Crypto exchange KuCoin will cease operating in New York as part of an agreement to settle a lawsuit accusing the Seychelles-based platform of failing to register as a securities and commodities broker-dealer. In a new statement, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James says KuCoin must pay the state a $5.3 million penalty […]
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The group of FTX users is taking aim at Mercedes F1 and Major League Baseball for allegedly helping FTX commit fraud by promoting the crypto exchange on its platforms.
Mercedes-Benz Formula One team and Major League Baseball helped FTX perpetrate fraud through promotional deals with the crypto exchange, according to a group of FTX users in a new lawsuit.
The plaintiffs, consisting of FTX users, filed twin class-action suits in a Florida District Court on Nov. 27, accusing the firms of “aiding and abetting and/or actively participating in the FTX Group’s massive, multibillion-dollar global fraud” and promoting unregistered securities.
In 2021, the Mercedes F1 team signed a promotional deal with FTX which saw the exchange’s logo emblazoned on cars, uniforms, hats and other materials. The MLB signed a similar deal that same year — the first pro sports league to do so — which saw umpires don FTX’s logo on their uniforms.
“The centerpiece, and most important feature, of the partnership, however, was the inclusion of FTX.US patches on all MLB umpire uniforms,” wrote the class complaint filing. “The FTX.US patches marked the first time in the history of MLB, which dates back to the 1800s, that a sponsor brand has had its logo appear on umpire uniforms.”
The rare double logo shot https://t.co/OLE7P8iY1N
— FTX (@FTX_Official) July 18, 2021
The complaint against Mercedes F1 was similar, saying the team showcased FTX’s logo in prominent locations on its cars, merchandise and marketing.
FTX also “regularly cheered on and congratulated” Mercedes F1 and its drivers, which the lawsuit said created a “veneer of trustworthiness with Mercedes F1 fans.”
“This ploy would not have been as effective were it not for Mercedes F1’s parallel promotions of FTX,” the complaint said.
Details @FTX_Official pic.twitter.com/3trhANWTCV
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 24, 2021
The same group of FTX users is also still suing a list of celebrities who promoted the exchange, including former sports stars Shaquille O’Neal and Tom Brady, citing similar allegations of promoting unregistered securities.
Many celebrities named in the lawsuits have attempted to have the suit against them dismissed, saying they didn’t encourage depositing money onto FTX. At least three — professional American footballer Trevor Lawrence and YouTubers Kevin Paffrath and Tom Nash — have settled their lawsuits.
Related: SEC still looking for potential FTX-style fraud at Binance.US: Report
FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of seven charges relating to fraud, conspiracy and money laundering earlier in November.
Just over a year after inking the deal, the MLB canned its five-year promotional contract with FTX shortly after the company filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.
Mercedes F1 similarly binned its deal with FTX the same year and removed its logo from its cars and merchandise.
Magazine: Slumdog billionaire 2 — ‘Top 10… brings no satisfaction’ says Polygon’s Sandeep Nailwal
The creators of the Backpack wallet are reportedly gearing up to launch a new crypto exchange with the ethos of properly securing user funds. Trek Labs, a firm led by Backpack wallet creator Armani Ferrante and former FTX general counsel Can Sun, has received a crypto license from the United Arab Emirates’ regulators, the Wall […]
The post Executives Behind Backpack Wallet Gearing Up To Launch New Crypto Exchange That Aims To Protect User Funds: Report appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
The crypto exchange added a feature that allows users to deposit single assets into a vault, which are then automatically invested into diverse liquidity pools.
Decentralized crypto exchange PancakeSwap now has portfolio manager functionality, according to an Oct. 30 announcement. The feature has been added in partnership with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Bril Finance.
The new feature allows PancakeSwap users to deposit tokens into single-asset vaults via the exchange’s user interface. Once the tokens are deposited, they go into a liquidity provision algorithm with automatic rebalancing. The development teams for PancakeSwap and Bril claim that this system will allow users to get higher risk-adjusted returns compared to other methods.
According to the announcement, users will be able to deposit crypto, such as Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), BNB (BNB) and Ether (ETH). The teams claim the protocol has already produced over 24% internal rate of return (IRR) in tests. IRR is a metric that measures the compound annual growth rate for a project.
For the first four weeks of the feature’s release, additional rewards in PancakeSwap’s (CAKE), the exchange’s governance token, will also be provided to users. At launch, PancakeSwap will be the only interface that provides users access to Bril’s portfolio management system, the announcement stated.
PancakeSwap’s “Head Chef,” or CEO, Mochi, claimed that the new integration would help make the exchange a major hub for DeFi, stating:
“We aim to become a hub for all of DeFi and integrations such as this, allowing us to become a one-stop shop for portfolio management. Bril’s automated technology and its integration with PancakeSwap will allow PancakeSwap users to enjoy the core features and functionalities they are already accustomed to and seamlessly earn on their assets in a hands-off manner.”
Related: UAE dirham stablecoin DRAM launches on Uniswap, PancakeSwap
PancakeSwap is the second-largest fully decentralized crypto exchange in terms of daily volume, according to data from DefiLlama. In May, it launched a pancake-themed game called Pancake Protectors. In September, it integrated Transak as a vendor for making fiat to crypto payments.
The dYdX crypto exchange published the open-source code for its upcoming Cosmos-based network.
Crypto exchange dYdX has published the open source code for its new Cosmos-based network of the same name, according to an October 23 blog post. The new code includes the “protocol, order book, front-end, and more,” the post stated. The publication of the code is intended to pave the way for a mainnet launch, which is being organized by the dYdX Decentralized Autonomous Organization (dYdXDAO) SubDAO on Operations.
1/ It’s finally here
— dYdX (@dYdX) October 24, 2023
Today, we’re proud to present and fully open-source the completed dYdX Chain!
This is the next chapter for dYdX and we’re so excited that it’s here.
Let’s get into the details:https://t.co/ydil2jkqJs
DYdX is one of the largest non-custodial cryptocurrency exchanges, with over $2.6 billion in daily trading volume, according to Coingecko. However, it relies on a centralized order book to match traders with market makers. Because of this order book, it's sometimes regarded as not being truly decentralized.
The dYdX team has been trying to create a new Cosmos-based dYdX chain they say will allow them to decentralize the exchange’s order book, taking the protocol out of the hands of the development team and making it truly decentralized. They launched a testnet of the new network on July 5. DYdX currently runs on StarkEx, a layer-2 of Ethereum.
Related: Evmos, Swing, Tashi, Wormhole team up to solve Cosmos’ liquidity issues
According to the October 23 post, the new code will allow the dYdX infrastructure to “run globally by DeFi [decentralized finance] enthusiasts.” Once the mainnet launch is complete, the dYdX development team “will not run any part of the infrastructure behind any deployment of the new dYdX Chain.” The team did not state an official launch date for mainnet. Instead, it stated that readers should “check out the blog post from the dYdX Operations subDAO” to learn more.
In an October 4 post, the dYdX Operations subDAO proposed a phased mainnet launch. The proposed alpha phase will allow token holders to stake their tokens and earn staking rewards, but trading will not be possible. The beta phase will enable trading and allow further testing to occur. The post does not state a launch date for either phase.
Bitcoin is back near its year-to-date highs, but BTC price moves belie an underlying lack of support, analysis fears.
Bitcoin (BTC) starts the last week of October in classic style as 3% BTC price gains take cryptocurrency markets higher.
In what could yet turn out to be a classic “Uptober” for Bitcoin and altcoins, BTC/USD is back near 2023 highs as a resistance battle brews. Can bulls win?
That is the key question for traders and market observers going into the week’s first Wall Street open as Asia sets the tone for a crypto comeback.
Given the extent of resistance to overcome, however, traders are playing it safe — lofty BTC price predictions are less evident than might be expected, and few believe that the road beyond $32,000 will open up quickly or easily.
Bitcoin must also dodge potential headwinds in the form of macroeconomic data prints at a time when inflation continues to beat expectations.
Ahead of the United States Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Nov. 1, the month’s final prints will be all the more significant. Geopolitical events meanwhile add another element to market unpredictability.
With much at stake for crypto and risk assets, the week thus looks to be a rollercoaster in the making as Bitcoin bulls seek to effect a major trend change via a breakout from a multi-month trading range.
As Cointelegraph reported, these three-month highs are being treated with suspicion by some traders, who see breaking through $32,000 as a difficult challenge.
“Well on it's way towards the top of the 2023 range,” popular trader Daan Crypto Trades summarized on X on the day.
“$31K-32K won't be easy to break through but upon doing so I would be targeting $38K next. Remains range-bound until then.”
With hours to go until the Wall Street open, BTC/USD is now retreating from the highs, on the way back toward the $30,000 mark.
Analyzing the odds of a deeper drawdown, popular trader Ali drew attention to relative strength index (RSI) readings.
“An impending price correction appears to be on the horizon unless BTC manages to clock a daily candlestick close above $31,560,” part of his comments warned.
At 77 on Oct. 23, RSI was already at levels which Ali noted had triggered “sharp corrections” since March this year. As a rule, anything above 70 is considered "overbought."
Others were freely optimistic, among the Philip Swift, co-founder of trading suite DecenTrader and creator of statistics resource Look Into Bitcoin.
#bitcoin +$30k.
— Philip Swift (@PositiveCrypto) October 23, 2023
Goodbye bears.
Popular trader CredibleCrypto meanwhile described a Bitcoin breakout as “almost there.” Updating an idea originally from late August, he suggested that $30,000 was the key level to break for a trend change.
Almost there... $BTC https://t.co/13X3yX7Bib
— CrediBULL Crypto (@CredibleCrypto) October 23, 2023
Bitcoin saw a strong start to the last week of “Uptober” with a trip to near $31,000, data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows.
Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index data headlines the U.S. macro diary this week — and the timing is conspicuous.
The Fed is due to meet to decide on interest rate policy on Nov. 1, and as one of its preferred inflation metrics, PCE is being keenly eyed for cues by markets. Q3 GDP is also due.
Despite previous recent data prints persistently coming in higher than expected, underscoring sticky inflation, the odds of further rate hikes remain negligible. Per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, there is even a 1.6% chance of a rate cut by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next week.
“Meanwhile, earnings season is in full swing and Fed speculation continues. Volatility is great for traders,” financial commentary resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of commentary on the week’s macro diary.
Key Events This Week:
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) October 22, 2023
1. Building Permits - Wednesday
2. New Home Sales - Wednesday
3. Fed Chair Powell Speaks - Wednesday
4. Q3 2023 GDP - Thursday
5. Pending Home Sales - Thursday
6. September PCE Inflation data - Friday
We are 1 week out from the November Fed meeting.
Skew and others are meanwhile eyeing U.S. dollar strength, with the U.S. dollar index (DXY) cooling the rampant uptrend which began in mid-July.
“Looking for trend continuation or clear break of 1D trend some time this week or into November,” part of comments stated.
Skew added that a “major move” should come soon.
The trend of declining BTC balances on exchanges is frequently reported on as it hits levels not seen since 2018.
According to the latest data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant, the major trading platforms now have a combined BTC balance of 2.024 million BTC.
The FTX meltdown in November 2022 hastened the pace of balance reduction, and despite the BTC price recovery this year, the trend has yet to reverse direction in step.
Now, exchange deposits are at year-to-date lows, James Straten, research and data analyst at crypto insights firm CryptoSlate, notes.
“Since Bitcoin started, deposits consistently outpaced withdrawals. However, with the FTX collapse in Nov '22 and the SVB crisis in Mar '23, the trend flipped for the first time,” part of an X post at the weekend read.
“Now, with deposits hitting YTD lows and withdrawals stable yet high, a clear trend emerges: coins are steadily leaving exchanges.”
An accompanying chart showed the proportion of BTC transactions involving exchanges, these accounting for 36% of the total.
BTC price action, while advantageous for market sentiment, is displaying “artificial” characteristics, CryptoQuant research warns.
In one of its Quicktake market updates on Oct. 22, contributor SignalQuant revealed low numbers of new market entrants over the past month.
SignalQuant used the Sum Coin Age Distribution metric — a method of separating newer and older unspent transaction output (UTXO) data.
“Interestingly when this indicator spikes, it is a turning point for BTC’s price in the long term,” he wrote about outputs between one week and month old, corresponding to market “newbies.”
“In fact, the 1w~1m entry trend indicator was above the baseline when BTC’s price hit its low in late '18, when it hit its low in late '22, and after Mar '20 Covid crash. But now, instead of heading towards the baseline, it's staying low.”
SignalQuant concluded that while no single indicator can provide an overall explanation of market behavior, the Coin Sum data was “too significant to ignore.”
Previously, Cointelegraph noted that long-term holders now control more of the BTC supply than ever before.
After an extended period of barely any movement, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index is beginning to show signs of volatility.
Over the weekend, the classic crypto sentiment gauge spiked into “greed” territory, reaching 63/100 — its highest reading since July 12.
The increase coincided with Bitcoin’s attempts to break through $30,000 over the weekend, reinforcing the significance of that price level in traders’ minds.
On that topic, popular trader Altcoin Sherpa described $30,000 as a “scary area.”
“I still see this next high as extremely important when seeing where price goes,” he told X subscribers on the day, adding that “we're about to see if we're going to see 20k or 40k in the midterm.”
Like others, Altcoin Sherpa highlighted $32,000 as the ultimate line in the sand for bulls to charge through.
“Basically if we break 32k strongly, we go to 40k,” he continued.
“If we form a lower high around here or reject around 32k strongly, I think we're going to go to low 20ks. Gut says 40k but 32k is a super strong level overall and I don't feel strong about it.”
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
Euro payments, deposits, and withdrawals are back on for European Binance users months after the severance of services by PaySafe.
Crypto exchange Binance has announced it has onboarded new partners to handle euro deposits and withdrawals, months after losing its previous fiat partner PaySafe in September.
In an Oct. 19 statement, Binance announced that it had signed agreements with new fiat partners for euro payments, deposits, and withdrawals.
The move follows regulatory and debanking woes in the European Union, where the firm was forced to look for new banking partners after it lost the support of PaySafe in September.
Binance said that users have already started being migrated to the new services provided by “a number of new regulated and authorized fiat partners.” It did not specify which firms it had partnered with, however.
More EUR fiat channels have arrived on #Binance
— Binance (@binance) October 19, 2023
We’re proud to announce that we’ve entered into agreements with multiple new EUR partners to provide deposit, withdrawal, and payment services, making your experience even more seamless.
Find out more https://t.co/jKh2QxH3sN
The announcement noted that fiat services offered by the new partners include EUR deposits and withdrawals via Open Banking and SEPA/SEPA Instant.
Users can also buy and sell crypto using SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area), bank cards, and their fiat balances, and trade EUR spot pairs.
In late September, Binance urged its European users to convert their euros into Tether (USDT) before the end of October, though the latest announcement could suggest this is now not necessary.
Related: Binance limits withdrawals in Europe, cites payment processor issues
However, some users were still reporting issues depositing euros even after the announcement, while others asked about fiat partners for the British pound in the UK.
Paysafe pulled support for transactions in British pounds in May following concerns raised by United Kingdom financial regulators over the partnership.
On Oct. 16, Binance suspended access to its exchange for new users based in the UK. The move followed the termination of a partnership with a third party to approve communications on its platform under new local rules by the country’s watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Binance has yet to source fiat partnerships for its UK exchange where British users are still unable to deposit GBP.
Cointelegraph contacted Binance for more specifics but did not receive an immediate response.
Magazine: SBF’s alleged Chinese bribe, Binance clarifies account freeze: Asia Express
Visa’s CEMEA head of innovation and design Akshay Chopra reveals that the company’s partnership with cryptocurrency exchanges has facilitated billions of dollars in payment volumes.
The integration of conventional payment cards into cryptocurrency exchange offerings is playing a crucial role in driving adoption of digital assets, according to a VISA executive.
Speaking to Cointelegraph reporter Ezra Reguerra during a panel at the Blockchain Economy Dubai Summit, VISA’s VP head of Innovation & Design Akshay Chopra highlighted the role that Visa cards have played as a bridge between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies in recent years.
According to Chopra, using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for everyday items like a cup of coffee at a cafe is still not truly ubiquitous. In an effort to tackle this challenge, Visa partnered with 75 of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in 2021 to allow them to issue Visa cards.
This then opened up a network of some 80 million Visa merchants that could by extension serve customers that prefer to use cryptocurrencies as a means of payment, as Chopra tells Reguerra:
“Building that bridge alone in 2021, and these numbers haven’t really been made public, facilitated $3 billion of payment volume.”
Chopra highlighted this as one of a number of opportunities for conventional financial institutions to tap into with the wider Web3 ecosystem.
Related: Visa taps into Solana to widen USDC payment capability
Payments settlement between financial institutions remains another avenue that is ripe for disruption and innovation through blockchain-based solutions. Chopra says existing protocols like the SWIFT payment system still have limitations, including not being fully functional 24 hours a day:
“Banks have trillions of dollars of transactions with each other at the end of the day but there is a cut-off time where you simply cannot transact internationally. It’s a big pain point and its also expensive and inefficient.
Akshay highlights a pilot carried out with Circle using USD Coin (USDC) enabling a number of cryptocurrency exchange partners to settle payments with USDC at the end of a given day:
“It’s cheaper than traditional methods, it happens 24/7 and it's innovative. You send USDC balance and Visa custodies the funds on the backend of the Ethereum blockchain.”
Regulations remain a hurdle for mainstream financial institutions to truly tap into blockchain technology and cryptocurrency-based payments. However Akshay believes that progressive regulatory environments in jurisdictions like the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Akshay believes that proactive regulatory approaches have been more beneficial to industry participants when compared to reactive regulations in countries like the United States.
“When they set up regulatory frameworks, they invited the industry to tale about what it needs, but also what the future might look like in a few years so that regulations are developed well ahead of time."
Visa made headlines in April 2023 with the launch of a crypto product roadmap that aims to drive adoption of stablecoin and public blockchain payments by mainstream financial institutions.
The company is also set to invest $100 million to explore innovative AI-powered products and solutions focused on payments and commerce through Visa Ventures.
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Nansen analysts observed “unusual transactions between FTX and Alameda” in the days leading up to FTX’s bankruptcy.
Blockchain data analysts from Nansen have revisited the days leading up to the collapse of FTX, including the transfer of $4.1 billion worth of FTT tokens between the exchange and Alameda Research.
A Nansen report shared with Cointelegraph reveals unique observations from the blockchain analytics firm, highlighting the close relationship between the two companies founded by Sam Bankman-Fried as the former FTX CEO appears in court to face a litany of charges relating to the collapse of the exchange.
The collapse of FTX is widely reported to have been sparked by initial reports that flagged the significant 40% share of Alameda’s $14.6 billion in assets held in FTT tokens in September 2022.
Nansen analysts revealed that they had observed dubious on-chain interactions between FTX and Alameda before these reports came to light. Between Sept. 28 and Nov. 1, Alameda sent $4.1 billion FTT tokens to FTX and several continuous transfers of United States dollar-pegged stablecoins amounting to $388 million.
On-chain data also indicated that FTX held around 280 million FTT tokens (80%) of the total 350 million FTT supply. Blockchain data reflects “considerable” proportions of FTT trading volume amounting to billions of dollars flowing between various FTX and Alameda wallets.
Nansen also highlights that most of the FTT token supply, consisting of company tokens and unsold non-company tokens, was locked in a three-year vesting contract. The lone beneficiary of the contract is an Alameda-controlled wallet, according to the analysts.
Given that the two companies controlled around 90% of the FTT token supply, Nansen suggests that the entities were able to prop up each other’s balance sheets.
The report also suggests that Alameda most likely sold FTT tokens over-the-counter, as well as for collateral for loans from cryptocurrency lending firms.
“This theory is backed by historical on-chain data where we observed regular large inflows and outflows between FTX, Alameda and Genesis Trading wallets with transfer volumes up to $1.7 billion as seen in Dec 2021.”
The collapse of the Terra ecosystem and subsequent bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital (3AC) likely led to liquidity issues for Alameda due to the drop in value of FTT, which led to a covert, $4 billion FTT-backed loan from FTX.
“Our on-chain data indicates that this may have happened. Amidst the collapse of 3AC in mid-June 2022, Alameda sent ~163m of FTT to FTX wallets, worth ~$4b at that time.”
The researchers claim that the $4 billion transaction volume coincided with a $4 billion loan figure that close associates of Bankman-Fried had divulged in an interview with Reuters.
Blockchain data also reflects how Alameda would not have been able to make good on an offer to buy FTT tokens from Binance at $22 on Nov. 6. This was after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao announced that the exchange would offload its tokens following disparaging reports about Alameda’s balance sheet.
Magazine: Blockchain detectives: Mt. Gox collapse saw birth of Chainalysis
CoinEx has rebuilt its wallet system following a $70 million hack and is set to resume deposit and withdrawals for select cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEx is set to resume deposit and withdrawals for its users more than a week after it suffered a $70 million hack due to compromised hot wallet private keys.
In previous correspondence with Cointelegraph, the exchange outlined its priority to build and deploy a new wallet system to facilitate activities for the 211 blockchains and 737 tokens that it served before the hacking incident.
The latest statement from the exchange announces the resumption of deposit and withdrawal services of BTC, ETH, USDT, USDC and other tokens from Sept. 21.
CoinEx will update deposit addresses for the listed tokens and will generate new deposit addresses for its users.
CoinEx customers were advised not to deposit into old addresses on the platform, as this would result in assets being permanently lost. The exchange also warned of a potentially large number of pending withdrawals at the resumption of its operations:
“We ensure the new wallet system is stable, and we will gradually resume deposit and withdrawal services for more assets.”
The exchange maintains that it has implemented a 100% asset reserve policy to safeguard users against potential security threats. Previous updates following the hacking incident also stated that users assets were not affected and that CoinEx's User Asset Security Foundation would cover any financial losses.
Cointelegraph has reached out to CoinEx to ascertain if it will refund users in the event that assets were affected or are affected in the future by the event.
