Whenever there's data out on futures contracts liquidation, many novice investors and analysts instinctively conclude that it's degenerate gamblers using high leverage or other risky instruments. There's no doubt that some derivatives exchanges are known for incentivizing retail trading to use excessive leverage, but that does not account for the entire derivatives market. Recently, concerned investors such as Nithin Kamath, the founder and CEO at Zerodha, questioned how derivatives exchanges could handle extreme volatility while offering 100x leverage. When a platform offers leverage or funds the customer to buy for more than the money in the account, the platform takes …

Bitcoin (BTC) price is still 4.4% down from its Aug. 23 high at $50,500, leading some traders to question whether the local top marked the end of the recent 34-day long bull run. Even with the current correction, derivatives data and the maneuvers of professional investors are not flashing any bearish signals. On Aug. 24, prominent technical analyst John Bollinger suggested that Bitcoin price could be pushed lower in the short term. A pseudonymous market analyst called 'CryptoHamster' shared a similar bearish outlook based on analyzing a technical pattern called an ascending channel. Bearish news coming from exchange regulation could …

When does decentralization stop being an experiment in technological democracy and start being a way to avoid accountability? That’s the question at the heart of a potential $100 million arbitration lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance, where close to 1,000 traders seek damages for losses suffered during the site’s outage on May 19. Binance experienced technical issues for several hours on May 19 amid one of the worst market crashes of the year as the global cryptocurrency market suffered a 33% drop. Traders were unable to execute trades for the duration of Binance’s outage, and many found their accounts depleted when …

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a supervisory notice on Wednesday, stating that prominent crypto exchange Binance is incapable of being effectively supervised and exposes users to financial risk. The FCA notice — originally dated June 25 — was in relation to Binance’s “complex and high-risk financial products” that pose a significant risk to the investors. It read: “Based upon the firm’s engagement to date, the FCA considers that the firm is not capable of being effectively supervised.” In the notice addressed to Binance Markets Limited, the FCA required the crypto business to halt activities that were authorized …

Powers On... is a monthly opinion column from Marc Powers, who spent much of his 40-year legal career working with complex securities-related cases in the United States after a stint with the SEC. He is now an adjunct professor at Florida International University College of Law, where he teaches the course “Blockchain, Crypto and Regulatory Considerations.” More and more, governments are fearing that they will lose control over aspects of their respective legitimate financial systems, including capital raising and trading, to the hundreds of unlicensed, unregulated centralized and decentralized crypto exchanges worldwide. There is a clear rising chorus of alarm …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance is pushing back against allegations of market manipulation and working against the interest of its users. In a Monday Twitter thread, Binance seemingly laid the blame for any claims of manipulating the crypto market on publications spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt, as well as certain individuals impersonating employees at the exchange. The firm said it “reserves the right to take legal action to protect its interests,” but was not opposed to “responsible whistle-blowing that protects the trust of our community.” “Binance has never traded against our users nor manipulated the market, and we never will,” said …

The bull market narrative has returned now that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) managed to briefly climb above $50,500 on Aug. 23. A handful of altcoins have also seen their prices charge higher as the momentum in the market continues to build. For many tokens, their price has been buoyed by new exchange listings and cross-protocol collaborations that have brought a new level of activity and attention to their ecosystems. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24 hours were WAX (WAXP), Gnosis (GNO) and IOST. WAX benefits listing on Binance The …

Binance Coin (BNB) rallied 30% in two weeks, but the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization seems to be struggling to break the $450 resistance. Coincidently, this is the same top from June 3, which was followed by a 48% correction down to $225. Given the similarity of the situation when compared with previous instances, investors have reasons to doubt the recent performance, especially as Solana (SOL), a competing smart contract platform, reached an all-time high on Aug. 18. The move was partially attributed to a recent $70-million crowdfund to support Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX), Mango Markets, and the launch of …

Binance has been in the regulatory cross-hairs of jurisdictions across the globe amid claims of it operating unlicensed businesses. As remediation of the ongoing scrutiny, the crypto exchange has publicly announced new Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for all users on the platform. “Effective immediately, all new users are required to complete Intermediate Verification to access Binance products and service offerings, including cryptocurrency deposits, trades and withdrawals,” a statement said. Moreover, existing users who were previously allowed to trade cryptocurrency without verification will be allowed to only process “withdrawals, order cancellation, position close, and redemption.” According to Binance, the change …

Regulatory concerns surrounding Binance US have reportedly culminated in investors backing out of a $100-million funding round. The failed funding round also prompted Binance US CEO Brian Brooks’ surprise decision to step down after serving as its executive for just three months. Brooks, the former Acting Comptroller of the Currency and former chief legal officer to rival exchange Coinbase, cited “strategic differences” after stepping down. The funding round had been intended as the first step in Binance US’ path toward an initial public offering (IPO). According to The New York Times, Brooks had initially courted potential investors, including Ray Lane …

Outages in crypto exchanges have resulted in losses for investors trying to get out in time. While Binance has been proactive in neutralizing such situations, numerous investors are reportedly seeking damages due to the exchange’s inoperability. Speaking to CNBC, a Binance spokesperson highlighted the company’s policy that promises to compensate actual trading losses due to system or internal issues, but noted: “We do not cover hypothetical ‘what could have been’ situations such as unrealized profits.” In some cases, when investors reached out for compensation in relation to the said outage, Binance’s customer service team reportedly offered a low rebate while …

De Nederlandsche Bank, the central bank of the Netherlands, issued a warning to Binance Holdings Limited and its entities offering crypto services to local residents. In a Wednesday statement, De Nederlandsche Bank said the major crypto exchange was not operating in compliance with the country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act, alleging that Binance customers were at risk of “becoming involved in money laundering or terrorist financing.” According to the central bank, Binance is illegally offering crypto services as well as custodian wallets without the required legal registration. The Dutch central bank specified that its notice was to the crypto …