December 6, 2022

The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day

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Hello and welcome to The Node. This is Daniel Kuhn and Xinyi Luo, here to take you through the latest in crypto news and why it matters. In today's newsletter:

In the news: Nexo will cease U.S. operations, Goldman Sachs plans to invest in crypto firms at bargain prices and DeFi platform Orthogonal Trading misses a $10 million loan payment.
The takeaway: CoinDesk Columnist Prest Byrne makes his predictions about Ripple v. SEC.

By the way, today marks the next phase of DESK as we integrate our social token into our broader user experience. Now, our readers have the opportunity to earn DESK by reading articles, watching videos and other interactions on the CoinDesk website. Click here to start earning DESK.

– D.K.

Today's must-reads

Top Shelf

Nexo to Ditch US After Regulator Discussions Hit 'Dead End': Crypto lender Nexo said Monday it would stop offering products and services to U.S. users in the coming months, and called the country's regulatory scheme "an impossible environment." The company didn't provide a firm timeline for its overall withdrawal from the U.S.

Crypto lenders in general have had a tough year as BlockFi, Celsius Network and Voyager Digital all filed for bankruptcy protection in 2021.

Goldman Sachs to Invest During Crypto Bear Market: Goldman Sachs, one of the world's largest investment banks, reportedly plans to spend "tens of millions of dollars" on crypto firms whose valuations have been hit after the implosion of FTX.

"We do see some really interesting opportunities, priced much more sensibly," Mathew McDermott, Goldman's head of digital assets, said.
The FTX contagion has spread to the on-chain credit market in DeFi with crypto hedge fund Orthogonal Trading getting a default notice for $36 million debt on blockchain-based lending platform Maple Finance. Nexus Mutual, a decentralized insurance provider, is wrapped up in the mess and may lose upward of 2,461 ETH (about $3 million) in deposits on Maple.

Paraguay Votes Down Crypto Mining Regulation: Paraguay, a South American nation and emergent destination for large crypto miners looking for cheap energy, turned down a bill that would have capped how much grid operators could charge miners for electricity. The move is seen as a big blow to the local mining industry.

Meanwhile, bitcoin mining difficulty drops by most since July 2021 with miners powering off machines as a brutal bear market eats into profits.

– D.K. and Xinyi Luo

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Putting the news into perspective

The Takeaway

(Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A History of SEC Enforcements

Prominent crypto lawyer and CoinDesk columnist Preston Byrne makes his predictions about the potentially industry-changing Ripple lawsuit. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is claiming the firm linked to XRP has violated federal securities laws by selling millions of dollars' worth of tokens. Byrne goes through the history of SEC enforcements in four acts – Kik Interactive, Telegram, LBRY and Ripple Labs – to determine what may happen to crypto if Ripple loses its case. Read the full article here.

Overheard on CoinDesk TV...