- U.S. Investigators Subpoena Hedge Funds in Binance Money-Laundering Probe: Report
Federal prosecutors are investigating the relationship between Binance and U.S.-based hedge funds as part of a broader investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange’s possible skirting of money-laundering guardrails, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Heading the investigation is the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington in Seattle, which, in recent months, has sent subpoenas to firms requesting records of their dealings with Binance, the Post reported, citing two people who had reviewed one of the subpoenas.
The subpoenas come at a time when Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume, faces intense media and regulatory scrutiny over its business practices and financials. That scrutiny boiled over late last year in the wake of FTX’s multi-billion-dollar implosion, which rocked investor confidence in an increasingly turbulent and troubled crypto market.
- Hacker Sent to Prison for Robbing Vietnamese Crypto Exchange
A resident of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam has been given 10 years in prison for stealing 300 million Vietnamese dong (close to $13,000) from a crypto entrepreneur whose coin trading site he subjected to cyberattacks.
Nham Hoang Khang, the hacker, was charged with extortion and sentenced on Friday by the city’s People’s Court, the English-language edition of the VN Express daily reported. He was also ordered to return the stolen money.
The crypto exchange was established by Vu Ngoc Chau in 2018 to connect potential buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies, taking a fee for the transactions it facilitated. Users were required to open accounts and provide personal information such as phone number, email address and a copy of an ID document.
https://news.bitcoin.com/hacker-sent-to-prison-for-robbing-vietnamese-crypto-exchange/
- Solana, Cardano Both Up 21% Late Sunday, Setting Monthly Highs
The value of both Solana and Cardano spiked by over 21 percent late Sunday, according to data from CoinGecko, both reentering territory not seen by either since November.
Cardano, the eighth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, saw its price spike to $0.33—a price not seen since November 19. Meanwhile, Solana, which kicked off a remarkable run with an 11% jump in value on Monday, spiked again Sunday to $16.04, territory it hasn’t seen since Nov. 9, when it was partway through a collapse of more than 50% over the prior three days.
https://decrypt.co/118687/solana-cardano-value-jumps-21-percent
- French Financial Regulator Supports Faster Mandatory Licensing for Crypto Firms
France’s financial markets authority (AMF) wants to force crypto companies to seek a license if they aren’t already registered in the country, its chair Marie-Anne Barbat Layani said on Monday.
Barbat-Layani appeared to be supporting a move proposed last year by the French Senate, which would mandate crypto firms to seek some of regulatory recognition in anticipation of the European Union’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation by Oct. 1, 2023.
“The AMF, like the parliament, calls for an accelerated move to a regime of obligatory licensing for non-registered providers” of crypto services, Barbat-Layani said at an event, according to a tweet posted by the regulator.
A number of prominent companies, including Binance, have registered with the AMF. The registration involves checks on companies’ governance and compliance with anti-money laundering rules. No provider has yet been issued a license, a voluntary procedure set out under French law.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7355971
- Kong wants to become crypto hub despite industry crisis
The government of Hong Kong remains committed to the development of cryptocurrency infrastructure despite the ongoing industry crisis triggered by the FTX collapse.
According to Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan, the local government and regulators are open to collaboration with crypto and fintech startups in 2023.
Speaking at an event hosted by the state-run incubator Cyberport, Chan declared that Hong Kong has become a foundation connecting high quality virtual asset firms, the public broadcasting service Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) reported on Jan. 9.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/hong-kong-wants-to-become-crypto-hub-despite-industry-crisis
- French Financial Regulator Supports Faster Mandatory Licensing for Crypto Firms
France’s financial markets authority (AMF) wants to force crypto companies to seek a license if they aren’t already registered in the country, its chair Marie-Anne Barbat Layani said on Monday.
Barbat-Layani appeared to be supporting a move proposed last year by the French Senate, which would mandate crypto firms to seek some of regulatory recognition in anticipation of the European Union’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation by Oct. 1, 2023.
“The AMF, like the parliament, calls for an accelerated move to a regime of obligatory licensing for non-registered providers” of crypto services, Barbat-Layani said at an event, according to a tweet posted by the regulator.
- Airtm Winds Down Cryptocurrency Trading, Exchanges All Funds to Native Stablecoin
Airtm, a popular exchange used by freelancers in Latam, has announced it is winding down cryptocurrency trading and custody services. The company, which has more than 2 million customers in the region, disclosed in a message on its platform that they were retiring cryptocurrency-based services in its wallet, leaving customers unable to deposit or withdraw their cryptocurrency funds out of the exchange.
The action was taken by the company supposedly due to the change of the services offered by an unidentified provider. Local sources state this provider is Wyre, a cryptocurrency-based payments firm, which has recently stated it is “scaling back” and announced a new limit for withdrawals after conflicting reports indicated the firm was winding down its operations.
- Wyre Announces Withdrawal Limits as Crypto Firm Navigates Crypto Winter
Wyre, a San Francisco-based crypto payments firm, is implementing withdrawal limits for user accounts, citing “the best interest of our community.”
“We are modifying our withdrawal policy. While customers will continue to be able to withdraw their funds, at this time, we are limiting withdrawals to no more than 90% of the funds currently in each customer account, subject to current daily limits,” Wyre said in a Twitter post.
Per Wyre’s website, there are daily withdrawal limits of 5 Bitcoin and 50 Ethereum, as well as 20,000 in either USDC, DAI, or Wrapped Ethereum (WETH). Daily fiat limits on withdrawals include $150,000 and €140,000.
https://decrypt.co/118703/wyre-announces-withdrawal-limits-crypto-firm-navigates-crypto-winter
- Charles Hoskinson’s New Hospital Will Accept Cardano (ADA) for Payments
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has announced the launch of his new hospital called “Hoskinson Health & Wellness Clinic,” which will allow customers to pay for medical services using ADA, the native token of the Cardano ecosystem.
Announcing the development a few days ago, Hoskinson said the hospital would be open for business by February 2023. However, the Cardano founder did not reveal whether his new medical center will accept other major crypto assets such as bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).
Charles Hoskinson Launches New Hospital
Hoskinson shared the update in response to one of his Twitter followers who asked if they could pay their bills at the newly-launched clinic using ADA. The Cardano founder replied with a “Yes.”
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7355110
- Ferrari cuts ties with crypto sponsor ahead of 2023 Formula One season
Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division of luxury carmaker Ferrari, has joined the growing list of Formula One racing teams to end partnerships with their cryptocurrency sponsors. Ferrari exited its multi-year partnership deals with Velas Blockchain and chip manufacturing giant Snapdragon, resulting in a cumulative $55 million loss for the Italian team ahead of the 2023 season.
The Ferrari-Velas partnership from 2021 — set at $30 million a year — was aimed at increasing fan engagement through nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other shared initiatives. However, the team was noncompliant with clauses that permitted Velas to create NFT images, according to RacingNews365.
In November, Mercedes, too, bore a loss of $15 million after suspending its partnership with FTX as the crypto exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Red Bull Racing’s partnership with th Tezos Foundation suffered a similar fate as the blockchain platform reportedly decided not to renew its agreement, citing strategy misalignment.
