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| Hey Insider! The week has kicked off with a new partnership between NEAR Protocol and Alibaba Cloud, alongside the ongoing regulatory scrutiny over the crypto exchange Binance. Today’s issue covers several biggest stories from the crypto industry, including IMF’s new paper evaluating crypto bans, Belgian regulators’ notice against Binance, Bybit’s new license in Cyprus, FC Barcelona’s second NFT, and more. Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | Belgium's financial market regulator, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), has ordered Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, to halt its operations in the country. The agency said the platform is illegally offering trading and wallet custody services in Belgium from countries outside the European Economic Area. More: - The Belgian regulator further ordered the company to return all cryptographic keys and virtual assets it holds on behalf of customers in Belgium.
- The platform also has the option to transfer the keys and funds to authorized services.
- In an official statement, Binance said it is actively reviewing the details in the notice, adding that it would continue to work with Belgian regulators.
- The move came shortly after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a 136-page complaint against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), over alleged U.S. law violations.
- The allegations in the complaint include mishandling customer funds, misleading investors and regulators, violating securities laws, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and wash trading.
- In the U.S., the exchange is also currently under scrutiny by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and federal prosecutors, mainly due to compliance issues.
- Besides, French authorities recently started investigating Binance on allegations of illegally canvassing customers and severe money laundering.
Zoom Out: - The company also had to withdraw from several markets in the West, including Canada, Cyprus, the Netherlands, and the U.K., over the last several months.
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| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Blockchain-based decentralized application (dApp) platform NEAR Protocol's native token NEAR jumped by almost 15% within the day. The token's price increased to as much as $1.62, up from $1.47. The popular cryptocurrency also saw a similar surge in market cap. The figure rose from $1.26B, the low of the day, to the $1.47B level. Relevance: The increase in the NEAR's price followed the announcement of a strategic partnership between the NEAR Foundation, the non-profit organization behind NEAR Protocol, and Alibaba Cloud, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba's cloud computing division. The two companies said the collaboration aims to accelerate Web3 growth in Asia and the Middle East. As part of the deal, the two firms will mutually offer access to their developer ecosystems and infrastructure to each other. Brands that should care: Alibaba Cloud also has several other partnerships with the leading blockchain firms, including the Avalanche network and Mysten Labs, the firm behind the Layer-1 blockchain Sui. | | | |
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| 3 | | The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a major financial agency of the United Nations (UN), has recently released a paper evaluating crypto adoption worldwide through research reports. In the paper, the agency said banning crypto assets may not be an effective approach in the long term for countries seeking to manage risks. More: - The IMF stated that the countries should focus on addressing the drivers directing citizens to the crypto assets instead of completely banning them.
- The institution counted citizens' unmet digital payment needs and the need for improved transparency among these drivers.
- The agency also advised countries to record crypto asset transactions in national statistics to constantly evaluate demand and traffic.
- The paper pointed out that the emphasis should be on reducing risks from digital assets while leveraging the benefits of the market.
- The IMF also cited a research report revealing that Latin American countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia are among the top 20 regions in crypto adoption.
- The agency underlined that the citizens in these countries seek the benefits of digital assets, including protection against uncertain domestic macroeconomic conditions, improved financial inclusion for unbanked populations, and cheaper and faster payments.
- The report added that regulations could also be more helpful and fruitful than a potential ban.
Zoom Out: - In February, the IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, showed a similar approach, stating that they were quite in favor of regulating crypto rather than directly banning it.
- However, Georgieva also underlined that the option to ban cryptocurrencies should not be put aside if they pose a significant risk to financial stability or consumer protection.
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| 4 | | Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange Bybit has obtained a license from the regulatory authorities in Cyprus to operate as a regulated digital asset trading platform in the island country. The approval will allow Bybit to offer its crypto services in the region, including trading and custody. More: - Bybit said the move is a significant milestone for its global expansion plans and demonstrates its commitment to compliance with local regulations.
- Bybit co-founder and CEO Ben Zhou stated that Cyprus is a burgeoning hub for crypto activities, with a growing community of crypto enthusiasts and a favorable regulatory environment.
- Zhou also added that they wholeheartedly support the idea of building a compliant, secure, and transparent crypto industry.
- The license followed the regulatory scrutiny Bybit faced in Japan and its exit from the Canadian and the U.K. market.
Zoom Out: - On the flip side, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, recently applied to withdraw its registration in Cyprus as a crypto asset service provider to focus on its larger markets in Europe.
- The move is expected to help Bybit become a leading crypto exchange in the island country.
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| 5 | | Switzerland's central bank, the Swiss National Bank (SNB), has announced that it would launch a pilot program for a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC). The bank will issue the CBDC on SIX, the country's leading and Europe's third-largest stock exchange. More: - The pilot program will test real transactions with market participants.
- The project will continue for a limited time after its launch, which is scheduled to start soon.
- SNB Chairman Thomas Jordan said the bank has also been exploring the use of a retail CBDC for a long time.
- Jordan added that they are concerned about the potential risks of a retail CBDC for the nation's financial system, stating that retail CBDCs are more difficult to control.
- On the other hand, the central bank's chairman implied that they could still introduce a retail CBDC one day.
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| 6 | | Spanish football team FC Barcelona has released the second NFT of its 10-piece NFT collection, Masterpiece, in collaboration with the NFT community World of Women. The digital collectible dubbed Empowerment has been put up for auction on the NFT marketplace OpenSea, which will end on June 28. More: - The second NFT of the collection was created by World of Women artist Rhi Madeline with inspiration from Spanish soccer player Alexia Putellas.
- Putellas helped FC Barcelona defeat German team Wolfsburg in the semi-final match of the Women's Champion League in April 2022.
- The match was viewed by nearly 92,000 people.
- The Empowerment NFT will offer a range of benefits to its holder in addition to the ownership.
- The benefits include an opportunity to meet Putellas, a pair of signed soccer cleats, a signed portrait of the Spanish player by artist Oscar Tusquets, and a physical chair from Barcelona Stadium Spotify Camp Nou.
- Diana-Luk Ye, the Web3 Partnerships and Marketing Manager at World of Women, said the Masterpiece collection supports their mission to empower women and non-binary people through Web3, adding that representation is still an issue they are trying to fix.
Zoom Out: - FC Barcelona released the first NFT of the Masterpiece collection, In a Way, Immortal, in 2022, with inspiration from the late football player Johann Cruyff.
- The NFT was sold for around $700,000 by the auction house Sotheby's.
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INSIDE CRYPTOCURRENCY LEADERBOARD (30 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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