Fintech firm Dave will purchase a convertible promissory note worth $100 million at a discounted rate, paying $71 million to FTX liquidators. Court approval is pending for the deal.
Fintech firm Dave has announced an agreement to purchase a $100-million convertible promissory note previously issued to FTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX.
- A convertible promissory note is a financial instrument commonly used by startups.
- It’s essentially a loan that can be turned into a share of the company later.
Dave offers financial services via a mobile application, including savings accounts, cash advances and spending accounts. According to the company’s Crunchbase profile, it has raised a total of $536.3 million in funding over nine rounds. The latest funding for Dave was secured through a $50-million debit emission in September 2023.
The fintech firm partnered with FTX in March 2022 to provide cryptocurrency payments on its platform. The partnership also included a $100-million investment from FTX Ventures.
Several investments, payments and donations made by FTX and its subsidiaries over the months prior to the bankruptcy in November 2022 were reclaimed by the bankruptcy court.
In a Dec. 19 announcement, FTX debtors announced a global settlement with the Joint Official Liquidators for the firm’s Bahamian arm as part of bankruptcy proceedings. The firms said the settlement was a “novel and mutually-beneficial solution” based on cross-border legal issues.
FTX debtors have filed multiple requests to liquidate the company’s assets to repay creditors since November 2022. A court has granted approval for several sales, including the divestment of LedgerX, the sale of trust assets valued at $873 million, the liquidation of digital assets worth $3.4 billion and an agreement resolving issues between FTX and Genesis.
Of the roughly $8.7 billion in misappropriated customer funds, at least $7 billion in assets have been recovered. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty of two counts of wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, one count of securities fraud, one count of commodities fraud conspiracy and one count of money laundering conspiracy on Nov. 2. His sentencing has been scheduled for March 28, 2024.
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North Korean hackers stole $600M in crypto in 2023: Report
TRM Labs reported North Korean hackers potentially stole up to $700 million in crypto in 2023, with $600 million confirmed according to its research.
Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has reported that groups tied to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) were responsible for roughly 33% of all crypto stolen through hacks in 2023.
According to a Jan. 5 report, TRM Labs said North Korean hackers potentially stole up to $700 million in crypto in 2023, with $600 million confirmed by its research. DPRK hackers have stolen roughly $3 billion worth of crypto since 2017, suggesting that the country’s attacks involving digital assets increased in the last year.
The blockchain firm reported that the DPRK’s methods for money laundering were “constantly evolv[ing] to evade international law enforcement pressure.” Research suggested that the hackers almost always compromised users’ private keys or seed phrases, transferred funds to DPRK-controlled wallets and then swapped the assets for Tether
or TronTRX
$0.1038
“North Korea’s hacking prowess demands continuous vigilance and innovation from business and governments,” said TRM Labs.
- “Despite notable advancements in cybersecurity among exchanges and increased international collaboration in tracking and recovering stolen funds, 2024 is likely to see further disruption from the world’s most prolific cyber-thief.”
Officials with the United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions on individuals and hacking groups they alleged were tied to North Korea, including Lazarus. Following the department’s sanctions against cryptocurrency mixers Tornado Cash and Sinbad, TRM Labs reported the DPRK “continued exploring other laundering tools.”
Related: Orbit Bridge hack pushes December crypto theft to nearly $100M
CertiK reported on Jan. 3 that there were roughly 751 breaches in 2023, which resulted in the loss of more than $1.8 billion in crypto — one-third of which DPRK hackers were alleged to be responsible. The Ethereum network reportedly recorded the most losses at $686 million over 224 incidents.
U.S. officials have often cited digital assets in their reasons for imposing sanctions on certain entities, including the terrorist group Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Cryptocurrency mixers have also been a particular target for lawmakers, who claim the technology is primarily used for illicit reasons.
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