Schlagwort: crypto business

• The Binance CEO tweeted that the reports were false
• However, he acknowledged the exchange had “pulled back” on some deals.
• Binance has endured a lot of FUD over the past several months, particularly after the collapse of FTX.

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has denied reports that his exchange is looking to sever ties with US-based projects.

His comments followed an earlier report that cited familiar sources as saying Binance was planning to delist all US-based tokens. One of those to be delisted ostensibly being USD Coin (USDC), a stablecoin issued by US-based financial services firm Circle.

But in a tweeted response to one of the reports, Zhao termed the report as “false.” He went on to suggest that this wouldn’t be the case given “blockchain has no borders.”

4. False. https://t.co/qjqLrx3TGF

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) February 17, 2023

According to a Bloomberg report published on Friday, sources claimed Binance was looking to end relationships with its partners in the US, including banks. The crypto giant was also reassessing its venture investments in the country, the report added.

While acknowledging that Binance had indeed pulled back from some investment deals and takeover of bankrupt companies, Zhao noted this was just ‘for now.”

We pulled back on some potential investments, or bids on bankrupt companies in the US for now. Seek permission first. https://t.co/js0OR7gy68

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) February 17, 2023

Zhao also linked to a previous tweet in which he says it is better to focus on education, compliance and product & service, and “ignore FUD, fake news, attacks, etc.” It’s notable that Binance has been subject to a lot of FUD over the past few months, with negative coverage heightening following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX.

Today’s reports on Binance comes just days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said it was suing Paxos, the US-based issuer of the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. The regulator has labelled BUSD as an “unregistered security.” 

That on top of the New York Department of Financial Services ordering Paxos to stop minting the stablecoin, a scenario that saw the company end its relationship with Binance.

The post CZ denies reports Binance plans to delist US-based tokens appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Mt.Gox Investment Fund and Bitcoinica reportedly want reimbursement from the Mt.Gox Trustee to be in Bitcoin.
• The two firms are two of the largest creditors of Mt.Gox, a Bitcoin exchange that went bankrupt in 2014.
• A reimbursement program for all creditors indicates payouts will begin on 30 September 2023.

Mt. Gox creditors have waited nearly a decade for reimbursement payouts following the collapse of one of Bitcoin’s earliest and (by then) largest exchanges.

But now with the rehabilitation process drawing towards a close, two of the defunct crypto exchange’s largest creditors have opted for a payout in bitcoin.

Mt.Gox Investment Fund opts for BTC payout

According to a news report by Bloomberg, Mt. Gox Investment Fund, which is the largest creditor of the defunct Bitcoin exchange, has settled for a payout in Bitcoin. Another top creditor looking to recover their funds in BTC is Bitcoinica, a crypto platform that also went bankrupt following multiple hacks.

Creditors agreed to the reimbursement program in October 2021, and are currently updating their payout details as they pick payment options.  

Earlier this year, Mt.Gox Trustee Nobuaki Kobayashi notified creditors that the court had allowed them to push the deadline for registration of payee information to 10 March 2023. Repayments, which are expected in cryptocurrency or fiat are set to begin on 30 September.

Both Mt.Gox Investment Fund and Bitcoinica have opted to receive 90% of the repayments in BTC, according to the report. The two creditors will get paid in September.

What does this mean for BTC?

The move is largely positive for Bitcoin as receiving the payments in the cryptocurrency significantly reduces the impact of a dump if the Trustee had to liquidate the coins in order to pay in fiat. 

Bitcoin price rose to highs above $25k this week as the crypto market sentiment ticked up despite US regulators’ latest actions. On Friday (11:00 am ET), BTC pushed above $24k once again following an earlier dip to lows of $23,300.

The post Top Mt.Gox creditors opt for Bitcoin payout: report appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Do Kwon reportedly held 10,000 BTC in a cold wallet.
• The now fugitive Terraform Labs founder reportedly cashed out a massive $100 million worth of Bitcoin through a bank in Switzerland.
• The SEC announced it had charged Do Kwon with defrauding investors.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday announced charges against Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs. The regulator’s complaint is that Kwon and his company orchestrated a scheme that saw him defraud investors. 

Do Kwon is the founder of Terra, the crypto project that had a native token LUNA and stablecoin Terra USD (UST). He’s on the run and the latest news is that he cashed out massive amounts of Bitcoin (BTC) following the collapse of UST and LUNA.

SEC says Do Kwon defrauded investors

SEC charges against Do Kwon point to a plot to mislead investors, with the collapse of the then $40 billion LUNA ecosystem impacting the wider crypto market amid an intensifying crypto winter.

“We allege that Terraform and Do Kwon failed to provide the public with full, fair, and truthful disclosure as required for a host of crypto asset securities, most notably for LUNA and Terra USD,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a press release on Thursday.

“We also allege that they committed fraud by repeating false and misleading statements to build trust before causing devastating losses for investors,” he added.

Kwon cashed out millions of BTC via Swiss bank

As Bloomberg notes in a report published Thursday, 17 February, Kwon’s company had ostensibly moved and cashed out over $100 million worth of Bitcoin using an unnamed banking provider in Switzerland. 

The transfers began in June 2022 and were reportedly part of more than 10,000 BTC stashed in a cold wallet and periodically withdrawn through the Swiss-based bank.

The SEC allege the fraudulent transactions had continued up to the date of its official complaint against Do Kwon and its firm. 

Unlike Sam Bankman-Fried who was arrested swiftly following the collapse of his firms FTX and Alameda Research, Do Kwon continues to evade capture. An arrest warrant by Interpol was issued last year and the latest reports on his whereabouts suggested the South Korean citizen was in Serbia.

Terra (LUNA) and Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) price outlook

As Coinjournal reported on Friday morning, the price of Terra (LUNA) fell sharply following news the SEC had charged Kwon. 

Data from CoinGecko as of 9 am ET on Friday, also showed that the Terra Luna Classic price was 3.6% down at $0.00016773, while its market cap stood at $992 million. LUNC is a community-driven project that emerged out of the LUNA debacle.

The post Do Kwon withdrew $100M worth of BTC via Swiss bank, SEC says appeared first on CoinJournal.

• The market cap of Binance USD (USD) stablecoin has declined by $2.45 billion.
• Over $2.37 billion has moved from BUSD to Tether (USDT).
• USD Coin (USDC) has also seen its market cap shrink by about $739 million amid the regulatory events of the past few days.

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao says the Tether has benefited most from the recent regulatory action against Binance USD (BUSD) and its issuer Paxos. But CZ reiterates that Binance does not issue BUSD.

Over $2.37 billion has moved from BUSD to USDT

As the negative impact of the order stopping Paxos from issuing BUSD jolted the crypto market, the flow of funds from the Binance branded dollar-pegged stablecoin ended with the USDT market capitalization gaining as BUSD’s declined.

In a tweet on Friday, Zhao noted that BUSD’s market cap had so far declined by over $2.45 billion and that most of it has gone into Tether’s stablecoin. The Binance chief noted that at least $2.37 billion in BUSD value had moved to USDT as traders sought to move capital from the Paxos-issued token.

BUSD market cap dropped -$2.45B (from 16.1B to 13.7B as of now), and most of it has moved to USDT.

USDT marketcap + 2.37B (From 67.8B to 70.1B)

USDC also declined -739M (from 42.3B to 41.5B)

Landscape is shifting.

(Note: BUSD is NOT issued by Binance.) pic.twitter.com/kVrZUYjuOh

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) February 17, 2023

According to Zhao, there’s a shift in the stablecoin market and the rotation of capital into the world’s largest stablecoin is an indication of that change.

While BUSD had managed to regain its dollar peg as of writing, the negative view following the regulatory crackdown means traders see USDT as the better alternative. 

Tether’s release of another $1 billion of USDT recently points to this outlook and as Zhao acknowledges, even USD Coin (USDC) has seen its market cap drop by over 739 million over the past few days.

Meanwhile, Binance has reportedly minted $50 million of True USD (TUSD) stablecoin, helping to push the price of TrueFi (TRU) higher. At the time of writing, the token was trading at $0.084, having gained a massive 88% in the past 24 hours.

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