Binance’s proof-of-reserves raises red flags: Report

Binance’s efforts to improve transparency of its reserves also exposed red flags in the crypto exchange’s finances, according to accounting and financial specialists consulted by The Wall Street Journal.  As noted by a former Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) member and investment manager, the report released by the audit firm Mazars does not bring investors confidence about the exchange’s finance as it lacks information related to the quality of internal controls and how its systems liquidate assets to cover margin loans. Another red flag raised by the newspaper’s sources is…

SBF tried to destabilize crypto market to save FTX: Report

Tether executives and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao worried that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), former FTX CEO, was attempting to destabilize the crypto market aiming to save the now-bankrupt exchange, according to reports on Dec. 9. Messages seen by The Wall Street Journal of a Signal group chat named “Exchange coordination” reveals an argument between CZ and SBF on Nov. 10 about Tether’s stablecoin USDT. Members in the Signal group include Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell, Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether, among others. According to the report, CZ and others…

Report Shows Crypto News Publication The Block Was Secretly Funded by Bankman-Fried’s Alameda – Bitcoin News

On Dec. 9, 2022, Axios reporter Sara Fischer reported on the CEO of the crypto media The Block after it was discovered that the chief executive was secretly funded by Alameda Research, the now-defunct trading firm co-founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. According to the report, sources say The Block executive Michael McCaffrey received $16 million in one payment and used the funds to purchase an apartment in the Bahamas. The Block CEO Received 3 Payments of $43 Million From Alameda Research, One Payment Used to Purchase an Apartment in the Bahamas…

Amber Group ditches expansion plans after denying insolvency: Report

Cryptocurrency trading firm Amber Group is putting its expansion plans on hold despite the FTX contagion having “no disruption” to its daily operations, according to a senior executive. Amber has scrapped plans to expand in Europe and the United States as a consequence of exposure to the now-defunct exchange FTX and will focus on institutional clients in Asia, according to managing partner Annabelle Huang. Huang also said that Amber has been forced to deprioritize its new metaverse project due the FTX contagion, the Financial Times reported on Dec. 9. Apart…

Brussels Wants All Crypto Service Providers to Report Transactions of Europeans – Taxes Bitcoin News

The European Commission has set out to oblige platforms processing crypto transactions for EU residents to share information with tax authorities in the Union. According to the proposal, all crypto service providers, regardless of where they are based, will have to abide by the new rules. EU to Consider New Reporting Requirements for Crypto Platforms Serving European Users The executive power in Brussels intends to push through new “tax transparency rules” for the crypto industry. The proposal announced on Thursday concerns all service providers facilitating transactions in crypto assets for…

Massachusetts Senator Forwards Bill Aimed at Forcing Crypto Miners to Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Bitcoin News

On Dec. 8, 2022, three Democratic politicians from Massachusetts, Oregon, and California revealed legislation aimed at combatting “energy-intensive” cryptocurrency mining operations. The bill introduced by senator Ed Markey (D-MA) alleges that crypto mining “strains the grid” and the industry “undermines U.S. climate goals.” 3 U.S. Bureaucrats Believe Crypto Miners Need to Report Carbon Emissions and Environmental Assessments Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-ORE), and Jared Huffman (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would require “an interagency study on the environmental and energy impacts of crypto asset mining.” Markey’s press…

Crypto Trading Firm Amber Group Ditches $25M Chelsea Sponsorship Deal Amid Layoffs: Report

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Countries and institutions move into crypto despite market drop: Report

The crypto markets have been in decline since the start of the second quarter of 2022. Each time it seemed like the apparent crypto winter would experience a minor thaw, another notable collapse happened: Celsius, Three Arrows Capital, and more recently, FTX. Approaching the end of 2022, it appears that the same negative sentiments are likely to remain. While some analysts say that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) derivatives are currently flashing positive signals for the market due to their high volatility, that same volatility is impacting the sentiment of…

Leader of Suspected Russian Ponzi Scheme Is Arrested in UAE: Report

Finiko was popular in Russia in 2020-2021, marketing itself as a crypto investment fund. The company, which had been conducting public events and openly advertising itself, operated as a multilevel marketing scheme, offering rewards for bringing in new users and targeting mostly women from 30 to 50 years old, according to the Russian investigative outlet The Bell. It could have gotten away with as much as $95 million of investors’ money, The Bell said. Source