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  • 🧛‍♂️ Crypto Exchanges go *poof* and Yuga Labs faces a class action

🧛‍♂️ Crypto Exchanges go *poof* and Yuga Labs faces a class action

Vanakkam. This is Doodhwala. The crypto newsletter that makes Mogambo go “Mogambo Kush Hua!”

The morning coffee is brewing. LFG:

  • Yuga Labs faces a Class Action

  • The Vanishing Act of Crypto Exchanges

  • Tweetshot of the day

  • Meme of the day

Yuga Labs faces a Class Action for its Celeb NFT promotion

Yuga Labs is a big BIG crypto company. And they’re being sued for the stupidest reason.

Here are some quick facts about Yuga Labs:

  • Valued at $4 billion (Rs 31,000 crore)

  • Owns BAYC, MAYC, CryptoPunks, Meebits (this is like if one company owned four IPL franchises)

  • Launched ApeCoin (market cap of $1.7 billion or Rs 13,200 crore)

  • Launched the Otherside Metaverse

Last week, a law firm called Scott+Scott (is it the same dude’s name twice or two different Scotts?) filed a class action lawsuit against Yuga Labs claiming the company artificially boosted the price of its crypto assets which led to investors making losses.

The Scotties are claiming that Yuga Labs paid celebs to promote and endorse their NFTs boosting the price.

Celebs like:

→ Snoop Dogg (America’s Badshah)

→ Tom Brady (America’s Virat Kohli)

→ Paris Hilton (America’s Poonam Pandey)

And more…

This endorsement was back when crypto prices were flying (and we could afford groceries).

In the past two months alone:

  • BAYC’s floor price is down by 46%

  • ETH (the currency in which floor prices are measured) is down 50%.

  • ApeCoin the crypto airdropped to BAYC and MAYC holders is down 70%

Ouch.

Get this, the Scotties still have to submit evidence that investors were not aware of the risk involved and they didn’t know the celebs were paid to promote the NFTs.

Yeah, right…

Doodhwala’s take: We’re all dealing with this market in our own ways. Some cry ourselves to sleep at night, some take the bus instead of driving, and others file class action lawsuits.

Some ways are better than others. And using celeb endorsements as a sign of investing in something isn’t going to get you far in crypto. #notfinancialadvice

The Vanishing Act of Crypto Exchanges

There is something very strange happening. And we’re not talking about Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2.

Apart from the usual crypto strangeness, crypto exchanges have been disappearing for a few years now.

They are vanishing faster than Mallya when you ask him to pay off his loans.

A recent report shows the reason behind the disappearances over the past 8 years and it is pretty interesting…to say the least.

  • 22% of failed exchanges left due to ACTUAL business-related reasons

  • 5% of them got hacked or compromised in some way

  • 8% of it was shut down due to regulatory reasons

  • 9% was just outright scams and shady stuff

And here’s the bombshell:

42% of it just disappeared without giving any reason at all.

Absolutely none.

They just went MIA much like how Shahid Kapoor has been MIA for a few years now. (seriously, has anyone heard from him? what’s he up to these days?)

You might have heard about Mt.Gox, QuadrigaCX, Cryptopia and a few other popular exchanges that were just wiped out of reality.

Unfortunately, they were also wiped away with the user funds.

According to the report, things were looking much better at the beginning of the year until the Celsius, 3AC and the Voyager fiasco.

Oh well, we still have the next half of the year and hopefully, the crypto markets behave like a good little boy.

Doodhwala’s take: This news is pretty bad for trust in crypto. It hurts adoption and creates fear.

We sincerely hope the numbers change and people who are adept at crypto learn about self-custody.

You never know who might just pull a Nirav Modi and disappear.

Tweetshot of the day

Meme of the day

That’s all for today bhaiyo aur bheno! Naale Sigona!

Yo! Our legal and financial advisors (aka our good ol’ conscience) have asked us to add this boring disclaimer.

None of what you read here is financial advice. We aren’t here to get to buy or sell a crypto. We’re only here to tell you what’s up in crypto today and make you laugh. So, if you screwed up on a trade, that’s on you G. Stay safe in the markets.