In a significant development, Binance has agreed to pay 9.6 million reais (about $1.76 million) to settle an investigation with Brazil’s Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM). This investigation focused on Binance’s unauthorized derivatives trading in Brazil, concluding a regulatory dispute that lasted over four years. The problem started in June 2020 when the CVM claimed that Binance was providing derivatives trading without the right authorization. The regulator first insisted on...
Read More »Mt. Gox-Linked Wallet Holding Over $2 Billion Committed Test Transfer, Moved Holdings to a New Address
A wallet related to BitGo conducted a test transfer on Tuesday, following which it sent all its holdings to another wallet. A user on Reddit mentioned receiving the funds owed to them by Mt. Gox through BitGo. A wallet that received over $2 billion worth of bitcoin from Mt. Gox moved a minuscule amount on Tuesday before clearing the entirety of its holdings. While the value of its bitcoin holdings was over $2 billion two weeks ago when the funds flowed in, the price of the 33,105 bitcoins it...
Read More »WazirX Schedules Maintenance To Restore Balances Post $234M Hack
WazirX, the Indian cryptocurrency exchange, had scheduled a maintenance period to restore account balances and reverse specific trades following a major security breach. WazirX made this announcement on its social media platform, X. The maintenance occured from 6 p.m. on August 15 to 2 a.m. IST on August 16, during which all services on the platform were temporarily unavailable. The attack happened on July 18 and led to the theft of $234.9m worth of cryptocurrency assets. This hack was...
Read More »ETH Whale Moves Another 5,000 ETH Gained During ICO to Exchange
An ETH whale moved 5,000 ETH worth about $13 million to OKX on August 12. They had acquired these assets in 2014 during ETH’s ICO for just $0.31 a pop. With that transfer, this whale has moved 48,500 ETH, or $154 million, in the past 35 days, according to data from Etherscan. A whale is a colloquial term used by those in crypto circles to refer to a user holding massive amounts of crypto in their wallets. This user’s wallet address, likely a GnosisSafe one, moved the funds to OKX’s deposit...
Read More »Defunct Canadian Crypto Exchange Went Under Due to Founder Gambling Away Assets
The Canadian regulator is going after Smillie as the only defendant in this case. He misappropriated about one-third of funds entrusted by users on his platform, which amounted to at least 935.46 BTC and 159 ETH. ezBtc, a crypto exchange operational between 2016 and 2019, was dissolved in 2022 due to customers being unable to withdraw their assets. The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) revealed that the exchange’s founder, David Smillie, gambled away 13 million Canadian Dollars,...
Read More »Binance Prepares to Convert Delisted Coins to USDC Next Month
Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges globally, has announced a significant change that will impact holders of 15 specific tokens on its platform. By September 1, 2024, Binance will halt withdrawals for these tokens and automatically convert them to USDC, a widely used stablecoin. This move comes as part of Binance’s ongoing efforts to streamline its offerings and ensure greater stability for its users. Some of the tokens involved in this decision include Bitcoin Gold (BTG),...
Read More »WazirX Planning on Reversing User Trades to Reflect Balances Before $235 Million Hack
Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX is planning on reversing all transactions on its platform to get account balances to reflect the amounts they did on July 18. The platform experienced a $235 million exploit on that day as North Korean hackers ransacked its Ethereum-based multisig cold wallet. With that, all affected user accounts will receive the amounts the bad actors stole. In an announcement on August 8, the exchange stated, “After careful consideration of the situation and the...
Read More »Binance Recovers $73M in 2024, Showcasing Strong Security Against Crypto Hacks
Binance recovered over $73 million in user funds in 2024, surpassing 2023’s total. Most recoveries stem from external hacks, showcasing Binance’s proactive security efforts. Binance revealed the successful recovery and freezing of approximately $73 million in customer assets from external hacks between January 1 and July 31, 2024. This represents a huge increase over the $55 million collected throughout 2023. Binance’s proactive actions and coordination with industry participants and the...
Read More »FTX and Alameda Will Pay $12.7 Billion to Creditors
New York Judge Peter Castel of the US District Court ordered the defunct crypto exchange FTX and sister firm, market maker Alameda Research, to reimburse defrauded creditors by $12.7 billion. The suit was brought by the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on December 21, 2022, and finally concluded on August 8, providing respite to those who lost their funds during the FTX collapse. The court found that “the FTX Entity Defendants commingled assets and freely used assets...
Read More »Binance Receives $86 Million in Goods and Services Tax Bill From Indian Authorities
India’s Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) has sent a show cause notice to Binance, claiming it owes $86 million (or Rupees 722 crores) in unpaid Goods and Services Tax (GST). The agency stated the exchange collected fees from Indian users and did not pay any taxes between July 2017 and March 2024. This notice issued by the DGGI marks the first time it has gone after a cryptocurrency exchange. The massive tax bill comes from Binance not registering with the...
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