Tag Archives: AA News

Bankrupt lending platform BlockFi needs to conduct updates before enabling customer withdrawals of crypto assets held in its wallet accounts that are not subject to potential preference claims. In an emailed statement to its clients, BlockFi said it should conclude all the necessary “work” to enable customer withdrawals by this summer. The company said it will add a new product functionality to its platform before enabling withdrawals but has not detailed what these features...

Financial trading platform eToro issued new guidelines barring US customers from buying four crypto assets that were recently deemed securities by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance. While eToro did not explicitly cite the securities regulator’s action as the reason for the latest changes in its crypto offering, it did emphasize the “rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.” In doing so, eToro joins the likes of...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is convinced that all crypto assets aside from Bitcoin are securities. Its latest war on crypto exchanges has included staking services, which the regulator seeks to shut down. This could push more staked ETH out of exchanges and onto the market-leading liquid staking provider Lido. This may sound good, but it poses significant risks to the Ethereum ecosystem. Lido Staking Risks Exposed Lido provides liquid staking services for...

A week after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil enforcement action against Binance.US, the crypto exchange has hit back, stating that all of the regulator’s claims are invalid. Binance argued against the SEC for a temporary restraining order on the company, also known as BAM Trading, and said that such an action would have “destructive consequences,” which will subsequently affect the platform’s ability to even fund its defense to this action. Binance...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released its long-awaited internal documents related to former commissioner William Hinman’s speech on digital assets in 2018.  The reveal incited fury from Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who has now accused the SEC of willingly throwing “an entire industry into chaos” by releasing the speech.  Hinman Ignored All Warnings According to now publicly available emails from the SEC, the agency warned Hinman multiple times that...

The crypto assets stolen during the Atomic Wallet hack have found their way to the sanctioned Russia-based cryptocurrency exchange Garantex, with the attackers trading the tokens for Bitcoin (BTC). According to a tweet from blockchain analytics provider Elliptic, the hackers, believed to be part of the North Korean notorious Lazarus Group, have turned to Garantex as several crypto exchanges are working together to freeze funds related to the hack. Atomic Wallet Hackers Turn...

A newly-surfaced video that dates back to 2018 showed that the current Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Gary Gensler – classified several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), as “not securities.”  His stance from nearly five years ago contrasts with his nowadays vision. Gensler has argued several times that the only digital asset which could categorize as a commodity is BTC.  Gensler’s View Before Becoming SEC Chair The...

JP Morgan has agreed to pay $290 million to settle a class-action lawsuit from the victims of Jeffrey Epstein – the famous American financier and sex offender.  The plaintiffs claimed that JP Morgan laundered money and thereby enabled sex trafficking on behalf of Epstein while he was still a client of the bank. JP Morgan Aiding Money Laundering? A joint statement from the largest bank in the United States and victims’ attornies said on Monday that both groups had “reached an...

Some residents of Turkey have reportedly revived their interest in the cryptocurrency market, more specifically in the stablecoin USDT, following a new decline in their national currency and fears that severe inflation could start looming again across the country.  The downtrend of the Turkish lira (which has been evident in the past few years) intensified shortly after Recep Erdogan won the presidential elections, securing himself another five years as the political leader....

The stablecoin ecosystem has also been impacted by America’s war on crypto, with a clear divergence happening between the top two issuers. Tether supply has reached an all-time high of 83.36 billion USDT, according to the firm’s transparency report.  Industry analyst Will Clemente commented: “The divergence from USDC is striking, reflecting easier access to treasuries for US-based USDC holders and regulatory uncertainty for US-based Circle. What was once a competitive...