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| 1 | | Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it would exit the Canadian market due to the new regulatory framework in the country. The move made the company the latest crypto-related firm that had to halt operations in Canada due to the new regulations after OKX, Deribit, Blockchain.com, and Paxos. More: - The decision came nearly three months after the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice requiring crypto exchanges to sign legally-binding commitments while waiting to be registered with the regulatory body.
- The pre-registration process confronts crypto exchanges with the risk of potential enforcement action if they do not comply with the new rules.
- The rules include investor limits, mandatory registrations, and a new stablecoin regulation that bans crypto exchanges from allowing users to buy or deposit stablecoins, which the agency classifies as a security, in the country without obtaining prior approval from the CSA by passing the due diligence checks.
- Binance said the new guidelines made the Canadian market no longer tenable for its operations.
- The popular crypto exchange also underlined that it hopes to engage with Canadian regulators to create a comprehensive framework for crypto operations, and it believes it will someday return to the country.
- The firm added that the exit has a sentimental value since its CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) is a Canadian citizen, though he was born in China.
Zoom Out: - On the flip side, some exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken signed the pre-registration undertaking with the regulators to continue operating in Canada, hinting at their intention to comply with the upcoming regulations.
- All crypto exchanges currently must register with Canadian regulators to operate in the country.
- Over the past several years, Binance came under increased scrutiny also in other parts of North America, with the legal actions by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and federal prosecutors.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: The daily transactions on the Dogecoin (DOGE) network reached a new all-time high, hitting the 628,000 level on May 13, after a massive increase for three consecutive days. On the record day, Dogecoin transactions jumped to 628,209, up from the lowest level of 17,097 within the last 30 days. Within the same day, Dogecoin also surpassed Bitcoin's 575,495 daily transaction numbers, though the largest cryptocurrency by market cap has conventionally seen much more network activity than Dogecoin. The massive rise was attributed to the increased interest in minting new DRC-20 tokens on the Dogecoin network. Relevance: Earlier in May, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin also hit the headlines with its skyrocketed transaction numbers. The daily transactions on the network similarly reached a new all-time high on May 1. At the time, the record-high transaction levels were associated with the rise in the Ordinals NFT inscriptions, which simultaneously reached all-time highs on May 1. What it means: Ordinals are digital assets permanently attached to a satoshi, or 1/100,000,000 of a full Bitcoin (BTC). Brands that should care: The massive increase in Dogecoin network's daily transactions came at almost the same time as when Elon Musk announced Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's new CEO. Musk is already quite famous for his support for Dogecoin, and earlier this year, the famous CEO even briefly shifted the Twitter logo to the DOGE symbol. Yaccarino has also recently hit the headlines with several DOGE-related accounts she follows. Hence, the announcement was predicted to have triggered a jump in the transaction numbers by making DOGE gain traction again. | | | |
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| 3 | | The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), Eun Young Choi, has recently revealed the division's commitment to increase its crackdown on crypto exchanges giving room to illicit activities. Choi said they would first focus on platforms evading anti-money laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) rules. More: - The agency's head of crypto enforcement also stated that the trading platforms avoiding engaging in comprehensive compliance and risk mitigation would be prioritized.
- The DOJ executive underlined that the agency specifically targets crypto exchanges allowing criminal actors to easily profit from their crimes.
- Choi added that crypto crimes have increased significantly in the last four years.
- According to Choi's statements, the NCET will also bring more enforcement actions against investment scams.
- In April, the DOJ announced that it seized around $112M from six investment scams in which scammers build relationships with victims for several months.
- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also estimates that $2.5B was stolen from people through crypto-related investment frauds last year.
Zoom Out: - The U.S. regulators have already become famous for their strict regulatory approach toward the crypto industry over the last several months.
- Many crypto exchanges, including Coinbase, Kraken, Bittrex, and Binance, recently came under increased scrutiny by U.S. regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
- KYC is a common regulatory process generally implemented by financial services providers, including banks and crypto exchanges, to identify and verify their customers by asking for some key personal information and documents.
- The process aims to improve trust in the industry, help service providers to assess the risks, and combat money laundering and terrorism financing.
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| 4 | | The U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase has established a new Global Advisory Council with several former U.S. lawmakers and crypto industry leaders. The council will tackle the increasingly complex and evolving crypto landscape globally and advise Coinbase on its crypto policy. More: - Coinbase said the council currently has only five members.
- Former Pennsylvania Sen. Patrick Toomey, former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, and former New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney are ex-U.S. lawmakers who will sit on the council.
- The firm plans to expand the board with a bipartisan group of leaders with deep regulatory expertise.
- The move followed the increased tension between Coinbase and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- The conflict forced the popular crypto exchange to enter into a legal battle with the SEC to compel the agency to create a clear framework for digital assets.
- The SEC mainly claims that Coinbase could violate the securities laws through its exchange and staking services, while the popular crypto exchange complains about the lack of regulatory clarity in the U.S. that it holds the agency responsible for.
- The tension also caused the firm to intensify its global expansion plans, with its executive team, including the CEO Brian Armstrong, visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for strategic development in the region and a new Bermuda-based international derivatives exchange launched for institutional crypto traders outside the U.S.
Zoom Out: - Former SEC chair Jay Clayton also currently sits on a different board of Coinbase and advises the firm on its regulatory policy.
- The Seychelles-based crypto exchange similarly established a global advisory board in October last year to encourage funding globally to the crypto industry, determine a strategic road map to improve the exchange, and advise the company on global expansion.
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| 5 | | South Korean tech giant Samsung has signed an official agreement with its native's central bank, the Bank of Korea (BOK), to research offline payments with the central bank digital currency (CBDC). The deal will see both parties testing CBDC remittances and payments with near-field communication (NFC) technology, instead of the internet, on Samsung mobile devices, including Galaxy smartphones and smartwatches. More: - Samsung Electronics Vice President Won-joon Choi said the collaboration would allow the tech giant to showcase its high-level security technology on digital currencies.
- The deal required Samsung to obtain a hardware certification for the Security International Common Criteria CC (Common Criteria) "EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) 6+ grade."
- The company also participated in the second phase of the South Korean central bank's 10-month CBDC experiment.
- The first phase mostly tested basic functions such as issuance, distribution, and redemption.
- The second phase mainly focuses on the functions regarding retail.
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| 6 | | A recent study from the U.K.-based blockchain analysis provider Elliptic has shown that North Korean hacker groups have stolen $721M of crypto assets from Japan since 2017. The sum is equal to 30% of these groups' illicit wealth, according to the Japan-headquartered newspaper Nikkei. More: - Elliptic's data has also pointed out that $2.3B of crypto was stolen by North Korea from businesses all around the world between 2017 and 2022.
- On the ranking, Japan sat in first place and was respectively followed by Vietnam and Hong Kong.
- The report has revealed that the North Korea-borne crypto losses in U.S. businesses were $497M.
- Besides, North Korean hackers attacked at least three exchanges in Japan from 2018 to 2021.
Zoom Out: - North Korean hackers were also responsible for nearly $1.7B worth of crypto theft conducted through several hacks in 2022, up from $428.8M in the previous year.
- The figure accounted for almost half the $3.8B of crypto stolen from businesses globally last year.
- The $1.7B amount was also a record for North Korean hacker groups themselves.
- 2022 further went down in history as the biggest year ever for crypto hacking, with the stolen crypto amount increasing from $3.3B in 2021 to $3.8B.
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Term of the Day Demand elasticity: Demand elasticity is calculated by measuring the percentage change in quantity demand for a good or service in response to a change in price. Question of the Week How do you approach networking, and what advice can you give others looking to build their professional connections? Join the conversation |
INSIDE CRYPTOCURRENCY LEADERBOARD (7 DAYS) |
 | Staff Writer | | 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. | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
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