Here are some latest developments from the crypto world.
Five wallets linked to the defunct Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX, which were thought to be ‘inaccessible’ after the mysterious death of co-founder Gerald Cotton, are reportedly active now after they moved 104 Bitcoins on December 17, Blockchain analyst ZackXBT said.
The wallets reportedly remained dormant for more than three years.
The exchange owed customers around $200 million, thought to be lost as the private keys to the cold wallets disappeared with the death of Cotton, who had their exclusive access.
At the time, accounting firm Ernst & Young, which helped the exchange in bankruptcy proceedings, pledged to return the missing funds to investors, although nothing progressed.
VISA To Introduce Crypto Auto-Payments
Payments giant VISA plans to expand its activities in the blockchain industry by introducing crypto auto-payments. It is already handling payments for Coinbase, crypto.com, and Binance Visa cards.
“The Visa team demonstrates a potential application of AA, a new type of account contract that can initiate a payment by a user account to a pre-approved auto-payment smart contract, mimicking the process you use today to set up a recurring card payment. If, or when, concepts like AA are enabled on Ethereum, Visa’s proposal could help bring familiar payments experiences, like auto payments, to the blockchain ecosystem,” said Visa in a blog post.
Visa’s auto-payment system would make use of ERC-20 tokens in a smart contract, which will be deployed on a monthly basis and interact with the merchant and users’ wallet automatically.
The goal is to automate crypto payment. Visa is also working on a cold wallet with private keys, which will give users control over their cryptos.
Binance To Acquire Voyager Digital
Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager has allowed Binance to acquire its remaining assets. Voyager said that it has selected the highest bidder for its assets following a study of strategic options. The lender said that the primary aim is to maximise the value for its consumers and creditors.
“Binance.US will make a $10 million deposit and will reimburse Voyager for certain expenses up to a maximum of $15 million. Should the deal not close by April 18, 2023, subject to a one-month extension, the agreement allows Voyager to immediately move to return value to customers,” Voyager said in a press release.
Sam Bankman-Fried Agrees To Extradition
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, presently being held by Bahamian police, is said to have accepted to be extradited to the United States to face charges, Reuters reported.
Bankman-legal Fried's legal team said that they intend to file paperwork to have him testify before the Bahamas' magistrate court. The former FTX CEO had attended an emergency court hearing, but there was no apparent adjudication or verdict.