Kategorie: Crypto Markets

• Binance reportedly moved the funds between August and December 2022.
• A Forbes report claims Binance sent the money to various hedge funds and platforms, including Cumberland, Alameda Research and Tron.
• CSO Patrick Hillmann says there was no commingling of funds.

Binance reportedly moved more than $1.8 billion in customer funds to different firms, sending them to various hedge funds in a move that was “eerily similar” to what happened before the collapse of FTX.

Per the Forbes report published on Monday 27 February, the commingled funds were collateral to Binance-peg tokens, particularly for the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC). The exchange moved the funds without its customers’ knowledge, and involved transactions from around mid-August to early December 2022, the report added.

Binance sent customers’ funds to multiple firms

Ostensibly, the exchange moved roughly $1.1 billion of its customers’ funds to crypto trading platform Cumberland, a subsidiary of DRW. The trading firm might then have helped convert the funds to Binance USD (BUSD), a stablecoin that was the main trading pair on the Binance exchange.

As reported earlier this month, BUSD issuer Paxos was ordered to stop minting the stablecoin and today, crypto exchange Coinbase announced it would be halting support for BUSD on 13 March 2023.

Apart from Cumberland, other firms that reportedly received customer funds from Binance were digital assets firm Amber Group, FTX subsidiary Alameda Research, and Tron. Binance sent millions of dollars worth of collateral to these companies too.

Earlier this year, Binance acknowledged it had mistakenly stored customers’ funds into the same wallet it keeps collateral for B-tokens. On the events described in the latest report, CSO Patrick Hillmann said what happened before is “normal business” and that there had been no such thing as commingling of funds.

The post Binance moved $1.8B of customer funds in a move similar to FTX: report appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Binance USD has been under scrutiny by the US SEC which claims that it is a security.
• NYDFS recently ordered Paxos to stop issuing BUSD.
• Paxos also went ahead to terminate its relationship with Binance.

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that it will suspend Binance USD (BUSD) trading in mid-March. The announcement, which was made via Twitter, mentioned “listing standards.”

We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent reviews, Coinbase will suspend trading for Binance USD (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, on or around 12pm ET.

— Coinbase Assets (@CoinbaseAssets) February 27, 2023

Coinbase’s decision to suspend BUSD trading comes two weeks after the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) issued Paxos Trust with a wells notice for issuing a security, the BUSD. SEC’s notice triggered a number of other repercussions including the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) ordering Paxos to halt BUSD issuance which Paxos immediately obeyed. 

While Binance had initially stated that BUSD was not a security and that it was ready to defend that stand in court, it is not clear what the future of BUSD is especially after Binance recently minted 50 million True USD stablecoins.

BUSD to be suspended on all Coinbase apps

According to the communication, Coinbase will suspend BUSD trading on March 13 starting at around 12PM ET.

The suspension will apply to Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Prime, Coinbase Exchange, and the simple and advanced versions of Coinbase .com. In the meantime, users will have access to their BUSD tokens and they can withdraw them.

The exchange said:

“Your BUSD funds will remain accessible to you, and you will continue to have the ability to withdraw your funds at any time.”

For any digital asset to be listed on Coinbase, it has to be voted for by the digital asset listing group. The voting process is informed by a rigorous vetting/review process that evaluates whether the assets are legal and comply with the technical security standards. There are also additional business assessments and continuous monitoring to ensure that the cryptocurrency continues to meet the set standards.

The post Coinbase to suspend Binance USD trading in March appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Maker (MKR) price is up 5% in the past 24 hours as cryptocurrencies rebound on Monday.
• Whales recently bought huge chunks of MKR, a signal for potential price bounce.
• Bulls could target $1000 if they hold $800 and then break  resistance at $892.

The price of Maker (MKR) has increased 5% in the past 24 hours to cross above $800 once again, with bulls looking for the highest daily close since 10 November 2022. 

MKR is the native governance token for the Maker protocol, a leading decentralised finance (DeFi) protocol that also issues the DAI stablecoin. Dai is the pioneering decentralised and crypto-collateralised stablecoin pegged to the US dollar (USD)

Maker price prediction: Bulls could ride sentiment to rally to $1000

For this Maker price predcition, we have to note that MKR broke below an ascending trendline established earlier in the year last week, dropping as low as $679 on Coinbase.

But the cryptocurrency bounced above the trendline on Sunday, closing above $774 with nearly 10% in gains. The token has printed another green candle on the daily chart as bullish sentiment around the Maker network increases.

On 25 February, on-chain analytics platform Santiment pointed out a spike in whale activity for the Ethereum-based altcoin. 

According to the firm, Maker saw its largest purchases of the native token by whales in three months. Large investors scooping tokens on the dip in such amounts has historically correlated with price reversals, Santiment analysts noted via the platform’s Twitter account.

“Maker made its largest whale moves in over three months a couple hours ago. 24,331 MKR ($17.4M) was moved to a whale address, and then another identically sized move was made. On downswings, massive moves like this are often correlated with turnarounds,” the firm wrote.

🐳 #Maker made its largest whale moves in over 3 months a couple hours ago. 24,331 $MKR ($17.4M) was moved to a whale address, and then another identically sized move was made. On downswings, massive moves like this are often correlated with turnarounds. https://t.co/dHYIdrHy3h pic.twitter.com/vk4dU1G46w

— Santiment (@santimentfeed) February 25, 2023

The MKR token currently trades around $811 (at 9.50 am ET) and looks primed for a breakout to $1100 in the short term, particularly if general sentiment across crypto continues to improve after last week’s market dump.

However, bulls must first hold immediate support at $800 (the 200-day EMA is a key hurdle) and then build momentum for a retest of $892. If they breach this resistance zone, a move to $1,100 is possible. 

On the downside, the 50-day EMA at around $705 currently offers the main support zone.

The post Maker price prediction: MKR turns bullish after massive whale activity appeared first on CoinJournal.