Cryptocurrency Exchange

SEC wants Binance guilt admission added to own case

Binance said the SEC hasn’t demonstrated that the resolutions reached with the DOJ are pertinent to the regulator’s “faulty claims” against Binance Holdings and former CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Binance Holdings and its former CEO, Changpeng Zhao, have reacted to a move by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to include Binance’s admission of guilt to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in its own legal proceedings.

In a Dec. 12 filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Binance insisted the SEC’s attempt to include the $4.3 billion guilty plea and settlement agreement with the DOJ in the continuing case was procedurally incorrect and should not be allowed.

The ongoing Binance-SEC legal case began on June 5, 2023, when the agency accused the company of 13 securities law violations, including that Zhao and Binance managed customer assets on Binance.US and mixed or redirected customer assets.

Crypto platform WOO X partners with market maker Wintermute for liquidity boost

Aside from Wintermute, other leading liquidity providers, including Selini Capital and Black Code Group, also support WOO X.

Crypto exchange platform Woo X has partnered with Wintermute, a crypto market maker and liquidity provider with over $3.6 trillion in cumulative trading volume. Wintermute will act as the designated liquidity provider for the crypto exchange.

The latest partnership between the two crypto-focused platforms is part of a proactive and transparent effort to onboard top-tier liquidity providers. The London and Singapore-based liquidity provider Wintermute is one of several market makers collaborating with the crypto platform.

Other liquidity providers, such as Selini Capital and Black Code Group, also support WOO X. Selini Capital, for example, has consistently contributed 15–25% of all maker volume on Perpetual Protocol.

Dubai awards conditional crypto license to climate-friendly Web3 firm

AYA is a climate-focused launchpad that supports innovations around sustainability, such as reforestation, nature credits, mangrove conservation and sustainable agriculture.

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) granted a conditional license to Enjinstarter’s AYA platform for offering crypto asset and investment services.

On Dec. 11, the Dubai arm of Web3 launchpad and advisory firm Enjinstarter received a crypto license subject to fulfilling certain conditions before the commencement of services. After meeting all the requirements of VARA, the platform will be subject to regulatory verification and approval. The announcement read:

Enjinstarter has not yet responded to Cointelegraph’s request for comments about the outstanding regulatory prerequisites. However, in the official announcement, Prakash Somosundram, the co-founder and CEO of Enjinstarter and the AYA foundation, shared the company’s willingness to comply with the process laid out by VARA.

FTX and Alameda move $23.59M in assets to Binance, Coinbase, OKX

The latest transfer of $23.59 million was spread across 19 tokens, including ETH, ALEPH, CRV, AVAX, LINK, DOGE, MATIC, UNI and SOL.

Over four days, wallets linked to defunct crypto trading firms FTX and Alameda Research moved $23.59 million worth of digital assets to top cryptocurrency exchanges.

Blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain identified the movement, estimating that the defunct entities have transferred $591 million since Oct. 24 using 59 different cryptocurrency tokens.

The wallets linked to FTX spread the latest transfer of $23.59 million across 19 tokens: 3,150 Ether (ETH) worth $6.8 million, 59.6 million Aleph.im (ALEPH) worth $6.41 million, $2.48 million of Curve DAO (CRV) tokens, $990,000 of Avalanche (AVAX) and $848,000 of Chainlink’s (LINK).

Kyberswap comes to the rescue of hack victims, Platypus hacker walks free: Finance Redefined

The Platypus hacker managed to walk free from a court after claiming to be an ethical hacker despite stealing $8.5 million from the protocol.

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you the most significant developments from the past week.

Cointelegraph interviewed Velvet Capital’s CEO on the challenges facing DeFi and the key barriers it needs to overcome to go mainstream. Cosmos-based Umee and Osmosis merge to create “DeFi Hub,” where Umee’s UX Chain code will be reimplemented on the Osmosis chain, combining features of the two networks.

The Platypus hacker has managed to evade accountability for the $8.5 million exploit on the protocol after claiming to be an ethical hacker. The court allowed the exploiter to walk free.

Crypto Biz: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF seed capital, HashKey targets market makers, and more

The countdown is underway for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to decide on the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

The countdown is underway for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to decide on approving the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. After several delays, the regulator’s final deadline is approaching, with market participants anticipating a decision in early January 2024.

In another sign that a green light may be forthcoming, companies awaiting approval have regularly met with SEC officials over the past weeks, discussing their proposals and making adjustments as requested.

If approved, the biggest cryptocurrency will be traded on the spot market of Wall Street’s major exchanges, opening up Bitcoin (BTC) to a broader audience of investors, this time as a product backed by the most prominent investment firms in the world. If denied, investment managers will likely appeal the ruling, prolonging the waiting period for investors and Bitcoiners in the United States.

Binance says decision to pull Abu Dhabi licensing bid unrelated to US settlement

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to one felony count in the United States in November, may not be able to return to the UAE before being sentenced.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance’s unit in Abu Dhabi has pulled an application with the Emirate’s financial regulator, a move it claims was unrelated to the firm’s November settlement with authorities in the United States.

In a statement to Cointelegraph on Dec. 7, a Binance spokesperson said the exchange had chosen not to move forward with an application with Abu Dhabi’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority following an assessment of its “global licensing needs.” The agreement, withdrawn by BV Investment Management in November, would have allowed Binance to manage a collective investment fund.

The spokesperson said Binance’s decision was “unrelated” to a $4.3 billion settlement with U.S. authorities, in which Changpeng “CZ” Zhao pleaded guilty to one felony charge and stepped down as CEO. Binance’s former head of regional markets, Richard Teng, succeeded CZ and told Cointelegraph the exchange was “totally different” following the deal.

FTX to submit revised reorganization plan in mid-December

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is preparing to present an updated reorganization plan to the court in mid-December.

The Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors has written a reply to the FTX 2.0 Customer Ad Hoc Committee, providing insights into the details of its proposed amended reorganization plan. Scheduled for mid-December, the plan is expected to reshape the fate of unsecured creditors.

In the letter, recognizing differing perspectives on asset valuation and distribution, the Committee of Unsecured Creditors highlighted the proposed plan’s capacity to maintain a balance among stakeholders’ interests.

However, ongoing activities, including a potential acquisition by financial services firm Perella Weinberg that may unfold during the bankruptcy proceedings, will be formally submitted via a court motion for approval. Concepts like recovery rights tokens — referenced in the FTX 2.0 Customer Ad Hoc Committee’s letter — are presently under evaluation by both the Official Committee and potential transaction participants.

Bitzlato ex-CEO Legkodymov pleads guilty to 1 count in Brooklyn court

The Hong Kong-based crypto exchange had no KYC and was a major support for the darknet marketplace Hydra.

Anatoly Legkodymov, co-founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, pleaded guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money services business on Dec. 6. Legkodymov appeared in New York Eastern District Court in Brooklyn before Judge Eric Vitaliano.

In court, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve Bitzlato and forfeit $23 million in cryptocurrency. He had filed a criminal cause for pleading, which is understood to indicate the intention of entering a guilty plea. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said:

Legkodymov was arrested in Miami on Jan. 17, 2023 during a coordinated international effort to take the exchange down. Its website was blocked by France the same day. According to the United States Department of Justice, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, along with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), also took part in the operation against it.

Hong Kong regulator blocks access to two crypto entities, warning of fraud

According to the securities regulator, misleading information online could encourage individuals to invest in the HKD token issued by HongKongDAO.

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong has issued a warning related to suspected fraud involving crypto entities Hong Kong Digital Research Institute and BitCuped.

In a Dec. 6 notice, the SFC said the Hong Kong Police Force had blocked access to the websites of BitCuped and Hong Kong Digital Research Institute — also known as HongKongDAO — claiming users could be fooled into making illegitimate investments. The regulator also issued cease-and-desist letters to the firms’ website operators.

“The SFC suspects HongKongDAO may be disseminating false and misleading information about itself and its business through online channels,” said the Dec. 6 notice. “The SFC notes that BitCuped claims on its website that ‘Laura Cha’ and ‘Nicolas Aguzin’ serve as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer respectively, when in fact none of them has any affiliations with BitCuped.”