The cryptocurrency exchange Binance is making a move in the hardware wallet industry, with its venture capital arm investing in the cold wallet platform Ngrave. Binance Labs has made a strategic investment in the Belgian hardware wallet firm Ngrave and will lead its upcoming Series A round, the firm officially announced on Nov. 21. Founded in Belgium in 2018, Ngrave specializes in self-custody, providing a security suite comprising three major elements, including connectionless hardware wallet Zero, key backup tool Graphene and the Liquid mobile app. Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, pinpointed that security remains one …

On Nov. 11, while the rest of the country was celebrating Veteran’s Day, Sam Bankman-Fried announced that FTX — one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by volume — had filed for bankruptcy. Lawmakers and pundits quickly latched onto the rapid disintegration of FTX to call for more regulation of the crypto industry. “The most recent news further underscores these concerns [about consumer harm] and highlights why prudent regulation of cryptocurrencies is indeed needed,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. It remains unclear what exactly transpired at FTX. Reports indicating that between $1 billion and $2 billion of customer …

The cryptocurrency sector is the Wild Wild West in comparison to traditional finance, yet a number of banks are showing interest in digital assets and decentralized finance (DeFi). This year in particular has been notable for banks exploring digital assets. Most recently, JPMorgan demonstrated how DeFi can be used to improve cross-border transactions. This came shortly after BNY Mellon — America’s oldest bank — announced the launch of its Digital Asset Custody Platform, which allows select institutional clients to hold and transfer Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). The Clearing House, a United States banking association and payments company, stated on …

Bitcoin (BTC) inflows to largest exchange Binance just saw a giant spike reminiscent of the 2018 bear market capitulation. Data from on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that on Nov. 18, a giant tranche of almost 60,000 BTC entered Binance’s wallet. Exchange inflows highest since late 2018 BTC price contagion fears thanks to FTX insolvencies and related panic selling are ongoing. Now, the latest on-chain figures from Binance could provide an additional catalyst for nervous markets — the exchange has seen its daily biggest inflow on record. With Nov. 18 not over, partial data from CryptoQuant puts current inflows at over …

Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao knew Sam Bankman-Fried was in a desperate situation when the former CEO of the now-bankrupt FTX exchange called him for a bailout. CZ opened up on the events that nearly saw Binance come to the rescue of its ailing industry competitor as a credit crunch sent FTX into an inescapable spiral. Speaking at the Milken Institute’s fourth annual Middle East and Africa summit, CZ reflected on the fateful call with SBF as the latter looked to save his struggling exchange: “When he came to me, I knew he was desperate. If we can’t help him, …

Binance crypto exchange announced on Nov. 17 that deposits of Solana-based USDT and USDC have been “temporarily suspended until further notice” on the platform. The exchange referred to the tokens as “USDT (SOL)” and “USDC (SOL),” as USDT and USDC stablecoins remain available for deposits on Binance on other blockchains. Binance did not provide more information on the measure, adding that Binance “reserves the right in its sole discretion to amend or change or cancel this announcement at any time and for any reasons without prior notice.” Other exchanges, including OKX and ByBit, are also among the platforms delisting Solana-based …

Following the collapse of FTX and the bank run on crypto exchanges in general, self-custody Trust Wallet is gaining momentum. In one week, the company launched the long-anticipated browser extension and collaborated with Binance, whose users can now transfer their funds directly to a Trust Wallet account. On Nov. 14, Trust Wallet launched its browser extension, now available in Google Chrome and Opera browsers. The extension lets users store, send and receive crypto across all EVM chains and Solana. A network auto-detect function provides users with a seamless dApp experience without the need to manually add networks. The extension also …

Ether (ETH) has been stuck between $1,170 to $1,350 from Nov. 10 to Nov. 15, which represents a relatively tight 15% range. During this time, investors are continuing to digest the negative impact of the Nov. 11 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of FTX exchange. Meanwhile, Ether’s total market volume was 57% higher than the previous week, at $4.04 billion per day. This data is even more relevant considering the collapse of Alameda Research, the arbitrage and market-making firm controlled by FTX's founder Sam Bankman-Fried. On a monthly basis, Ether's current $1,250 level presents a modest 4.4% decline, so traders can …

Historical crime has left a proverbial black mark on the cryptocurrency ecosystem with multi-million dollar hacks, scams and fraud cases grabbing headlines around the world. Various research reports have highlighted the use of cryptocurrencies for illicit means, with varying degrees of severity since Bitcoin’s inception in 2009. This has ebbed and flowed but crypto is still perceived by some as a means to launder money, finance terrorism and facilitate other serious crimes. The prevalence of cryptocurrency-related crime inevitably led to the development of better tools and services to track and trace funds on different blockchains and cryptocurrency exchanges. Firms like …

Abu Dhabi's Global Market (ADGM) and Financial Services Regulatory Authority have granted cryptocurrency exchange Binance clearance to offer its services in the region. An official announcement from the United Arab Emirates capital’s financial center confirmed that Binance will be cleared to offer cryptocurrency custodial services to professional clients once it has met the requirements for its Financial Services Permission (FSP). The news came after Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao attended the Abu Dhabi Finance Week. Zhao appeared onstage alongside Galaxy Digital CEO and investor Mike Novogratz at the event for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on the aftermath of …

Companies become industry giants when they provide the best user experience in the simplest form possible. Google, for example, has the most advanced search engine on the whole planet. And how does it provide that sci-fi-level technology to the user? By a simple, one-line search bar. Apple’s motto is removing the hardware from the user experience (UX) as a layer. It means that when users forget that they are holding a smartphone and browsing an app while scrolling down memory lane, Apple succeeds. Technology needs to hit the perfect balance between utility and usability — comprehensive features and ease of …

Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong have applauded the work of citizen journalists and blockchain analysts surrounding the unfolding FTX crisis and its former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. In a Nov. 16 tweet that has been retweeted over 9,000 times at the time of writing, Armstrong suggested that it has been regular citizens, rather than traditional media that has uncovered many of the developments associated with the liquidity crunch and subsequent bankruptcy filing of FTX. Commenting on a recent New York Times "puff piece," Armstrong said it: "Feels like a turning point for citizen journalism and loss of trust in MSM" …