Pepecoin: Insider trading claims surface amid token theft

August 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

On-chain analyst Yazan reports insider selling of PEPE holdings, with around 400 billion PEPE sold, aligning with Pauly’s team exposure.

Former Pepecoin (PEPE) promoter turned crypto influencer Jeremy “Pauly” Cahen has leveled insider trading allegations against the Pepecoin team following the reported theft of around 16 trillion PEPE tokens. Pauly is now exposing team members’ identities, divulging their wallet activities. On-chain analysts also point to significant Pepecoin transactions involving insiders.

In an Aug. 26 update, Pauly disclosed that the Pepecoin team possesses approximately $16–17 million in PEPE tokens distributed across nine wallets. Surprisingly, the insiders refrained from selling the holdings. Instead, they strategically offloaded PEPE from a centralized exchange (CEX) wallet, establishing a substantial short position.

“I’ll likely be working with multiple branches of law enforcement to ensure that @degenharambe & the rest of his partners on the @pepecoineth team get brought to justice as soon as possible. Their greed & crimes have caused undue harm to many.”

He has additionally revealed personal information about several individuals from the Pepecoin team and detailed their transaction activities. According to Pauly, the Pepecoin team is exploiting the community, and he asserts that their explanations regarding multi-sig wallets and PEPE holdings are entirely false.

The list of insiders in this post have started selling $PEPE 50 minutes ago.

400 billion $PEPE have already been sold mainly from this address:
0x22f6215b40434D9135B06f1C676fd9291936Aac3

You can trace their activity here:https://t.co/BYMz8cfrFE https://t.co/k0KCpeHTyR
— Yazan (@YazanXBT) August 26, 2023

According to on-chain analyst Yazan, insider selling of PEPE holdings has commenced, with approximately 400 billion PEPE already sold, coinciding with Pauly's exposure of Pepecoin team members. In response, Yazan has called upon crypto exchanges such as Binance and OKX to implement measures to prevent transactions from insiders.

Pepecoin's price has taken a bearish turn, plummeting by 15% due to selloffs executed by the Pepe Coin team. Despite a brief 10% increase, the PEPE price couldn't maintain its momentum and has experienced a decline, adding to the prevailing negative sentiment within the community.

According to Coinmarketcap, the PEPE price currently stands at $0.00000090, exhibiting a 7% decrease over the last 24 hours. Within this timeframe, the price fluctuated between $0.00000085 and $0.00000095. Moreover, the trading volume has diminished in the past 24 hours, suggesting a waning interest among traders.

Magazine: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

SEC vs. Ripple: Pro-XRP lawyer urges Clayton, Hinman testimony

August 26, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

John Deaton points out that testimony from former SEC officials Bill Hinman and Jay Clayton during the SEC vs. Ripple Labs case would have categorized XRP as a non-security early on.

Pro-XRP attorney John Deaton says that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) erred in filing aiding and abetting allegations against Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse.

Deaton highlighted that testimony from former SEC officials Bill Hinman and Jay Clayton during the SEC vs. Ripple Labs case would have categorized XRP (XRP) as a non-security early on, but the agency deliberately disregarded this information for an extended period.

On X (formerly Twitter), user Digital Asset Investor.XRP said if it were his choice, he would have summoned a16z attorneys Lowell Ness and Chris Dixon as initial witnesses in the SEC vs. Ripple legal battle, along with former SEC officials Clayton and Hinman.

Deaton agreed that it was essential for Hinman to provide testimony but that there was no chance to legally summon a former SEC chair for a trial. Nevertheless, Deaton contends that the SEC erred in its decision to charge Garlinghouse, especially considering Clayton’s inclination to file a complaint against executives on a personal basis in a non-fraudulent context.

He maintains that Clayton holds substantial importance as a witness who should provide testimony in the courtroom. Notably, Clayton engaged with Ripple’s CEO and chief technology officer, during which Garlinghouse conveyed that “Ripple is living in purgatory” following the Hinman speech. However, neither Clayton nor Hinman explicitly stated that XRP was categorized as a security.

Obtaining clarification from Clayton and Hinman could have averted legal expenses and time consumption, potentially boosting cryptocurrency adoption. The SEC aims to reverse the decision even after Judge Analisa Torres ruled that XRP is not a security in certain instances.

Recently, a significant XRP whale moved over $20 million worth of the tokens to exchanges while the price continued breaching its support levels.

Magazine: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the final say?

Hong Kong regulator eyes tokenization for bond market improvement: Report

August 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bond Investments

The monetary authority in Hong Kong released a report on its study Project Evergreen which looked at the highs and lows of recent bond tokenization activity.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released a report on Aug. 25 detailing the findings of its Project Evergreen study which analyzed the market impact of bond tokenization.

In a 24-page overview, the Hong Kong regulator laid out use cases, benefits and any challenges faced during the study. The concluding sentiment being that tokenization provides improvement for the bond market.

Eddie Yue, the chief executive of the HKMA, said the study highlighted the potential of deploying distributed ledger technology (DLT) to real capital markets transactions with the current legal framework existing in Hong Kong.

“It also showed the potential in DLT to enhance efficiency, liquidity and transparency in bond markets.”

Some of the primary efficiencies of bond tokenization revealed through the study were the ability to go paperless and eliminate the need for a physical global certificate - saving both hours and errors, the ability to interact between various parties on a common DLT platform and enhanced transparency through real-time data synchronization.

Additionally, it allows for atomic DvP settlements for bond transfers and encourages end-to-end DLT adoption.

Yue also pointed out the shortcomings of the experiment saying that the tokenization of bonds is still in its “infancy.” He said prior to mass adoption, many challenges would have to be overcome.

“As more financial institutions come up with their own tokenization solutions," he said. "It will be crucial to consider how different solutions can connect and interact with each other as well as conventional systems to avoid fragmentation.”

“Existing legal and regulatory regimes may also need to be fine-tuned to keep up with – and facilitate – technology adoption.”

This report comes as Hong Kong has been gradually shifting towards positioning itself as a hub for crypto and decentralized finance activity. Hundreds of firms have reportedly been lining up for a Hong Kong crypto license.

On July 27, Hong Kong announced it is collaborating with Saudi Arabia on tokens and payments.

Magazine: Real reason for China’s war on crypto, 3AC judge’s embarrassing mistake: Asia Express

XRP whale moves 29 million tokens to Bitstamp amid price slide

August 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Additional information suggests the possibility that this whale might be selling their XRP assets, as it had previously moved 14 million XRP to Bitso just a few hours earlier.

As XRP (XRP) struggles to maintain upward momentum following Judge Analisa Torres’ summary judgement in the United States Securities Exchange Commission v. Ripple Labs case that XRP isn’t a security, investors appear to be selling off their holdings. Adding to this, a significant whale has moved 29 million XRP, valued at over $15 million, to a crypto exchange amid a price decline approaching the support level.

Whale Alert posted on Aug. 24 that a large holder transferred 29.3 million XRP worth $15.13 million to Bitstamp exchange. Additional information suggests the possibility that this whale might be selling their XRP assets, as it had previously moved 14 million XRP to Bitso just a few hours earlier.

The decision by Judge Torres to permit the U.S. SEC to submit an interlocutory appeal regarding XRP token sales had a significant impact, triggering a notable market downturn. This led to a sharp decline in XRP’s price, breaching crucial support levels of $0.6 and $0.5.

29,300,000 #XRP (15,130,884 USD) transferred from unknown wallet to #Bitstamp https://t.co/DhcHkKNdzc
— Whale Alert (@whale_alert) August 24, 2023

Presently, XRP’s price is recovering from the support level at $0.5, but there is a substantial risk of a significant drop if traders and whales opt to liquidate their holdings.

In the meantime, the trial between Ripple and the SEC is anticipated to occur around the end of April or mid-May. This timing aligns with the court notification from both the SEC and Ripple Labs, along with CEO Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen, who cited their unavailability in the second quarter of 2024. In response, XRP’s price experienced a rebound; however, the bullish momentum was not sustained.

Over the past 24 hours, the value of XRP declined by over 3% and is currently trading at $0.51. The price fluctuated between $0.510 and $0.528 within this period. Additionally, the trading volume has witnessed a decrease in the past 24 hours.

Magazine: Crypto Banter’s Ran Neuner says Ripple is ‘despicable,’ tips hat to ZachXBT: Hall of Flame

Binance’s zero-fee Bitcoin update could echo March downturn

August 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

In an official statement, cryptocurrency exchange Binance unveiled its plans to implement updates to the zero-fee Bitcoin trading starting from September 7.

Binance cryptocurrency exchange announced its intention to modify its zero-fee Bitcoin trading program on Aug. 24. This action has the potential to initiate a significant market downturn, reminiscent of the 90% trading volume decline observed following Binance's discontinuation of zero-fee trading in March.

In an official statement, cryptocurrency exchange Binance unveiled its plans to implement updates to the zero-fee Bitcoin trading starting from Sept. 7. Binance intends to modify the zero-fee Bitcoin trading for the Bitcoin (BTC)/ True USD (TUSD) spot and margin trading pair.

Previously, traders experienced zero maker and taker fees while engaging in BTC trading with TUSD pairs. However, a regular taker fee will now be implemented based on the user's VIP level. Nonetheless, users will still encounter no maker fees when conducting Bitcoin trades on the BTC/TUSD spot and margin trading pair.

“The corresponding trading volume on the BTC/TUSD spot and margin trading pair will count toward VIP tier calculation and all Liquidity Provider programs. In addition, BNB discounts, referral rebates and any other fee adjustments will resume for BTC/TUSD spot and margin trading volumes.”

Seemingly, Binance is discontinuing its zero-fee Bitcoin trading initiative for TUSD, indicating a decreased backing for the TUSD stablecoin due to various concerns. Importantly, users will still retain the privilege of zero maker and taker fees while engaging in Bitcoin trading within the FDUSD spot and margin trading pair.

Binance's adjustment of its zero-fee Bitcoin trading scheme for the BTC/TUSD spot and margin trading pair could be inadvertently inciting another round of selloffs in the market.

According to CoinMarketCap, the BTC/TUSD and BTC/USDT pairs are the most frequently traded for Bitcoin, constituting 11% and 7% respectively. The trading volume in Tether (USDT) pairs experienced a significant drop after Binance stopped supporting BUSD and designated TUSD as the sole trading pair for zero-fee Bitcoin trading.

Yet again, the exchange is redirecting attention away from the widely traded TUSD to the lesser-known FDUSD stablecoin. Notably, FDUSD doesn't rank within the top 10 Bitcoin pairs by trading volume, with The market capitalization of FDUSD standing at $324 million.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Shiba Inu hints at making Shibarium public soon

August 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Shibarium community known as Shibarmy has taken to X (formerly known as Twitter) to respond enthusiastically to the development.

Progress is underway in the field of blockchain technology, with the highly anticipated public launch of the Shibarium (L2) version happening soon. The Shiba Inu team has announced that the platform is running smoothly and just needs to be made public.

The team behind Shibarium, an Ethereum layer-2 network, has indicated that the platform is currently live and in private mode having functioned smoothly during its two-day test, and is on the verge of becoming available to the public.

The Shibarium team claimed in recent blog post that funds remain safe, and users can look forward to a fresh experience when the platform becomes accessible to all. Those who have benefited from the update are already celebrating as bridged $BONE tokens make their entry.

Things are going in the right direction ✨ https://t.co/yS8iqbz1ra
— Daniel (@Pasaben101) August 24, 2023

The Shibarium community known as Shibarmy, are commenting on X (formerly known as Twitter) in response to the development. The Shibarium team expressed their satisfaction with the progress, stating that the network has achieved a "ready" state after thorough testing and parameter adjustments. Although testing is ongoing, the team revealed that blocks are consistently being generated without issues.

The recent updates include added safety measures and a monitoring system. These enhancements involve implementing rate limiting at the remote procedure call (RPC) level and an automatic server reset mechanism. These improvements are intended to avert potential problems stemming from abrupt traffic surges, guaranteeing users a steady and dependable experience.

During its testing phase, the network garnered significant attention with millions of wallets engaged in over 22 million transactions spanning four months. However, the initial launch encountered challenges. An overwhelming surge of activity overloaded the network, leading to a temporary halt in transactions for several hours. Consequently, millions of dollars were trapped on a bridge tool, causing a 10% decrease in SHIB pricing.

Subsequently, developers have addressed the issues and clarified that the servers were overwhelmed due to an unforeseen surge in transaction volume. The network's team says it is now assured of the reopening's success despite the initial challenges.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Nigerian crypto exchange’s token launch draws scrutiny

August 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

This development follows the company's previous disclosure of a security breach resulting in fund losses in May 2023.

Patricia, a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange, has revealed the introduction of its own native token named Patricia token (PTK). However, this launch has generated more doubt than applause within the local cryptocurrency community.

Native tokens are digital assets that are specific to a particular blockchain platform or cryptocurrency exchange. They are created and issued directly by the platform or exchange itself. Examples of native tokens include Binance Coin (BNB) on the Binance exchange, Ether (ETH) on the Ethereum network, and SOL on the Solana blockchain.

In the official communication on X (formerly Twitter), the company stated its intention to transition exchange operations to the Patricia Plus app. The newly introduced native token, which the company asserts is a stablecoin with a 1:1 peg to the dollar (1PTK = $1), is expected to take the place of customers' existing bitcoin (BTC) and naira balances.

The major issue here is

If u can afford to give people(converting their balance) a stable coin backed by Usd

Then Why not just give them their tokens back ? https://t.co/GKgBQdi4Yg
— Solomon_Gift (@Crypto__hub) August 19, 2023

This development follows the company's previous disclosure of a security breach resulting in fund losses in May 2023. Despite asserting that customer funds remained unaffected, platform users have faced ongoing difficulties in accessing their funds since April.

The response to Patricia's announcement has led to speculation around fears of a potential exit scam, which could leave customers who have funds stuck on the platform in a precarious situation.

Highlighted in posts by members of the local crypto community, there are a few indicators of concern surrounding Patricia's introduction of PTK. The token is absent from major cryptocurrency aggregators like CoinMarketCap and Coingecko. These platforms offer comprehensive details about tokens, including their real value, issued quantity, contract address and launch blockchain.

PTK does not exist on widely adopted blockchains used by exchanges for launching their native tokens. To illustrate, PayPal's newly introduced stablecoin, PYUSD, is accessible on the Ethereum blockchain, the platform on which it was introduced.

In its statement on X, Patricia disclosed its plan to convert outstanding balances to PTK without obtaining customer consent. This unilateral action has raised concerns, as many worry about their ability to exchange the token for fiat currency or alternate cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

If customers initiate withdrawals in large numbers, a surge of withdrawals could lead to PTK losing its peg, potentially leaving those who couldn't withdraw stranded.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Central African Republic expands Sango project to land, resource tokenization

August 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Assets

Asset tokenization has been in the works for a year. The ambitious project has also included investor citizenship and an island in the metaverse.

The Central African Republic (CAR) has extended its Sango blockchain project to tokenization of its land and natural resources. The country, one of the poorest and most crypto-friendly in the world, is one of the most active in crypto innovation.

According to an announcement posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), the CAR National Assembly passed a law on tokenizing land and natural resources on July 24. Among other provisions of the law, it will make it possible to obtain business visas online and allow citizens and foreigners to set up businesses “easily” and obtain licensing in real estate, agriculture, natural resource exploitation and forestry. The statement said the law was "unanimously approved."

The CAR had announced its intentions to tokenize its natural resources last year, not long after the launch of Project Sango in May 2022. The Sango Project also called for the creation of its own Crypto Island Metaverse.

The CAR’s efforts to position itself in the vanguard of crypto adoption has faced significant obstacles. The CAR was the first country in Africa, and second country worldwide, to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as a national currency in April 2022. It reportedly repealed its status in May of this year. The country also launched its own cryptocurrency, the Sango in an effort to displace the CFA (Financial Community of Africa) franc. The Sango was not intended to be a central bank digital currency.

*The Sango logo imposed over Bitcoin's. Source: the Sango website*

The Sango faced several obstacles before its launch, including the rejection of the Sango-linked citizenship program by the Constitutional Court. Nonetheless, the citizenship program, which costs $60,000 in Sango, remains on offer on the Sango Project website. The country is also considering the introduction of other cryptocurrencies.

The International Monetary Fund, which opposed the CAR’s adoption of Bitcoin, estimates the country’s GDP growth at 2.2% this year.

The SANGO Project's Next Chapter

Exciting news! The Central African Republic is ushering in a new era of #financial empowerment through #blockchain technology.

Guided by the visionary leadership of President Professor @FA_Touadera , we're ready to make a global impact. pic.twitter.com/m1jYjsvc0q
— Sango (@sangoproject) August 21, 2023

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Ripple CTO clarifies on SEC appeal, highlights case complexity

August 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

According to David Schwartz, the SEC is seeking an appeal at this specific point based on its interpretation that the legal case has not yet concluded.

In a recent update on X (formerly Twitter), the chief technology officer of Ripple Labs, David Schwartz, brought attention to a recent development involving the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) appeal.

According to Schwartz, the SEC is seeking an appeal at this specific point based on its interpretation that the legal case has not yet concluded. This understanding affords involved parties the privilege to appeal after the finalization of the case. This procedural strategy is intended to enhance the legal proceedings’ efficiency and avoid continuous disruptions to the main case due to multiple appeals concerning minor decisions.

Following Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13 ruling that XRP (XRP) is not a security when sold on digital asset exchanges, the SEC has since submitted an appeal. Although prompted by the favorable verdict for Ripple, this move by the SEC focuses on an unforeseen development within the legal proceedings.

Yes. A party that loses on any claim or issue in their suit is entitled to appeal any adverse rulings at the conclusion of the suit. The SEC is asking for permission to appeal here because the suit is not complete yet for any party.

You can see why there would be a rule like…
— David "JoelKatz" Schwartz (@JoelKatz) August 18, 2023

Schwartz stressed that combining appeals is vital to improve things, with separate appeals likely to make the legal process even longer.

However, the exec clarified a rule for special situations. The SEC argues that the unique situation, in this case, is a reason to do things differently. It suggests stopping the process until the appeal is settled, but Ripple disagrees.

Ripple believes that even if the SEC can appeal, the main lawsuit should proceed while the appeal process happens. This matches the idea of letting the trial continue and looking at appeals carefully when everything else is done.

Schwartz provided more information because of rumors in the Bitcoin community about discussions that the SEC might want to appeal Torres’ decision to higher courts.

The outcome of the legal disagreement between Ripple Labs and the SEC could be influenced by the court’s choice about whether to accept the appeal request.

Magazine: Deposit risk: What do crypto exchanges really do with your money?

Securitize acquires $40b crypto fund manager Onramp

August 18, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Securitize acquires b crypto fund manager Onramp

Coin Telegraph

Digital securities firm Securitize will provide new alternative assets to major cryptocurrency firms like WisdomTree and Valkyrie Invest.

Tokenized asset firm Securitize continues expanding investor access to private market alternative assets with the acquisition of the cryptocurrency fund manager Onramp Invest, which manages more than $40 billion in assets.

Securitize is planning to simplify the access of registered investment advisors (RIA) to private equity, private credit and secondary asset classes with the acquisition of Onramp.

The acquisition brings more than $40 billion in combined assets, which the Onramp platform handles for a community of RIAs across the United States. Onramp’s customer base features some prominent firms in the crypto industry, including the exchange-traded (ETF) fund WisdomTree, asset manager Valkyrie Invest, the ETF firm Global X, crypto media Coindesk and others.

As a result of the acquisition, RIAs will be able to offer their clients investments in alternative asset classes like private equity, private credit and real estate via Onramp Invest’s dashboard. According to the announcement, Securitize will increase and diversify the investments available to RIAs by giving them direct access to its alternative investment portfolio.

“Onramp already offered RIAs easy access to digital assets, so it is a very natural extension to offer them tokenized alternative assets to complement their portfolios,” Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo said, adding:

“Most wealth is generated in private market alternative assets and bringing Securitize and Onramp together enables registered investment advisors to give their clients access to that wealth generation.”

The latest acquisition builds on a previous partnership of Securitize and Onramp announced in March 2023. The partnership was focused on distributed access to tokenized private equity funds from investment firms like Hamilton Lane. At the time, Onramp’s platform had RIA firms with a combined AUM of over $35 billion.

The news comes soon after Securitize started tokenizing equity in the Spanish real estate investment trust Mancipi Partners in June. The firm expects to launch secondary trading on the Avalanche blockchain in September.

Securitize did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph’s request for comment.

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