Coinbase launches Bitcoin-backed loans through Morpho DeFi partnership

January 16, 2025 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Coinbase vice president Max Branzburg said the product demonstrates the exchange’s “commitment to economic freedom.”

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has reintroduced Bitcoin-backed loans in the United States, giving users the ability to borrow against their digital asset holdings.

The new product line allows US account holders, excluding residents of New York, to borrow up to $100,000 in USD Coin (USDC) using their Bitcoin (BTC) holdings as collateral. Only BTC held on Coinbase qualifies as collateral for the loan.

Coinbase has tapped decentralized finance protocol Morpho Labs to facilitate the lending process, which will occur entirely on Base, the exchange’s Ethereum layer-2 network.

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SEC under Trump could freeze crypto cases not involving fraud: Report

January 15, 2025 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Two of the three Democratic commissioners at the SEC will be leaving before Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.

Once the US Securities and Exchange Commission is under new management in 2025, it could reportedly consider dropping certain crypto enforcement cases.

According to a Jan. 15 Reuters report citing “people briefed on the matter,” the SEC may review its existing court cases against crypto firms in the first few days after US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The report suggests the commission could freeze litigation that does not involve fraud allegations, hinting at cases alleging securities law violations only.

After Jan. 20 and the resignations of SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga, there will likely be only three members of the financial regulator until Trump officially nominates replacements. The report suggests that SEC Commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda — both Republicans, like Trump — could review the regulator’s rules on what constitutes a security and ongoing court cases with crypto firms.

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Judge orders BitMEX to pay $100M fine over US banking law violations

January 15, 2025 Coin Telegraph

BitMex

BitMEX has been hit with an additional financial penalty following its 2022 guilty plea for violating the US Bank Secrecy Act.

A federal judge has sentenced HDR Global Trading Limited, also known as the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, to two years of unsupervised probation and a $100 million fine.

In a Jan. 15 hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge John Koeltl passed down the sentence against BitMEX, roughly six months after the crypto exchange pleaded guilty to violating the US Bank Secrecy Act by operating without “any meaningful” Anti-Money Laundering program. The crypto firm called the charges “old news” in July 2024, suggesting at the time it expected no additional fines.

In a statement to its users after the judgment, BitMEX said:

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FTX to begin distributing $1.2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

January 13, 2025 Coin Telegraph

FTX to begin distributing .2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

Coin Telegraph

A significant portion of FTX repayments will likely be reinvested into cryptocurrencies, thanks to the promising growth prospect of the crypto market for 2025, industry insiders told Cointelegraph.

Update 11:00 am UTC: This article has been updated to include quotes from Philipp Zentner.

FTX is preparing to distribute more than $1.2 billion in repayments to the bankrupt former cryptocurrency exchange’s users.

FTX, once the world’s second-largest centralized cryptocurrency exchange (CEX), is set to begin repaying users who have been unable to access their funds for over two years.

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Bybit exchange suspends services in India due to regulatory pressure

January 10, 2025 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin regulation

Bybit will continue honoring user withdrawal requests despite temporarily halting other services.

Bybit, a global crypto exchange, announced a temporary suspension of its crypto trading services in India, citing regulatory developments.

Starting Jan. 12 at 8:00 am UTC, Bybit will restrict several services, including cryptocurrency trading, account openings and placing orders through other exchange products.

Bybit attributed the decision to its goal of operating in “full compliance with all applicable rules and regulations,” the exchange stated in a Jan. 10 announcement, adding:

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FTX’s payment plan is now effective — When will users see their funds?

January 4, 2025 Coin Telegraph

Bankruptcy

According to the plan, certain FTX users claiming less than $50,000 could expect to see their funds returned within 60 days.

The reorganization plan for defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX, still going through bankruptcy proceedings, took effect on Jan. 3 and will allow users to begin receiving repayments.

In a Jan. 3 X post, FTX debtors said users requesting funds should be wary of phishing emails designed to look like they were sent from the exchange.

Customers need to have filed a claim through the official website to be eligible to receive reimbursement, which FTX said should happen within 60 days for the first group.

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Bankrupt Cryptopia exchange distributes $225M to hack victims

December 20, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Bankrupt Cryptopia exchange distributes 5M to hack victims

Bankruptcy

Initially owing creditors $4.2 million, Cryptopia’s liquidator Grant Thornton has distributed at least $225 million in crypto to hack victims in December.

Liquidators of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange Cryptopia have started distributing millions to users affected by a hack that took place almost six years ago.

Cryptopia’s liquidating firm, Grant Thornton, on Dec. 20 announced the start of distributions to more than 10,000 verified account holders affected by Cryptopia’s hack in 2019.

Over the past two days, verified account holders of Bitcoin (BTC) and Dogecoin (DOGE) received crypto distributions worth at least 400 million New Zealand dollars ($225 million), the liquidator said.

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Coinbase axes plans to expand into Turkey

December 2, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

The reversal comes just three months after the US-based crypto exchange submitted its pre-application to the Turkish government.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has withdrawn its pre-application for entry into the Turkish crypto market, according to documents released by the Turkish Capital Markets Board (CMB).

Coinbase had previously joined several prominent enterprises seeking entry into Turkey’s cryptocurrency market with more than 90 companies submitting applications in the past year.

Documentation indicating Coinbase’s withdrawal and request for liquidation. Source: Ahmet Karaca

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Crypto exchange XT.com suspends withdrawals amid $1.7M hack report

November 28, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Crypto exchange XT.com suspends withdrawals amid .7M hack report

centralized crypto exchange

XT.com issued a statement acknowledging an “abnormal transfer of platform wallet assets,” but hasn’t yet confirmed the hack.

XT.com, a cryptocurrency exchange trading $3.4 billion daily, suspended withdrawals on its platform after a suspected $1.7 million hack.

The exchange suspended withdrawals, citing “wallet upgrade and maintenance,” it said on Nov. 28.

XT.com’s withdrawal suspension announcement on Nov. 28. Source: XT.com

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FTX co-founder Gary Wang sentenced to time served

November 20, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Wang was the final FTX executive awaiting sentencing over the 2022 exchange collapse and subsequent fraud charges.

FTX co-founder Zixiao “Gary” Wang was sentenced to time served plus forfeiture of assets in a United States district court in New York on Nov. 20, making him the fifth and final executive sentenced over the exchange’s 2022 collapse.

Wang pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December 2022 alongside former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison. For her part in the scheme, in which she admitted to conspiring with FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried to steal $8 billion, Ellison received a two-year sentence.

Judge Lewis Kaplan oversaw all five cases and issued prison time in Ellison’s case as well as Bankman-Fried’s (25 years) and former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame (7.5 years).

Cryptocurrency Exchange