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Coinbase ends USDC rewards in EU amid MiCA compliance

  • Coinbase plans to end support for USDC earn program for EU customers on December 1, 2024
  • The exchange cites EU’s MiCA rules that go into full implementation on December 30 for the decision

Coinbase has notified its customers that the exchange plans to discontinue the USDC rewards program by December 1.

Coinbase, which announced the delisting of non-compliant stablecoins in the European Economic Area (EEA) earlier in the year, is taking the step to sunset the USDC Rewards program.

The program has been available to the EEA’s 30 countries – including 27 that form the EU. Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) stablecoin laws rollout is the reason for Coinbase’s decision, the exchange noted in an update that circulated online on November 28.

Marina Markezic shared the Coinbase announcement on X:

MiCA rules full implementation

According to details in the notice shared on X, Coinbase’s decision to end the yield program for the USDC stablecoin is part of the exchange’s effort to comply with the European Union’s MiCA rules.

MiCA regulation of stablecoins went into effect in June, but the rules will come into full effect on December 30, 2024.

Various crypto companies and stablecoin issuers have moved to get EU registration and licenses ahead of MiCA full implementation. However, some industry players plan to delist certain stablecoins in the region. Notably, this also sees initiatives to launch EU-compliant fiat-backed coins.

Earlier this week, Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market USDT, announced its decision to end support for Tether Euro (EURT). This is a Euro-pegged stablecoin that has been delisted by other providers. Tether said it will halt EURT support until there are “more risk-averse framework[s] is in place.”

Tether chief executive officer Paolo Ardoino commented via X:

Tether is however investing in Quantoz Payments, a company issuing the MiCA-compliant stablecoins EURQ and USDQ.

The post Coinbase ends USDC rewards in EU amid MiCA compliance appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Hyperliquid launches native token HYPE

  • Hyperliquid has launched its native token HYPE and revealed a token distribution
  • HYPE has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens.

Decentralized perpetuals exchange Hyperliquid has officially unveiled its native token HYPE.

Hyper Foundation announced via a post on X that the token generation event for the HYPE token went live at 7:30 UTC on Friday, November 29, 2024.  

“The HYPE genesis event marks a key milestone in the journey, unlocking core functionality at every level of the stack,” the Hyper Foundation said in a blog post.

HYPE, which Hyper Foundation introduced in Oct.,  also includes a community airdrop.

Approximately 31% of the maximum supply of 1 billion tokens is set for genesis distribution and 38.89% for future emissions and community rewards. The project has allocated 23.8% to core contributors, 6.0% to the Hyper Foundation’s budget and 0.3% to community grants.

“Tokens will be emitted over time, with 76.2% going to the community. 310,000,000 tokens are allocated for eligible participants in the genesis event. These tokens will be fully unlocked,” the foundation wrote.

HYPE token distribution

Of the total supply, 388,880,000 will be unminted and go to Hyperliquid’s future emissions and rewards program. Meanwhile, HYPE reserved for core contributors will remain locked for a year after the genesis event. According to Hyper Foundation, there are no HYPE token allocations for private investors, centralised exchanges and market makers.

The launch of the native token comes as Hyperliquid looks to continue its growth trajectory, with eyes on rivals Jupiter and SynFutures. As the protocol’s native asset, HYPE will be key to Hyperliquid’s traction in decentralised finance applications.

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Ex-Binance employee sues exchange after whistleblower bribery claim

  • Amrita Srivastava alleges she was dismissed from Binance a month after she informed managers about the bribery in April 2023
  • Lawyers for Binance claim Srivastava was dismissed due to “poor performance”

A former senior executive at Binance has filed a lawsuit against the company’s UK section for unfair dismissal after raising concerns about an alleged bribe.

Amrita Srivastava said that she was unfairly dismissed after bringing the matter to management. According to Srivastava, a colleague had solicited bribes from a customer “under the guise of providing consultative services,” reports Bloomberg.

Srivastava alleges that she was dismissed from her position at Binance a month after she told her managers about the bribery in April 2023. However, according to Binance’s lawyer, Srivastava was dismissed due to “poor performance.”

In a statement, the lawyer said:

“The decision to end her employment for poor performance pre-dated concerns she raised about an issue that was already known and under investigation by our internal audit team.”

According to Bloomberg, the colleague in question has since left the company. In a witness statement, Srivastava said that she “was not prepared to look the other way when someone had defrauded a customer and yet was still a part of the team.”

This is the latest lawsuit against Binance. Last June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance for violating US securities laws by offering services to high-valued US customers on its platform.

In November 2023, the US Department of Justice sought more than $4 billion from Binance – after Binance’s former CEO Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering charges – to settle the criminal investigation against it.

As part of the DOJ settlement, Zhao resigned from his position. He later stepped down as Chair of the Board of Directors.

Zhao was later sentenced to four months in prison, which he has since served.

The post Ex-Binance employee sues exchange after whistleblower bribery claim appeared first on CoinJournal.