Just two days after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hired former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to lead a new advanced AI research team, OpenAI backtracked on its decision to let go t

On Nov. 22, OpenAI announced a new agreement that would see the return of Altman as the company CEO. The company confirmed this decision through an official tweet.

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

According to OpenAI, the company and Altman “are…

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Executives from crypto asset manager Grayscale have met with the Securities and Exchange Commission to discuss details of its flagship Bitcoin (BTC) trust, which the firm wants to convert to a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A Nov. 20 SEC memo disclosed Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein, legal chief Craig Salm, ETF head Dave LaValle and four other executives, along with five Davis Polk law firm representatives, met with the SEC’s division of trading and markets.

The memo said discussions “concerned NYSE Arca, Inc.’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E.”

Grayscale detailed that it had entered a…

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A New Zealand dollar-pegged stablecoin has gone live through a partnership with New Zealand crypto exchange Easy Crypto and Australian blockchain development firm Labrys.

In a Nov. 22 announcement, Labrys and Easy Crypto said the NZDD will be backed 1:1 with cash in trust and regulated by the New Zealand Financial Markets Authority.

It’s initially live on Ethereum but has plans to expand to Polygon, the BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism and Coinbase’s Base.

Easy Crypto was motivated to launch the stablecoin as it claimed it was harder for New Zealanders to maximize their profits when using U.S. dollar-pegged tokens.

Easy Crypto co-founder and CEO Janine Grainger said the NZDD bridges…

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Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will pay a $175 million release bond and agree to return to the United States 14 days before his Feb. 23, 2024 sentencing — possibly allowing him to return to Dubai.

In a Nov. 21 bond document filed in a Seattle federal court, Zhao agreed to share with the court where he would reside and that a warrant could be issued for his arrest if he fails to show up for his court date.

Failure to appear in court carries a $250,000 fine and a maximum of 10 years in jail.

Appearance Bond of Changpeng Zhao submitted by the United States to a Washington District Court

The U.S. is expected to review Zhao’s bail order. If a judge denies review of the order, it…

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CoinList founder Andy Bromberg believes that spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are just “watered down crypto” and a sign the industry is heading in the wrong direction, amid growing hype over potential ETF approvals in the United States.

Bromberg — also CEO of payments-focused wallet app Beam — told Cointelegraph: “If a Bitcoin ETF is considered crypto, we’ve failed as an industry.”

He said a Bitcoin ETF would “absolutely” be a net positive for crypto adoption but asserted the space’s success comes from helping people self-custody assets and decouple from the traditional finance system — the antithesis of a TradFi ETF.

“If crypto adoption happens mostly… Read more on Cointelegraph

Amid guilty pleas by Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the developments could spur greater regulatory certainty going forward.  

“Today’s news reinforces that doing it the hard way was the right decision,” Armstrong said in a Tuesday X post.

The post came at roughly 3 pm ET — the original scheduled time for a Department of Justice press conference to announce “significant cryptocurrency enforcement actions.”

Read more: Yellen: Historic Binance settlement “sends message” to crypto industry

According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, Zhao agreed to step down as chief executive and will plead guilty to “violating and causing a…

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The Department of Justice formally announced a series of actions against Binance, including a whopping $4.3 billion in fines and forfeitures, one of the largest corporate penalties in US history.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, CFTC chair Rostin Behnam and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco appeared at the joint press conference hosted by the DOJ. The exchange, under CEO Chengpang Zhao’s leadership, knowingly and willingly broke the law and helped others do the same, Garland said during Tuesday’s press conference.

“Binance also did more than just fail to comply with federal law,” Garland said. “It pretended to comply.” 

Zhao announced his…

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Officials with the United States Department of Justice announced that Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao will plead guilty to one felony charge as part of a settlement over criminal and civil cases with the exchange.

In a Nov. 21 press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced CZ entered his plea in person in U.S. federal court despite residing outside the country. He added there would be a $4.3-billion settlement with Binance and CZ covering “civil regulatory enforcement actions” by government departments including the U.S. Treasury and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

According to Garland, Binance’s policies allowed criminals involved in illicit activities to…

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Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced his resignation from the cryptocurrency exchange in a post on X.

The news of the resignation itself is not new, following the publishing of the Binance plea deal by the Department of Justice earlier today. As part of the deal, he was barred from maintaining a role at the company for a period of three years.

“Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself,” Zhao said.

Richard Teng, currently serving as Binance’s head of regional markets, will take…

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