Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Binance US Repudiates Claims About Illegitimate Digital Currency Exchanges

Binance US, a cryptocurrency trading platform linked with global exchange Binance, has denied accusations that it is similar to fraudulent and insolvent cryptocurrency exchanges. Binance US stressed that the two are distinct organizations with independent management teams. The platforms leadership is made up of former US government personnel. The Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Federal Reserve Bank of New York have all pledged to operate a secure platform that complies with US laws and regulations.Binance access to unauthorized bank accounts　　Binance US also addressed the claim that Binance had unauthorized access to its bank account. According to the allegation, more than $400 million was moved from Binance USs bank account to Merit Peak Ltd., a trading business run by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, in the first three months of 2021. Binance US explained that, although a market-making business called Merit Peak functioned on the Binance.US platform, it ceased all operations in 2021. Binance US argued that only Binance US personnel had access to the exchanges bank accounts and that the exchange displays its competitive and transparent market maker program on its website, demonstrating that companies compete fairly for rebates.　　Additionally, Binance US promised the crypto

2023-02-20Deep Dive

Tighter Controls Put in Place for Crypto Exchanges and Margin Trading in Canada

According to unidentified sources, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) will introduce a coordinated supervision framework for cryptocurrency transactions later this month. All bitcoin trading platforms seeking registration will be required to sign undertakings that agree to investor safeguards under the new guidelines. Also, crypto applicants would need to agree to stricter restrictions, such as a prohibition on margin and leverage trading, making it more difficult for regular investors to trade cryptocurrencies using leveraged bets and prohibiting crypto providers from taking credit card payments.　　By proposing additional registration requirements, the CSA intends to tighten its regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the nation. This includes a suggestion that providers be required to store all Canadian customers assets with a suitable custodian and keep these assets separate from the platforms own company. Additionally, the plan mandates that cryptocurrency providers retain consumer assets separate from their own operating finances.Top crypto exchange in Canada　　- Coinsquare - Coinsquare is a Toronto-based cryptocurrency exchange that supports the trading of several popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.　　　　　　- Kraken - Kraken is a popular cryptocurrency exchange that is based in the United States but also serves Canadian customers. It supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin,

2023-02-20Deep Dive

FTX Japan Restarts Withdrawals Of Client Funds

FTX Japan, the Japanese division of FTX.com, has begun the process of moving customer funds out of its collapsed platform. The move comes after the company launched beta testing for a balance transfer process for a randomly selected group of customer accounts. FTX Japan will use the feedback from the testing to make the process of confirming and transferring balances “as transparent as possible” for a wider group of FTX users. The company has apologized for causing inconvenience to its customers due to the long-term suspension of its services. FTX Japan laid out a timeline for the restoration of customer funds and resuming asset withdrawals as early as February.The development of FTX exchange Japan　　The exchange has developed a recovery system that will enable affected users to retrieve their assets via Liquid Japan, which is the first exchange to be officially licensed by the Japan Financial Services Agency (JFSA). Under the process, FTX Japans customers will become clients of Liquid, which acquired the client book and then conducted balance checks. FTX completed the acquisition of Liquid Group a year ago to serve Japanese customers through its subsidiary. The FSA-regulated venue also operates a clearinghouse for fiat-backed stablecoins which facilitates swaps, FX

2023-02-20Deep Dive

Big Reason To Worry For The Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) Community

The Terra Luna Classic community has fallen short in their effort to burn a significant amount of LUNC tokens this week as part of their plan to reduce the total circulating supply. They only managed to burn 5 million LUNC tokens, as their focus was lost due to the absence of Binances monthly LUNC burn mechanism.　　However, the Cremation Coin project burned 3.39 million LUNC tokens, contributing to a total burn of over 34 million LUNC tokens. Additionally, the validator LUNC DAO burned 1.77 million LUNC tokens during the week, but the Terra Luna Classic community did not burn a significant amount of tokens besides this.　　Last week, the Terra Luna Classic community burned more than 15 million LUNC tokens, which is an improvement from the 12 million burned in early January. This milestone is seen as a positive step towards their goal to burn billions of LUNC tokens in 2023, and the community is optimistic that regular burns and the restoration of utility will increase the LUNC price to $1 in 2023.　　The community was focused on a successful blockchain upgrade v1.0.5, which was completed at block height 11,543,150 on February 15 at 18:28:24. However, during this time, they failed to reach

2023-02-19Deep Dive

Elon Musk Promises To Monetize Twitter User Content Soon, Dogecoin To Pump?

Since taking over as CEO of Twitter, Elon Musk has implemented various changes to the social media platform, including plans to allow creators to monetize their content. This development coincided with a significant increase in the value of Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency Musk has promoted on his Twitter account.　　On Saturday, a Twitter user reported that the impressions on one of their tweets exceeded 1 million for the first time, but they were unsure how to monetize it. The tweets impressions ultimately reached 1.37 million, an increase of 102.8%.　　A Twitter user expressed excitement over reaching one million impressions on a tweet for the first time and asked for advice on how to monetize it. The founder of Dogecoin, Billy Markus, responded, offering to let the user know if he figures out a method to make money from tweets.　　Elon Musk then replied to the user, confirming that his team is currently developing a plan to enable Twitter users to earn money from their content. This response sparked discussions among users, with some offering suggestions on how to monetize tweets indirectly. In response, the original user stated that they would be willing to accept Dogecoin as a form of payment if fiat currency was

2023-02-18Deep Dive

Binance And Houbi Freezed Crypto Worth $1.4 Million Linked To North Korea

According to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic, Binance, and Huobi, two prominent cryptocurrency exchanges, have frozen approximately $1.4 million worth of cryptocurrencies linked to North Korea. These funds were stolen in the June 2022 hack of Harmonys Horizon Bridge and were dormant until recently.The collaboration of Binance and Huobi against the Lazarus Group　　Elliptic collaborated with Binance and Huobi to freeze the Lazarus Group hack proceeds, stating that “the stolen funds came from the June 2022 hack of Harmonys Horizon Bridge.” The blockchain analytics firm explained that “the Horizon cross-chain bridge was attacked on June 24th, 2022, resulting in the loss of $99.6 million in crypto assets.” “These funds were laundered through the now-sanctioned Tornado Cash, an Ethereum mixer banned by the US Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) in August last year.”How did the hack done by Lazarus Group according to Elliptic investigators　　The Lazarus Group, a North Korea-controlled cybercrime organization, was responsible for the hack, according to Elliptic investigators. The hacker sent over 98% of the $100 million in stolen crypto assets into the Tornado Cash mixer, which Elliptic traced to its complete trail. The stolen crypto assets included ether (ETH), tether (USDT), wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), and

2023-02-17Deep Dive

North Korea's Stolen Crypto Worth $5.8 Million Seized By Norway

On Thursday, Norwegian police revealed the seizure of a record $5.8 million in bitcoin stolen by North Korean hackers last year. In March 2022, hackers stole $625 million from a blockchain project related to the crypto-based game Axie Infinity.　　The robbery was one of the biggest of its sort in history, and it was traced to a North Korean hacker outfit known as “Lazarus” by the US.The biggest money seizures ever made in Norway　　According to Marianne Bender, Norways chief public prosecutor, the confiscated cryptocurrency was part of the North Korean regimes finance for their nuclear weapons development. Okokrim, the countrys national economic crime unit, announced the seizure of 60 million Norwegian crowns ($5.84 million), calling it “one of the greatest seizures of money ever made in Norway” and a record amount for a cryptocurrency confiscation. To seize the assets, the team collaborated with the US Federal Bureau of Investigations crypto-tracking experts.　　According to Chainalysis, a U.S.-based blockchain analytics business, last year was the worst year on record for cryptocurrency heists, with hackers taking up to $3.8 billion, driven by North Korean-linked attacks.　　Aleksander Larsen, the Norwegian creator of Sky Mavis, the firm behind Axie Infinity, is located in Vietnam. Larsen would not comment

2023-02-17Deep Dive

Hawkish Fed Rhetoric Pulls Down Bitcoin Price (BTC) By 4%, Does the Party End Sooner?

On Wednesday, February 15, the price of the largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, surged by 12%, nearing the $25,000 mark, causing excitement among crypto enthusiasts about a potential rally. Nevertheless, macro indicators are indicating concerns, and the Federal Reserves hawkish rhetoric is dampening the mood. In the past 24 hours, Bitcoins price has dropped over 4%, currently standing at $23,797 with a market capitalization of $459 billion. Additionally, several leading alternative cryptocurrencies have also experienced a setback.　　Investors are uncertain about Bitcoins future trajectory following a recent price increase. However, on-chain indicators suggest that there is no need to worry yet. Ali Martinez, a popular market analyst, has pointed out that data from IntoTheBlock shows that Bitcoin has established a crucial support level between $21,700 and $23,700. Over 1.60 million addresses have purchased more than 1.32 million BTC within this range. If this support level can hold, the next significant resistance level is at $27,000.　　Bloombergs senior commodity strategist Michael McGlone discusses why Bitcoin (BTC) has gained 50% since the beginning of 2023. “Bitcoin hit the greatest discount versus its 200-week moving average at the end of 2022,” he said. This is a major cause for the 1Q drop, although the global economic tide

2023-02-17Deep Dive

Binance Anticipates Fines From US Regulators In Order To Settle Investigations

Binance, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency exchange, has said that it plans to pay monetary penalties to resolve investigations into its operations in the United States. Patrick Hillmann, the companys chief strategy officer, recently admitted that Binances leaders were inexperienced with bribery, corruption, and money laundering laws and regulations. As a consequence, the business is now “working with authorities to find out what remediations we have to go through now to make reparations for that,” according to Hillmann. He further said that the consequence might be “like a fine” or “much more.”　　Binance has made a significant U-turn after earlier disputing allegations that it was under investigation and mocking media sites that claimed differently. According to Reuters, prosecutors at the US Department of Justice have been examining Binance since 2018 for possible violations of US anti-money laundering statutes and penalties. Binances founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao openly rejected the allegation, initiating a Twitter campaign stating that newsrooms were “still working for” FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried.　　Binances shift in strategy comes as it becomes clear that things are not going well for the company. The SEC has informed Paxos, which provides BUSD stablecoin for Binance, that it intends to take action against the company.

2023-02-16Deep Dive

NovaWulf and Celsius have reached an acquisition deal.

The sale and reorganization plan was presented by Celsius Borrowers, and it had the full backing of the companys official committee of unsecured creditors (UCC). According to the concept, a new business would be founded and run by NovaWulf. Additionally, NovaWulf would provide between $45 million and $55 million in direct cash to the new business.　　According to the idea, the new venture would shield debtors from bearing large expenses related to selling off customer assets and closing the business. Celsius predicted that, excluding staked Ethereum, over 85% of the bankrupt lenders clients would be able to retrieve over 70% of their obligations in liquid crypto.　　With the help of a one-time distribution of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the stablecoin USDC, the new firm would put creditors with claims under $5,000 relating to Celsius Earn Accounts—accounts that paid customers attention on cryptocurrency that was later lent out—into a “Convenience Class,” allowing them to receive money.　　Creditors owing at least $1,000 may choose to leave the class and receive a piece of the yet-to-be-determined cash collected for general Earn participants. Creditors owing more than $5,000 may lower their claims to that amount in order to join the class.　　The creditors of Celsius Earn would control the

2023-02-16Deep Dive

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