Cryptocurrency
Coinbase SEC investigation: Coinbase is deep into “shitcoins”
The question of whether Coinbase is regulated by the SEC is off the table today. Especially in view of how much news is related to the proceedings between the exchange and the regulator. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is in the spotlight because of allegations of insider trading, but they aren’t the only ones under scrutiny. The SEC is also facing a backlash for failing to regulate the digital asset sector and prevent such misconduct. Against this backdrop, the conflict between Coinbase and the SEC has become the center of attention.
Coinbase SEC investigation
Coinbase SEC disclosure is constantly in the news. Coinbase is currently experiencing regulatory difficulties. The Coinbase SEC annual report released this week says that the SEC is investigating the company for selling digital assets that should have been registered as securities. This circumstance has caused its stock price to plummet. Katie Wood has abandoned her position in the company’s stock.
This news hurts Coinbase because the company has remained on the side of regulators since its founding. Bloomberg’s Max Chafkin lays the blame on Coinbase’s rash decision several years ago to “turn to shitcoins. A familiar term in the crypto world, shitcoins usually refer to digital tokens that have no apparent utility beyond speculative advertising.
Coinbase spent years building its reputation, but then squandered it all on “shitcoins.” This led to Coinbase SEC class actions. This included promoting new Dogecoin coins to small and unsophisticated investors, many of whom suffered losses of 80% or more. As a result, the SEC cracked down on Coinbase. Meanwhile, the decision to add shitcoins also opened the door to a fraudulent insider trading scheme by a Coinbase manager.
SEC Liability
It’s easy to blame Coinbase executives for this situation, but the main blame lies with the SEC. The situation has gotten much worse under current SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Gensler is a non-lawyer and has used his position to boost his credibility with the Democratic Party.
In doing so, Gensler has sought to hit major companies such as Coinbase, which has largely followed the rules, allowing the worst players to get out of control. Two of the biggest cryptocurrency crashes this year-the collapse of Terra, a Ponzi scheme-like project, and the bankruptcy of lender Celsius-occurred in front of Gensler, and the SEC could not intervene in time. As a result, small investors are losing billions of dollars.
Coinbase sued by SEC – what came of it?
How did the SEC investigation into Coinbase, which like all such investigations is supposed to be secret before charges are filed, even end up in the media? Some experts on Twitter have suggested that Gensler leaked the investigation to Bloomberg to punish Coinbase, which has publicly complained about the SEC’s behavior. An experienced crypto lawyer familiar with the customs of Washington, D.C., says this is almost certainly true, and adds that there are traces of Gensler in earlier leaks to the Wall Street Journal.
The SEC has also been criticized for the amateurism of high-ranking officials who leave the agency to cash in on private law firms. The most egregious example is laid out in a new revelation that shows how a lack of oversight allowed former SEC lawyers to use their connections at the agency to play up the whistleblower program and make themselves tens of millions of dollars.
Gensler may want to get his house in order before torturing the likes of Coinbase. Specifically, he should stop political machinations and create a structure to help crypto and blockchain, one of the most important technologies of this century, flourish on America’s shores.
It’s unlikely he’ll do that, but it may not matter. The debate about how to regulate cryptocurrency is moving beyond the SEC to other agencies, including the CFTC, which has recognized the importance of innovation as well as protecting consumers from harm.
The bottom line is that shitcoins got Coinbase in trouble with the SEC, but looking at the aftermath of the shitcoins boom, it is the SEC that has the most to explain its inaction.
Japanese crypto exchange bitFlyer announced that it has completed its acquisition of FTX Japan, making it a fully owned subsidiary.
The deal, finalized on July 26, will have bitFlyer taking 100% ownership of FTX Japan’s outstanding shares.
Crypto Custody Services
In a Friday press release, bitFlyer detailed its plans to rebrand the newly acquired entity as “Custody New Company” by August 26, 2024. This new entity will focus on expanding bitFlyer’s crypto custody business, leveraging the company’s existing operational resources and advanced wallet technology.
“By acquiring all shares and management rights of FTX Japan, we aim to achieve sustainable growth,” bitFlyer stated. “We will leverage synergies within the bitFlyer Group to develop new services, benefiting not only FTX Japan and its customers but all stakeholders of the bitFlyer Group.”
According to bitFlyer, the Custody New Company will focus on meeting the growing demand for secure crypto asset management among institutional investors.
“The increasing need for institutional investors to enter the crypto asset market and the need for professional security measures drive our strategy,” bitFlyer explained. “We believe that providing advanced crypto custody services and crypto asset ETF-related services will add significant value to the bitFlyer Group.”
bitFlyer also said that it is prepared to address this demand with advanced security measures, using its expertise in blockchain technology and security. The company has developed a highly secure wallet, which will be integral to its new crypto custody offerings.
The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. However, they stated that it is exploring the provision of services related to cryptocurrency derivatives ETFs while awaiting further legislative developments in Japan, including tax regulations. These offerings are aimed at meeting the needs of financial institutions and trust banks.
FTX Japan’s History
The acquisition follows a sale order issued by the U.S. Court of Insolvency on July 16, 2024. FTX Japan has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since November 2022, following the collapse of its parent company, FTX. The Japanese arm had stopped exchange operations after the bankruptcy filing but continued managing customer assets.
FTX Japan was launched in June 2022, facilitated by the acquisition of fintech company Liquid Group and its subsidiaries, including Quoine Corporation, one of Japan’s first crypto exchanges.
Despite its promising start, FTX Japan faced issues just five months later when its parent company collapsed amid allegations of embezzlement and misappropriation of billions of dollars in customer funds. FTX’s founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, was subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to reimburse $11 billion.
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[PRESS RELEASE – VILNIUS, Lithuania, July 26th, 2024]
In a significant move this July 2024, BTCC has launched up to 50x leverage on over 300 USDT-margined trading pairs. This development follows the successful introduction of 500x leverage on major trading pairs, including BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and DOGE. BTCC has now decided to elevate the futures trading experience by increasing the available leverage from 20x to 50x, setting a new standard in the crypto trading world where most exchanges only provide up to 20x leverage for their traders.
Since this launch, nearly 25% of orders have been placed with 50x leverage, showcasing the strong demand among traders. The 300+ cryptocurrencies feature many of the coins in the market right now, such as PEPE, SATS, WIF, SHIB, ZK, WLD, AVAX, and TON.
Alex, Head of Operations at BTCC, commented on the launch, “In June, we introduced 500x leverage on major pairs, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Our users have since been asking for higher leverage on other altcoins, especially memecoins. This feedback drove our decision to increase the leverage to 50x on over 300 trading pairs.”
The primary advantage of higher leverage can be the ability to open large market positions with a relatively small amount of capital, allowing traders to significantly amplify their potential profits. This feature can be attractive for experienced traders who can predict market movements. However, traders must be aware of the risks involved, and the stop-loss feature is an essential tool to help manage these risks effectively.
About BTCC Exchange
BTCC, established in 2011, is one of the world’s longest-serving and most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges. Known for its robust security measures and user-friendly platform, BTCC offers a wide range of features, including spot trading, futures trading, and copy trading, catering to both novice and experienced traders.
Website: https://www.btcc.com
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A wallet associated with the Ethereum Foundation has transferred 92,500 ETH, worth $294.9 million, after being inactive for nearly 6.6 years.
According to Lookonchain, these tokens have been held at the same address since 2017.
The Transfer Details
On-chain data indicates that the ETH was originally received from the Ethereum Foundation on September 1, 2015. The transfer, recorded on July 25, occurred just minutes after a smaller transaction of 1 ETH from the same wallet.
Before the transaction, the only other one from this address in the past seven years was a negligible movement of 0.000513 ETH 30 days ago.
An #EthereumFoundation-related wallet transferred 92,500 $ETH($294.9M) to a new wallet 9 hours ago after being dormant for 6.6 years.
Through on-chain tracking, it was found that these $ETH were received from the #EthereumFoundation on Sept 1, 2015.https://t.co/FKGsNCrBAT pic.twitter.com/vPOAMq4ccK
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 26, 2024
At writing time, Etherscan shows that the funds remain in the new wallet. The reasons behind this transfer are still unknown, and the Ethereum Foundation has not commented on the situation.
Before this, the organization had not engaged in any major selling activity in the current market cycle, causing speculation about a potential change in strategy.
Analysts noted that, historically, the Foundation had strategically sold large amounts of ETH during each bull market, often timing these sales with market peaks. The absence of significant sales in the current cycle had raised questions about whether the market peak was still ahead or if the Foundation had altered its approach.
On July 25, the price of ETH dropped by 10% as spot Ethereum ETFs experienced $133 million in outflows on their second day. The asset fell from nearly $3,500 to a multi-day low of $3,130. At the time of writing, the token is trading at $3,266, having increased by 3% in the last 24 hours.
Previous Ethereum Foundation Transfers
Earlier in July, other wallets linked to the Ethereum Foundation made some transfers. On July 17, according to on-chain analytics firm SpotOnChain, an Ethereum Foundation wallet and another connected to an Ethereum initial coin offering (ICO) participant transferred $12.5 million and $9 million worth of ETH, respectively, to Kraken.
Two #Ethereum Foundation/ICO-related wallets deposited 3,631 $ETH ($12.5M) to #Kraken in the past 2 days as the market rebounded:
1️⃣ Wallet 0xdb3 unloaded 2,631 $ETH ($9.01M).
• It received $ETH from the Ethereum Foundation and Ethereum ICO participant 0xAb0.
• Since June 8,… pic.twitter.com/rpEC1Fe4jj
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) July 17, 2024
Since early June, these two wallets have deposited a total of 17,886 ETH, valued at around $65 million, to the centralized cryptocurrency trading platform, suggesting a possible sell-off.
In January, Arkham Intelligence identified a blockchain address associated with the Ethereum Foundation that sold $1.6 million worth of ETH.
Then, in April, Peckshield Alert reported that the Foundation had converted part of its ETH holdings into stablecoins, exchanging 100 ETH for 354,000 DAI during a time when ETH was trading above $3,600.
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