Weekly Forbes Crypto Confidential Newsletter: Bitcoin Slumps on MtGox Plan and More Crypto News

Bitcoin Slides as MtGox Announces Plan to Return 140,000 Tokens to Customers

Last week, Bitcoin experienced a significant drop in value as the failed MtGox exchange revealed its intention to start returning cryptocurrency to investors who have been waiting for compensation since the exchange closed in 2014. MtGox announced that it would distribute approximately 140,000 bitcoins, valued at $9 billion at the time of the announcement.

While this news presented an opportunity for Bitcoin enthusiasts to buy at a lower price, it also had a negative impact on the currency’s value. Bitcoin, which was trading at $64,121 the previous week, briefly fell below $60,000 following MtGox’s announcement. However, it managed to recover some of its losses and was trading at $60,123 by the end of the week.

It is unlikely that all 140,000 coins will flood the market at once due to various factors. Investors are facing significant capital gains taxes on tokens that were valued at $489 when MtGox closed, and a portion of the tokens will go to large claim funds and a separate bankruptcy proceeding.

According to Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, significant selling from these funds is not expected. Additionally, funds like Bitcoinica, whose recovered coins were placed in MtGox for safekeeping, will not be able to sell immediately as they will enter their own bankruptcy process in New Zealand.

It is worth noting that MtGox, a Tokyo-based exchange, originated from a card-trading service called Magic: The Gathering Online Exchange. The exchange faced multiple hacks that resulted in the theft of 950,000 bitcoins, leading to its eventual closure.

Steve Cohen Shifts Focus Away from Crypto Venture Capital

Billionaire Steve Cohen’s Point72 Ventures is making a strategic shift away from crypto and fintech investments. The venture capital division recently laid off its five investors focused on these areas and will now concentrate more on investing in artificial intelligence and defense technology startups.

A spokesperson for Point72 Ventures stated, “We are always evaluating our portfolio’s performance and market opportunity and optimizing our strategy and resources around what we think is the biggest opportunity set.” The firm declined to provide further details on the decision.

Solana Foundation’s Hackathon Hack for Attracting Venture Capital

The Solana Foundation, a supporter of the Solana blockchain, has found a unique way to attract venture capital to its ecosystem. By outsourcing hackathon competitions to a company called Colosseum, the foundation aims to identify promising projects and provide early-stage financing to winners.

Colosseum recently announced that it raised $60 million from investors, with the Solana Foundation being a major contributor. The funds will benefit from the expertise of Solana specialists, particularly Matty Taylor, a former Solana executive who now co-founded Colosseum.

VanEck also made a significant move by filing for permission to launch the first exchange-traded Solana fund in the United States.

Julian Assange’s Unique Fundraising Approach

Julian Assange, the former editor of Wikileaks, recently struck a plea deal that allowed him to leave a British prison in exchange for admitting to a U.S. charge. However, the plea deal came at a cost of half a million dollars for charter flights to Saipan and Australia.

To cover these expenses, Assange’s supporters launched a crowdfunding campaign, but not all donors wanted their contributions to be public. As a result, Assange’s family set up a page on BTCPay, a crypto billing service, to accept more anonymous donations.

For more news and updates on the crypto industry, stay tuned to Forbes Crypto Confidential.