Hong Kong’s Crypto Ambitions Get a Boost From U.S. Crackdown (WSJ)
"Hong Kong’s attempt to attract cryptocurrency companies is getting help from an intensifying crackdown by American regulators. The city was once home to a number of prominent companies, including Crypto.com, BitMEX and now-bankrupt FTX. But increasing competition from Singapore, concerns about China’s tough approach to crypto and Hong Kong’s prolonged and strict response to Covid-19 meant many companies in the sector left."
Jane Street, Tower and Radix Are Unnamed ‘VIPs’ in Binance Case (Bloomberg)
"Jane Street Group, Tower Research Capital and Radix Trading are the three unidentified trading firms cited as “VIP” clients of Binance Holdings Ltd. in a top US regulator’s lawsuit against the cryptocurrency exchange, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission last week accused Binance of ‘sham’ compliance with US derivatives regulations, including failing to keep Americans off its exchange as promised and not registering with the regulator."
Singapore Plans New Guidance for Banks on Vetting Crypto Clients (Bloomberg)
"Singapore authorities are working with lenders in the city-state to set uniform standards on screening potential customers from the crypto and digital assets sectors, amid various global fallouts in the industry. The central bank and police have been helping banks to fine-tune their vetting approach when opening accounts for service providers in all types of digital assets, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The project has been ongoing for about six months, and an industry report outlining best practices in areas like due diligence and risk management may be published in the next two months, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are not public."
Binance Rejected Justin Sun’s Offer to Buy His Huobi Stake (CoinDesk)
"Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, recently turned down an offer to acquire Tron blockchain founder Justin Sun’s ownership stake in rival exchange Huobi, according to a person familiar with the matter. Binance wasn’t interested because of rumors that Huobi has ties to mainland China, which Binance wants nothing to do with, according to the person, who requested anonymity. In an interview last month with CoinDesk TV, Sun said Huobi wants to attain a license in Hong Kong and launch a new exchange there called Huobi Hong Kong."
Binance Australia's Derivatives License Cancelled by Regulator (CoinDesk)
"The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has cancelled Binance Australia's derivatives license, according to a press release on Thursday. The move comes following a request from Binance on April 5. Binance Australia, an arm of the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, will close all of its customers' open derivatives positions by April 21. The platform had just 104 users as of yesterday, noted Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in a tweet. Binance's spot crypto exchange in Australia will continue to operate, he added."
CoinFLEX Founder Offers Bitcoin Evangelist Roger Ver ‘Olive Branch’ to Settle Alleged $84M Debt (Decrypt)
"Co-founder of the troubled crypto exchange CoinFLEX Mark Lamb issued an open letter to Bitcoin evangelist and Bitcoin Cash promoter Roger Ver offering him an “olive branch” of “two years of free trading on OPNX,” a newly-launched claims exchange co-founded by Lamb. The “olive branch” refers to ending a longstanding feud between the two, which would see Ver pay back an alleged outstanding loan to CoinFLEX."
Tether Used Signature Bank to Find Path Into US Financial System (Bloomberg)
"Tether Holdings Ltd. doesn’t have direct access to the US banking system, but for a while it found at least one pathway: through Signature Bank. Tether instructed crypto clients to pay for its stablecoins by sending dollars to its Bahamas-based banking partner Capital Union Bank Ltd. via Signature’s Signet payments platform, according to people with knowledge of the situation. While it’s unclear when the setup started, it was in place when Signature Bank was seized by regulators last month, said the people, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public."
LayerZero Reaches $3 Billion Valuation in Series B Funding Round (The Block)
"LayerZero Labs, the developer of the blockchain interoperability protocol LayerZero, reached a valuation of $3 billion in a Series B funding round worth $120 million. Investors in the round included a16z Crypto, Sequoia Capital, Circle Ventures, Samsung Next, OpenSea and Christie's, LayerZero said Tuesday. The news confirms The Block's reporting in May that said LayerZero was seeking funds at a $3 billion valuation. LayerZero began raising for the round late last year due to challenging mid-year market conditions, Bryan Pellegrino"
OPNX Exchange, Which Offers FTX Claims Trading, Led by Three Arrows Founders, Is Now Live (CoinDesk)
"OPNX, a first-of-its-kind, crypto-focused exchange that lets users trade claims of bankrupt crypto companies, is now live, CEO Leslie Lamb said in a tweet Tuesday. OPNX, which is short for Open Exchange, is a platform for trading what it says is a $20 billion market for crypto-related bankruptcy claims. The exchange will offer claims of companies such as crypto exchanges FTX and CoinFLEX. In early March, FTX claims were trading at 20 cents on the dollar. OPNX is offering spot and futures trading for major tokens such as bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), dogecoin (DOGE) and USD coin (USDC). Claims trading is expected to go live in the coming weeks, according to Lamb."
US SEC Nears Deal With Ex-coinbase Employee Accused of Insider Trading (Reuters)
"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is nearing a settlement with a former Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) product manager in a landmark case of insider trading involving cryptocurrency, according to a court filing this week. The SEC has reached 'an agreement in principle' with Ishan Wahi to resolve its claims against him, the agency said in a court document filed on Monday. Regulators have accused Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi and a close friend of reaping at least $1.1 million in illicit profits by using nonpublic information related to crypto listing announcements he obtained as an employee of Coinbase."
OpenSea Launches OpenSea Pro, Courting Professional NFT Traders (The Block)
"Leading non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace OpenSea said Tuesday it’s rolling out OpenSea Pro, a marketplace with advanced features targeting the growing market of professional NFT traders that has helped rival NFT marketplace Blur surge since its launch. The new product is a rebrand of Gem v2, which is the newest version of Gem’s NFT aggregation platform. OpenSea acquired Gem in April 2022, with plans to bring its professional trading tools to OpenSea users."
S&P Global Plans Decentralized Finance Push as It Looks for DeFi Director (The Block)
"S&P Global is on the hunt for a director of DeFi as the business and analytics firm looks to firm up its strategy around decentralized markets. The successful candidate will work with Chuck Mounts, S&P's chief DeFi officer and help build and implement the firm's strategies in the space, according to the job posting. "A crypto market participant with a deep understanding of the disruption it represents both for our company and our customers" is how the firm describes what it's looking for. S&P Global's hiring for the space signals how mainstream interest continues to grow despite cryptocurrencies that have tumbled from their 2021 highs and the myriad bankruptcies that have shattered the sector."
Former Gemini Officials Offer About 5% on Treasury-Backed Tokens (Bloomberg)
"Former senior officials at digital-asset exchange Gemini are rolling out a token backed by US Treasury Bills with around 5% yield in response to a gulf in returns between traditional finance and decentralized crypto lending. OpenEden, a decentralized finance platform, is offering the token known as TBILL against stablecoins, which will in turn be invested in short-term US Treasury Bills, according to a statement by the company."
Binance Denies Changpeng Zhao ‘CZ’ Faces Interpol Red Notice (The Block)
"Binance denied rumors that its chief executive officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao faces a Red Notice request issued by The International Criminal Police Organization to locate and arrest the crypto founder. “This rumor is not true,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to The Block. The rumor, which was magnified by crypto Twitter personality ‘Cobie,’ triggered a drop in the price of Binance’s BNB token as well as the broader market. In a tweet, Cobie shared a sequence of numbers and letters encrypted using the SHA-256 hash function, as reported by CoinDesk."
Locked Value Climbs on zkSync Era Climbs Past $100M (CoinDesk)
"The newly launched zkSync Era blockchain is seeing brisk activity as value locked on the network crossed $100 million this past weekend amid a flurry of new token releases. Data from L2Beat, a website that tracks activity on layer 2 networks built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, shows over $69 million worth of ether (ETH) and nearly $30 million in USD coin (USDC) stablecoins have been locked on zkSync. The amount is likely distributed among several zkSync-based projects for purchasing ecosystem tokens or providing liquidity to exchanges on the network. More than 3.3 million transactions have been conducted on the network since it went live on March 24. The network can process 4.4 transactions per second."
Dogecoin Skyrockets as Crypto Twitter Wonders What Elon Is Doing With Logo (The Block)
"Dogecoin shot up more than 27% on Monday after Twitter's blue bird logo was changed on the website for some users to the famed meme of a Shiba Inu dog. Crypto Twitter buzzed with intrigue as to what owner and CEO Elon Musk might be doing. "Doge for some reason is showing up on Twitter and I can only assume this was supposed to be an April Fools joke that took 3 days to roll out because no one knows how the site works anymore," on Twitter user wrote. While initially silent, Musk eventually tweeted a post that referenced older tweets that joked about changing the logo."
Arbitrum Sells Tokens Amid 77% Disapproval, Claims DAO Governance ‘Working as Intended' (The Block)
"Questions are being asked on a Sunday regarding Arbitrum's governance after its centralized, self-titled foundation sold ARB tokens before the conclusion of a key governance vote, rendering the democratic process essentially moot. The "special grants" program sees the Arbitrum Foundation receiving 750 million ARB governance tokens — worth nearly $1 billion — to spend without the expressed approval of token holders. Rebranding the keystone Arbitrum Improvement Proposal's vote as a "ratification," the Arbitrum Foundation nonetheless claims "decentralized governance is working as intended" via both the official Arbitrum Twitter account and a lengthy governance forum post."
U.S. Futures Watchdog Issues Compliance Rule for Crypto Activities Among Members (CoinDesk)
"In the absence of formal crypto rules from U.S. government agencies, the National Futures Association is setting up standards for its members that deal in digital-assets commodities. The NFA – which as a so-called self-regulatory organization occupies a space between the federal government and industry – has more than 100 members involved in digital assets, the organization said in a statement on the new rule, which is set to go into effect on May 31. The NFA's self-regulation of the derivatives industry allows it to impose standards on its members under penalty of fines and other punishment, and this rule extends that power more explicitly to the crypto sector."
Crypto Exchange Bittrex, Once a U.S. Leader, Is Shutting Down (The Block)
"Choke Point or no Choke Point, Bittrex says it's leaving the U.S. and it's placing the blame flat on Uncle Sam. "It’s just not economically viable for us to continue to operate in the current U.S. regulatory and economic environment," co-founder and CEO Richie Lai said in a message to customers in the country on Friday. “Regulatory requirements are often unclear and enforced without appropriate discussion or input, resulting in an uneven competitive landscape.”"
US Government Sells $215M in Seized Silk Road Bitcoin, Plans to Dump Another $1.1 Billion (Decrypt)
"The crypto markets may be looking uncertain right now but some are still making money from Bitcoin sales: the U.S. government. According to court documents filed today, the Feds sold the crypto earlier this month—making over $215 million. The crypto in question came from the Silk Road marketplace. Hacker James Zhong confessed to stealing it, and then cops then took it in a historic seizure back in November. They are now selling it—and they still have 41,490 Bitcoins ($1.1 billion) to get rid of, the filing said."
Sunak’s Crypto Plans Are Hit by Reluctant UK Banks (Bloomberg)
"Edouard Daunizeau’s crypto company SavingBlocks has an office in East London’s technology hub and more than 200 customers testing its services. But getting a bank account for his year-old startup has proved an almost insurmountable challenge. SavingBlocks, which offers a suite of digital-asset portfolios for passive investors, applied with nine different banking service providers for a corporate account and was turned down by seven of them. In the past few months, the two that did take it on began peppering Daunizeau with requests for additional documentation, such as describing in detail the processes he uses to screen clients’ transactions."