Schlagwort: crypto regulation

• A US court has issued summons for Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
• He has 21 days to respond although he doesn’t have to appear in person.
• According to the court document, Zhao’s address has been given as Malta.

The US District Court in Washington, D.C. has issued a summons for Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance.

Summons for CZ were issued on Wednesday, June 7, and came just two days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued the Binance CEO and his crypto exchange for alleged securities violations.

According to court documents, CZ’s address is identified as Sliema, Malta. While the Binance boss isn’t obligated to appear in person, he is required to respond to the summons within 21 days.

“If you fail to respond, judgment by default will be entered against you for the relief demanded in the complaint,” the summons reads in part.

Mr. Zhao has not commented on the news development as of writing. As this is a developing story, we will update it.

The post Just in: US court summons Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• Circle has received its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for digital payment token services in Singapore.

• The company was first issued an in-principle approval in November 2022. 

Circle receives a digital token licence in Singapore

Circle, the company that issues the USDC stablecoin, announced on Wednesday, June 7th, that it has received its Major Payment Institution (MPI) license for digital payment token services in Singapore.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes after the company obtained in-principle approval last November.

According to the company, the license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) allows it to offer digital payment token services, cross-border money transfer services and domestic money transfer services in Singapore. 

While commenting on this latest development, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, said;

“Singapore is integral to Circle’s global expansion and mission in raising global economic prosperity and through the frictionless exchange of value. We are honored to receive the MPI license from MAS, and we remain committed to being a part of Singapore’s dynamic economy by advancing the future of financial technology innovations in the city-state, uplifting its emerging technology and fintech sector, and creating business and career opportunities for its technology and financial industry talent.”

Circle Singapore is an affiliate of Circle Internet Financial, the company that issues the USDC stablecoin. 

Circle falls behind Tether’s USDT

Circle has seen its USDC stablecoin take a hit this year due to the banking crisis in the United States. As the second-largest stablecoin by market cap, USDC has fallen behind Tether’s USDT in recent months.

At the moment, Tether’s USDT stablecoin has a market cap of $80.2 billion, more than twice that of USDC ($32.75 billion). 

Singapore’s MAS proposed stablecoin regulation last year, which introduced capital and reserve requirements for issuers. The regulatory agency also seeks to ban users from some crypto-related activities like staking and lending. 

The post USDC issuer Circle receives a digital token licence in Singapore appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• The US SEC has sued crypto exchange Coinbase for acting as an unregistered broker.

• This latest development comes a few hours after the regulatory agency sued Binance.

SEC sues Coinbase for acting as an unregistered broker

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase, one of the leading crypto exchanges in the world.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes barely 24 hours after the SEC slapped a lawsuit against rival exchange Binance. 

SEC filed the lawsuit a few minutes ago, alleging that Coinbase has never registered as a broker, national securities exchange or clearing agency. Thus, the SEC claims that Coinbase has been evading the disclosure scheme for securities markets. 

The regulatory agency alleged that several tokens offered by the crypto exchange are securities. SEC filed the lawsuit in a New York Federal court.

Coinbase is yet to respond to the lawsuit. This latest development comes as the SEC and Coinbase have been battling a legal case over the past few months.

Earlier this year, the SEC issued Coinbase a Wells Notice, indicating that it is looking into the affairs of the cryptocurrency exchange. 

The crypto exchange now filed a lawsuit against the SEC in April, asking the securities regulator to provide a yes or no to its request for the commission to draft and approve a digital asset-specific rule.

US SEC is coming after exchanges

The lawsuit against Coinbase comes barely 24 hours after the SEC went after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by daily trading volume. 

The SEC alleged that Binance was offering services to high-valued US customers on its platform, which is in violation of U.S. securities laws.

The regulatory agency also claimed that Binance CEO exercised control over customer assets, adding that he combined them with personal and company holdings.

The SEC has been coming after crypto exchanges in recent months, including Kraken. 

Coinbase’s stock price has dipped by more than 15% during Tuesday’s pre-market trading session following this latest development. COIN is now trading at $49.44 per share. 

The post The SEC strikes again: First Binance, now Coinbase appeared first on CoinJournal.

Key takeaways

• The US SEC has sued Binance for breaking securities rules.

• The regulatory agency has also sued Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange.

SEC sues Binance and CZ

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Binance, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, and Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of the company.

This is according to a report by The Wall Street Journal a few minutes ago. According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulatory agency has sued Binance and its CEO for breaking US securities rules.

This latest cryptocurrency news doesn’t come as a surprise to some experts in the industry, as the regulatory agency has been going after cryptocurrency exchanges in recent months. 

Binance faces 13 charges from the SEC

The regulatory agency alleges that Binance secretly allow[ed] high-value U.S. customers” to trade on the platform in violation of U.S. securities laws which prohibits unregistered exchanges from servicing U.S. customers.

The lawsuit also alleges that CZ exercised control over customer assets, adding that he commingled them with personal and company holdings. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler stated that;

“Through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law. As alleged, Zhao and Binance misled investors about their risk controls and corrupted trading volumes while actively concealing who was operating the platform, the manipulative trading of its affiliated market maker, and even where and with whom investor funds and crypto assets were custodied.”

This latest development comes two weeks after the SEC sued Bittrex, one of the world’s largest and oldest cryptocurrency exchanges, and co-founder and ex-CEO William Shihara for violating securities laws. 

The regulatory agency had also come after several other crypto exchanges in recent months, including Kraken and Coinbase.

Bitcoin has lost more than 2% of its value so far today and could fall below the $26k level soon following this latest development. At press time, the price of Bitcoin stands at $26,682 per coin. 

The post SEC sues Binance and CZ for breaking US Securities Rules appeared first on CoinJournal.

• Bybit will not accept new account applications from Canadian residents and nationals as from 31 May.
• Existing customers have until 31 July and thereafter they will only be able to withdraw funds.
• Any open positions after 30 September 2023 will be liquidated, the exchange said in a notice.

Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is exiting the Canadian market, according to a notice the company published on Tuesday, 30 May.

The exchange noted that the decision to exit Canada was reached as a result of recent regulatory developments. Bybit said that while it had always been its “primary objective” to comply with all local rules and regulations, the decision to leave was necessary – even if difficult.

Bybit is thus pausing its activities and products in the Canadian market as from 31 May 2023.

No new accounts for Canadian residents

Beginning Wednesday, 31 May, Bybit will no longer accept account opening applications from new users ascertained to be from Canada. The restriction applies to all existing Canadian nationals, the exchange noted.

Existing Canadian customers will still be able to use the platform until 31 July, when they will also be restricted from making new deposits or entering into new contracts. Bybit will also not allow them to increase existing positions across all products and services effective on that date. However, customers will still be able to withdraw funds or reduce existing positions.

Overall, Canadian customers have until 30 September, 2023, 8am UTC to wind down positions. Any margin or derivatives positions still open after this date will be liquidated, with funds made available for withdrawal.

Several crypto firms have exited Canada

Bybit’s exit from Canada comes a day after the exchange announced it had received “in-principle” approval to expand its operations into Kazakhstan.

Notably, the news also come a few weeks after Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, exited Canada. As reported, Binance cited new developments around crypto guidelines from Canadian regulators as the reason for its decision.

Since February, when the Canadian Securities Adminstration (CSA) formalised new requirements for crypto exchange operators, several providers have exited. As CoinJournal also highlighted here, these include OKX, dYdX and Paxos.

The post Bybit announces exit from the Canadian market appeared first on CoinJournal.