USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle has denied rumors that it received a "Wells Notice" over its United States dollar-pegged stablecoin. On Feb. 14, a now-deleted tweet from Fox Business reporter Eleanor Terrett claimed Circle had been ordered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to cease the sale of USDC — due to the stablecoin being an unregistered security. Dante Disparte, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Global Policy at Circle Pay clarified on Twitter just 15 minutes after Terrett's tweet that his firm has not received a Wells Notice. .@circle has not received a Wells notice. https://t.co/lE74zHVLka — …

Crypto financial services Matrixport's head of research believes the recent scrutiny of Paxos and its Binance USD (BUSD) token is not a direct attack on stablecoins themselves. In a Feb. 14 analysis, Matrixport's Markus Thielen suggested that Paxos Trust Company, the issuer of the Binance USD (BUSD), may not have been stringent enough with its oversight of the token. He added that the issue "does not appear to be around stablecoins" in itself. "Paxos had violated its obligation to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessment and due diligence of Binance and Paxos-issued BUSD customers," Thielen argued. On Feb. 13, the New …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has seen a surge of withdrawals over the last 24 hours as investors appear to be spooked over recent news of regulatory action against Paxos and its stablecoin Binance USD (BUSD). At the same time, the BUSD token has recorded significant redemptions, with 342 million BUSD burned over the last 24 hours according to Peckshield. #PeckShieldAlert ~342M $BUSD have been burned at Paxos Treasury within the last 24 hours, $BUSD MarketCap: $15.8Bhttps://t.co/BMeVokqVE6 pic.twitter.com/hJdnixxbtD — PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) February 14, 2023 On Feb. 12, news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave notice of potential enforcement action …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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, …

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Journal reported that financial services company Cantor Fitzgerald is helping Tether oversee a $39 billion bond portfolio comprised of United States Treasury securities. The report indicated that some firms on Wall Street are willing to support crypto service providers despite ongoing regularity concerns facing the industry. Founded in 1945, Cantor Fitzgerald specializes in investment banking services, including institutional equity and fixed-income sales. The company claims to employ over 12,000 people. Beyond helping to “manage” a portion of Tether’s portfolio, Cantor Fitzgerald’s specific involvement with the stablecoin issuer wasn’t spelled out in the Journal’s …

Paxos Trust Company — the New York-based stablecoin issuer behind Binance USD (BUSD) and Paxos Dollar (USDP) — is reportedly being investigated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). A “person familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg in a Feb. 10 report that the exact motive behind the probe is currently unclear. An NYDFS spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing investigations but noted that the department is broadly working to protect consumers from risks associated with investing in the cryptocurrency market: “The department is in continuous contact with regulated entities to understand vulnerabilities and risks to consumers and …

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market value, has completed reserves attestation by major global accounting firm BDO. The stablecoin firm released BDO’s assurance opinion on Feb. 9, which re-affirms the accuracy of Tether’s consolidated reserves report (CRR) as of Dec. 31, 2022. The CRR shows that Tether’s consolidated assets amount to at least $67 billion, exceeding consolidated liabilities of $66 billion, with excess reserves equaling at least $960 million. In addition to reducing its secured loans as committed, the report also shows that Tether ended 2022 with zero commercial paper. “Our opinion is limited solely to …

The hunt for the controversial founder of the now-collapsed Terra ecosystem, Do Kwon, has intensified with South Korean officials reportedly confirming they sent at least two people to Serbia to track him down. According to a Feb. 7 Bloomberg report, the prosecutor’s office in Seoul said the reports “aren’t false” regarding members of its team trekking out to the Balkan state to find Kwon. It appears at least two state officials went — one from the prosecutor's office and the other being a senior member of South Korea’s Justice Ministry. South Korean-based publication Chosun Media confirmed on Dec. 11 that …

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will heighten focus on experimenting with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) this year via its research and development arm and will also launch a new project to monitor stablecoins. On Feb. 7, the Switzerland-based so-called “bank for central banks” announced its Innovation Hub will "increase its focus" on CBDCs in 2023 to improve payment systems. The bank added its work schedule for the year ahead also includes “Project Pyxtrial,” which it described as a new experiment being launched by the London branch of the BIS Innovation Hub to enable the “systemic monitoring of stablecoins.” …