Features News Official TheBitTimes.com

The UK’s aggressive stance on crypto could redefine the UK’s crypto market, but will innovation pay the price? The FCA’s tight grip on crypto ads and the BoE’s stablecoin oversight mark a major shift in the UK’s digital currency landscape. What’s happening? The UK is tightening its regulatory grip on the cryptocurrency market with a dual focus: ensuring that the marketing of crypto assets is responsible and that stablecoins, when used as a form of payment, are robustly regulated.  The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently introduced stringent rules for firms marketing crypto assets. These rules include mandating a specific cooling-off period for new investors to contemplate their decisions, banning “refer a friend” bonuses, and requiring clear risk warnings in advertisements.  Concurrently, the Bank of England (BoE) is spearheading legislative proposals to regulate stablecoins, aiming to secure financial stability and consumer...

The exploited Multichain bridge briefly opened on Nov. 1, and a trader managed to use this opportunity to buy debugged assets at a discount, allowing them to make more than $1.5 million in profits. 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. A trader managed to exploit the brief opening of the Multichain cross-chain bridge, which was frozen since its exploit in July 2023, allowing the trader to turn $280,000 worth of Fantom’s (FTM) tokens into $1.9 million worth of different assets. In other news, Solana’s (SOL) token has surged 80% in a month , and Avalanche is set to shut down its Etherscan-powered block chain explorer tool amid a fee controversy. A new bridged token from LayerZero has drawn criticism from nine protocols throughout the Ethereum ecosystem, claiming that it limits the freedom of token issuers. The top 100 DeFi tokens continue...

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the financial regulator of the special economic zone, Dubai International Financial Centre, has approved TonCoin (TON) and XRP. The two now join Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Litecoin (LTC). This approval means that financial institutions in the Dubai International Financial Center can now conduct transactions with these tokens. Ripple opened its Middle East and North Africa headquarters in DIFC last year, and about 20% of its customers are in this region, according to the company. “It’s refreshing to see the DFSA encourage the adoption and use of digital assets such as XRP to position Dubai as a leading financial services hub intent on attracting foreign investment and accelerating economic growth.” Brad Garlinghouse, Ripple CEO In February 2023, the Regulation on Virtual Assets and Related Activities came into force in Dubai, which finally regulated the Virtual Asset Service Provider(VASP) licensing process and clarified asp...

Turkey is in the final stages of introducing crypto legislation, which could lead to its removal from the FATF grey list, says Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. Speaking to the nation’s planning and budget commission on Oct. 31, Şimşek said the country has met 39 of the 40 FATF standards and is in the “final stage” of compliance. The FATF grey list serves as a warning to countries to address strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regimes. Turkey has been on this list since 2021, a status that has eroded confidence in its already fragile economy. Amidst high inflation rates, crypto currencies have gained significant traction in Turkey, becoming an alternative financial refuge for many. You might also like: Hyperinflation fuels Bitcoin’s rise in Turkey and Lebanon, experts say Şimşek revealed that the only remaining hurdle for Turkey to clear FATF’s technical requirements is related to crypto currency asse...

The financial details of the deal remain undisclosed, however as a full exit from Russia, Binance will have no ongoing revenue split, nor any option to buy back shares, the companies said. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced its full exit from Russia by selling its firm to the cryptocurrency exchange platform known as CommEX. Binance has entered into an agreement to sell the entirety of its Russia business to CommEX, the firm said in an announcement to Cointelegraph on Sept. 27. To ensure a smooth process for existing Russian users, the off-boarding process will take up to one year, the announcement reads. “All assets of existing Russian users are safe and securely protected,” Binance noted. “As we look toward the future, we recognise that operating in Russia is not compatible with Binance's compliance strategy,” Binance’s chief compliance officer Noah Perlman said, adding: “We remain confident in the long-term growth of the web3 industry around the world and will focus ...

Potential plaintiffs in the new lawsuit by ENF may need to opt out of other suits against Block.one to be eligible to participate. The EOS Network Foundation (ENF) is the latest entity to initiate legal action against major investor Block.one (B1) over failure to honor $1 billion investment commitment s. On July 25, ESN founder and CEO Yves La Rose took to Twitter to announce that the ESN is preparing a lawsuit against B1 for “ failure to follow through on its $1B commitment .” The CEO mentioned that Block.one is already working to settle another class action lawsuit for $22 million, after rejection of a proposed $27.5 million settlement with lead plaintiff Crypto Assets Opportunity. “You may need to opt out to be eligible to participate in the ENF’s lawsuit,” he noted. According to La Rose, the United States’ class action lawsuit is still in the process of settling after being initiated back in 2017. The CEO also mentioned that plaintiffs who want to opt out of the lawsuit can con...

The crypto community has gathered to celebrate the recent ruling on XRP's securities status, but lawyers warn there's more to it than meets the eye. Ripple Labs’ split-decision victory against the United States securities regulator is being seen as a significant blow to the regulator’s “war on crypto,” however, crypto lawyers warn it isn't a definitive victory for the industry or the firm y In a landmark ruling on July 13, Judge Torres determined that XRP (XRP) is not a security — at least when sold to the general public. The decision was met with a joyous uproar from XRP token holders and came with a massive surge in the token's price, with industry heavyweights lauding the decision as likely to aid crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance in their respective lawsuits. Luke Martin, the founder of crypto investment firm Venture Coinist noted that the “core component” of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) claim in its suits against Binance an...

In a move aimed at further strengthening regulations and protecting users in the crypto market, South Korean financial authorities are reportedly gearing up to initiate a research project for the second phase of the country’s virtual asset legislation. Second phase of laws to address crypto financing and issuance The South Korean parliament’s recent passage of the ‘Virtual Asset Protection Act’ has laid the foundation for enhanced user protection and the regulation of unfair trade practices in the crypto industry. Now, the focus is on complementing these regulations by addressing issues related to financing and virtual asset issuance via initial coin offerings (ICOs). According to the Korean-language business news outlet Chosun Biz, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has confirmed that a Joint Task Force on Digital Assets meeting was held on July 3, where discussions were held regarding the outline of the second stage of South Korea’s crypto legislation. South Korean financi...

Binance said it’s cooperating with Australian regulators to meet local regulatory requirements amid reports of office searches. Binance Australia is working with local authorities on meeting compliance requirements amid report s alleging that the company’s offices were searched on July 4. "We are cooperating with local authorities and Binance is focused on meeting local regulatory standards in order to serve our users in Australia in a fully compliant manner,” a spokesperson for Binance Australia told Cointelegraph. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) conducted searches at Binance Australia locations on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported . The investigation was part of an ongoing probe of Binance’s now-defunct Australian derivatives business, the report notes, citing anonymous people familiar with the matter. Binance’s representative did not confirm or deny to Cointelegraph whether the company’s offices were searched, or even whether the company was aware of...

Crypto services in the U.K. will face stricter regulations, including a “cooling-off period” for first-time investors and a ban on “refer a friend” bonuses. In a June 8 announcement, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that from Oct. 8, advertisers of crypto services in the U.K. would be subjected to stricter regulations. The U.K. watchdog has mandated that crypto companies in the U.K. implement a "cooling-off period" for first-time investors. Additionally, as part of measures to enhance investor awareness of risks, the FCA has prohibited the use of " refer a friend" bonuses by firms in the sector. Sheldon Mills, Executive Director of Consumers and Competition, stated in the written statement that while the decision to purchase crypto lies with individuals, research indicates that many express regret over impulsive choices. The implemented rules aim to provide people with sufficient time and appropriate risk warnings to enable an informe...

On this week’s episode of The Market Report, Cointelegraph’s resident expert discusses the details of the SEC’s lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. In the latest episode of The Market Report, analyst and writer Marcel Pechman discusses the impact of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against the Binance exchange. Most likely, the U.S. population will be barred from using the international version of Binance, and those who opt for VPN services will be at risk of being prosecuted. Pechman believes Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance will lose or strike a deal pleading guilty, pay a fine, and be forced to halt services for North American entities — including Paxos and the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. Considering Binance is the absolute leader in spot and derivatives trading, one might call the 5% price correction on April 5 a “vote of confidence,” meaning traders believe Binance international will remain fully operational. Worst-ca...

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

DeFi saw another multimillion-dollar rug pull this past week, and the Multichain saga continues to spiral out of control. 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. After a bullish April, May was another month of exploits , rug pulls and hacks, bringing back uncertainty to DeFi. The most prominent headline marker in the past week was the Multichain protocol. The cross-chain DeFi protocol’s delayed node upgrade created a spiral impact and tanked its token price by 30%. The Multichain protocol saga impacted multiple DeFi protocols, forcing Binance to suspend deposits for ten bridged tokens on May 25 after days of stuck transactions. Multichain aside, the week was dominated by hacks, exploits and rug pulls. A crypto project allegedly ran off with $32 million of customer’s funds, DeFi protocol WDZD Swap was exploited for $1.1 million, and a bug...

The answer to the question of what level stablecoin issuers are regulated on “need not be binary,” one witness said. State versus federal regulation was a key issue in the hearing on stablecoin s in the United States House of Representatives on May 18. The House Committee on Financial Services’ new Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion heard testimony from five experts as it considered two proposed bills to regulate stablecoin s. There were two draft bills under consideration by the subcommittee. The Republican bill was published in April ahead of a hearing on stablecoin in the Financial Services Committee. Ranking member Maxine Waters later introduced a competing draft based on a bill that was introduced but not passed in the last session of Congress. #WATCH: Chairman @RepFrenchHill at today's stablecoin hearing: "Without action from Congress ... stablecoin issuers will not feel confident to build their projects in the U.S." Read more  ht...

Bitcoin would be a more popular safe haven than the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen or the Swiss franc, according to a new survey. Major cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) could become a top-three asset in the event of a theoretical debt default in the United States, according to a new survey. As U.S. President Joe Biden prepares to meet with Congress on May 16 to discuss the U.S. debt ceiling, investors are seeking hedges to protect their savings in the event of default. Gold, U.S. Treasury Bonds and Bitcoin would be the top three asset s, should the U.S. fail to raise its debt ceiling and default on its debt, data from Bloomberg's latest Markets Live Pulse survey suggests. The survey was conducted from May 8 to May 12, involving a total of 637 respondents including professional and retail investors. More than 50% of finance professionals would buy gold in case the U.S. government fails to avoid a debt default. U.S. Treasury Bonds would be the second-most popular asset in such a scenari...

Crypto miners paid millions of dollars in energy fees last year following the regulation of the fiscal burden of mining activities. The government of Kazakhstan has received 3.07 billion tenge (approximately $7 million) in tax payments from crypto mining entities in 2022, following the implementation of an amended law regulating the fiscal burden of mining cryptocurrencies, according to the local media reports. Preliminary data from the government for 2023 shows that mining fees collected by April 27 totaled 240 million tenge - worth over $541,000 at the time of writing. The figures are much lower than the 652 million tenge (~$1.5 million) in fees paid in the first quarter of 2022.  Kazakhstan ranks among the world's top Bitcoin mining  hubs. As of January 2022, the Central Asian country contributed to 13.22% of the total Bitcoin hash rate, just behind the United States (37.84%) and China (21.11%), shows data from Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance. Related: Can Canada stay...

SafeMoon hacker said the exploit wasn't intentional plans to return majority of the exploited funds. 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. This week in DeFi saw the hacker behind the $8.9 million SafeMoon exploit agree to return the majority of the stolen funds . According to the project’s developers, the hacker will return 80% while keeping the remaining 20%. United States crypto lender BlockFi was granted an additional 48-day extension to submit its exit plan by a New Jersey bankruptcy judge, exploring the potential sale of company assets and restructuring. Ether (ETH) price hit a new 11-month high even as post-Shapella withdrawals peaked at over 1 million ETH. Meanwhile, Ethereum gas fees touched new multimonth highs owing to a fresh memecoin frenzy. The heavy traffic on the network allowed a maximal extractable value (MEV) ...

In twelve hours preceding the indictment, almost $1.5 billion of crypto left several centralized platforms, according to Thanefield Capital. Right before the exchange platform Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have been accused of regulatory violations by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), almost a billion dollars in crypto reportedly left the platform’s wallets.  According to the Thanefield Capital data research, a few hours before the Binance CFTC indictment , which occurred at 3 pm UTC on Monday, March 27, an unusually large amount was withdrawn across centralized exchanges. In 12 hours preceding the indictment , almost $1.5 billion left such platforms as Binance, Kraken, Coinbase and Bitfinex. More than half of it, or $850 million, was withdrawn from Binance. Just one hour after the announcement, Binance saw an additional $240 million withdrawn. According to the data from Nansen, in the past 24 hours, more than $400 million were withdrawn only in Ether...

SVB’s epic failure occurred “at a bank that happened to deal with crypto customers” but “was not a crypto-induced problem,” said Mick Mulvaney. In the United States, crypto reform legislation isn’t the province of a single political party, and that’s why a former U.S. Congressman, who also played a prominent role in the Trump administration, believes that passage of a federal “digital assets” law this year is a real possibility. “Democrats aren’t all on one side; Republicans aren’t all on the other side,” said Mick Mulvaney, who was budget director and later acting White House Chief of Staff from January 2019 to March 2020, told Cointelegraph, further explaining: “I do think in this Congress, which has got functionally about 14–16 months left before it sort of shuts down before the next election cycle, you will get a meaningful piece of legislation on blockchain/crypto — what we’re referring to collectively as digital assets.” Mulvaney’s government resume is long and varied. In addit...