As traditional institutions proactively reduce exposure to cryptocurrencies as a reaction to ecosystem collapses in 2022, Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao believes this move could potentially have a negative impact on such traditional financial players. The collapse of major crypto platforms, such as FTX and Terraform Labs, not only reduced trust among investors but also forced the traditional market to reevaluate their strategies for stepping into the crypto ecosystem. While the reluctance of traditional players stands as a deterrent to crypto’s adoption in the short term, CZ argues that the decision might backfire over the next two decades. as they …

At least five firms placed bids on Celsius Network’s crypto assets, including Binance, Bank To The Future and Galaxy Digital, according to leaked information shared by crypto blogger Tiffany Fong. Fong, a follower of Celsius developments who shot to fame after several exclusive interviews with Sam Bankman-Fried following its collapse, has leaked information from documents she says were obtained on Dec. 20 “detailing the bids on Celsius Network’s crypto assets.” In a Substack post, Fong explained that she initially refrained from leaking the bids to avoid disrupting the bidding process but was prompted to do so after recent commentary from …

Bitcoin (BTC) price had a mixed reaction on Jan. 25 after the United States reported a 2.9% gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter, slightly better than expected. Still, the sum of all goods and services commercialized between October and December grew less than 3.2% from the previous quarter. Albeit somewhat optimistic, another data set limiting investors' confidence was news that the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) would revert its contractive measures anytime soon as U.S. durable goods orders jumped 5.6% in December. The indicator came in much higher than anticipated, so it could potentially mean that interest rates could …

Stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market help provide USD pegged tokens within the volatile industry. In bull markets, the market capitalization of stablecoins tends to decrease as investors flock to more volatile assets and in bear markets, investors seek shelter in low volatility stablecoins thus increasing their market caps. On Jan. 26, the total market capitalization for stablecoins like Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD) and Dai (DAI) is over $131 billion. Stablecoins are so crucial to the future of crypto, that Moody’s, a well-respected analytics agency, is planning to develop a scoring system. The scoring system may help …

In this week’s newsletter, read about how nonfungible token (NFT) sales reached 101 million in 2022. Learn how NFTs can be used to summon defendants who cannot be reached using traditional methods, and see how toys play a role in the NFT and Web3 ecosystem. Check out how Binance is tightening its rules on NFT listings, and don’t forget this week’s Nifty News, featuring the resurgence of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s NFTs. NFT sales topped 101 million in 2022: DappRadar report A report published by decentralized app tracker DappRadar shows that NFT sales in 2022 reached 101 million, representing …

Online fraudsters are impersonating major cryptocurrency firms like Ripple and Binance by creating fake websites and email imposters pretending to provide staking services for XRP. One such website, ripple.com-staking.tech, includes a blog post titled “XRP staking set to debut January 2023 for retail users,” inviting users to “stake” their XRP with unrealistic returns on investment (ROI), ranging from 12% to 27%. The fake scheme attempts to rush XRP investors’ decision by stating that only the first 10,000 accounts will receive a higher ROI. The fake website provides a well-crafted clone of Ripple’s website, ripple.com, by copying the original layout, and …

Cryptocurrency has faced more than its fair share of catastrophes, nearly all of which seemed as though they might end or at least seriously impede the continued growth of the sector. Yet despite the many “teachable moments,” the social layer of crypto refuses to learn its lesson and continues to place its trust in the hands of individuals rather than fully utilize the technologies it claims to support. Since the early days of the industry, crypto has faced major blows at the hands of centralized actors — Mt. Gox, which handled 70% of global Bitcoin transactions, lost track of 25,000 …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance reportedly admitted that it mistakenly stores some customer funds in the same wallet with its collateral for some in-house tokens. After the revelation, Binance started the process of transferring the assets in question to dedicated collateral wallets. Binance mistakenly put collateral for some of the Binance-minted tokens, or B-Tokens, in a wallet that also holds customer assets, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 24. On Monday, Binance released a proof of collateral for B-Tokens, providing information for all 94 tokens issued by Binance. The firm previously stressed that B-Tokens are always fully collateralized and backed 1:1. According to …

Insider trading has become a burning topic in the crypto ecosystem, especially in light of the recent conviction of an ex-Coinbase manager’s brother. The insider trading charges were believed to be the first involving cryptocurrency, and now another set of wallet addresses with transaction history linked to Binance listings has raised suspicion. Conor Grogan, director of Coinbase, took to Twitter to flag the transaction activity of a few anonymous wallets over the past 18 months. The anonymous wallets allegedly bought multiple unlisted tokens minutes before their listing announcement on Binance and dumped them right after the announcement. The first such …

The philanthropic arm of Binance — Binance Charity — is set to fund 30,655 scholarships to students keen on forging out a career in Web3 in 2023. The Binance Charity Scholar Program (BCSP) will provide free Web3 education and training courses which will enable tech-savvy students to upskill without having to leap-frog any unnecessary financial barriers, Binance Charity explained, in a January 20 blog post: “We recognize that digital education and skills development can be out of reach for many, resulting in a blockchain industry that lacks diversity and talent. The Binance Scholar Program changes all that, covering the costs …

Binance has informed its retail customer base of a potential incoming service disruption that may halt on and off-ramp bank payment transfers. The service disruption will impact U.S Dollar-held bank accounts that are looking to buy or sell cryptocurrencies for less than $100,000 via the SWIFT payment system. The disruption will take effect on February 1. Binance announced the news to its “Binancians” by email on January 21, stressing that they’re now “actively seeking” a new SWIFT (USD) partner to avoid service disruptions for future bank payment transfers. The cryptocurrency exchange added that this was the banking partner’s decision and …

Several crypto industry commentators have laid skepticism on FTX CEO John Ray’s vision to potentially reboot the crypto exchange, citing trust issues and “second-class” treatment of customers as some reasons why users may not “feel safe to go back.” Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried tweeted on Jan. 20 praising John Ray for looking at a reboot of FTX, suggesting it is the best move for its customers. I'm glad Mr. Ray is finally paying lip service to turning the exchange back on after months of squashing such efforts! I'm still waiting for him to finally admit FTX US is solvent …