Sam Altman removed as CEO of OpenAI, Mira Murati named interim CEO

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, has removed founder Sam Altman from his position as CEO. The decision was made by the board of directors after a review process found that Altman had not been consistently honest in his communications with the board. As a result, Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer, has been appointed as the interim CEO. Altman’s exit from the organization was followed shortly after by the departure of OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman.

BlackRock files for spot Ether ETF with SEC

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has officially filed for a spot Ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The ETF, called the iShares Ethereum Trust, aims to reflect the performance of the price of Ether. This filing comes after BlackRock registered the iShares Ethereum Trust with Delaware’s Division of Corporations and filed its spot Bitcoin ETF application six months prior. Fidelity, another asset manager, has also sought approval for its own Ether ETF following BlackRock’s filing.

Australia to impose capital gains tax on wrapped cryptocurrency tokens

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued guidance on the treatment of capital gains tax (CGT) for decentralized finance and wrapped crypto tokens. According to the ATO, Australians will be liable for capital gains taxes when wrapping and unwrapping tokens. The transfer of crypto assets to an address that the sender does not control or that already holds a balance will be considered a taxable CGT event. The event will trigger depending on whether the individual recorded a capital gain or loss. Similar taxation measures are also being considered for liquidity pool users, providers, and DeFi interest and rewards.

FTX Foundation staffer fights for promised bonus

An employee of FTX’s charity wing is fighting to receive a promised bonus of $275,000. Ross Rheingans-Yoo claims that only $375,000 of his $650,000 bonus was paid by FTX. The remaining funds were allegedly owed when the crypto exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. The fate of Rheingans-Yoo’s bonus will be decided by a Delaware bankruptcy judge overseeing FTX’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

WisdomTree amends spot Bitcoin ETF filing

WisdomTree has filed an amended Form S-1 spot Bitcoin ETF prospectus with the U.S. SEC. The amendment comes after WisdomTree refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June 2023, proposing a rule change to list and trade shares of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust. The updated prospectus states that the ETF will trade under the ticker symbol BTCW, with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as the custodian of the trust’s Bitcoin holdings.

Bitcoin and altcoin market update

At the end of the week, Bitcoin is priced at $36,419, Ether at $1,946, and XRP at $0.61. The total market cap is $1.38 trillion. The top three altcoin gainers of the week are Celestia (TIA) at 103.39%, yearn.finance (YFI) at 88.04%, and THORChain (RUNE) at 54.38%. The top three altcoin losers of the week are Gas (GAS) at -64.85%, FTX Token (FTT) at -35.17%, and Neo (NEO) at -20.27%.

Bitcoin traders anticipate price dip

Bitcoin traders are expecting a potential price dip, with some hoping for a retest of lower levels. Analysis suggests that a fresh correction could bring the price down to $35,000 or even $33,000. However, Bitcoin’s rising 21-day simple moving average has been acting as support in recent days. Some traders warn that a steeper correction could take the market closer to $30,000.

Cybersecurity team warns of vulnerability in crypto wallets

Cybersecurity company Unciphered has disclosed a vulnerability called “Randstorm” that affects millions of crypto wallets generated using web browsers between 2011 and 2015. The vulnerability affects wallets generated by BitcoinJS and derivative projects and could put around $2.1 billion in crypto assets at risk.

Swan Bitcoin to terminate accounts using crypto-mixing services

Bitcoin services platform Swan Bitcoin has informed its customers that it will be terminating accounts found to be interacting with crypto-mixing services. This decision is due to the regulatory obligations of Swan Bitcoin’s partner banks, following the proposed rule by the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

ENS developers call on Unstoppable Domains to drop patents

Nick Johnson, the founder and lead developer of Ethereum Name Service (ENS), has urged blockchain domains company Unstoppable Domains to drop a recently awarded patent. Johnson claims that the patent is based on innovations developed by ENS and contains no novel innovations of its own.