The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance’s U.S. subsidiary, BAM Trading, have jointly sought a consent order, which could modify some restrictions from a previous SEC asset freeze directive against the company. This prospective consent order aims to provide more assurances to the SEC while enabling BAM Trading to meet payroll and other financial obligations.
The new order would permit BAM Trading and its management to continue purchasing goods and services, pay employee salaries, cover pre-existing benefits, professional fees, and other ordinary business expenditures. However, it strictly prohibits Binance from transferring any assets to or for the benefit of any Binance-affiliated entity or individual, under any circumstances.
In this context, the order specifically mentions that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao should not have access to any assets belonging to BAM Trading or Binance.US.
The SEC had filed an emergency request to freeze BAM Trading’s assets following its lawsuit against Binance and Zhao. In response, BAM Trading submitted a counter-argument, insisting that the SEC’s reason for requesting the freeze failed to meet the necessary burden of proof set by the court.
As of now, the proposed consent order is awaiting court approval. It seems that disagreements over certain specifics between the SEC and Binance are causing some delay. The court has requested additional clarification from both sides.
Judge Amy Berman Jackson has asked both parties to propose any changes to the consent order for the court’s consideration by 1:00 pm Eastern Time on June 13, according to a document viewed on the Public Access to Court Electronic Records website. The court will decide on the consent order after evaluating the input from both parties.
Other Stories:
Hacker steals almost $1 million of Ethereum from DeFi protocol
Submit crypto & blockchain guest post
SEC lawsuits prompt Binance and Coinbase users to flock to Bitget
London, United Kingdom, June 13th, 2023, Chainwire
Chancer, one of the most exciting new Web3 projects of 2023 has officially launched its crypto presale today, 13th June. The project aims to disrupt the betting industry by removing the ‘house’ from the picture and putting the markets firmly back in the hands of the bettors, allowing users to create their own betting markets, set their own odds, and create their own rules.
Chancer is the world’s first decentralized predictive markets app — something co-founders and brothers Adam and Paul Kelbie believe will dramatically change how people bet, and ultimately, put the fun back into betting.
Chancer positions itself as a betting facilitator, not a betting house, allowing users to create peer-to-peer (P2P) bets. These can be small, friendly bets amongst a small group of people, or huge, viral bets such as predicting the Champions League final result or who will win Best Director at the Oscars, in which masses of people can participate. Chancer doesn’t limit people to sport betting; bets can be made on any prediction or event, a stark contrast from most bookmakers. Its inherent appeal lies in the fact that users are in complete control of their bets and won’t lose to a traditional bookmaker who stacks the odds against them.
“We’re confident that we can change the way betting and gambling works,” said Adam Kelbie, CEO of Chancer. “The next few months are going to be very exciting, and we’re thrilled that we can offer a new cryptocurrency in such a competitive market. We’re doing something no one else has done, disrupting an industry that has had the odds stacked against consumers since it began. It won’t be easy, but we’re ready for the fight.”
How CHANCER works
All bets and pay-outs are made in Chancer’s native token, ‘CHANCER’, which can then be traded with stablecoins like USDT. The online betting and gambling industry is huge, standing at approximately $64 billion (as of 2022), and Chancer aims to take advantage of that and claim a dominant position within the space.
The CHANCER token will be launched on the BSC Blockchain, and is now available during its presale, which comprises of 12 stages in total. The token is now available at a price of $0.010 during stage one of the presale and will eventually rise to $0.021 by stage 12, an increase of 70% from the initial price in the first tranche of the presale.
Revolutionizing the betting industry with future-forward capabilities
As outlined in the whitepaper, the project has a well-planned roadmap outlining a variety of product use cases to draw different types of investor interest. Chancer also aims to achieve and maintain true decentralization. To do this, Chancer will have a proof of stake consensus mechanism so that no single party can take control of the network. Quadratic governance will hand decision-making over to the platform’s users.
For full transparency, Chancer’s source code will remain open. This also means that anyone is welcome to review, contribute, and propose changes in how the platform works with the assurance that they will be listened to.
Uniquely, Chancer will be channelled by the real-time communication capability of Google’s WebRTC to live stream events to its community.
Chancer believes in rewarding its users and will therefore offer CHANCER tokens simply for using the platform, as well as providing a Share2Earn scheme, staking, and discounted fees for those who create and participate in the market, making it cost-effective for those who use the platform frequently. Another way to earn a passive income via Chancer is to become a node validator.
About Chancer
Chancer is set to develop the world’s first decentralized social predictive markets platform. This will allow Chancer token holders to create, participate in and profit from their very own predictive markets based on their interests, expertise and social opportunities.
The project intends to disrupt the global gambling and betting market by ‘removing the house’ and taking a slice of the market share as it garners attention by challenging the traditional bookmaking and betting business model.
Website | Whitepaper | Socials
Contact
CEO
Adam Kelbie
Chancer
[email protected]
In a recent security breach, Decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Sturdy Finance has lost 442 Ether (ETH), approximately $800,000, due to a flaw in its price oracle system. The attacker reportedly took advantage of this vulnerability, enabling them to siphon off the substantial sum from the platform.
The alarming situation came to light on June 12, when blockchain security firm PeckShield identified and reported a suspicious transaction seemingly linked to price manipulation within Sturdy Finance. Almost an hour after this notification, Sturdy Finance acknowledged the security compromise. As a safety measure, all markets under the DeFi protocol were immediately paused to prevent further potential losses, and users were assured that no additional funds were in jeopardy.
However, even with the timely intervention, the culprit managed to transfer nearly $800,000 in ETH to cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash. PeckShield confirmed that the underlying cause of this unauthorized transaction was a flawed price oracle, a critical system component that provides price feeds to the platform.
In further analysis, another blockchain security company, BlockSec, revealed that the hacking was executed through a reentrancy attack. This technique allows hackers to repeatedly call a function within a single transaction before the first function call has completed, hence enabling them to withdraw more funds than should normally be allowed.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, fraudsters managed to hijack eight Twitter accounts belonging to prominent figures in the cryptocurrency world. These included the accounts of well-known DJ Steve Aoki, Pudgy Penguins founder Cole Villemain, and even outspoken crypto skeptic Peter Schiff. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT estimated that the hackers made off with nearly $1 million in crypto assets.
Elsewhere, the US Justice Department has recently indicted two individuals, 43-year-old Alexey Bilyuchenko and 29-year-old Aleksandr Verner, for their alleged involvement in the infamous Mt. Gox hack. The duo is accused of stealing and conspiring to launder an enormous amount of 647,000 Bitcoin.
Other Stories:
SEC lawsuits prompt Binance and Coinbase users to flock to Bitget
Amidst the lawsuits by US regulators against leading competitors Binance and Coinbase, cryptocurrency exchange Bitget has observed a significant upsurge in new account registrations from Latin America. The platform reported a 43% increase in new users from the region between June 6 and 9 compared to the daily averages, with Brazil and Argentina driving the growth, as per a Bitget spokesperson.
In Brazil, the number of new Bitget clients soared by 54%, with total deposits experiencing a 208% spike. In Argentina, the customer base and total deposits grew by 33% and 87% respectively. The crypto exchange, which also operates in Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico, reported a 134% rise in total regional deposits during this period.
With over 8 million customers in 100 countries, Bitget didn’t disclose the total user count in Latin America. The uptick in figures is attributed to the recent regulatory developments in the US, where the SEC sued Binance on June 5 on 13 charges, leading to Binance net outflows of $3.128 billion over the past week, while Bitget’s deposits increased by $14.8 million.
Gracy Chen, Bitget’s Managing Director, expressed her confidence in the industry’s resilience despite recent upheavals, stating that “favorable policies are being implemented in places like Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore and new opportunities are emerging.”
On June 6, Coinbase, another major crypto exchange, was sued by the US SEC for allegedly dealing in unregistered securities. The SEC Chair accused Coinbase of failing to provide adequate protection against fraud, manipulation, and conflicts of interest, leading to an overnight change of 113.06% in Coinbase’s trade volume, which reached $1.5 billion.
Interestingly, both Binance and Coinbase have been actively expanding their local operations in Brazil, a market of significant importance to these exchanges.
READ: Hackers steal almost $1 million after hijacking crypto influencers’ accounts
Crypto.com, the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange, has announced the suspension of its service to institutional clients in the United States, effective from June 21. The move is attributed to limited demand from institutional customers, a situation that has been aggravated by challenging market conditions. The platform’s institutional users were given advance notice about the service suspension.
Despite this, Crypto.com’s retail mobile application and platform will continue to operate in the U.S. The retail customers can still access cryptocurrency derivatives trading regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as the exchange’s UpDown Options feature. This allows users to speculate on the future movements of various cryptocurrencies, by opening long or short trading positions.
The company remains open to the possibility of reinstating its institutional exchange service in the U.S. in the future.
While the firm’s U.S. institutional offering is being suspended, Crypto.com recently received a major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore for digital payment token services. This enables the company to continue offering its services in Singapore.
June 2023 has been a volatile month for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated legal actions against Binance.US and Coinbase, citing various alleged violations of securities laws.
These developments come as part of a growing regulatory crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry in the U.S., which has been intensifying over the past eight months, following the collapse of the FTX exchange. The wider cryptocurrency ecosystem has responded critically to the SEC’s actions, highlighting the ongoing tension between the crypto industry and regulatory authorities.
READ: Moody’s downgrades Coinbase to ‘negative’ amid SEC lawsuit
Hong Kong lawmaker Johnny Ng has extended an invitation via Twitter to Coinbase and other cryptocurrency exchanges to establish operations in Hong Kong. This invitation hints at potential stock listing opportunities and comes amidst recent lawsuits against key industry players like Binance and Coinbase by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Unlike the cautious stance adopted by several Western countries, Hong Kong has taken a more proactive approach towards cryptocurrencies. In January 2023, Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the government’s commitment to building a robust ecosystem for fintech and crypto. As part of this commitment, Hong Kong has been actively developing regulations and implementing compliance measures to facilitate the growth of the cryptocurrency industry.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently expressed its plans to lay the groundwork for the introduction of a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC). This initiative, announced on June 9, aims to explore the benefits of CBDCs for everyday transactions and enhance customer access to cryptocurrency exchanges.
Ng’s invitation reflects Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a digital hub for the cryptocurrency industry. Two major crypto platforms, OKX and Huobi compliance entities, are already participating in this initiative and are currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Hong Kong’s favorable approach towards cryptocurrencies has attracted significant interest from major international tech companies. For instance, in January, Samsung, the well-known Korean tech giant, announced the launch of a Bitcoin Futures Active Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This move demonstrates the increasing engagement of influential industry players in Hong Kong’s burgeoning crypto ecosystem.
READ: Australia’s largest bank restricts crypto exchange deposits
The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, has been allowed to remove individual customers’ names permanently from court filings, according to a ruling by Judge John Dorsey in the Delaware-based bankruptcy court.
Corporate and institutional investors’ identities will also be kept confidential temporarily. This decision comes after mainstream media outlets sought access to FTX’s customer list, asserting a “presumptive right of access to bankruptcy filings.”
FTX had opposed revealing customer identities, citing potential security risks for individuals and potential depreciation in the sale value of the exchange. Judge Dorsey granted FTX the authority to “permanently redact” individual customer names from all filings to ensure their safety and protect them from potential scams.
While the Judge acknowledged the potential for scams and identity theft, he stated that companies and institutional investors are not as susceptible to these risks as individuals. Consequently, their names have been temporarily removed from the list.
FTX will need to request again in 90 days to retain the confidentiality of these corporate and institutional investors.
However, it was stressed that, although these entities don’t share the same vulnerabilities as individual customers, their identities could still have substantial value if FTX decides to sell the exchange or its customer list separately.
In a hearing on June 8, Kevin Cofsky, a member of the FTX restructuring team and partner at investment bank Parella Weinberg, stated that revealing customer names would harm restructuring efforts.
The cryptocurrency market has been hit hard with Bitcoin dropping to a three-month low of $25,483 on June 10, a significant decrease of over $1,200 from the previous day, according to data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView. Despite this, Bitcoin has fared better than major altcoins, which have suffered severely from US regulatory scrutiny.
The recent legal action by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against leading exchanges, Coinbase and Binance, has resulted in certain altcoins being delisted. In response, Robinhood, a popular trading app, revealed it would cease support for several cryptocurrencies implicated in the lawsuit. These include Cardano, Polygon, and Solana, which are expected to be dropped on June 27th, 2023 at 6:59 PM ET.
The announcement sparked a notable decrease in the value of the affected cryptocurrencies, with Cardano and Solana recording a 25% loss in 24 hours. Robinhood justified this move stating it regularly reviews its crypto offerings, and the decision was based on the latest assessment.
Crypto.com CEO, Kris Marszalek, expressed that such delistings and regulatory pressures are part of the growth and maturation process of the crypto industry. He anticipates the sector will emerge stronger, despite the current challenges. The platform also revealed that it would stop its U.S. institutional trading service from June 21.
Michaël van de Poppe, CEO of trading firm Eight, highlighted the significant impact of these developments on the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization. If the total market cap drops below its 200-week moving average (MA), currently standing at nearly $26,400 for Bitcoin, it will indicate a clear bearish trend. Van de Poppe conveyed his concern to his Twitter followers, suggesting that the worst might be yet to come.
In a recent announcement, Robinhood, the popular app for trading cryptocurrencies and stocks, revealed that it will discontinue support for Cardano, Polygon, and Solana. This action comes in the wake of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent lawsuits against crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase for allegedly offering unregistered securities, including these three tokens.
In a June 9 update, Robinhood stated that it will cease support for these tokens from June 27 onwards, following an internal review. The decision was primarily influenced by the SEC’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, which according to Robinhood, created an “uncertainty cloud” around the tokens.
The company expressed its belief in the future of crypto and pledged to continue advocating for clearer regulations in the U.S. crypto market, so as to foster confidence among participants.
On June 5, the SEC accused Binance of dealing in unregistered securities. Soon after, Coinbase was subjected to similar charges, with the SEC identifying 13 tokens, including Cardano, Polygon, and Solana, as unregistered securities.
Robinhood’s chief legal compliance and corporate affairs officer, Dan Gallagher, a former SEC commissioner, testified in a congressional hearing on June 6, saying that functioning as a registered broker-dealer in the U.S. was akin to taking the difficult route in crypto. Even though Robinhood attempted to follow the SEC’s guidelines, Gallagher highlighted the complexity of the journey.
The SEC’s actions have caused a stir in the crypto community, leading to debates on the regulator’s approach towards digital asset companies. The case against Coinbase claimed that the exchange had been operating as an unregistered security broker since 2019, despite the firm going public in April 2021.
Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance and Binance.US, was mentioned in the SEC lawsuits for their purported involvement in unregistered token offers and sales, including BNB. In response to what it called the SEC’s “extremely aggressive and intimidating tactics”, Binance.US announced the suspension of U.S. dollar deposits on June 8.
Other Articles:
Review: The 3 best crypto exchanges in the UK
Binance.US forced to suspend USD deposits
Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) utility – Why are investors spending millions on these NFTs?
In a recent spate of attacks, fraudsters have taken over at least eight Twitter accounts of crypto influencers, promoting phishing scams and swindling nearly $1 million in digital assets, reports blockchain investigator ZachXBT. He identified several wallets connected to these scams through on-chain links associated with the hijacked accounts.
Among the victims are high-profile individuals like Pudgy Penguins’ Cole Villemain, DJ and NFT collector Steve Aoki, and Bitcoin Magazine’s Pete Rizzo. Even staunch crypto critic Peter Schiff’s account was exploited to push a suspicious link related to tokenized gold in DeFi.
ZachXBT suggests some of these breaches might have occurred through a Twitter admin panel, in addition to SIM swapping. Once the scammers gained control, they instantly began posting phishing scams. Lackluster response times from Twitter allowed some fraudulent tweets to remain active for several hours, sometimes even days.
OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati and The Sandbox co-founder Arthur Madrid were also among those targeted. The scams often involved promoting fake airdrops of ERC-20 tokens, with Murati’s account used to promote a counterfeit OPENAI token airdrop.
The investigator urged users to adopt security keys for two-factor authentication rather than SMS-based options. He called on Twitter to thoroughly investigate these incidents, given the substantial amount stolen.
Interested in writing for Crypto Intelligence News? Submit a crypto guest post