Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon cashed out $80M every month before the LUNA and UST collapse. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Kwon for money laundering and violating the Securities Act. If the charges are true, then Kwon can face legal action in the U.S. More: - The SEC is also reviewing details of Terra's collapse, including interviewing employees and designers.
- The agency has conducted remote video surveys of Terra's key designers to learn more about the company's design structure.
- During this process, employees have also told the SEC that Kwon was cashing out $80M monthly and was sending it to different wallet addresses under operating expenses. However, Terraform's employee claims that Kwon did not receive any official payment from Terraform.
- A developer at Terraform Labs also revealed that the Anchor Protocol was designed to offer investors a 3.6% interest rate, a key component to keep the Terra ecosystem stable; however, it was hiked up to 20% a week before the release to attract more investors.
- The SEC had previously investigated Kwon over "Terraform Labs' project mirror protocol in 2021" and gave him a subpoena at a New York conference.
- Kwon’s lawyers argue that the SEC does not have jurisdiction over Kwon and Terraform Labs since it is based in South Korea. His attorneys also objected to the procedure of serving Kwon the subpoena directly at the NY event instead of going through his lawyers.
- The SEC responded by saying that the court found Terraforms's "purposeful and extensive U.S. contacts, such as promoting to U.S. investors, employing U.S.-based personnel, and contracting with U.S.-based entities" were a basis for accountability.
- Despite being investigated by the SEC and South Korean authorities, Terra's co-founder relaunched the new blockchain, Terra 2.0.
Fx Street 
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Deloitte's "Merchants Getting Ready For Crypto" report reveals that 75% of retailers plan to accept crypto or stablecoin payments within the next two years. Large retailers are spending over $1M to build the required infrastructure to enable this feature. More: - The survey included 2,000 senior executives at the U.S. retail organizations, including the cosmetics, digital goods, electronics, fashion, food and beverages, home and garden, hospitality and leisure, personal and household goods, and services and transportation sectors.
- The survey concluded that over 85% of merchants anticipate cryptocurrency payments to be a key player in their industry over five years.
- Over 73% of small and medium-sized companies are investing between $100,000 to $1M to build a crypto payments infrastructure.
- Merchants are integrating crypto payments due to high demand and interest from consumers, and 83% of retailers expect this interest to grow over the year.
- The challenge that retailers will face during crypto payment adoption includes changing regulations, security of payments system, market volatility, and lack of budget.
Coin Telegraph
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 A message from MISO ROBOTICS Final Weeks To Invest In The Robots Rescuing The $300B Fast Food Industry Forget R2-D2. The robots we’re talking about are creating a real-life tech investment opportunity that ends on June 23rd. It involves the $300 billion fast food industry–a market that expects a massive labor shortfall over 10 years, where as many as 3.7 million employees could disappear. Because of this, restaurants need a quick, cutting-edge solution to meet labor demand and keep costs low. That’s why leading fast food brands around the world are adopting AI kitchen assistants from Miso Robotics–the startup boosting revenue by 3X in an industry plagued by low margins. It's no wonder brands like Jack in the Box, White Castle, and Buffalo Wild Wings are “hiring” Miso robots in their restaurants. You can own shares in Miso now, but their funding round closes in just a few weeks. Invest in Miso Robotics before the June 23rd cutoff. Invest Now
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Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, announced his collaboration with Jay-Z to launch Bitcoin Academy in an effort to empower and provide Bitcoin education in the region. Dorsey made the announcement on his Twitter account: "Mr. [Shawn Carter] and I are funding The Bitcoin Academy, a program for residents of Marcy Houses in Brooklyn New York where Jay grew up." More: - The project is also supported by Crypto Blockchain Plug, Najah J. Roberts, and Black Bitcoin Billionaire Lamar Wilson and is located at the Marcy Houses in Brooklyn, a public housing complex where Jay-Z lived as a child.
- Dorsey explains that Bitcoin is becoming more prevalent for many people located in Africa and Central and South America, and he wants to empower people in the U.S. by offering them education and powerful tools.
- A Block executive made the following statement upon launch: "Education is where we start. This isn't just about bitcoin … it's about long-term thinking, local economies, and self-confidence. Courses are free to all Marcy residents, including kids. And to make it even easier, we're providing devices and data plans for all who need it."
- Classes will be available for all Marcy Houses residents online and in-person starting June 22 through September; the in-person classes will take place two evenings per week and will include dinner.
Bitcoin.com
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Bitcoin slipped below $30K as the consumer price index (CPI), the benchmark for inflation, rose 8.6% on a year-over-year basis in May. Bitcoin dropped in value to $29,500 from $30,000 minutes after the report was released. More: - Analyst expectations were that the CPI's increase would decline to 8.2% from April's 8.3%. But the core CPI that measures food and energy costs rose 6% YoY in May.
- The CPI rose 1% on a monthly basis in May, and the core rate increased by 0.6% but was higher than expectations.
- The rise in CPI raises the question of whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 75 basis points per meeting rather than the 50 basis points that were planned.
- Bitcoin remains in its downward trend, having fallen 65% from its all-time high last November due to market uncertainty and inflation.
Coin Desk
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Nate Chastain, the former head of product at OpenSea, was indicted by a grand jury last week for insider trading NFTs. The latest case is a wake-up call for the crypto industry that authorities are becoming serious about tracking illegal activity. More: - Chastain was arrested and charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and insider trading.
- He was accused of front-running purchases of NFT collections that were soon to be featured on OpenSea's homepage.
- NFT buyers could analyze his activity on the Ethereum blockchain, and he was fired by OpenSea once they realized the claims were legitimate.
- "As the world's leading Web3 marketplace for NFTs, trust and integrity are core to everything we do. When we learned of Nate's behavior, we initiated an investigation and ultimately asked him to leave the company. His behavior was in violation of our employment policies and in direct conflict with our core values and principles," said an OpenSea spokesperson.
The Block Crypto
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Mastercard partnered with The Sandbox, Immutable X, Candy Digital, Mintable, Spring, Nifty Gateway, and MoonPay to allow the purchase of NFTs using debit/credit cards. The collaborative effort will help foster the adoption and growth of the NFT community, enabling customers to buy NFTs on the metaverse platforms. More: - Mastercard polled more than 35,000 people in 40 countries around the globe and found that 45% of respondents had purchased an NFT or planned to do so.
- Mastercard is collaborating with blockchain companies to enable the purchase of NFTs and eliminate the need to purchase any cryptocurrency. Users can pay directly using their credit cards.
- With over 2.9 billion Mastercards worldwide, this partnership would have a significant impact on the NFT ecosystem. Mastercard will also utilize cybersecurity tools for safety and protect user data for any NFT purchase made using their Mastercards.
Crypto News
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 |  | Gia Mattu is based in Calgary, Alberta. She is an entrepreneur with experience in climate technology, drones, AI, machine learning, and blockchain technology. When she's not working, she loves to hike the Canadian Rockies, try new cuisine, and travel. | | | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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