Cryptocurrency
SEC lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase unify the crypto industry
Professionals across the crypto sector have responded to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent actions against two of the biggest crypto exchanges, Binance and Coinbase.
On June 5, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance for allegedly offering unregistered securities. Only a day after filing the Binance suit, the commission also went after Coinbase on similar grounds, alleging that popular cryptocurrencies offered by the exchange, such as Solana, Polygon and The Sandbox, qualify as securities. reached out to market players working in the space for their responses to the recent actions by the SEC. From sharing a belief that it will drive crypto companies away from the U.S. to simply calling the SEC’s actions lazy, industry players shared their thoughts on the latest developments.
An ‘unacceptable’ approach to regulation
According to Kristin Smith, the CEO of the Blockchain Association, while the SEC’s actions are expected, it’s still unacceptable. Smith explained that:
“The SEC doesn’t make the law. Indeed, this approach to regulation is unacceptable, but it is what we have come to expect from the SEC and its anti-crypto stance.”
The executive highlighted that while the industry and the U.S. Congress are working to develop effective regulation, the SEC “continues to distract from substantive policy efforts.” The executive believes that by listing assets this way, the SEC is trying to circumvent formal rulemaking processes and deny public engagement.
Meanwhile, Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of stablecoin issuer Tether, believes companies’ complaints against the SEC should be listened to. According to Ardoino, the uncertainty of rules and guidance in the U.S. is becoming a common theme, even among the country’s biggest crypto supporters.
Turbos Finance CEO Ted Shao also echoed Smith’s sentiment. Shao says this is “not the direction Web3 developers want to see.” The executive believes the SEC showed that it’s against the whole Web3 space, as they are also coming after top projects, not just centralized exchanges.
Driving crypto players abroad and weakening consumer confidence
In addition to the SEC’s actions being unacceptable, other professionals working in the space believe that the effects of this recent move include pushing crypto players to more crypto-friendly jurisdictions and weakening consumer confidence in crypto within the United States.
Insider Intelligence crypto analyst Will Paige said that the recent suits highlight the SEC’s intent to police the space through enforcement in the absence of a regulatory framework. According to Paige, this could potentially knock down the “already weak consumer confidence in cryptocurrencies” in the country.
Ben Caselin, the chief strategy officer at crypto exchange MaskEX, believes that while this is a case against Binance, it may have implications for other players in the United States. The former AAX executive explained that this can “open up more opportunities for other jurisdictions, such as Hong Kong, Dubai or even El Salvador, to drive innovation and attract capital and talent.”
Oscar Franklin Tan, the chief legal officer of nonfungible token protocol Enjin, agrees with the sentiment. According to Tan, the world will not wait for the U.S. to make up its mind on crypto. Tan explained:
“The SEC actions only drive talent and innovation out of the U.S. to countries with clearer rules that support responsible builders. Singapore, in 2020, stated it does not follow the U.S. Howey test. Japan has a clear self-regulatory framework for exchanges.”
The executive believes that “progressive countries” will reap the benefits, especially now that explosions in artificial intelligence and extended reality highlight the need for blockchain and genuine digital ownership.
Doubts cast on SEC’s fairness and motivations
While some expressed their beliefs on the potential effects of the SEC’s lawsuit against Binance and Coinbase, other crypto professionals explored the motivation and fairness of the SEC’s move.
According to David Schwed, the chief operating officer of Blockchain security firm Halborn, the SEC’s mandate is to ensure the safeguarding of investors. Schwed believes that this can be done through clear regulations, not through enforcement actions. The executive added that SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s motivations may be skewed. “It seems to me that his personal ambitions and the need to validate his stance have now superseded his core mandate,” he explained.
Alex Strześniewski, the founder of the decentralized finance protocol AngelBlock, described the SEC’s actions as “lazy.” The executive believes that it does not drive proper regulation forward. He explained:
“It’s like a school teacher berating you for giving the wrong answers but failing to give any explanation beyond that. I also don’t believe that the SEC does, in fact, have jurisdiction over everything they’re claiming to.”
Meanwhile, Tim Shan, the chief operating officer at decentralized exchange Dexalot, expressed mixed feelings about the lawsuits and said the SEC’s actions are unfair to the community.
“They’ve provided very little clarity or guidance to the crypto community. They are regulating through the courts, which is really quite unfair and not the right way to regulate/govern,” he said.
Impact on prices of crypto stocks and altcoins
Stephan Lutz, the CEO of crypto trading platform BitMEX, shared insights on the potential effects of the SEC’s crackdown on exchanges on the market. In the short-term, Lutz said that there would be a downside pressure on the prices of crypto stocks, altcoins and valuations of crypto startups based in the US. Lutz explained that:
“Investors are likely to keep funds in crypto but divest towards Bitcoin because these are unlikely deemed as a security, or stablecoins due to their correlation with fiat.”
In the medium and long-term, Lutz believes that exchanges will be cautious when dealing with customers based in the US and providing access to what the SEC is claiming to be securities. The executive also expressed frustration that regulators are “taking the issue of securities definition to the courthouse once again,” instead of offering clearer guidelines.
BitMEX has notably had its share of troubles with regulators in the US. In 2021, the trading platform agreed to pay up to $100 million to resolve a case with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). In 2022, a New York court ordered BitMEX founders to pay $30 million in civil penalties.
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.
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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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