#exchange

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has leveled charges against 11 Wall Street companies, alleging violations in the handling and retention of electronic communications. The cumulative fines have reached $289 million, with Wells Fargo and its subsidiaries contributing the largest amount of $125 million.These companies are now obligated to seek the expertise of independent consultants for policy checks.

The CEO of Binance has repeatedly aired his distrust of USDT, dubbing it a "black box" due to its lack of transparency in audits and reports. Also, Binance listed a new stablecoin, FDUSD, on July 26th, that has seen a rapid rise in capitalization. They are in the process of designing their own algorithmic stablecoin and are open to listing more USDT equivalents on their exchange. Meanwhile, Tether's CTO has hinted at CZ's involvement in market manipulation in the stablecoin sector, mentioning a 10 basis point USDT depeg on July 28th. "Isn't it interesting that USDt is being pressured down (slightly, within 10bps, just to push market makers to react), and USDc, the main competitor that you would expect being gaining from the situation, is redeemed heavily nevertheless, while suddenly a competitor born 2 days ago is getting it all? Exactly! It feels definitely organic and not manipulative at all. Some people never learn." For the record, the Twitter account of First Digital Labs (FDUSD) has a mere 585 followers. It's intriguing to watch the outcome of this power struggle. Is this just the tip of the iceberg? Fingers crossed, this won't escalate into a challenge for a bout in the octagon, as seems to be a popular move among billionaires...

Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, a husband and wife duo of crypto hackers, have pleaded guilty to federal money laundering conspiracy charges related to the 2016 hack of the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Their guilty plea comes after a year and a half since their arrest and charges in February 2022 and seven years after the initial hack. According to the government’s allegations, Lichtenstein hacked into Bitfinex and stole 119,754 bitcoins, which were valued at $72 million at the time and are now worth approximately $3.5 billion, for his personal benefit.

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is making a court appeal to have FTX Dubai removed from bankruptcy proceedings, asserting that this division had not been in active operation before the official declaration of insolvency was lodged. The legal plea also indicates that the division possesses assets totalling about $4.5 million, spread across multiple accounts. Notably, a substantial portion of these funds is held as collateral for the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority of Dubai.

But officials are concerned about potential negative impacts on consumers, according to Semafor media. The fear is that an indictment could trigger a run on the exchange, leading to consumer losses and causing panic in the crypto markets, similar to what happened with FTX, which eventually went bankrupt. As a result, prosecutors are exploring alternative options such as fines and deferred or non-prosecution agreements.

Several leading venture capital companies such as Temasek, Sequoia Capital, and Softbank, are now facing legal challenges over alleged complicity in FTX fraud. The claimants in the lawsuit accuse the investors of using their power and financial resources to support the exchange's activities, despite numerous legal violations and misappropriation of customer funds by FTX. For instance, before the eventual bankruptcy of the exchange, Temasek affirmed that their rigorous eight-month scrutiny of financial aspects and compliance standards yielded no troubling findings.

Japan's Soramitsu is at the forefront of crafting a system that enables cross-border transactions specifically tailored to the Asian market. This initiative involves leveraging the Cambodian CBDC to cater to markets in India, China, and Japan. Additionally, Soramitsu aspires to establish a Japanese exchange for stablecoins, simplifying currency conversion across various countries.

The cryptocurrency exchange OPNX has tabled an offer to take over crypto lender Hodlnaut, which is undergoing a restructuring plan under the supervision of a Singapore court. OPNX offered $30 million in FLEX to partially offset the creditors’ losses and cover their claims. If the bid is approved by the court and accepted by creditors, OPNX will own a 75% stake in Hodlnaut.

Arkham Intel Exchange has launched a new search, offering 100,000 ARKM to anyone who can provide crucial details about the culprit behind the last year’s exploit. The FTX hack occurred in November 2022, resulting in an approximate loss of $415 million in cryptocurrency.

During its second-quarter 2023 earnings call on August 3, Coinbase’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, expressed confidence that the exchange would win the court case, stating, “We do think we can win. We expect to win.” In terms of their financial performance: Coinbase reported a net loss of $97 million on $708 million in revenue for the second quarter of 2023. Trading volume fell by 37%, and operating expenses were down nearly 50% year over year, partly due to a 30% reduction in headcount.

Terraform Labs was looking to the positive verdict in the "SEC versus Ripple" litigation as a precedent for its own safeguard against allegations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yet, Judge Jed Rakoff has dashed such hopes. The crux of the matter is a substantial divergence in the judge's view concerning the Howey Test, which assesses whether an asset is a security. Terraform Labs' token purchases were clearly carried out by users with profit expectations - a paramount criterion for securities. Therefore, it renders the precise method of purchase irrelevant. The dichotomy between the two judges' decisions underscores the persisting uncertainty in the landscape of cryptocurrency regulations.