PayPal customers’ crypto assets close to $1 billion; OKX sent $60 million to Alameda Research; Marathon Digital announced crypto mining operation in Abu Dhabi.
PayPal customers’ crypto assets have approached $1 billion.
PayPal’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission showed that PayPal held $943 million in crypto assets. According to the filing, $499 million of these assets is made up of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin, while Ether makes up $362 million.
Considering that the filing is based on data dated March 31, there is also the possibility that the amount of crypto assets that PayPal is holding above $ 1 billion.
These data, reported by PayPal, reveal an increase of 339 million dollars compared to last year. Another reason for the increase is expressed as the increase in the value of Bitcoin and Ether.
Although PayPal does not hold crypto assets directly, it does cooperate with different custody service companies it has agreements with.
The company said it is working with third-party service providers to secure customers’ cryptocurrencies and offer certain custody services. However, the company added that customer assets are held in an account opened in the name of PayPal.
New feature coming for Venmo users
Continuing to make a breakthrough in crypto, PayPal announced that it is working to offer crypto transfers to customers using its subsidiary Venmo.
With this move by PayPal, 60 million customers of Venmo will have the opportunity to transfer cryptocurrencies.
The service is scheduled to go into effect in May.
OKX sent $60 million to Alameda Research
On May 9, cryptocurrency exchange OKX sent nearly $60 million worth of cryptocurrencies to wallets affiliated with bankrupt Alameda Research, according to data from crypto analytics platform Arkham Intelligence.
Of the funds sent in 16 separate transactions, $1.3 million was MASK tokens, while $57 million was sent as USDT.
According to Arkham Intelligence, Alameda Research currently has $284 million in assets in cryptocurrency wallets. The company holds USDT, BitDAO, Ether and Stargate Finance.
The funds could be part of FTX’s efforts to reimburse its customers. OKX announced on March 30 that it plans to return $157 million in assets from FTX and Alameda. The exchange also stated that it froze the funds to protect it. FTX urged OKX to return the funds in order to be able to pay creditors on March 30. OKX welcomed this request.
FTX and Alameda continue to aggressively recover funds after new management takes over. FTX reached an agreement with hedge fund Modulo Capital on March 23 and reclaimed the $460 million it had previously invested in the fund. On May 4, FTX filed a lawsuit to recover the $4 billion it gave to bankrupt crypto loan firm Genesis.
130 companies within FTX filed for bankruptcy in November. Caroline Ellison, former CEO of Alameda Research, and Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of FTX, were charged with alleged misappropriation of client funds. Although Ellison has admitted to the charges made, the SBF continues to deny the charges against him.
Marathon Digital announces crypto mining operation in Abu Dhabi
Crypto mining company Marathon Digital Holdings has announced that it has partnered with digital asset infrastructure firm Zero Two to create an immersion Bitcoin mining facility in Abu Dhabi.
A May 9 statement by Marathon Digital stated that the partnership will be based in Mina Zayed and Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates and will consist of two mining sites with a total capacity of 250 megawatts. According to the company, Marathon and Zero Two are planning to provide facilities with more energy from the Abu Dhabi grid, claiming it will increase baseload and sustainability.
According to Marathon Digital, in Abu Dhabi’s desert climate, where the average annual temperature is roughly 28 degrees Celsius, crypto mining was generally unlikely. The firm revealed its liquid cooling solution, stating that it helped develop a “custom-made immersion solution” to cool mining rigs at the facilities.
For this project, our team developed and implemented mining software from the ground up to provide flexibility, resilience and optimization as well as an immersion solution.
