A New York judge has granted a request from prosecutors to defer civil proceedings from the Commodities Futures Trading Commision (CFTC) and the Securities Exchange Commision (SEC) until after Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial in October. U.S. District Judge of Manhattan Kevin Castel on Feb. 13 granted the motions to stay the civil proceedings “without prejudice,” meaning the cases will now be halted until after the Department of Justice's (DOJ’s) criminal trial concludes. The motion was first submitted on Feb. 7 by Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, requesting to defer both civil cases against the …

Paxos Trust Company has released a statement noting that it "categorically disagrees" with the United States securities regulator which has painted Binance USD (BUSD) as a security. In the Feb. 13 statement, the BUSD issuer confirmed recent reports that it had received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over BUSD and its alleged failure to register the offering under federal securities laws. END/ Paxos remains dedicated to the development of stablecoins, tokenization & #blockchain technology. We’ll continue serving the world’s most respected and established companies to create a more open financial system. — Paxos …

New York State’s Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, reportedly received a complaint from stablecoin issuer Circle regarding Binance’s reserves prior to its crackdown on BUSD. According to a Feb. 13 Bloomberg report, Circle alerted NYDFS in an autumn 2022 complaint that Binance’s reserves were insufficient to support its tokens, seemingly including stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD). A person familiar with the matter reportedly said Circle’s team had uncovered the information through blockchain data. Circle’s actions came prior to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s plans to file a lawsuit against Paxos, claiming that BUSD was an unregistered security. NYDFS …

Last week, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an agreement with cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The latter will stop offering crypto staking services to American customers and pay $30 million in disgorgement, prejudgment interest and civil penalties. While the sum of fines could hardly get an entity like Kraken off balance, the future of staking concerns the crypto market. The court agreement attracted the ire of not only the general crypto community but of investors, politicians and industry executives, with Cinneamhain Ventures partner Adam Cochran calling SEC Chair Gary Gensler “an agent of an anti-crypto agenda” rather than …

Cyber criminals used a variety of novel ways to carry out hacks and exploits in 2022, with over $2.8 billion of cryptocurrency stolen last year. According to a report from CoinGecko using data sourced from DeFiYield’s REKT Database, nearly half of the total crypto stolen in 2022 was fleeced using diverse methods. This includes bypassing verification processes, market manipulation, ‘crowd looting’ as well as smart contract and bridge exploits. The biggest hack of 2022 was carried out through an access control hack. Sky Mavis, the developer behind popular game Axie Infinity, saw its Ronin bridge hacked in March 2022, leading …

The European Parliament has released a report on a draft bill proposing that banks holding cryptocurrencies set aside a large amount of capital in an effort to address potential risk. In a Feb. 9 notice, EU lawmakers said any framework applied to crypto assets should “adequately mitigate the risks of these instruments for the institutions’ financial stability,” proposing banks apply a 1250% risk weight on their exposure to digital assets — one of the highest risk ratings for investments. The proposed law suggested that such requirements go into effect until Dec. 30, 2024. “The rapid increase in the financial markets’ …

Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos will halt issuance of new BUSD (BUSD) stablecoins amid the ongoing probe by the New York regulators. Paxos officially announced on Feb. 13 that the firm will end its relationship with Binance for the branded USD-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Starting from Feb. 21, Paxos will stop minting new BUSD tokens, in accordance with directions and coordination with the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Paxos emphasized that all existing BUSD tokens will remain fully-backed and redeemable through Paxos Trust Company through “at least February 2024.” Customers will be able to redeem their funds in USD and …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance plans to continue supporting its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin despite its issuer Paxos facing a stop order from American regulators. As reported by Cointelegraph, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has ordered blockchain firm Paxos to cease issuing dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Paxos has also received a wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging that BUSD is an unregistered security. Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao has moved to assure users that funds are safe despite the intended enforcement action. A Twitter thread on Feb. 13 noted that Paxos is regulated by …

Paxos and Binance USD (BUSD) being in the sights of United States regulators sparked various reactions from the crypto community. On Feb. 13, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a Wells Notice to Paxos, alleging that BUSD is unregistered security. On the same day, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) also ordered Paxos to halt the issuance of BUSD. As Paxos faces regulatory scrutiny on several fronts, various members of the crypto community went to Twitter to give their takes on the situation. From disregarding the issue as “FUD” to calling it an attack against the …

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) is planning to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border and domestic use as part of the first of its newly-launched financial infrastructure transformation (FIT) program. In a recent announcement by the CBUAE, the central bank introduced the FIT program and highlighted its aim to support the country’s financial services sector. The central bank pointed out that the program would promote digital transactions and aim to enable the UAE’s competitiveness as a financial and digital payment hub. The first stage of the FIT program includes the issuance of a …

The New York Department of Financial Services has reportedly ordered blockchain company Paxos Trust Co. to stop the issuance of dollar-pegged Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. The New York regulator's actions come shortlyafter the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issued a Wells Notice to Paxos — a letter the regulator uses to tell companies of planned enforcement action. The notice alleged that Binance USD is an unregistered security. The NYDFS has reportedly asked Paxos to stop creating more of its BUSD token. Paxos will continue to manage redemptions of the product, according to a Binance statement. This is a developing …

Recently reported planned enforcement action against Paxos by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over Binance USD (BUSD) has many in the community questioning how the regulator could see a stablecoin as a security. Blockchain lawyers told Cointelegraph said that while the answer isn't black and white, there exists an argument for it if the stablecoin was issued out in the expectation of profits or are derivative of securities. A report from the Wall Street Journal on Feb. 12 revealed that the SEC is planning to sue Paxos Trust Company in relation to its issuance of Binance USD, …