Month: May 2023

French Crypto User Jailed and Fined €3.4 Million for Illegal Use of Cryptocurrency in Morocco

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A 21-year-old French crypto user, Thomas Clausi, has been handed an 18-month prison sentence and a hefty €3.4 million fine in Morocco for the illegal use of cryptocurrency. Clausi was found guilty of “fraud” and “illegal use of cryptocurrency” by the Moroccan courts, which consider the use of cryptocurrency illegal. The case against Clausi began in 2021 when he used Bitcoin to purchase a luxury car, which Moroccan customs deemed an illegal transfer of funds. He was arrested in December 2021 and sentenced last October to prison time in addition…

Binance.US seeking to cut Changpeng Zhao’s majority stake: Report

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Crypto exchange Binance US and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) are reportedly looking for ways to reduce his stake in the firm, amid harsh scrutiny from United States federal regulators over the past year.  The crypto executive — Binance US’ majority owner — has reportedly been trying to reduce his stake in the U.S.-based exchange since last summer, according to a report by the Information on May 11 citing people familiar with the matter. Binance and Changpeng Zhao have seen intense scrutiny from United States federal regulators over the past year.…

SEC Chair Warns US Default Would Have ‘Significant’ and ‘Lasting Effects’ on Investors, Markets – Economics Bitcoin News

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Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has warned that the U.S. Treasury defaulting on its debt obligations “would have very significant, hard to predict, and likely lasting effects on investors, issuers, and markets alike.” Gensler stressed: “We’ve already seen an effect in the pricing and liquidity of short-dated Treasury bills and continue to monitor for any additional tremors.” SEC Chair Gary Gensler on U.S. Debt Default The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, has weighed in on the impact a U.S. default would…

US Chamber of Commerce slams SEC’s ‘haphazard’ regulation efforts

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The United States Chamber of Commerce has blasted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its “haphazard, enforcement-based approach” to regulating the cryptocurrency industry on American soil.  In an amicus brief filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals on May 9, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce threw its full weight behind Coinbase, accusing the SEC of deliberately creating a precarious and uncertain landscape for crypto companies operating in the country. “The SEC has deliberately muddied the waters by claiming sweeping authority over digital assets while deploying a haphazard, enforcement-based approach,” it…

Silvergate begins NYSE delisting process as it readies to cut 230 staff

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The parent company of the collapsed Silvergate Bank will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, and 230 of its staff will be let go, Silvergate Capital has disclosed. In a May 11 filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Silvergate Capital said 230 staff will be “separated” starting May 12. The NYSE also suspended trading in its stock, with delisting to commence “shortly.” A year-to-date chart of Silvergate Capital’s share price shows a nearly 93% price drop since the start of 2023. Source: Google Finance After…

Bitcoin BTC Price Lingers Below $27K as Investors Search for a Catalyst

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“Price reaction to macro data hasn’t been as significant in the last few weeks,” Katie Talati, head of research at blockchain asset management firm Arca, told CoinDesk TV. “I think mostly, same as equities, everyone feels like a lot of the macro moves are baked in. A lot of what we’ve seen in the last even 24 hours, though, is much more attributable to things specific to the digital asset space. Original

Big breath as Beacon Chain stops finalizing… and then recovers

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An unidentified issue on Ethereum’s Beacon Chain led to a halt in transactions for nearly half an hour on May 11.  Around 8:15pm on Thursday May 11, a number of Ethereum core developers announced that the Beacon Chain was having issues with confirming transactions. New blocks were able to be proposed but an unknown issue was preventing them from being finalized. The beacon chain stopped finalizing about thirty minutes ago. I don’t know why yet, but in general the chain is designed to be resilient against this, transactions will continue…

Goldman Sachs, Yellen Warn of US Default’s ‘Catastrophic Consequences’ — ‘There Is Real Risk to US Dollar’ – Economics Bitcoin News

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A Goldman Sachs executive who also serves as the chair of a Treasury advisory committee has warned that a U.S. default poses “real risk to the U.S. dollar.” She stressed: “Anything that moves us away from being viewed as the world’s reserve currency, of being the safest most liquid asset in the world, is bad for the American people, bad for the dollar, and bad for the U.S. government.” Goldman Sachs Agrees With Treasury Secretary Yellen on US Default Risks Goldman Sachs executive Beth Hammack warned about the risks of…

Former Coinbase Employee Sentenced | Blockchain News

On May 9th, 2023, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at Coinbase Global, to 24 months in prison for insider trading. Wahi had used confidential information he obtained during his time working at Coinbase to profit off new listings of tokens, totaling up to $1.5 million. The judge, Loretta Preska, sentenced Wahi to two years in prison and ordered him to surrender by June 21st at 2:00 PM ET to serve his sentence…

Pepe would be ashamed by PEPE investors

Death threats, viral rap videos and a stream of frog-themed insults. That’s the state of my social media profiles after hosting a Twitter Space on May 8 about PEPE, the new token based on the “Pepe” meme. Poignantly hosted during a monumental PEPE price crash, Cryptox set out in the May 8 Twitter Space to understand the token. Why had it surged so quickly? What separates PEPE from the thousands of other memecoins and dozens of other PEPE tokens? And what’s the duration of these token projects? The backlash was…