Silvergate Bank shut down the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) platform that is used by corporate customers to move money to crypto exchanges 24/7. The U.S.-based crypto-focused bank said the move was a risk-based decision. More: - Silvergate underlined that all other deposit-related services would continue to operate.
- SEN platform’s clients included major crypto firms such as Binance.US, Kraken, Gemini, and ErisX.
- The move came right after Silvergate notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would fail to file its annual 10-K report for the 2022 fiscal year on time.
- In the late filing notice, the bank asked for another two weeks to complete the report and warned that it might not survive another 12 months since it might be less than well-capitalized.
Zoom Out: - Following the notice, many crypto-related firms, including Coinbase, Crypto.com, Kraken, Circle, Paxos, Bitstamp, Galaxy Digital, and LedgerX, cut ties with Silvergate Bank.
- The bank’s stock price also dropped almost 60% due to the rising concerns around the crypto market.
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The U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken's chief legal officer, Marco Santori, revealed that the exchange continues its plans to launch its own bank. "Kraken Bank is very much on track to launch very soon," Santori stated. More: - Santori made the announcement during Frank Chaparro's recent The Scoop podcast.
- The Kraken official stated that the exchange has a diverse global network of banks and their ties with banks are secure while commenting on Silvergate Bank's recent closure of the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) platform.
- The chief legal officer also warned that the increased caution in the banking industry could prevent innovation.
- He added that crypto could become electoral fodder when the presidential race starts in the U.S., though he does not believe conspiratorial claims around the crypto industry.
- On the other hand, Santori declined to further comment on their settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) but said Kraken neither admits nor denies any of the allegations.
- He just stressed that staking service made up a small percentage of Kraken's revenue.
Zoom Out: - The disclosure of plans came amid a complicated regulatory environment for Kraken as the exchange recently was under scrutiny from the SEC with the claims that it violated securities laws through its staking service.
- The popular crypto exchange had to pay a $30M fine and halt the operations of its staking service to settle with the SEC.
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Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit announced that it would suspend U.S. dollar (USD) deposits via bank transfers, including SWIFT, citing the service outages from the end-point processing partner. The users will have time to withdraw USD until March 10, 2023. More: - The deposits with the Advcash wallet will still be available.
- Bybit users will also be able to purchase cryptocurrencies through credit cards.
- The crypto exchange also announced plans to launch a debit card in April across Europe and the U.K. in collaboration with the payments processing giant Mastercard.
- The Bybit Card, issued by the U.K.-based payments solutions provider Moorwand, will allow users to make payments and cash deposits using their crypto assets.
- The card will also support Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), and Ripple (XRP) and automatically convert these cryptocurrencies into euros or pounds during payment, depending on the user’s residence.
Zoom Out: - The USD deposit suspension followed Silvergate Bank’s decision to discontinue the Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN) platform that allowed institutions to transfer USD between their bank accounts and crypto exchanges.
- Several Bybit users questioned whether the exchange used SEN for USD payments since some major crypto exchanges, including Binance.US, Kraken, and Gemini, were among the SEN’s clients.
- Last month, Binance also temporarily suspended USD transfers without showing any reason, saying it hopes to resume the service soon.
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Amazon will reportedly launch its NFT marketplace on April 24, according to an exclusive by TheBigWhale. The platform will kick off 15 NFT collections on the launch day. More: - The service will be first offered to customers in the U.S., followed by gradual rollouts in other countries.
- Users will be able to access 15 NFT collections under the "Amazon Digital Marketplace" tab placed on the e-commerce giant's website.
- Those with an Amazon account will be able to purchase the NFTs using a credit card, allowing people who do not have a crypto wallet to buy NFTs.
- The marketplace's launch reportedly was delayed twice this year due to the popular crypto exchange FTX's bankruptcy in November 2022, though the company has been working on it since last year.
Zoom-Out: - The launch of Amazon's NFT marketplace will represent the company's next step into the Web3 ecosystem after Amazon Web Services' (AWS) partnerships with Ava Labs, Chainlink (LINK), and VeChainThor.
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy previously said he expects NFTs to keep growing very significantly.
- The tech giant also recently backed a creative NFT studio, Superplastic, that raised $20M in a Series A funding round.
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Singaporean police began a probe into Terraform Labs, the firm behind the LUNA token that collapsed last year, and its fugitive co-founder Do Kwon. The city-state's police force also reiterated its previous claim that Kwon is not currently in Singapore. More: - The officials were not able to identify where Kwon is yet.
- Last year, Kwon's native South Korea issued an arrest warrant for the co-founder, with five other people related to Terraform Labs, since he violated capital market law.
- Similarly, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has been seeking the 31-year-old Kwon with a red notice since September 2022.
- Terraform Labs' co-founder was also recently accused of fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- Kwon has not posted any tweets on his official Twitter account since Feb. 1.
Zoom-Out: - In May 2022, the multibillion-dollar Terra ecosystem's native token Luna's price plummeted nearly to zero, losing all its value against the U.S. dollar despite a good start, triggering a prolonged crypto winter.
- The collapse caused over $60B to be wiped off the crypto market.
- Kwon has been subject to many lawsuits in South Korea and the U.S. with allegations including tax fraud, deceiving investors, racket collecting, and building a Ponzi scheme.
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Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, reportedly offered an advisory role to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler twice in the past. The claims were made by the Wall Street Journal based on internal messages, documents, and interviews with former employees. More: - Binance tried to hire Gensler first in 2018 while he was teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
- At the time, Gensler met Ella Zhang, head of Binance’s venture investing arm, and Harry Zhou, the co-founder of Binance-invested firm Koi Trading, to consider the offer.
- Though he declined the role, Gensler shared license strategies with Binance.
- The second offer was made in 2019 with a meeting between Gensler and the exchange’s founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), before a second refusal.
- Gensler became the SEC Chair in April 2021.
- The messages also showed how deeply integrated Binance and Binance.US were, with employees, technology, and finance shared between the two.
Zoom-Out: - Binance is currently under scrutiny by U.S. regulators over its possible violation of securities law through its relationship with the American arm, Binance.US.
- The popular crypto exchange persistently claimed that the main company and its U.S. arm are distinct entities.
- In 2022, Binance’s workforce for compliance and investigations increased by 500% after it came under fire from local regulators in several countries.
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- Iran’s central bank announced that it has successfully completed the pre-pilot phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- Decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) PancakeSwap will deploy the Version 3 of its app on BNB Smart Chain in the first week of April.
- During his recent interview with Tucker Carlson, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele said tourism increased by 95% in the country since making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender.
- Hong Kong-based crypto lender Babel Finance plans to issue a crypto-backed stablecoin as part of its recovery plan.
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 |  | Doga is a tech and science editor who has been writing news for nearly 10 years. She worked for leading tech platforms and mainstrem media channels as an editor and presenter throughout his career. Then, she carried her know-how to more than one platform. She is a part-time cat lover and binge-watcher, and also fond of science, space, and emerging tech. She always has a story to tell. She is a bit addict to the laughter and -unfortunately- the '90s culture. |  | | 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 and 1972 Fords. | |
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