After a period of relative calm in the cryptocurrency industry, several high-profile events have catapulted the sector back into the global spotlight. One of the most significant incidents involves Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested in France. Although he was released four days later, his arrest has drawn international scrutiny to Telegram’s worldwide operations.

French authorities charged Durov with serious offenses, including complicity in illegal activities, refusal to cooperate with authorities, money laundering, criminal association, and providing cryptology services without prior declaration. This arrest has sparked new investigations into Telegram’s operations in India, raising widespread concerns about the potential global business repercussions for the popular messaging app.

In another major development, OpenSea, one of the largest marketplaces for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), received a Wells notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 28. This signals that OpenSea may face impending legal challenges that could further complicate the regulatory landscape for digital art businesses in the United States.

This week’s edition of Crypto Biz also delves into Nvidia’s latest earnings results, Rhodium’s bankruptcy filing, BlackRock’s new crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Brazil, and SxT Labs’ recent funding success.

Nvidia’s Q2 revenue has surpassed expectations, delivering a record-setting boost to the artificial intelligence sector. During its second-quarter earnings call on August 28, Nvidia announced earnings of $30 billion, exceeding its previous estimate by two billion dollars. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress revealed projections for continued record-setting revenues of $32.4 billion for the third quarter. The growth is largely attributed to robust sales of graphics processing units (GPUs), excitement over the company’s forthcoming Blackwell chips, and strong performance in data services both domestically and internationally, with notable gains in the Chinese market.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin mining firm Rhodium Enterprises has filed for voluntary bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The filing on August 24 includes six subsidiaries: Rhodium Encore, Jordan HPC, Rhodium JV, Rhodium 2.0, Rhodium 10MW, and Rhodium 30MW. According to court documents, Rhodium’s debts range between $50 million and $100 million, while total assets are estimated between $100 million and $500 million. This bankruptcy filing follows earlier reports of financial distress within the company.

Blockchain database firm Space and Time (SxT) Labs has successfully raised $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Framework Ventures. Other contributors include prominent venture capital firms such as Lightspeed Faction, Arrington Capital, Hivemind Capital, Microsoft’s M12 Ventures, DCG, F-Prime Capital, OKX Ventures, Circle Ventures, and Alumni Ventures. Over the past two years, SxT Labs has focused on developing its proof-of-SQL technology—a zero-knowledge circuit that enables smart contract developers and companies to verify data integrity. To date, the startup has secured a total of $50 million in funding to accelerate engineering and product development.

Lastly, BlackRock has expanded its crypto offerings in Brazil by launching an Ether ETF. This new ETF is tied to a depositary receipt and trades under the ticker ETHA3. Brazil has been a pioneering market in allowing crypto-tied products on its stock exchange. With BlackRock’s latest fund, Brazilian investors now have access to 15 ETFs or depositary receipts that offer exposure to digital assets. Additionally, local regulators approved the world’s first spot Solana-based ETF in July, which is expected to launch in the coming months.

These developments underscore the dynamic nature of the cryptocurrency landscape and highlight the ongoing regulatory and financial challenges facing key players in the industry.