to-1 peg but doesn't maintain it. —Vincent

In other news:

• Starbucks' new NFT project seems to be more than a mere publicity stunt.

• The U.S. Treasury Department finally broke its silence on the Tornado Cash sanctions.

• With midterms right around the corner, Coinbase’s new tool helps users identify which politicians are crypto-friendly.

• NFT renting platform Rentable shuts down amid a lack of demand.

• China’s relationship with crypto is complicated…but could it be the new hub for NFT art?

And that’s what you need on your crypto radar today. Is it just us, or are you also secretly hoping for a dramatic 007-style chase between South Korean authorities and Do Kwon? Shoot us a reply to share your vision. See you back here on Sunday.