In the weeks following new sanctions from the European Union, Binance has kept its doors open for non-sanctioned Russian nationals, but that does not mean that the firm isn't complying with EU sanctions, according to Binance’s newly-appointed sanctions executive. Western sanctions against Russia have been a major challenge for Binance from day one, and the firm has been working hard to comply, Binance’s global head of sanctions Chagri Poyraz told Cointelegraph in an interview. Since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Binance has comprehensively blocked several non-government-controlled territories of Ukraine, including annexed regions like Donetsk and Luhansk, Poyraz said. …

Social media giant Twitter was officially acquired by Elon Musk on Oct. 27 in a deal that saw a war of words, a court battle and some firings right away. Musk acquired the social network platform at $54.2 per share price, bringing the total value of the deal close to $44 billion. Musk is also taking the company private as part of the deal resulting in the delisting of the company’s stock and taking it out of the hands of public shareholders. Almost 9 years after being listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2013, Twitter is no …

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao says the company followed through with a $500 million commitment to back Elon Musk’s high-profile Twitter takeover. Musk reportedly sealed the deal on Oct. 27, with a handful of Twitter executives escorted to the door as the new owner of the social media platform cleaned house. Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022 Binance had indicated that it would co-invest in Twitter in May 2022, alongside 18 other investors that included the likes of cryptocurrency investment firms Sequoia Capital Fund, Fidelity Management and Research Company. Related: How Crypto Twitter could change …

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has warned that Google search results are still promoting crypto phishing and scamming websites. Despite Google’s strict policies on crypto marketing for its ads service, scammers have still been slipping through the cracks over the past few years. At times, scam websites have even been displayed higher than legitimate crypto and blockchain projects. In an Oct. 27 tweet, CZ warned that when searching CoinMarketCap on Google, phishing sites with an “ad” tag were showing up in front of the actual website. “This affects users adding smart contract addresses to MetaMask using these phishing sites. We …

Bitcoin (BTC) has seen record buying activity as BTC/USD returns to six-week highs. The latest data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows more BTC leaving major exchange Binance in a single day than ever before. Binance finishes the day 55,000 BTC lighter Despite warnings that a macro bottom may not yet have occurred, Bitcoin investors have wasted no time snapping up BTC above $20,000. The past two days’ gains delivered a sea change to exchange user behavior, with BTC balances dropping across the board. As the largest exchange by volume, Binance was of particular interest, and saw a net position …

In an announcement on Twitter, Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance, said the network will be a major component to Kazakhstan's latest Web3 endeavor. The Binance founder tweeted that the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK) will integrate its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital tenge, on the BNB Chain, the underlying blockchain of the Binance network. National Bank of Kazakhstan (NKB) will integrate their CBDC on @BNBchain. #BNB https://t.co/33WMKwAczm — CZ Binance (@cz_binance) October 27, 2022 The NBK launched a CBDC pilot which included the participation of local merchants and consumers. Zhao said he looks forward to …

Crypto exchange Binance announced the launch of a new data feed network — Binance Oracle — that allows blockchain smart contracts to connect with real-world data, starting with its in-house blockchain offering, BNB Chain. For starters, Binance Oracle will allow existing decentralized applications (DApps) and Web3 ecosystem partners on BNB Chain to access existing data sources and advanced computations. “Over ten BNB Chain projects have already integrated with the Binance Oracle network,” confirmed Binance. The ability to connect smart contracts with off-chain data will be made available for other blockchains in due time. Explaining the network’s importance, investment director at …

Governance tokens are a type of cryptocurrency that allow tokenholders to vote on the direction of a blockchain project. The primary purpose of governance tokens is to decentralize decision-making and to give holders a say in how the project is run. Governance tokenholders are usually more invested in the project’s success as they stand to gain or lose more, depending on the outcome. Community members can use tokens to influence the direction and features of a blockchain protocol directly. As such, it is possible to implement changes related to the user interface, vote on fees and reward distribution, or even …

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) said the rise of Binance stablecoin BUSD could spark the “Second Great Stablecoin War,” given how fast its market cap has surged over recent months. Bankman-Fried's recent comments come a month after Binance pushed ahead with plans to auto-convert a host of stablecoins supported on its exchange into BUSD on Sept. 6, — which has seen BUSD's share of the total stablecoin market rise since. BUSD’s share of the total stablecoin market has risen from 10.01% on Sept. 7 to 15.48% on Oct. 22, according to crypto data aggregator Coin Metrics. Meanwhile, BUSD’s market cap …

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, the founder and CEO of global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is one of the most influential crypto personalities today, but his story is a true rags-to-riches one. CZ was born in a village in Jiangsu, Shanghai, and his family migrated to Vancouver, Canada, in the 1980s when he was 12. He studied computer science engineering in college and spent the next few years building trading systems for popular exchanges such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg Tradebook. CZ left his lucrative job in 2005 to start his own venture and moved back to Shanghai. In 2013, after …

Three Arrows Capital. Celsius. Voyager Digital. The list of crypto bankruptcies, shutdowns and trading freezes has been endless in 2022. And the year isn’t over yet. This week, German crypto bank Nuri urged its users to withdraw funds ahead of the company’s planned shutdown in December — at least Nuri’s users were given proper notice. The crypto bear has been relentlessly cleansing the market of excess, leverage, poor risk management and outright scams. If industry prognosticators are to be taken seriously, the market could see one final capitulation before conditions begin to improve. This week’s Crypto Biz chronicles Nuri’s shutdown, …

United States crypto exchange Binance US has created a new “investigations unit” and tapped a former FBI special agent as its new head, with the aim of seeking out and stopping illegal activity on its platform. The “investigations unit” is a brand new unit within the U.S. crypto exchange, the firm's head of legal Krishna Juvvadi confirmed to Cointelegraph and sees former FBI agent BJ Kang become the company’s first “head of investigations.” The role will see him partnering with law enforcement, regulators, and even other exchanges to seek out and stop illegal activity on its platform, Kang will also …