Binance and tech investor Sequoia Capital are reportedly still backing Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover bid of social media platform Twitter. Sequoia Capital already committed $800 million to the deal back in April before Musk subsequently got cold feet. According to an unnamed source familiar with the matter, the firm will keep that capital allocation to support the deal now that the deal is reportedly back this month. Binance has also indicated that it will carry on with its contribution of $500 million, with a representative telling Cointelegraph that “we're still committed and nothing new to share at …

A nonfungible token (NFT) purchased for 188 Ethereum (ETH) at a cost of $623,000 in 2021 by American YouTuber Logan Paul saw a dramatic loss in value to only $10 by the end of September, but has seen a small bump in its price after it trended on social media. Paul's loss of over $600,000 on his 0N1 Force K4M-1 #03 NFT has been public knowledge for months, but after the YouTuber shared a post on his Snapchat on Sept. 27 talking about it, several Twitter users picked up the story resulting in more attention for the NFT. Now, the …

Crypto market turbulence can be an immensely stressful time for customer support staff at crypto exchanges, with companies vastly bolstering headcounts just to meet demand during surges. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Alex Harper, co-founder and CEO of Australian crypto exchange SwyftX said that “no matter what your role title is [...] no one was above customer support at Swyft." He said that he, along with staff members from human resources and the CFO have had to work late into the night on occasion to assist their customer support teams when markets go crazy, explaining: “Elon Musk quotes posts about Dogecoin, you …

BNB Chain, the blockchain of the Binance crypto exchange and Binance Coin (BNB), launched its latest development-focused initiative, which targets European developers to build and scale decentralized applications (DApps) on the network. The three-week virtual “innovation incubator” program focuses on Web3 startups with at least one key member based in the European Union (EU). Those accepted into the program receive mentorship from industry experts and BNB Chain specialists on tokenomics design and Web3 marketing strategies. The incubator will host exclusive meet-ups in cities across the continent, such as Lisbon, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, Warsaw and London. According to Zoe Wei, the …

The chief operating officer for the Helium Foundation, Scott Sigel has claimed there is “no basis” for cryptocurrency exchange Binance to delist several trading pairs of its cryptocurrency — Helium Network Token (HNT). Sigel’s comments come after an Oct. 6 notice by Binance saying the exchange is removing cross, isolated margin and spot trading pairs for HNT and Binance USD (BUSD), Tether (USDT) and Bitcoin (BTC). Binance “strongly advised” users to close any positions in its listed pairs as user positions will be forcibly closed, and any pending orders canceled on Oct. 12 with only spot trading for the HNT/BUSD …

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce, released an initial public draft highlighting the various security considerations in relation to the architecture and implementation of stablecoins. Based on the study of the top 20 stablecoins over the past year, NIST found that the top five coins that retained their peg represented 87 % of the total top 20 market capitalization. Out of the lot, the top 5 stablecoins based on market capitalization that managed to maintain their pegs are listed below. Coincidentally, all five tokens are pegged to the …

Blockchain exchange Binance has reported an increase in user growth across the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, alleging a 49% surge in user sign-ups so far in 2022. According to the exchange, this growth indicates an increasing interest in virtual assets supported by progressive government initiatives. This could enable regulated businesses to enter the space, thereby, raising awareness and driving adoption. In order to scale its product in the MENA region, Binance has increased licensing and partnerships with regulated firms and increased its team within the territory. In Dubai alone, Binance has grown its team to over 400 …

BNB Chain, the native blockchain behind the Binance crypto exchange, is up and running as of Oct. 7 according to an update from the network. Activity on the network was briefly suspended after confirmed rumors of a cross-chain exploit. The blockchain reported that network validators are “confirming their status,” as well as upgrading community infrastructure. BNB Smart Chain (BSC) is running ok from 20+ mins ago. The validators are confirming their status and the community infrastructure are upgrading as well. — BNB Chain (@BNBCHAIN) October 7, 2022 A few hours prior to resolving the network suspension, BNB Chain updated the …

BNB Chain (BNB) the blockchain of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was paused on Oct. 6 due to what it states is “irregular activity” on the network with the team having determined a potential exploit. The official Twitter account of the BNB Chain announced the temporary pause, soon after adding it had found a possible exploit. Binance provide an update that the blockchain was “under maintenance” suspending all deposits and withdrawals. To confirm, we have suspended BSC after having determined a potential exploit. All systems are now contained, and we are immediately investigating the potential vulnerability. We know the Community will assist …

After a build-up of multiple memorandums of understanding (MoU) and an initial “in-principle” approval to operate in Kazakhstan, Binance received a permanent license to operate in the country. As of Oct. 6, the Republic of Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) granted the permanent license to both manage a digital asset platform and provide custody services at the Astana International Financial Center. This newly acquired permanent license gives Binance official status as a regulated platform in the country. Gleb Kostarev, Asia Regional Head at Binance, said this is another step for Binance being a “compliance-focused exchange." Kostarev highlighted Kazakhstan’s recent …

Ethereum blockchain shifted from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism on Sept. 15, 2022. Along with this move, ETHPoW, a distinct PoW blockchain (basically the old pre-Merge Ethereum) forked from Ethereum's Merge, became live. This forked version of Ethereum aims to maintain the proof-of-work mining process for ETH miners. Any miner is permitted to add a block to the PoW network with the clear stipulation that the first valid block published is the correct one. In reality, more than one legitimate block is occasionally discovered by the network due to the latency of data propagation, creating numerous …

Changpeng Zhao (CZ) led crypto exchange Binance has opened up two offices in Brazil as the firm looks to tap the country’s emerging crypto market, with reportedly more than 34.5 million crypto users there. According to an Oct. 3 announcement, Binance has now opened offices in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, with more than 150 employees to be spread across the firm’s operations in Brazil. “The exchange operates in full compliance with the Brazilian regulatory landscape and believes that regulation is the only way for the digital asset industry to grow and reach the general public, allowing more people …