Tag: Report

Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky broke US rules, say CFTC investigators: Report

boss

Investigators from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have reportedly concluded that bankrupt crypto lender Celsius and its former CEO Alex Mashinsky broke U.S. rules before the company collapsed. According to a July 5 report from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the attorneys from the CFTC’s enforcement division found that Celsius misled investors, failed to register with the appropriate regulator, and that Mashinsky broke a number of regulations. The CFTC could reportedly file a case against the collapsed crypto lender in U.S. federal court sometime this month, if the majority…

Binance.US market share drops below 1% amid regulatory lawsuit: Report

boss

United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Binance.US has reportedly seen its market share drop more than 20% amid a lawsuit from federal financial regulators. According to a July 5 report from Reuters citing data from Kaiko, the market share of Binance.US in the U.S. dropped from more than 22% in April to roughly 0.9% as of June 26. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a suit against Binance.US, Binance and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao for allegations related to operating as an unregistered securities exchange in June, while the Commodity…

Crypto user moves $160M in Bitcoin from Luna Foundation Guard wallet: Report

boss

An unknown party has moved more than $160 million worth of Bitcoin from a wallet reportedly tied to the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG), the organization connected to Terraform Labs and its co-founder, Do Kwon. According to a July 5 report, an individual or individuals transferred 5,292 Bitcoin (BTC) from an LFG address to a wallet seemingly not associated with Terra on July 3. The crypto was worth roughly $161 million at the time of publication. The transaction was the latest in a series of moves of crypto assets from LFG-controlled wallets…

Music with AI elements can win a Grammy, Recording Academy CEO says in report

boss

The music industry is coming to terms with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) seeping into productions, as the Grammys recently clarified that AI-generated music will be eligible for awards in the 2024 award cycle.  On July 4, the CEO and President of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr. clarified to the AP in an interview: “AI, or music that contains AI-created elements is absolutely eligible for entry and for consideration for Grammy nomination. Period.” He stressed that the Academy will not give a Grammy or a nomination thereof to…

South Africa to mandate crypto exchange licenses by year-end: Report

boss

South Africa’s financial regulator has announced that all crypto exchanges in the country will be required to obtain licenses by the end of the year, according to a report by Bloomberg. Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) Commissioner Unathi Kamlana stated that the FSCA has received approximately 20 license applications since its recent opening, and expects more before the November 30 deadline, Bloomberg reported. Kamlana further mentioned that if crypto exchanges continue to operate without a license after the deadline, the regulator intends to take “enforcement action,” which may involve fines…

$656M lost from crypto hacks, scams, and rug pulls in H12023: Report

boss

According to a June 30 report by Web3 security firm Beosin, the total value of cryptocurrencies lost in scams, hacks, and rug pulls amounted to $656 million during the first quarter of 2023. This includes the loss of $471.43 million in 108 protocol attacks, $108 million in various phishing scams, and $75.87 million over 110 rug pulls. For hacks, the amount represented a significant decrease over H1 2022 and H2 2022, where $1.91 billion and $1.69 billion were lost, respectively. In addition, Beosin analysts wrote: “Approximately $215 million of stolen…

$656M lost from crypto hacks, scams and rug pulls in H1 2023: Report

According to a June 30 report by Web3 security firm Beosin, the total value of cryptocurrencies lost in scams, hacks and rug pulls amounted to $656 million during the first half of 2023. This includes the loss of $471.43 million in 108 protocol attacks, $108 million in various phishing scams and $75.87 million over 110 rug pulls. For hacks, the amount represented a significant decrease over H1 2022 and H2 2022, where $1.91 billion and $1.69 billion were lost, respectively. In addition, Beosin analysts wrote: “Approximately $215 million of stolen…

US SEC deems spot Bitcoin ETFs filings as inadequate: Report

boss

There may be a longer wait for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) labeled investment managers’ recent applications inadequate. According to the Wall Street Journal, the securities regulator told the Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) that their filings are not “sufficiently clear and comprehensive.” These exchanges represent asset managers in the filing of the financial product. In the eyes of the SEC, the exchanges should have named the spot Bitcoin exchange with which they would have…

Israel Seizes Millions of Dollars Worth of Cryptocurrency Belonging to Its Enemies: Report

boss

The Israeli government says it has seized millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency from accounts allegedly tied to financing two enemy groups. According to a new Associated Press report, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant issued the order for the seizure of cryptocurrency wallets and the transfer of millions of dollars worth of digital assets to the Israeli government. The wallets were allegedly associated with financial schemes tied to groups sworn to destroy Israel, the Hezbollah militant group and the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. Israel’s Mossad spy agency,…