Binance cuts back on employee benefits, citing ‘decline in profit’: Report

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly cut back on certain benefits to its employees in June amid reevaluation efforts at the firm. According to a July 17 report from The Wall Street Journal, Binance said it had stopped offering reimbursement to employees for certain expenses including use of mobile phones, fitness, and working from home. The crypto exchange reportedly cited the “current market environment and regulatory climate” which lead to a “decline in profit”, suggesting more cost-cutting measures may be needed. The report followed one suggesting Binance had let go of…

Binance cuts back on employee benefits, citing ‘decline in profit’: Report

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly cut back on certain benefits to its employees in June amid reevaluation efforts at the firm. According to a July 17 report from The Wall Street Journal, Binance said it had stopped offering reimbursement to employees for certain expenses, including the use of mobile phones, fitness and working from home. The crypto exchange reportedly cited the “current market environment and regulatory climate,” which led to a decline in profit, suggesting more cost-cutting measures may be needed. The report followed one suggesting Binance had let go…

Ripple CLO says court ruling could encourage banks to adopt XRP: Report

Stu Alderoty, the chief legal officer for Ripple Labs, has reportedly said United States-based banks may turn to XRP for cross-border transactions following a recent court ruling. According to a July 17 CNBC report, Alderoty expressed confidence that U.S. banks and financial institutions could begin exploring XRP for use in cross-border payments. The Ripple CLO reportedly made the statement less than 24 hours after a federal judge in the firm’s case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled the XRP token was not necessarily a security. “I think…

AI systems used in deadly military operations in Israel: Report

As tensions rise in the occupied territories and with Iran, the Israel Defense Forces are reportedly utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to choose targets for air strikes and manage logistics during wartime. According to a Bloomberg report, officials in the Israeli military confirmed the use of an AI recommendation system by the military. This system reportedly analyzes vast amounts of data to assist in target selection for air strikes. Additionally, the Fire Factory, another AI model, reportedly swiftly assembles subsequent raids by calculating munition loads, prioritizing and assigning targets and proposing…

US ‘dominates’ crypto startup funding in Q2: Report

Despite facing regulatory scrutiny in the United States, crypto firms continue to innovate, with nearly half of all capital investments flowing towards U.S. crypto businesses, according to a recent report. Published by crypto investment firm Galaxy Digital on July 14, the report stated that US-based crypto start-ups had a significant share of interest from venture capital firms. “US-based crypto startups accounted for more than 43% of all deals completed and raised more than 45% of the capital invested by VC firms.” This was followed by the United Kingdom claiming 7.7%…

Filecoin storage utilization surpasses 7% in Q2: Report

According to a July 13 report by Messari, Filecoin currently averages 954.2 pebibytes (1.07 billion gigabytes) worth of storage deals on its network, compared with 12.2 exbibytes (14.1 billion gigabytes) worth of raw storage capacity. Until recently, uptake had been sluggish due to high storage costs compared with centralized alternatives such as Amazon Web Services. During the most recent quarter, the protocol generated 2.5 million of its own Filecoin (FIL) in revenue, amounting to $11.5 million, representing a decline of 40.7% compared to last year’s second quarter in dollar terms.…

Binance headcount reduction hits 1,000 employees: Report

Binance is celebrating its sixth anniversary, with over 1,000 people reportedly laid off in recent weeks, The Wall Street Journal reported. According to former employees, cuts were global and customer service workers were heavily affected, particularly in India. Including this week’s layoffs, over 1,000 employees have lost their jobs at the exchange. Before the slash, Binance’s global headcount was estimated at 8,000. Binance could lose more than a third of its staff due to the ongoing reorganization. Binance announced a 20% reduction in staff on May 31, claiming it was not…

Indonesia to launch crypto exchange in July: Report

The government of Indonesia is moving forward with its plans to launch a national cryptocurrency exchange, and expects to debut the platform in the coming weeks. Indonesia’s Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency (CoFTRA), also known as Bappebti, is planning to launch the national crypto exchange in July 2023, the local news agency Tempo reported on July 14. Bappebti head Didid Noordiatmoko reportedly said all cryptocurrency transactions will be only allowed to take plac using the upcoming national exchange. “Yesterday we agreed on the stock exchange rules,” the official said, adding…

US SEC files lawsuit against Celsius and Alex Mashinsky: Report

The United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly taking action against Celsius Network, one of the cryptocurrency lending firms that collapsed in 2022. The securities regulator filed a lawsuit against Celsius’ former CEO Alex Mashinsky on July 13, according to a report by Bloomberg. Details of the complaint weren’t immediately available, the report said. The same report suggested that Mashinsky was also arrested on Thursday morning, following a probe into the company’s collapse. The report cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The action comes shortly after the…

IRS probes crypto traders using Puerto Rico tax breaks: Report

Prosecutors from the United States and agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are reportedly investigating wealthy crypto traders and fund managers suspected of illegally benefiting from Puerto Rico’s tax breaks.  According to a June 12 report from Bloomberg, investigators are currently building civil and criminal cases against a number of hedge fund managers, crypto traders and other wealthy Americans who may have lied about the nature of their residency and key elements of their income in order to take unfair advantage of the tax breaks. Officials from the U.S.…