Kategorie: Crypto Markets

Daily headlines and news about crypto markets.

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US court denies SEC request to look into Binance US

  • A US District Judge has rejected SEC’s request for an inspection of Binance US documents.
  • Binance US stood firm on its stance calling the regulatory watchdog’s request “overboard”.
  • SEC’s request sought access to documentation and communication with the exchange’s custodial service providers.

Binance US, the American branch of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, achieved a significant victory today amidst ongoing scrutiny. The exchange has been under intense scrutiny ever since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated a lawsuit against it. This situation led to a decline in trading volume and the departure of key executives from the company.

The SEC’s request for an investigation into the exchange, was denied earlier today by the court.

What is the SEC investigating Binance US for?

The SEC’s argument hinged on the assertion that Ceffu, a custody platform, was, in reality, an entity associated with Binance. Furthermore, the SEC alleged that this entity was employed to transfer funds of US customers out of the country, thereby violating a prior agreement between Binance US and the SEC. The commission specifically sought access to the exchange’s records and communications with its wallet custody service providers. According to a tweet from Adam Cochran, the SEC’s filing stated:

“However, even with this limited discovery, it has become apparent that Binance U.S. (referred to as “BAM”) has not provided a credible explanation for its crypto asset wallet custody arrangements. Furthermore, Binance Holdings Limited (“BHL” or “Binance”) and its alleged relationship with a Binance-affiliated entity named ‘Ceffu’ regarding the custody of Customer Assets have continued to be a source of conflicting information provided to the SEC.”

In response to these developments, the cryptocurrency exchange argued that the SEC’s request was overly intrusive and burdensome.

Ultimately, US District Judge Zia Faruqui rejected the SEC’s request for an inspection. However, the court required Binance US to furnish additional documentation and expressed doubts about the exchange’s ability to maintain control over its assets.

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Citi just launched ‘tokenized deposits’ for institutional clients

  • Citi Token Services will help enable instant transfers globally.
  • The new service will be accessible via its existing systems.
  • Citi shares are down over 15% versus their year-to-date high.

Citigroup Inc is in focus today after launching “tokenized deposits” for institutional clients.

Tokenized deposits will help enable instant transfers

Citi Token Services will change deposits into digital tokens to enable instant transfers even outside of business hours to anywhere in the world. According to Shahmir Khaliq – its Global Head of Services:

The development of Citi Token Services is part of our journey to deliver real-time, always-on, next-gen transaction banking services to our institutional clients.

The multinational investment bank worked for months with Maersk to test this latest foray into the blockchain-enabled payment solution. Its shares are currently down more than 15% versus their year-to-date high.

Note that Citi Securities Services also partnered with BondbloX Bond Exchange as a digital custodian last week.

Citi’s wealthy clients won’t need their own digital wallet

The financial services behemoth is using a private blockchain to launch the new service and not relying on a public one like Ethereum, as per the press release.

Citi Token Services will, therefore, be available to institutional clients via its existing systems without the need of a separate digital wallet. Shahmir Khaliq also said today:

This development goes hand-in-hand with our industry leading work on Regulated Liability Network to create interoperable digital asset solutions on a multi-bank basis.

The New York listed firm recently announced plans of reorganising into five main divisions. Its peer JPMorgan Chase & Co is also exploring tokenized deposits but its efforts are still in the early stages only.

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BTC touches $27.3k as Chainlink leads crypto bounce

  • Bitcoin has broken above $26,300 for the first time since August 31.
  • With the gains, LINK is up more than 15% in the past week and hit $6.81.

Bitcoin is back above $27,300 for the first time since August 31, while Chainlink (LINK) is leading the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap as its price bounces to above $6.80. Elsewhere, top altcoin Ethereum has hit highs above $1,670 as the mega caps gain ahead of a likely pivotal week for sentiment across risk asset markets.

Can Bitcoin price break higher?

BTC breaking higher on Monday sees the benchmark cryptocurrency rekindle a little positivity for bulls. With intraday highs near $27.4k, crypto analysts have noted the potential for a retest of a critical level and the invalidation of a double-top pattern.

While the price may reject at the immediate resistance and fail to consolidate above the 200-week MA, the opposite outlook is a decisive breakout that turns the hurdle into a support. The upside perspective would be crucial after BTC signaled the Death Cross on the daily chart and saw a bearish monthly close candle as price stayed below $27k.

If price moves higher, a rally to $28,200 could open it up for a retest of the psychological $30k level. On the downside, rejection would mean a retest of $25k area before rebounding.

LINK price up

Chainlink has been today’s biggest gainer so far, jumping nearly double-digits as intraday price reached highs of $6.81across major crypto exchanges. The breakout has been helped by the bullish push above the $6.40 area and comes after LINK revisited the $5.50 zone.

If prices continue to rise, LINK/USD might add to the weekly gains of more than 15% with a push towards $8.00. Crypto analyst Michael van de Poppe sees this as the likely trajectory.

The post BTC touches $27.3k as Chainlink leads crypto bounce appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Hong Kong crypto exchange JPEX suspends trading amid SFC probe

  • The probe into JPEX has resulted in the arrest of one person.
  • The JPEX exchange has allegedly been operating in the country without a license.
  • JPEX’s native token, JPC, has experienced a 21.98% decline in value over the past 24 hours following as the events unfold.

Hong Kong’s cryptocurrency exchange, JPEX, has halted its trading operations in response to an investigation conducted by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). This inquiry resulted in the arrest of an individual affiliated with the exchange, as reported by local media.

The SFC has asserted that JPEX, based in Hong Kong, had been conducting its operations without the necessary license, which prompted numerous complaints from users to law enforcement agencies. The JPEX comes as Hong Kong warns crypto firms against referring to themselves as “banks.”

JPEX cites unfair treatment by Hong Kong authorities

In a blog post, JPEX expressed dissatisfaction with the treatment it received from relevant Hong Kong institutions and attributed the freezing of funds by their third-party market makers to these perceived injustices. These market makers demanded additional information from the exchange for negotiation purposes, thereby restricting liquidity and significantly increasing daily operational costs, leading to operational challenges.

In light of these liquidity issues, JPEX announced its decision to stop all transactions on its Earn Trading interface, effective Monday. Simultaneously, the exchange pledged to manage ongoing orders and make adjustments to withdrawal fees. Additionally, JPEX stated that it is contemplating a restructuring effort to transform into a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).

JPEX’s Taiwan offices vacated

Media reports from Taiwan have indicated that JPEX’s Taipei office was recently vacated, and local authorities have reportedly interrogated Taiwanese influencers whom the exchange had engaged.

JPEX’s official website claims that the exchange holds licenses from securities authorities in Australia and is registered with the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as a Money Services Business (MSB).

Attendees at the recent Token2049 conference in Singapore noted that JPEX’s booth appeared abandoned after the first day of the event.

The post Hong Kong crypto exchange JPEX suspends trading amid SFC probe appeared first on CoinJournal.

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Analyst on Solana: Could be “sell the rumor, buy the news” for SOL

  • Solana is one of the cryptocurrencies to struggle the most in the market since FTX imploded in 2022.
  • FTX liquidators have approval to liquidate $3.4 billion worth of crypto assets.
  • The collapsed exchange holds $1.2 billion in SOL, Solana’s native token.

The native Solana token SOL, which makes up a significant percentage of the bankrupt crypto platform FTX’s portfolio of assets, has found it difficult to break higher since the sharp decline registered from above $36 in November last year.

With volatility largely on the downside for most assets, the last few days had sentiment for SOL mostly negative. However, a top crypto analyst says SOL could be primed for a “sell the rumour, buy the news” outlook.  

SOL price and FTX liquidation

Solana is trading around $19.10 on Friday morning, up 1.5% in the past 24 hours. The slight gains come in a week where collapsed crypto exchange FTX received the court’s go ahead to liquidate $3.4 billion worth of crypto assets as part of its claims plan.

FTX holds $1.2 billion of SOL, but most of that is staked/locked up as per various contracts. Only a fraction will be released monthly, suggesting little impact on price as markets have largely priced in this scenario.

In his comment on the price of Solana after FTX received the court’s nod, Michael van de Poppe said:

“The Solana, which corresponds to $1.2 billion of the assets of FTX, is mostly staked and can’t be sold. Now, what’s next?

First of all, FTX can sell up to $200m of assets on a weekly basis for their corresponding clients so the liabilities could be erased. This can add some additional sell pressure on the markets, but that’s probably already priced in. The major fact is that we should be seeing a case of Solana being sold off massively, but as an anticipation, Solana was already sold off entirely in the past week and could result into a ‘sell the rumour, buy the news’ type of thing.”

The analyst notes that most of the SOL that FTX holds cannot be sold and that of the amount that could hit the market, it’s “mostly sold already.”

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