Crypto Weekly Roundup: The SEC-Binance Dispute And More

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A US Judge has refused to rule in the dispute between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Binance, urging them to work together on discovery requests. Let’s look at this and some of the biggest stories in crypto over the past week.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin advocate Nic Carter has doubled down on the theory that the NSA played a key role in creating Bitcoin. The theory is over a decade old and has resurfaced on social media, attracting renewed attention from the crypto community.

Altcoins

Layer-2 network Optimism has announced the sale of around 116 million OP tokens, worth around $162 million in a private sale. The organization shared with its community that there would be several transactions to send the tokens beginning Wednesday.

Coinbase’s security team has flagged the risk of a 51% attack on Zcash after discovering that a single mining pool, ViaBTC, controls almost 54% of the network’s hash rate. The disclosure has sent alarm bells ringing in the crypto community.

Technology

There has been a noticeable shift away from stablecoins over the past 18 months, with their market dominance declining to 11.6%. While their market capitalization has declined, it’s not all doom and gloom, as their trading volume has significantly increased.

USDC issuer Circle has officially rolled out Polkadot USDC, the latest version of the dollar-pegged stablecoin, to the Polkadot network.

Business

It has emerged that Coinbase had explored the acquisition of FTX’s European entity as it planned to increase its foothold in the derivatives business. The plan highlighted the exchange’s push into the derivatives space.

Bitcoin mining rig maker Bitmain has committed a substantial investment of $54 million in Core Scientific, a Bitcoin mining firm based in Texas. Core Scientific had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2022.

Tether announced the resumption of USDT loans to clients. The announcement came less than a year after the firm halted issuing loans. The company also reported an increase in USDT-denominated loans in its latest financial update.

Staying with Tether, the company has also announced an investment of $420 million to purchase thousands of GPUs for a German crypto mining company through an Irish shell firm.

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX has initiated legal action against the parents of co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. The exchange alleged that they misused company funds for personal gains, with  FTX CEO John Jay Ray III stating they treated FTX like a family business.

Two former executives from Andreessen Horowitz’s (a16z) crypto division have secured $25 million in seed funding for their new Web3 startup, Bastion.

Islamic Coin has announced the launch of its Reg D token offering to the general public in partnership with OpenDeal Broker LLC, dba, a subsidiary of Republic.

Regulation

Vivek Ramaswamy, a pro-crypto US presidential candidate, has stated that he would do away with Gary Gensler and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission if elected to office next year. The presidential hopeful added that he would implement his own crypto framework.

Coinbase has urged for crypto reform with the launch of its new advocacy campaign, ‘Stand with Crypto.’ The campaign aims to advocate for favorable regulations surrounding cryptocurrencies in the US.

eToro has received the go-ahead from the CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) for its CASP (Crypto Asset Service Provider) registration. The registration means eToro is 100% ready for when MiCA kicks in next year.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance and Ceffu responded to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s accusation that the wallet provider was related to Binance. Both parties have denied the allegation leveled against them.

The United Kingdom’s House of Lords has passed a resolution that allows authorities to seize stolen cryptocurrencies. The bill will now go to the House of Commons for approval.

Anatoly Yakovenko, the co-founder of Solana, has urged Congress to end regulatory uncertainty and draft clear regulations around crypto. Yakovenko stated that regulatory uncertainty stifles innovation and drives talent away from the US.

A US Judge has refused to make a ruling in the SEC-Binance dispute. The judge asked both parties to work together on various discovery requests.

Senator Elizabeth Warren’s cryptocurrency bill has secured the support of nine US senators. The endorsement includes several influential figures, such as the chair of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Hong Kong Securities and Exchange Commission has initiated a probe into the crypto exchange JPEX. Authorities have stated that the exchange was operating without a license and have received several complaints against it.

Security

Cryptocurrency exchange CoinEX is looking to rebound after a crippling $70 million hack. The exchange announced the resumption of deposits and withdrawals starting on the 21st of September while also announcing a new wallet system.

Blockchain forensic firm Elliptic has revealed that hackers and other cybercriminals have moved to cross-chain bridges to launder stolen funds. This marks a significant shift away from traditional crypto mixers. Crippling sanctions against mixers are believed to be behind the shift.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocol Linear Finance issued a warning to users on Thursday, stating that it had suffered a significant exploit. The hack led to a crippling loss of liquidity for the LUSD token on PancakeSwap and Ascendex.

Balancer has warned users against accessing the platform after it revealed that its front end was under attack. The protocol urged users not to interact with Balancer until further information about the situation was available.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.