| |
| Take a look at the hits from today's Inside Cryptocurrency briefing: - The top U.S. securities regulator's lawsuit against Kraken,
- Bittrex's reverse corner decision to halt its global operations,
- A jump in BNB's price following claims related to a $4B settlement deal between the U.S. Department of Justice and Binance, and more.
Enjoy your reading! Doğa
p/dogayurduneri | |
| 1 | | The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken over securities law violations. In its complaint, the agency accused the exchange of commingling up to $33B of customer funds with its own corporate assets and operating without registration. More: - The filing claimed that Kraken paid its expenses from bank accounts holding customer funds at certain times in the past.
- The regulator also argued that the platform operates as an exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse at the same time without registration.
- The SEC believes these three functions should be separated, just as in traditional securities markets.
- The agency's enforcement chief, Gurbir Grewal, defined Kraken's business model as a model full of conflicts of interest that placed investor funds at risk.
- In the filing, the SEC further labeled a range of tokens listed on Kraken as unregistered securities.
- In response, Kraken said it disagreed with the SEC's allegations and plans to defend its position vigorously.
- The exchange also stated that the agency has consistently urged crypto exchanges to register with it without any clear path or law for registration, underlining that its services are not affected by the lawsuit.
Zoom Out: - The lawsuit came less than a year after the SEC and Kraken entered into another legal conflict in February when the regulator accused the exchange of offering unregistered securities through its staking service.
- At the time, Kraken had to halt the operations of the service for U.S. customers and pay a $30M fine to settle with the SEC.
- Within the past year, many other crypto exchanges, such as Coinbase, Binance, Gemini, and Bittrex, also faced increased scrutiny by the SEC since it classifies all cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin (BTC) as securities in the light of the current chair Gary Gensler's approach and claims jurisdiction over the market.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the numbers say: Crypto exchange Binance's native token, Binance Coin (BNB), increased by over 8% in value within the day. The token's price surged to as much as $266.82, up from the previous day's low of $245.28. Then, the popular cryptocurrency started hovering around the $250 level. Relevance: The jump in BNB's price followed a Bloomberg report claiming that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) sought more than $4B from Binance to resolve its years-long investigation over the exchange. The probe launched with the allegations of money laundering, bank fraud, and sanctions violations. The report pointed out that the settlement could be announced by the end of the month. If finalized, the agreement will see Binance paying one of the largest-ever penalties in a criminal crypto-related case. Furthermore, another report from Forbes claimed that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) stepped down from his role at the company as part of the settlement deal with the DOJ. Other details: On the other hand, Binance is also under scrutiny by several other regulatory agencies in the U.S., including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Besides, the exchange faced heightened crackdowns by regulators in many other countries, including Australia, France, Belgium, and Brazil, over the past months. Brands that should care: Despite the regulatory challenges Binance faced worldwide, the platform is still the largest crypto exchange by trading volume. In the top five, the exchange is followed by Coinbase, Kraken, Bybit, and KuCoin, respectively. | | | |
| A message from our sponsor, AIPRM. |  | | Your cheat code for ChatGPT Wish you had a set of pre-built ChatGPT prompts? Your favorite ones that you can use over and over again? You'll love AIPRM, a free Chrome extension that integrates directly into ChatGPT. Build your prompt library from a selection of thousands of pre-built prompt templates boosted by your own reliable custom prompts. Tackle all your writing and coding needs: - Marketing - Content calendars. Blog Posts. FB Headline Hooks.
- Sales - Cold emails. Follow-up emails. Sales collateral copy.
- Code - Python Scripts. SQL Queries. Chrome Extensions.
Any imaginable ChatGPT use case. There's a {prompt} for that. Get Started Today  | |
|
| 3 | | Liechtenstein-headquartered crypto exchange Bittrex has announced that it would halt its global operations in December without citing any reason. The move came six months after the exchange filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., winding down its operations in the country. More: - The decision will see Bittrex stopping all trading activities on its platform as of Dec. 4.
- The company urged its customers to complete necessary transactions by the specified deadline, converting their holdings in U.S. dollars (USD) into euros (EUR) or cryptocurrencies.
- After Dec. 4, the platform will only allow for certain withdrawals, and the deposits made after this deadline will carry the risk of being permanently lost.
- The course of unfortunate events at Bittrex started after a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the company with the allegations of offering securities services to U.S. customers without registration.
- The complaint ultimately forced Bittrex to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. in May, nearly a month after it decided to gradually halt its operations there.
- In August, the firm also agreed to pay a $24M penalty to settle the SEC's charges.
- The exchange's global entity, Bittrex Global, was initially excluded from the bankruptcy process, and the company said it did not plan to halt its global operations, which was recently followed by a change of decision.
- Before the lawsuit, Bittrex was one of the largest exchanges in the U.S.
| | | |
| 4 | | Seychelles-based crypto exchange KuCoin has released a new crypto payments card dubbed KuCard in partnership with the payment processing giant Visa. The new product will allow KuCoin customers to pay with crypto for goods and services at locations where traditional debit card payments are accepted or withdraw cash at ATMs. More: - KuCard will let users spend their funds in crypto to make purchases by instantly converting cryptocurrencies into the local fiat currency of the country where the payment is made.
- The cryptocurrencies supported by the card include Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), KuCoin Token (KCS), Shiba Inu (SHIB), and Dogecoin (DOGE).
- Users will be able to integrate KuCard into Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- The card will initially be available only in the European Economic Area (EEA), though the exchange plans to expand its availability to more countries in the upcoming months.
- KuCard will also offer cashback to users on their spending, enabling them to earn crypto with every purchase made with the card.
- KuCoin CEO Johnny Lyu said the launch of KuCard marks a significant milestone for both the exchange and the crypto industry since it would play a crucial role in accelerating the mass adoption of crypto.
Zoom Out: - Several rival crypto exchanges, such as Gemini, Bitso, Binance, and Gate.io, also offer debit cards to their customers in partnership with Visa or Mastercard, allowing them to make payments with their crypto funds.
| | | |
| A message from our sponsor, Mindvalley. |  | | Get 40% off Mindvalley Membership, and lock in that discount for LIFE!
Join the ranks of the extraordinary with Mindvalley, where titans of transformation like Paul McKenna, Dave Asprey, and Maye Musk deliver bite-sized, transformative lessons for a lasting impact on your life. - Master Key Skills: From a success mindset to peak productivity, to optimized health and wellness, our courses are designed to upgrade every area of life.
- Connect with Leaders: Become part of an exclusive network of over 300,000 professionals, coaches, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, all committed to growth.
- Effortless Habit Formation: Our proven behavioral change techniques make habit installation seamless.
- Plus, our Treasury of 500+ meditations and subconscious training ensures you keep evolving, even as you sleep.
Lock in your 40% Black Friday discount and enjoy these rates for life.
If you’re curious to learn more, try the platform out risk-free for 15 days and see why it's the gold standard in personal growth.
Activate my Lifetime Discount | |
|
| 5 | | Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), a government agency overseeing the financial market players in the country, has recently launched a consultation on crypto disclosures. The consultation will collect feedback on disclosure requirements for regulated financial institutions, including banks and insurers, with exposure to crypto assets. More: - The public will be able to submit their comments on the requirements until Jan. 31, 2024.
- The OSFI's consultation will continue alongside another consultation period from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS), a global committee of banking supervisory authorities.
- The BCBS also seeks feedback from international banks on the disclosure requirements related to the exposure to crypto assets.
- The OSFI aims to combine public feedback with the comments in the consultation of the BCBS.
- In July, the agency also proposed new guidelines for crypto assets, citing the risky environment in the digital asset market.
Zoom Out: - On the other hand, Canada accelerated its efforts to establish a legal framework for the crypto market in February when the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published a notice.
- The notice requires crypto firms to sign legally binding commitments while waiting to be registered with the regulatory body, confronting them with the risk of potential enforcement action if they do not comply with the new rules.
- The new framework in the country forced many crypto companies, including Bitstamp, Bybit, Binance, OKX, Deribit, Blockchain.com, dYdX, and Paxos, to withdraw from the Canadian market.
| | | |
| 6 | | The U.K.-based neobank and financial technology (fintech) company Revolut's former vice president of growth, Hannes Graah, has launched a new crypto wallet dubbed Zeal. The wallet will allow users to store and manage their crypto assets safely and engage in decentralized applications (dApps). More: - Graah pointed out that Zeal offers a safe and easy-to-use digital wallet experience that can be used seamlessly with blockchain networks and the real world.
- The new wallet mainly aims to solve security issues causing scams and hacks in the market.
- The team behind the product says Zeal tackles those issues with advanced security checks and previews for Web3-based transactions.
- Besides, the wallet lets users transfer the funds in USD Coin (USDC) to their bank accounts for free.
- Zeal's team includes crypto exchange Coinbase and digital music service Spotify's former employees, along with Graah.
Zoom Out: - Graah started building Zeal in 2022.
- The project is backed by some well-known investors like Galaxy, Framework, Variant Fund, and Northzone.
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: - Raising capital? Fundingstack's DB of 200,000 investors is your secret weapon. Use code "Inside" for 30% off x 3 months. Start your trial here and get funded faster.*
- Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDT, has frozen nearly $225M of USDT tokens linked to an international criminal organization involved in human trafficking.
- Asset management firm Bernstein's analysts have forecasted that the price of Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, would reach $150,000 by 2025.
- Poloniex, a crypto exchange owned by the blockchain-based operating system Tron's founder, Justin Sun, has announced that it confirmed the identity of the hacker who stole $100M of crypto from one of its digital wallets.
- Popular sportswear brand Nike has launched the public presale of a new sneaker collection dubbed RTFKT Dunk Genesis with shoes tied to NFTs.
*This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | | NOV
25 | | AI in Financial Services with Saroop Bharwani | | | | | | | NOV
25 | | The Future of Fractional Work with David Berkowitz | | | | | | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Alternative minimum tax (AMT): The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a tax imposed by the IRS to ensure high incomes earners do not avoid taxes through deductions and credits. Question of the Week What perks would convince you to return to the office? Join the conversation |
 | 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 | |
| |
 | Tackle all your educational, strategic, and tactical needs with AIPRM. | |
|
| |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment