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The CEO of a real-world asset (RWA)-focused crypto project is alleging that centralized exchanges may have played a role in the sudden collapse of the project’s native token. The market cap for top RWA project MANTRA (OM) plummeted by $5.431 billion on Sunday – declining from over $6.11 billion to $683.3 million in a matter of hours. Mantra CEO JP Mullin alleges on the social media platform X that the crash was caused by unnamed exchanges seemingly working against the coin by needlessly closing large positions during low-liquidity hours. “We have determined that the OM market movements were triggered by reckless forced closures initiated by centralized exchanges on OM account holders. The timing and depth of the crash suggest that a very sudden closure of account positions was initiated without sufficient warning or notice. That this happened during low-liquidity hours on a Sunday evening UTC (early morning Asia time) points to a degree of neglig...

The world’s largest crypto exchange platform by trading volume is adding support for a new Bitcoin (BTC) staking protocol. In a new announcement, Binance says it will be adding the BTC staking project Babylon (BABY) to its massive suite of digital asset products. Babylon, which launched Babylon Genesis today, rose in value after gaining support from Binance. BABY went from a daily low of $0.084 to a peak of $0.099 just a few hours later. It has since retraced and is trading for $0.087 at time of writing, a 4.6% gain during the last 24 hours. According to the project’s official litepaper, the protocol is designed to fix latency, security and programmability issues associated with BTC, something layer-2 projects have struggled with in the past. “Bitcoin is the first and still the top blockchain in terms of market capitalization. However, beyond a store of value, its utility has been limited by its small blockspace, high latency, and limited progr...

On Wednesday, US Senator Elizabeth Warren called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) watchdog to investigate whether the Donald Trump administration profited from dropping crypto enforcement against the likes of Justin Sun, Binance, and Coinbase.  In a letter to the SEC’s Inspector General Deborah Jeffrey — who is responsible for investigating “allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct involving SEC programs, operations, or personnel” — Warren asked if she could probe the agency, members of the White House, or anyone with direct ties to Trump’s family and business partners to find out if they influenced SEC crypto policy. If this turns out to be the case, Warren wants to uncover if they made a profit from any crypto policy meddling. She said, “President Trump, his closest advisors, and his family members all stand to benefit from boosts in the crypto industry.” SEC drops high-profile crypto cases in pivot Read more: ETH down 39% sinc...

1. Trump’s New Round of Comprehensive Reciprocal Tariffs and Plans to Appoint a16z Crypto Policy Director as CFTC Chair 1.1 Trump’s New Round of Comprehensive Reciprocal Tariffs link Donald Trump announced on Thursday a new round of comprehensive reciprocal tariffs to match the higher tariffs imposed by other countries on US imports. These tariffs are likely to hit developing countries the hardest, especially India, Brazil, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian and African countries, because the tariff rates these countries impose on US imports differ the most from those imposed by the United States. For example, World Bank data shows that in 2022, the average US tariff rate on Indian imports was 3%, while India’s average tariff rate on US imports was 9.5%. 1.2 Trump Plans to Appoint Brian Quintenz, a16z Crypto Policy Director, as CFTC Chair link According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, citing three people familiar with the matter, Trump has selected Brian Quintenz, the policy...

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has moved to dismiss the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) amended lawsuit, claiming that the regulator can’t differentiate between crypto securities and Beanie Babies. Binance and Zhao filed the motion to dismiss yesterday while alleging the SEC’s new filing “refuses to articulate any standard for courts, litigants, or market participants to know which crypto-asset transactions qualify as investment contracts, and which do not.”  The SEC filed the lawsuit in June 2023 and amended it last month. It names Binance, BAM Trading Services Inc., and BAM Management US Holdings, alongside Zhao, as defendants.  According to the motion to dismiss, winners and losers are being chosen “arbitrarily” by the SEC and “its non-test cannot differentiate securities from Beanie Babies at the pleading stage.” The filing then singles out five types of transactions that it believes the SEC has misinterpreted within its fresh allegations . ...

Author: Azuma (@azuma_eth) On August 14, Bitget officially announced the appointment of former Binance executive Hon Ng as Chief Legal Officer (CLO). Hon Ng will play a key role in leading Bitget’s global business development, helping the company continue to advance its global compliance operations and strategic expansion. According to Bitget’s official announcement, Hon Ng has over 20 years of legal experience and has been recognized as one of the top 20 global legal leaders by the Financial Times. Before joining Bitget, Hon Ng served as General Counsel and Head of Government Affairs and Policy at Binance. Prior to that, he worked at Uber, helping the company grow from a startup to a tech giant and eventually go public. Before entering the tech industry, Hon Ng worked at several well-known law firms, handling mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. For a leading exchange like Bitget, a leadership change in key areas such as compliance often signals a new direction for the business. To better...

The Toncoin price soared 5% in the last 24 hours and 13% in a week to trade at $6.66 as of 02:29 a.m. EST on trading volume that dropped 24% to $469 million. This comes as Binance announced the listing of new TON sport trading pairs on August 8, as the decentralized and open L1 blockchain, created by the community using a technology designed by Telegram, continues to gain traction. Toncoin Price To Continue Surging The Toncoin price dropped at the beginning of August from $6.79, with resistance to finding support at around $5.2, according to data from GeckoTerminal . The bulls then pushed the token back to the $6.79 resistance, forming a rounding bottom pattern. However, the Toncoin price invalidated the bullish prospects of the rounding bottom, as it dropped back to $6.0 and back to the resistance zone, completing a cup and handle pattern. TON price aims for a bullish rally as they capitalize on the pattern to stage a bullish trend over the handle. The price of Toncoin now trade...

Binance, the global blockchain ecosystem and the largest cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it has surpassed one million subscribers on its YouTube channel, as per the most recent information shared with Finbold on August 9.  This makes Binance the first crypto brand to reach this milestone. The growth of Binance’s YouTube channel The growth of Binance’s YouTube channel is largely due to its educational content, explainer videos, product tutorials, and partnerships with Cristiano Ronaldo, which has been pivotal in bringing new users to the blockchain ecosystem and Web3 technologies. Picks for you Analyst sets XRP price roadmap from $0.6 to $36 47 mins ago Trading expert reveals the 'groundbreaking next big mover'...

The venture capitalist branch of the world’s largest crypto exchange platform by volume is announcing a new investment into a Solana (SOL) staking protocol. In a new blog post, Binance Labs says it’s investing an unspecified amount into Solayer, a Solana-based staking network that has gathered over $150 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) and reeled in over 70,000 unique addresses in just 60 days after its launch. According to Binance, Solayer’s goal is to improve the bandwidth of on-chain decentralized applications (DApps) and to secure the blockchain. “Built natively on Solana, Solayer leverages the economic principles of proof-of-stake to extend the security of Solana’s base layer towards other decentralized systems and dApps… With the newly secured funds from Binance Labs, Solayer plans to scale its team, onboard new protocols into the ecosystem, and establish itself as a core primitive of the Solana blockchain. Additionally, the...

Binance says it “clearly needs a new intern ” who “understands global cultural taboos” after it came under fire for posting a racially-themed meme of Family Guy’s Peter Griffin on Saturday. The Binance account shared the meme in which the character Peter Griffin is stopped while driving into the US by a toll booth attendant who decides if he can enter based on the whiteness of his skin.  Binance edited the meme to show Binance users in the ‘light-skinned’ category and users with 2-factor authentication in the ‘dark-skinned’ category. “You’re safeguarded; please proceed,” the caption read.  One user’s screenshot of the original post. Read more: Big Brother surveillance dystopia is now reality at Binance However, the post was deleted shortly after it was posted. One user described it as the “ 9/11 of Binance ,” while others were confused by the messaging, with one user saying “I have no idea what their intention was.” Hours lat...

Due to some formalities in the criminal justice system, a world-class team of lawyers, and Fifth Amendment protections of due process, former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao isn’t yet in prison despite receiving a four-month sentence. On April 30, 2024, a US district judge in Seattle sentenced Zhao to four months at Seatac, an administrative security federal detention center and prison. According to the judge’s signed judgment, Zhao “shall surrender for service of sentence as notified by the Probation or Pretrial Services Office.” Those offices have not yet notified Zhao that he must enter that California prison. Possibilities for sentenced criminals who don’t immediately go to prison According to federal statute 18 U.S.C. § 3585(a), a criminal’s sentence begins when that person is ‘received in custody awaiting transportation to, or voluntarily surrenders to, the official detention facility at which her sentence is to be served.’ Although that sentence can begin i...

Binance and KuCoin has obtain FIU-IND approval, marking a milestone in Indian crypto regulation. KuCoin pays $41,000 penalty as Binance awaits fine determination amid compliance proceedings. The return of the exchanges to India signals the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in India’s regulatory framework. In a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry In India, two major exchanges, Binance and KuCoin, have obtained registration approval from India’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-IND), marking a pivotal moment in their journey toward regulatory compliance in the country. This comes after months of negotiations and challenges following the ban of the two exchanges for alleged illegal operations. Binance and Kucoin to re-enter India after ban The path to registration was fraught with obstacles, as both Binance and KuCoin, along with several other offshore entities, faced a ban in December of the previous year for non-complianc...

US prosecutors seek court orders compelling former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao to surrender his passports. The government wants Zhao’s bond conditions to ensure he doesn’t travel out of the US ahead of his sentencing. Zhao pleaded guilty to breaking the federal anti-money laundering law. US prosecutors have filed a motion requesting that former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao be asked to surrender his travel documents ahead of his sentencing in April this year. The US Attorney’s Office, in a filing at the District Court for the Western District of Washington, requested Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida to approve additional travel restrictions against Zhao. US Attorney’s Office eyes travel restrictions for Zhao As noted in the court document filed on February 23 by US Attorney Tessa Gorman, the government wants Zhao’s bail conditions specified. The former Binance chief stepped down in 2023 as US authorities announced a $4.3 billio...

Tether, the self-described “largest company in the cryptocurrency industry,” recently led a $25 million Series A investment round in Oobit. Tether was joined in this investment by Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana, as well as CMCC and 468 Capital.  Oobit is a Lithuania-registered firm that lists a contact address in Singapore, and is led by chief executive Amram Adar. Adar’s LinkedIn reveals that before his role at Oobit, he served in the Israeli navy special forces , and appears to still be based out of Tel Aviv. Adar also worked with Oobit chief operating officer Aharon Miller at WaveTech, which appears to have been an Israeli headquartered blockchain development firm.  Oobit chairman Moshe Schlisser is also a managing partner at Shefa Capital and was also an investor in Cross River Bank, which previously announced its transition to a ‘crypto-first’ strategy. Schlisser is also a director for Yourasset AG, a Swiss firm that enables you to ...

The non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace from cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has launched a new AI- generate d NFT feature. According to an X post on Jan. 18, Coinbase is introducing a new “Instamint” feature on the marketplace that allows users to create NFTs using artificial intelligence (AI). You can now create AI- generate d NFTs with Coinbase NFT Instamint. Try it here: https://t.co/lmHeWvwLtg pic.twitter.com/wWRcgID4Mj — Coinbase NFT ️ (@Coinbase_NFT) January 18, 2024 For a limited period, Coinbase offers a free NFT transaction experience, although users will still incur Ethereum gas fees that cover the cost of recording transactions on the blockchain. The new tool is currently available in beta version. To generate their own NFT, users must upload an image from which the token will be created. It is also necessary to indicate the name and description of the NFT, as well as its price (at the user’s discretion) starting from $0.01. Source: Coinbase ...

Much anticipated documents recently filed by the US government reveal an extensive monitoring program for crypto exchange Binance, a probe it agreed to as part of its $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice (DoJ) and several other US agencies. Along with conforming to rigorous compliance commitments, Binance will be visited by one or more monitors to keep it in check. This monitor, proposed by Binance but ultimately approved by the agencies, will conduct its first review within four months of being appointed. Five months after its review, the monitor must submit its first report. From there, follow-up reviews and reports must be submitted periodically within a similar time frame — meaning Binance will be probed at least six times over the next three years. The US gov’t will monitor Binance for years — who’s right for the job? Read more: Top Binance exec Noah Perlman’s ties to Epstein, Moonstone, and Gemini The frequency, depth, and scope of these...