Die Kryptobranche wird durch die Ermittlungen gegen Coinbase zusätzlich verunsichert, was für Bitcoin und Ethereum direkt neue Verluste bedeutet.
Bitcoin falls below $21K amid reports SEC is probing Coinbase
Bitcoin price fell below $21,000 on Tuesday as the market sentiment turned sour on reports the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was investigating US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
BTC has touched lows of $20,915 and with potential downside likely to push it to the key support line around $20K. Fresh selling could include pain beyond the psychological level.
SEC probing Coinbase spooks investors?
Coinbase had already come out against suggestions that it had listed crypto token securities on its platform when it first emerged following the SEC’s insider trading charges against the crypto platform’s former product manager.
But on Tuesday, it emerged that the SEC was indeed looking into whether Coinbase offered security tokens to US investors – with at least seven of nine alleged security tokens listed on Coinbase.
According to a Bloomberg report, the SEC’s investigation started way before the insider trading case. However, with regulatory scrutiny firmly on the crypto sector following recent events, the investor community is seemingly spooked on the potential impact of the SEC vs. Coinbase case if it comes to that.
Crypto market cap falls below $1 trillion
The downside in the BTC market was also mirrored across the altcoin market, with top altcoin Ethereum (ETH) declining by more than 8% to drop below $1,400.
The sell-off pressure, also seen across the equities market with US indexes opening lower amid investor jitters over recession ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.
The S&P 500 was down nearly 1% and the Nasdaq over 1.3% lower, while the crypto market total capitalisation has fallen below the $1 trillion mark.
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Binance CEO sues Bloomberg Businessweek for alleged defamation
The CEO of Binance has sued Bloomberg Businessweek in Hong Kong, accusing the outlet of defamation.
Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed that he has filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek in Hong Kong.
Bloomberg published an article using the title “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme,” and this enraged the founder of Binance.
CZ sued Bloomberg Businessweek’s Hong Kong publisher Modern Media Company Limited, on Monday, July 25th. Modern Media is an independent entity that licences Bloomberg content.
According to the filing, the Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese article alleged that the Binance CEO was operating a crypto Ponzi scheme.
The documents also claimed that Modern Media published a report that “contained false, malicious and defamatory statements about Zhao and his company, Binance Holdings Limited.”
Bloomberg initially published an article on June 23 titled Can Crypto’s Richest Man Stand the Cold?” However, the Chinese edition published its version titled “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”
Last month, CZ commented on the issues, stating that
“While most journalists at Bloomberg are good, but this time, it was bad. Bloomberg: hey, we will do a nice profile piece on you, invite you for photoshoots, etc. Then switches the story last minute. Ignore all positive comments they got from 3rd parties. Picked only old negatives. And still puts you on the cover. WTF!? Unprofessional.”
After filing the lawsuit, CZ tweeted that people should be accountable for their actions.
Be accountable for your actions.
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) July 25, 2022
The Binance CEO is also suing Bloomberg for using the Ponzi-referencing title in the Chinese edition of Bloomberg Businessweek’s social media accounts to promote the piece.
The filings showed that the Chinese language article was also distributed in print around Hong Kong earlier this month.
The Binance boss also filed a motion for discovery was also filed against Bloomberg in the United States for defamatory comments in the original article. The filing read;
“Surprisingly, the Original Article contained several serious and defamatory allegations made against Zhao and Binance that were completely unsubstantiated and were obviously designed to mislead readers into believing that Zhao and Binance have been engaging in illegal or unsavory activities.”
CZ wants to bar Bloomberg from republishing the statements in Hong Kong. The Binance boss also wants to see the removal and recalling of the statements while also paying for damages.
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HBAR is down by 6% despite Hedera reaching a new milestone
HBAR, the native token of the Hedera ecosystem, has been underperforming despite achieving a new milestone.
The cryptocurrency market has continued its poor start to the week. Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has lost nearly 5% of its value. As a result, the total market cap has dropped below the $1 trillion mark for the first time this week.
Bitcoin has dropped below $22k and could lose the support level around $21k if the bears continue to remain in control.
Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is also down by more than 9% in the last 24 hours and currently trades below the $1,500 psychological level.
However, HBAR, the native token of the Hedera blockchain, has been underperforming over the last 24 hours. HBAR has lost more than 6% of its value so far today and could be in line for further losses.
HBAR’s poor performance comes despite the Hedera network reaching a new milestone.
According to the HBAR Foundation, the development team behind the Hedera blockchain, the Hedera network has reached one million HBAR accounts on the Hedera mainnet.
We’ve now passed 1,000,000+ #HBAR accounts on the @Hedera mainnet 🚀
With the #HederaNFT community blowing up, grantees going live, and #DeFi & #GameFi about to take off – we look forward to seeing all the #HBARbarians new and old at 2,000,000+ 🔥 #HederaHeatWave pic.twitter.com/Hnl4KjlNn1
— The HBAR Foundation (Accelerating Hedera) (@HBAR_foundation) July 25, 2022
Key levels to watch
The HBAR/USD 4-hour chart is bearish as Hedera has been underperforming over the past few days. The technical indicators show that HBAR could struggle further over the coming hours or days.
The MACD is below the neutral zone, indicating strong bearish momentum for HBAR. The 14-day relative strength index of 37 also shows that HBAR could soon enter the oversold region.
At press time, HBAR is trading at $0.06364 per coin. If the bearish trend continues, HBAR could drop below the $0.06035 support level before the end of the day.
Unless there is an extended losing streak, HBAR should maintain its price above the $0.005860 support level in the short term.
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Coinbase is facing SEC probe over crypto securities listings: Report
Coinbase Global Inc., a publicly listed crypto company that’s among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the crypto industry, is reportedly facing renewed scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over allegations of listing crypto tokens that fall under securities.
A report by Bloomberg on Tuesday, and which cites sources privy to the developments, says the probe predates recent events around insider trading charges against a former Coinbase employee.
However, while the agency has been monitoring the listing of tokens on the leading crypto exchange, scrutiny has increased ever since the US-based company moved to add more tokens on its trading platform.
Coinbase maintains it doesn’t list securities
The SEC last week noted in its insider trading charge against the former Coinbase manager and two other individuals that nine of the tokens involved were securities.
Coinbase, which offers access to over 150 tokens on its trading platform, responded to the securities regulator’s allegations by noting that although seven of the tokens highlighted in the insider trading case are listed on the platform, none is a security.
The company’s Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal reiterated this in a statement shared in a blog post on 22 July, saying the exchange disagrees 100% with SEC’s view and allegations. He also repeated the stance on Tuesday as the probe report surfaced.
Grewal says Coinbase is ready to engage the regulator.
I’m happy to say it again and again: we are confident that our rigorous diligence process—a process the SEC has already reviewed—keeps securities off our platform, and we look forward to engaging with the SEC on the matter. A refresher: https://t.co/SaacvrZEiU
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) July 26, 2022
Coinbase (COIN) shares declined sharply premarket on Tuesday, falling by more than 5% amid similar declines for Bitcoin.
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