Paxos to face SEC lawsuit over Binance USD — Report

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly told stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust Co. that it’s planning to sue the firm for violations of investor protection laws relating to Binance USD (BUSD).  According to a Feb. 12 report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC issued a Wells Notice to Paxos — a letter the regulator uses to tell companies of planned enforcement action. The notice alleges that Binance USD is an unregistered security, according to the people. According to Investopedia, after…

FTX liquidators report exchange held $2.4M ‘fleet of vehicles’ in the Bahamas

The joint provisional liquidators of FTX Digital Markets — the firm’s subsidiary in the Bahamas — has released a report on the company’s physical assets in the island nation. According to affidavit filed by a PricewaterhouseCoopers partner with the Bahamas’ supreme court on Feb. 8, FTX’s joint provisional liquidators, or JPLs, said the company had purchased 52 properties in the Bahamas, including units “in the name of individual employees or relatives of SBF, despite FTX Digital providing the funding”. These properties, which included housing for FTX employees and commercial office…

Tether taps Cantor Fitzgerald to help oversee bond portfolio: Report

Stablecoin issuer Tether Holdings is relying on the services of a major Wall Street firm to manage its Treasury portfolio, according to a Feb. 10 report by The Wall Street Journal.  Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald is helping Tether oversee a $39 billion bond portfolio comprised of United States Treasury securities. The report indicates that some firms on Wall Street are willing to support crypto service providers despite ongoing regulatory concerns facing the industry. Founded in 1945, Cantor Fitzgerald specializes in…

Bitzlato co-founder released from brief arrest and questioning: Report

Local Russian media outlets reported on Monday that Bitzlato co-founder Anton Shkurenko was detained in Moscow on Feb. 6 at the request of Interpol. However, according to a Feb. 10 report from CoinDesk, Shkurenko was stopped and detained by the local police for an ID check, then promptly let go after a conversation. Shkurenko said he is not involved in any criminal cases in Russia. He reportedly commented, while not disclosing details of the investigation: “I hope I convinced the prosecutor of my innocence.” He did not specify the sector…

Ethereum NFT collections lost nearly 60% of their market cap in 2022: Report

A survey of 81 nonfungible token (NFT) collections on the Ethereum blockchain showed a sharp overall loss in market capitalization in 2022, according to a report from DappRadar released Feb. 9. Losses were not evenly distributed, however. The Ethereum NFT market was worth $9.3 billion at the beginning of 2022, according to DappRadar’s valuation, and that figure dropped to $3.7 billion by year-end — a loss of 59.6%. The price of Ether (ETH) impacted the valuations: “It is also important to consider that ETH lost 60% of its value last…

Judge extends Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail restrictions on messaging apps: Report

A federal judge has reportedly denied oral arguments proposing former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried be allowed to use certain messaging apps. According to a Feb. 9 Reuters report, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York upheld his ruling that Bankman-Fried be restricted from using encrypted messaging apps as a condition of his release on a $250-million bond. The judge ordered SBF not to communicate using apps such as Signal on Feb. 1, but the former CEO’s legal team and prosecutors had…

Tether’s assets exceed liabilities in new reserves report by BDO

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market value, has completed reserves attestation by major global accounting firm BDO. The stablecoin firm released BDO’s assurance opinion on Feb. 9, which re-affirms the accuracy of Tether’s consolidated reserves report (CRR) as of Dec. 31, 2022. The CRR shows that Tether’s consolidated assets amount to at least $67 billion, exceeding consolidated liabilities of $66 billion, with excess reserves equaling at least $960 million. In addition to reducing its secured loans as committed, the report also shows Tether ended 2022 with zero…

Bitzlato Co-Founder Anton Shkurenko Arrested in Russia, Report – Exchanges Bitcoin News

Russian authorities have reportedly arrested the second co-founder of seized cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato. The man, who recently promised to restore the platform’s operations from Russia, was detained at the request of Interpol and may face extradition to France. Another Co-Founder of the Russia-Linked Bitzlato Exchange Apprehended in Moscow Anton Shkurenko, co-founder of the recently busted digital asset exchange Bitzlato, has been arrested in Moscow, the Russian Telegram channel Baza reported. According to a post published on Tuesday, the crypto entrepreneur was wanted by French investigators who suspect him of extortion,…