Author: Andrei Ionescu
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has expanded its lawsuit against Binance, adding new allegations that target additional tokens, including Axie Infinity (AXS), Filecoin (FIL), and Cosmos (ATOM), claiming they are unregistered securities. This latest move underscores the SEC’s ongoing efforts to tighten regulation over the cryptocurrency industry. In the SEC’s updated legal filings, other tokens, such as Sandbox (SAND) and Decentraland (MANA), were also classified as securities, expanding the scope of the lawsuit. This action highlights the regulator’s growing focus on categorizing various digital assets under securities law to exert more regulatory control over the sector. Expansion of…
Venture capital firm ParaFi Capital has taken a significant step towards blockchain integration by tokenizing part of its $1 billion in assets under management on the Avalanche (AVAX) blockchain, in collaboration with real-world asset tokenization platform Securitize. This move marks the firm’s shift from merely investing in asset tokenization projects to using the technology itself. ParaFi, known for its heavy involvement in the crypto sector and real-world asset tokenization, raised $120 million to invest in other digital asset funds and recently participated in a $47 million strategic round for Securitize. Now, the firm plans to tokenize a portion of its…
Crypto exchange Kraken is pushing for a jury trial in its legal battle against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a court filing submitted on Thursday. The exchange is facing allegations from the SEC of violating federal securities laws by failing to register as a broker, clearinghouse, or exchange. The lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California in November, is part of a broader regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry. Similar lawsuits have been brought against major crypto platforms Binance and Coinbase, which also face accusations of violating securities laws. The SEC’s complaint against Kraken lists…
The U.S. government is pressing Nigeria to release Tigran Gambaryan, a former U.S. law enforcement officer and current employee of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, who was arrested in February and has since faced deteriorating health conditions in prison. Senior officials from the State Department revealed that Gambaryan’s detention has become a significant point of diplomatic discussion between the two nations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised the matter with his Nigerian counterpart in May, and U.S. diplomats, including the U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, have been advocating for his release on humanitarian grounds in private meetings with Nigerian officials. Gambaryan, who reportedly…
The Bank of Russia has set a target for widespread adoption of the digital ruble by July 2025, aiming to integrate the currency into the country’s financial ecosystem for both retail and commercial use. Russia’s largest banks are expected to support the initiative by enabling customers to open and top up digital ruble accounts, make transfers, and accept digital rubles in their infrastructure. According to the central bank’s statement on Thursday, the goal is to ensure that the digital national currency is available to citizens and businesses alike. They should be able to use it on equal footing with cash…
OKX has announced the addition of the USDC/EURC trading pair to its spot market, with trading scheduled to commence on September 13, 2024. The Euro-backed stablecoin, EURC, issued by Circle, will be fully integrated into the platform, providing users with a stable digital currency option. The timeline for the listing is as follows: EURC is a fully regulated, euro-backed stablecoin with a 1:1 backing by euro reserves held in prominent financial institutions, ensuring transparency and liquidity for European and global markets. This move is expected to enhance liquidity for EURC users and expand stablecoin options on OKX’s spot trading platform.
OKX has announced its decision to delist several margin trading pairs, including KISHU/USDT, in a bid to enhance market liquidity and improve the overall trading experience for users. The delisting schedule is as follows: At the delisting time, OKX will suspend margin trading and flexible loan services for the affected pairs. Open margin orders will be canceled, and the suspension of each pair will take about an hour. Users with ongoing borrowings or collateral in KISHU/USDT margin trading are advised to repay their loans before the delisting time to avoid forced repayment. To mitigate potential risks from price fluctuations, OKX…
Despite the growing political divide in the cryptocurrency industry, many investors believe bitcoin will thrive in the long term, no matter who wins the U.S. presidential election in November. This optimism follows a period of heightened excitement over former President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto remarks earlier in the year. Concerns that a potential Kamala Harris presidency could harm bitcoin’s price are overstated, according to James Davies, co-founder of Crypto Valley Exchange. While the regulatory landscape might become more challenging for crypto startups, the overall industry will continue to advance, particularly with bitcoin becoming more institutionalized through the introduction of U.S. bitcoin…
Stablecoin transactions in Singapore reached a record high of nearly $1 billion in the second quarter of 2024, driven primarily by payments at merchant outlets, according to a new report by digital-asset consultancy Chainalysis. The study highlighted the increasing adoption of stablecoins—cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged to the U.S. dollar—by businesses for their efficiency and low transaction costs. Eric Jardine, Chainalysis’ Cybercrimes Research Lead, noted that stablecoin payments in Singapore grew significantly from $161 million in the second half of 2023. Despite the sharp rise, stablecoin usage still represents a small fraction of Singapore’s overall payment…
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, has announced a scheduled system upgrade for its Spot and Margin trading platforms. The upgrade is set to begin on September 19, 2024, at 09:30 UTC and is expected to last approximately 10 minutes. The exchange assured users that trading activities will continue uninterrupted during the upgrade. However, some functionalities will be temporarily impacted, including the ability for App, Website, and Desktop users to view open orders placed during the upgrade. As a result, users may be unable to cancel pending orders that are not visible during this period. Key…