Leaked photos reveal Block’s new hardware wallet, crypto firms are flocking to Singapore and who’s posting from Satoshi Nakamoto’s X account? These stories and more, this week in crypto.

Block’s BitKey Wallet Revealed

New images of BitKey have emerged, sparking anticipation for the product’s upcoming beta release. Bitkey is the Bitcoin hardware wallet in development by Jack Dorsey’s Block, and features a unique hexagonal design with an integrated fingerprint sensor for enhanced security. Block has refrained from commenting on its shipping status, but in June they announced that beta testers could apply to receive one of the devices for free.

SBF’s and FTX Trial Begins

Crypto made mainstream headlines again with the start of the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried. His defense attorney, Mark Cohen, asserted that SBF acted in good faith, without intent to defraud or steal; but crypto industry leaders are hoping for Bankman-Fried’s conviction to offer further proof that it was his actions, and not the core technology of crypto assets like Bitcoin, that are to blame for the situation.

Ripple Granted Crypto Service License

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has awarded Ripple a full crypto service license. While highlighting the practicality of crypto solutions for businesses and financial institutions, Ripple’s announcement called the decision a significant step toward broader digital asset adoption. Ripple notched another victory, this time in the United States, as District Judge Analisa Torres denied the SEC’s appeal in its case against the company.

Coinbase Obtains Payment Institution Licence

Coinbase announced this week that it, too, has obtained a Major Payment Institution license in Singapore. In a statement Coinbase said that Singapore is “a vital market” for its business, and the license enables the firm to expand Digital Payment Token services to both individuals and institutions in Singapore.

Meta Battles Over Crypto Scam

Facebook’s parent company Meta, has issued a summons to Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest in a legal battle over a crypto ad scam. Lawyers from Meta have demanded 20 categories of documents after accusing Forrest’s legal team of withholding relevant papers to legal proceedings where Meta faces allegations of inadequately addressing scam ads featuring the images of the billionaire and other notable Australians.

JPMorgan: Ethereum’s Centralization Increased

Investment bank JP Morgan says that Ethereum has become more centralized since the Merge. Ethereum’s increasing centralization is linked to the growing popularity of staking as it concentrates control into the hands of a few. Some prefer decentralized staking platforms like Lido, but a rise in popularity in liquid staking carries with it the risk of rehypothecation, which would be using the same tokens as collateral for multiple loans across various DeFi protocols.

DeFi Social Media Platform Hacked

Popular decentralized social media platform Friend.Tech was targeted by hackers once again. The lone scammer managed to make off with $385,000 worth of Ether in less than 24 hours through a series of SIM-swapping attacks. While this particular incident resulted in a theft of 234 ETH, the same hacker made off with 109 ETH in a previous attack.

Satoshi Nakamoto is Back on X

The X account of @satoshi, linked to the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin has reappeared after being silent since 2018, sparking curiosity. The former Twitter account is reportedly operated by user Andy Rowe, who made a recent post discussing Bitcoin and its white paper. The crypto community has urged Elon Musk to remove the account for violating platform terms for using misleading and deceptive identities.

That’s what’s happened this week in crypto, see you next week.

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