Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Binance.US Paused OTC Trading Against The Strong Onslaught Of The SEC

Binance.US has announced the suspension of its OTC Trading Portal.　　On June 8, the exchange will likewise delist trade pairs.　　The action comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States sued Binance on June 5, saying that the company committed breaches that should ban the exchange and its CEO from doing further business in the United States.　　Binance.US, the U.S. arm of the crypto exchange Binance, said on Wednesday that it has chosen to suspend its over-the-counter trading service.　　The exchange also announced the suspension of its OTC Trading Portal, an “over-the-counter” trading method that allows buyers and sellers to trade without the use of a public order book.　　Binance has been in the news for three days in a row. On June 5, the SEC filed a complaint against the crypto exchanges US subsidiary.　　On June 5, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against Binance and billionaire Changpeng Zhao (CZ) in federal court in Washington, outlining 13 accusations. According to the SEC, Binance overstated trade volumes, steered client money, did not exclude Americans from the platform, and deceived investors about its market control procedures.　　On Monday, the US regulator said that Zhao and his exchange tried to circumvent “their

2023-06-08Deep Dive

Coinbase Is Still A Winner Despite SEC’s Attempt To Slow Down Crypto Industry

The SEC‘s attempt to regulate Coinbase is unlikely to succeed due to the company’s strong regulatory compliance and public status.　　The SEC‘s recent move to go after Coinbase has caused concern within the crypto community as it is seen as an attempt to regulate the industry. However, many experts believe that the SEC’s effort to regulate Coinbase will not succeed.　　As stated by the Helius CEO, Coinbase is the most regulatory-compliant firm in the crypto industry and has created thousands of jobs. Its regulatory compliance is one of its strongest selling points and has been a major reason for its success. The company is also a public company, which makes it more difficult for the SEC to regulate it.　　Additionally, Coinbase has been preparing for this kind of regulatory scrutiny for years, adding world-class legal, policy, and regulatory talent to its team. This talent has been instrumental in helping Coinbase navigate the complex regulatory landscape of the crypto industry. The companys legal team is considered world-class, and its CEO, Brian Armstrong, is known for being a killer in the industry.　　The SEC‘s attempt to slow down the crypto industry is nothing new, as similar attempts have been made in the past against other industries

2023-06-07Deep Dive

SEC Cracks Down On Binance and Coinbase, DeFi Trading Skyrockets by 444%!

Decentralized exchange trading volumes surged 444% in 48 hours following SEC crackdown on Coinbase and Binance.　　Daily trading volume on top 3 DEXs increased by over $792M between June 5 and June 7.　　Net outflows on Binance reach $778M as DEX volumes briefly surpass those of Coinbase.　　US securities regulator against cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Binance have caused a ripple effect in the crypto world.　　This has resulted in a significant increase in the median trading volume across the top three decentralized exchanges (DEX) in the past 48 hours, as investors try to find a safe haven.　　According to aggregated data from CoinGecko, Uniswap V3 (Ethereum), Uniswap V3 (Arbitrum) and Pancakeswap V3 (BSC) — which account for 53% of the total DEX trading volume in the last 24 hours — saw an increase of more than $792 million between June 5 and June 7. This represents an increase of 444% in median trading volume across the top three DEXs.　　Trading volume on Uniswap V3 (Ethereum) in the last 7 days. Source: CoinGecko.　　In addition to this, the trading volume on Curve, a DEX that allows for the trading of stablecoins, spiked by 328%. Trading activity on Curve is currently focused on trading the U.S. Dollar-pegged stablecoins USD

2023-06-07Deep Dive

SEC Files Emergency Motion To Freeze Binance’s U.S Subsidiary

The SEC filed an emergency motion to freeze assets of Binances US subsidiary and repatriate cash and cryptocurrency assets held on the Binance platform.　　Binance has responded, stating that the platform remains fully operational and that user assets are safe and secure.　　The SEC asked a Washington, D.C. federal judge to freeze the assets of Binances U.S. subsidiary. The emergency order was filed late Tuesday night. It would also force the repatriation of “fiat currency and crypto assets deposited, held, traded, and/or accrued by customers on the Binance U.S crypto asset trading platform.”　　The SEC alleges that two foreign entities, Sigma Chain and Merit Peak, served as conduits for billions of dollars of customer money improperly commingled with Binance‘s funds. This has led to concerns about the safety and security of the platform’s users and the future of Binances US operations. The regulator argues that the emergency order is necessary to prevent the dissipation of available assets for any judgment, given the Defendants years of violative conduct and disregard for US laws.　　On Monday, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging that the exchange and Zhao had defrauded investors, improperly commingled funds, and operated as an unregistered broker,

2023-06-07Deep Dive

The Lawsuit Against Binance Of The SEC Shows $115 Billion Of Crypto Is A Security

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged Binance, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency exchange, on Monday with mishandling client cash and lying to US authorities and investors about its operations in a broad lawsuit that may reshape the landscape of power and riches in crypto. When combined with additional tokens like XRP that have been individually targeted by the SEC, the agency has now classified roughly $115 billion in coins as unregistered securities.　　The US Securities and Exchange Commission brought 13 allegations against Binance, including unregistered offers and sales of BNB tokens, the Easy Earn and BNB Vault products, and its staking program. Moreover, the SEC claims in the lawsuit that Binance failed to register its Binance.com platform as an exchange or a broker-dealer clearing agency.　　Moreover, it argues that Binance and BAM Trading, Binance.US legal company, failed to register Binance.US as an exchange, broker, and clearing agency. As a “controlling person,” CZ was accused.　　According to the lawsuit, tokens traded on the Binance market constituted securities. These tokens include BNB, BUSD, Solana, Cardano, Polygon, Filecoin, Cosmos, The Sandbox, Decentraland, Algorand, Axie Infinity, and COTI.　　According to a Bloomberg article, the SEC‘s list of digital tokens considered unregistered securities now exceeds $115 billion in crypto

2023-06-06Deep Dive

Google searches for ‘crypto’ fall to 2020 levels as BTC sentiment neutral

With a score of 17 out of 100, online interest in crypto has taken a big hit from its highest levels reached in May 2021.　　A two-month-long lull in cryptocurrency optimism has seen online search interest for “crypto” and other common cryptocurrency terms stumble down to late 2020 levels.　　According to data from Google Trends, the term “crypto” currently has a score of 17, which is well off its reference point of 100 in May 2021. Bitcoin　　BTC$25,749 and Ethereum has followed a similar downward trajectory.　　However, search interest for these terms has been in a relatively consistent decline since May 2022, about a month after much of the Terra Luna ecosystem collapsed. A small spike in interest came in early November when the crypto exchange FTX collapsed.　　Search interest over time for the word “crypto” Source: Google Trends　　The fall in interest comes as Bitcoin has held steady at around $28,000 for 10 weeks now — price action that Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz recently described as “lackadaisical” and caused by a lack of “institutional excitement right now.”　　Guy Turner, commonly known as “Coin Bureau Guy,” suggested in a June 4 Twitter post that the fall in interest also coincides with lower trading volumes on exchanges,

2023-06-06Deep Dive

SEC complaint hints at why Brian Brooks resigned as Binance.US CEO

The SECs latest complaint against Binance could point to why former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks chose to step down in August 2021, only three months after his appointment.　　According to a June 5 tweet from cryptocurrency lawyer James Murphy — known on Twitter as MetaLawMan — the SEC complaint cites an “unnamed source” who ran Binance.US for a brief period of time in 2021. The dates correlate with the time that Brooks was CEO of Binance.US.　　Brooks, a former top banking regulator, led operations at the crypto exchange after replacing former CEO Catherine Coley on May 1, 2021. According to comments cited in the complaint, Brooks quickly realized that he was “not actually the one running this company.” Upon recognizing this, he decided to leave and announced his resignation just three months later on Aug. 7.　　Binance‘s Chief Communications Officer Patrick Hillman, has however pushed back on Murphy’s speculation, adding that this “might be one persons narrative” and that it “might not hold up to the test of time.”　　The information comes in the wake of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pressing a total of 13 charges against Binance for allegedly failing to register as a securities exchange and operating illegally in

2023-06-06Deep Dive

UAE central bank issues new anti-money laundering guidance for cryptocurrencies

The United Arab Emirates central bank said on Wednesday, May 31, that it has published new anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing instructions for financial institutions to follow when dealing with virtual assets like cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).　　The new guideline addresses the risks that might be incurred when interacting with virtual assets and the service providers for those assets, according to a Reuters report on May 31 which referenced the statement.　　In particular, these risks include due diligence requirements for licensed financial institutions when interacting with virtual asset consumers and counterparties.　　Within a month, the regulations will be binding on financial institutions such as banks and finance firms as well as exchange houses, payment service providers, licensed hawala providers, and insurance agencies and brokers.　　The guidance set by the FATF　　The bank said that the guideline takes into consideration the requirements established by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).　　In March of 2022, the UAE was placed on a list of countries that are subject to heightened scrutiny by the FATF. This list is known as its “grey” list. In response, the UAE said that it was dedicated to actively cooperating with FATF in order to make improvements.

2023-06-05Deep Dive

Terra Classic shoots 30% in a day; Why is LUNC price rising?

Terra Classic (LUNC), the original chain of the collapsed Terra (LUNA) ecosystem, has experienced a significant surge in value, offering a glimmer of hope amidst weeks of bearish sentiment. Indeed, the gains come as the LUNC community implements various initiatives aiming to give the network utility.　　As of the latest update, LUNC is trading at $0.0001083, reflecting a remarkable gain of 28.59% within the past 24 hours.　　LUNC seven-day price chart. Source: Finbold　　This surge is primarily attributed to increased buying pressure, propelling LUNCs market capitalization to $635.9 million, with over $138 million flowing into the token in just one day, according to CoinMarketCap data.　　LUNC one-day market cap chart. Source: CoinMarketCap　　The remarkable rise in LUNC‘s value has pushed it to become one of the top cryptocurrencies in terms of trading volume. Notably, LUNC holds the position of 7th cryptocurrency by trading volume in Binance’s spot market.　　Binance spot market trading volume chart. Source. Binance　　Drivers of LUNCs rally　　The resurgence follows the news of the v2.1.0 upgrade proposal, which has been generating significant attention. The forthcoming release, scheduled for June 14th, marks the third significant upgrade to the Terra Classic blockchain.　　Notably, the upgrade aims to align Terra Classic with other blockchains, including Terra 2.0 and various

2023-06-05Deep Dive

Don’t blame meme coins and degens for crypto’s credibility problem

Cryptocurrencys credibility crisis goes beyond the impact of meme coins and degen gambling.　　Crypto has always struggled with credibility among no-coiners – who point to the lack of intrinsic value, price volatility, and regulatory concerns, among other issues.　　These criticisms seem all the more persuasive when applied to memecoins, which typically exist without an underlying purpose or specific practical use case.　　On the flip side, meme coins offer social value and have the uncanny ability to capture the spirit of the times, which, when coupled with hype and the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), can undergo substantial price increases, leading to exponential gains for early investors.　　Memecoins, and their prevalence within the crypto industry, are often cited as significant factors in crypto‘s poor standing among the general public. But in fairness, crypto’s credibility problem runs much deeper than meme coins.　　Dogecoin is the top dog　　On April 17, Pepe rolled out, catching the attention of crypto investors as it surged from zero to an all-time high of $0.00000431 in two weeks.　　During this period, social media was flooded with posts about early Pepe investors becoming overnight millionaires – perpetuating a cycle of hype and FOMO, catalyzing further price tailwinds.　　The stated purpose of PEPE is “to make meme

2023-06-05Deep Dive

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