Author: Max Bauer

Crypto exchange giant Binance is facing a significant decline in market share, falling to its lowest level in four years, according to a report released on Thursday by CCData. Binance’s Performance Hits Lowest Levels Since 2020 The report revealed that Binance now handles only 36.6% of overall spot and derivatives trading volume on centralized crypto exchanges – its weakest performance since September 2020. This represents a substantial drop from August, with spot trading falling by nearly 23% and derivatives trading declining by 21%. Both figures translate to the exchange’s lowest market share since early 2021. Binance has not yet responded…

A new report by the Crypto Information Sharing and Analysis Center (CryptoISAC) has challenged the widely held belief that cryptocurrencies are a haven for illicit activities. The report, titled “Blockchain’s Role in Mitigating Illicit Finance,” found that criminals actually prefer to deal in cash. Almost All Criminals Use Cash Instead of Crypto In collaboration with Merkle Science, the report analyzed blockchain data and traditional financial systems to assess their susceptibility to criminal activity. The findings were surprising: while cryptocurrencies have often been associated with illegal activities, the data suggests that traditional financial systems may be more conducive to money laundering…

In a recent report, analysts at J.P. Morgan have warned that increasing geopolitical tensions and the upcoming U.S. presidential election could drive investors towards gold and bitcoin as safe-haven assets. Debasement Trade Drives Investors to Gold and Bitcoin The analysts, Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, Mika Inkinen, Mayur Yeole, and Krutik P Mehta, referred to this trend as the “debasement trade,” driven by factors such as heightened geopolitical uncertainty, inflation concerns, government deficits, and waning confidence in fiat currencies. Gold prices have seen a significant surge in recent months, approaching the $2,700 level on September 26. The analysts attributed this increase to a…

An independent researcher going by the online handle “@w_s_bitcoin” and username Wicked has sparked discussion around potential manipulation of the Bitcoin network in its very early days. Satoshi Nakamato Experiments Started After The Bitcoin Whitepaper Was Published Wicked claims to have uncovered evidence suggesting Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, might have been testing a 51% attack on the network in May 2009. A 51% attack occurs when a single entity or group controls more than half of the computing power on a blockchain network. This allows them to potentially manipulate transactions or prevent new blocks from being added.…

The cryptocurrency XRP experienced a sharp decline on Thursday following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) appeal of a favorable court ruling in its ongoing legal battle against Ripple Labs. Judge Had Decided In What Would Be A Partial Victory For XRP The SEC had sued Ripple in 2020, alleging that the company had violated securities laws by selling XRP without registering it as a security. In a significant victory for the cryptocurrency industry, a U.S. District Judge last year ruled that XRP was only considered a security when sold to institutional investors. However, the SEC has now challenged…

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer, Stuart Alderoty, has issued a statement in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to appeal the recent court ruling in the XRP case. Ripple Chief Legal Officer Questions Critical Official’s Resignation Ahead of SEC Appeal Decision in XRP Case Alderoty expressed disappointment but not surprise at the SEC’s move, calling it a continuation of the agency’s “litigation warfare” against the cryptocurrency industry. He emphasized that the court had already rejected the SEC’s claims of recklessness and fraud, and there were no allegations of victims or losses. “This agency, under this Chair, continues to…

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally appealed the July 2023 ruling in its case against Ripple Labs, Inc., Bradley Garlinghouse, and Christian A. Larsen. The appeal was filed with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on Tuesday, October 2. You can see the official document here. The SEC’s appeal comes after a partial victory for Ripple in the case. Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York ruled that while some of Ripple’s sales of the XRP cryptocurrency violated securities laws, others did not. This decision was seen as a significant win…

Gurbir Grewal, the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement division, is set to leave the agency on October 11th. His departure comes after three years of leading the division, during which the SEC initiated over 2,400 enforcement actions resulting in billions of dollars in penalties and disgorgement. Gurbir Grewal Played a Role in Specifically Targeting the Cryptocurrency Sector Sanjay Wadhwa, Grewal’s deputy director, will assume the role of acting director of the enforcement division following Grewal’s departure. Sam Waldon, the chief counsel for the division, will be appointed acting deputy director. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler praised…

Ripple bulls are celebrating after crypto fund manager Bitwise Asset Management submitted an application for a spot XRP ETF in the United States. This move comes amid growing optimism following a recent court ruling that favored Ripple in its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bitwise May Have Filed for an XRP ETF in Case of a Trump Victory Ripple has been entangled in a legal dispute with the SEC since 2020, which accused the company of raising $1.3 billion by selling XRP as an unregistered security. While a 2023 court ruling determined that XRP is…

Analytics company EmberCN has alleged that Justin Sun, the founder of Tron and BitTorrent, sold his entire airdrop of EIGEN tokens on Binance shortly after receiving them. Tweets Claiming Justin Sun Sold EIGEN Deleted The company claimed that Sun’s team withdrew 21.66 million USDT from Binance today, indicating that the 5.374 million EIGEN tokens he received yesterday were sold at an average price of $4.03. According to EmberCN, Sun’s six associated addresses received the EIGEN airdrop the night before and immediately transferred them to HTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. From there, the tokens were swiftly moved to Binance, where they were…