The founder of the world’s formerly leading centralized exchange just underwent an excruciating courtroom dissection, ending with a guilty verdict. But this landmark trial also marks a pivotal moment for centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) everywhere. 

As Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF, as he’s better known, took the stand last week in his trial for criminal misdeeds at FTX, CEXs everywhere are taking note. Very few CEXs have been run in a way that is as nearly corrupt and criminal as how Bankman-Fried ran FTX. But the general public, and even regulators, aren’t necessarily noting the nuances. That means we’ve entered a new era for CEXs, one with new, higher expectations from a…

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Several Bored Ape Yacht Club fans and owners have taken to X to report vision and skin problems after attending ApeFest, an event the NFT collection hosted in Hong Kong Nov. 3-5. 

One X user complained of “eyes burning” and “extreme pain,” prompting a trip to the emergency room, according to a Nov. 5 post. In the 108 replies to the post, more than ten fellow attendees reported similar symptoms, with some claiming a diagnosis of photokeratitis, which is when ultraviolet radiation damages cells in the eye. 

Photokeratitis, which is commonly caused by welding without eye protection, results in painful corneal abrasion, typically lasting anywhere from a few hours to several days,…

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Arbitrum is slated to distribute more than $100 million in its native ARB token to anyone willing to to lock their tokens with the protocol’s DAO. 

The staking mechanism passed a governance vote early Monday morning. Supporters say the payouts will put Arbitrum’s inflated treasury to use by rewarding long-term token holders. However, detractors argued that high yield would create sell pressure, and the staking proposal could make ARB appear to be a security.

Under the proposal, users will receive greater returns the longer they keep their tokens held by Arbitrum DAO. The maximum locking length will be one year.

Arbitrum DAO’s “timelock” staking differs from proof of stake…

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A governance and smart contract management solution called Llama has successfully secured a $6 million investment. The funding round was spearheaded by investment firms Founders Fund and Electric Capital.

Llama is a governance application that manages smart contracts and permissions on behalf of protocols. The fundraise comes amid what some perceive as stagnation on the part of DAOs when it comes to innovative approaches to governance. 

Llama told Blockworks that its full stack platform would streamline governance.

“Currently, the space is very fragmented,” Llama co-founder Austin Green said. “There really isn’t one unified place that has the full stack for you to manage roles…

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On-chain privacy protocol RAILGUN will be launching a “Private Proof of Innocence” (PPOI) tool, enabling DeFi users to remain anonymous whilst simultaneously proving that they do not interact with malicious actors. 

This tool is designed so users can cryptographically prove that their tokens are legitimately sourced without having to reveal any information about their balance or viewing keys. 

The PPOI aims to achieve this outcome through using zero-knowledge (zk) technology, Alan Scott, a RAILGUN contributor, told Blockworks. 

According to DeFiLlama, RAILGUN is one of the largest privacy protocols today with a total value locked (TVL) of $32.6 million, second only to Tornado…

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The S&P 500 Index soared 5.85% last week, its best performance since November 2022. A large part of the gains were fuelled by expectations that the Federal Reserve will not hike rates anymore. 

In comparison, Bitcoin (BTC) had a much muted performance with a rise of approximately 2%. However, a positive sign for cryptocurrency investors is that a risk on sentiment is likely to benefit the crypto space.

Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360

Bitcoin’s rise attracted investments in several beaten-down altcoins, which are rising from their long-term slumber. If Bitcoin does not collapse, the recovery may spread to coins that have still not participated in the rise.

Even as Bitcoin…

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Crypto exchange Binance’s market share in spot trading has fallen to 40% in late 2023, compared to 62% a year ago.

According to the November 6 report by blockchain analytics firm 0xScope, the exchange has lost one-third of its market share in the past 12 months. “Binance’s spot trading volume has seen a significant decline in the past year, perhaps due to its listing strategy,” researchers wrote, “Most popular coins experienced a downturn immediately after being listed on Binance.” At the same time, Korean crypto exchange Upbit saw the most significant increase, with its spot market share increasing from 5% to 15.3% during the same period.

When all crypto trading volumes, including both…

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