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[1/3] Richard Teng, head of the Middle East and North Africa for crypto firm Binance gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 30, 2022. Teng faces an especially tough task in transforming the culture of Binance, four of the people said. Still, leading a cultural shift at Binance - a firm shaped by Zhao in his own image - would be "hugely difficult," she said. For years it dominated the crypto market, but this year has rapidly lost market share. Last month it controlled 32% of crypto spot and 50% of derivatives trading, according to crypto firm CCData, down from 55% and 62% respectively in January.

Persons: Richard Teng, Abdel Hadi Ramahi, Teng, Changpeng Zhao, Janet Yellen, Binance, Carol Alexander, Zhao, Yi He, Binance's, Simon Matthews, Richard, Matthews, FinCEN, John Reed Stark, Rajeev Bamra, OKX, Joseph Edwards, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Elisa Martinuzzi, Louise Heavens Organizations: Reuters, United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S, Treasury, University of Sussex, Investors, Treasury's, Internet Enforcement, Singapore, Abu, Abu Dhabi Global, Singapore Exchange, Moody's Investors Service, Securities, Thomson Locations: East, North Africa, Dubai, United Arab, U.S, Abu Dhabi, France, Seychelles, London

☆ Bitcoin hits two-month high above $30,000 in volatile week
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Bitcoin jumped on Friday above $30,000 for first time since July , taking gains for the week past 10%, against a backdrop of volatile trading across cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by circulation, climbed as high as $30,022, its highest since July 23. There was no immediate news catalyst for the move in bitcoin, said Joseph Edwards, head of research at London crypto firm Enigma Securities. The approval of any such applications, crypto investors have said, could usher in a new wave of capital to the asset class.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Bitcoin, Joseph Edwards, Ben Laidler, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Amanda Cooper Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, Securities, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, BlackRock, Thomson Locations: La, Paris, France, cryptocurrencies, bitcoin, London

But bitcoin fell sharply after a Fox Business reporter said on the social media platform X that BlackRock denied the report. loadingBlackRock later confirmed to Reuters that "the iShares Bitcoin ETP application is still under review by the SEC." "Crypto markets have just shown how sensitive they are to any potential good news, with their premature rally today on rumors of the approval of a spot bitcoin ETF," said Ben Laidler, global markets strategist at eToro. Crypto markets have been awaiting news on several pending spot bitcoin ETF applications, which, if approved, are widely expected to drive investment in the sector. The SEC has denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications on the grounds applicants have not shown they can protect investors from market manipulation.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, bitcoin, Ben Laidler, Joseph Edwards, Lucas Kiely, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Hannah Lang, Suzanne McGee, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Sharon Singleton, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, BlackRock, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Fox Business, Reuters, SEC, Securities, Columbia, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, London, Washington

☆ Bitcoin drops to new two-month low as world markets sell off
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A representation of cryptocurrency Bitcoin is placed on a PC motherboard, in this illustration taken June 16, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Top cryptocurrency bitcoin hit a fresh two-month low on Friday, breaking out of its recent tight range, as a wave of risk off sentiment grips world markets. It then slipped to a two-month low of $26,172 during Asian trading hours on Friday, its lowest since June 16 . It was lifted in June by BlackRock applying to launch a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. Some investors interpreted that move as an indication that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would approve spot bitcoin ETF applications from various asset managers, including Grayscale.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, bitcoin, FTX, Wall, Joseph Edwards, Bitcoin, Edwards, Elizabeth Howcroft, Dhara Organizations: REUTERS, Enigma Securities, BlackRock, U.S . Securities, Exchange, SEC, Thomson Locations: United States

July 25 - XRP has become the unlikely white knight of crypto, thwarting its regulatory foes and dragging the market out of the doldrums. Its market cap has ballooned to $36 billion from $25 billion and its crypto market share to 3.5% from 2% before the ruling, according to CoinMarketCap. The market cap of XRP, the token issued by Ripple, increased by more than 60% after a U.S. judge ruled in its favour. XRP VS STABLECOINSIt's certainly not all smooth sailing for Ripple, or altcoins more generally, though. Ripple Labs said last week that its pursuit of sound crypto regulation in the U.S. was far from concluded.

Persons: XRP, it's, Matteo Greco, Ben Weiss, STABLECOINS, stablecoins, Joseph Edwards, Edwards, Lisa Pauline Mattackal, Medha Singh, Pravin Organizations: Ripple Labs, Fineqia, SEC, Enigma Securities, Pravin Char, Thomson, Reuters Locations: U.S, cryptoland, altcoins, ethereum, Bengaluru

Bitcoin peaked at $30,438 in Asian trade and was last up 1.4% at $30,070. It has gained nearly 6% since the start of the month, after rising 23% in March. This brings digital asset flows back into positive territory for the year, the report showed. "If (bitcoin) can survive the week over $30,000, we are going higher." While Shapella is not likely to directly drive sell pressure on ether, there could be heightened volatility around the event, Bank of America strategist Alkesh Shah said.

Yet investors aiming to amp up their bets face an ominous obstacle: a lack of liquidity that could trigger wild price swings. Slippage, a liquidity measure describing how much prices change between the placement and execution of a trade, has also increased. The vanishing liquidity can be traced back to the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange and hedge fund Alameda Research. Until then, "liquidity is probably going to get worse and worse", said Joseph Edwards, investment adviser at Enigma Securities. "Even if some players haven't left the place, they are on the sidelines right now because of what's happening with banking turmoil," Edwards said.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Big investors are dipping their toes into crypto waters again after a bumper month for bitcoin. Bitcoin was far and away the biggest draw, with funds tracking it responsible for $116 million of that. They said shorter-term investors were selling their bitcoin at a profit, while longer-term "HODlers" were still sticking with their coin and not contributing to selling pressure. Additionally, bitcoin's "dominance" or share of the total crypto market has hovered around 41% this month, levels not seen since last July. Analysts at Citi said this mimicked a similar jump in bitcoin dominance in April 2019, when a bitcoin rally marked a crypto market bottom.

The article was one of a series of reports this year by the news agency on Binance's financial compliance and relationship with regulators across the world. Reuters also asked representatives of the local Binance units and affiliates about their relationship with the main Binance exchange. In Italy, Binance's public corporate filings detail just the unit's capital base and its ownership by a separate Binance company in Ireland. The Italian company, Binance Italy S.R.L., has its listed address in a block of shops and apartments in the southern city of Lecce. Just two of the Binance units analysed by Reuters offer more substantial details in their filings.

Genesis is owned by Stamford, Connecticut-based venture capital company Digital Currency Group. The contagion concerns stem from Genesis' prominence in crypto, its links to troubled firms and broader reach into the financial world. "It's a signal of worse outcomes" for the crypto market, particularly since Genesis also deals with brokers, family offices and money managers. Last year, Genesis extended $130.6 billion in crypto loans and traded $116.5 billion in assets, according to its website. Crypto.com, an exchange, and Tether, which operates the world's largest stablecoin, on said Wednesday they had no exposure to Genesis.

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Genesis Global Capital suspended redemptions on Wednesday citing the failure of crypto exchange FTX, while court papers showed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces legal action, as its sudden collapse ripples across the industry. LEGAL ACTIONMeanwhile, U.S. court filings showed Bankman-Fried is facing legal action in the United States from investors alleging the company's yield-bearing crypto accounts violated Florida law. Bloomberg on Tuesday also reported that U.S. and Bahamian authorities were discussing the possibility of bringing Bankman-Fried to the United States for questioning. Elsewhere, crypto exchange Binance, in a response to a hearing on the crypto industry by a British parliamentary committee on Monday, said it had not contributed to FTX's collapse. The U.S. House Financial Services Committee said Wednesday it plans to hold a hearing in December to investigate the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Crypto broker Genesis Global Capital is suspending redemptions and new loan originations at its lending business, it said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of the industry fallout from last week's collapse of major crypto exchange FTX. "We have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend redemptions and new loan originations in the lending business. We are working diligently to shore up the necessary liquidity to meet our lending client obligations," a Genesis spokesperson said in a statement. U.S. court filings showed Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's founder, is being sued in a U.S. class action by investors alleging the company's yield-bearing crypto accounts violated Florida law. The proposed class action filed late on Tuesday in Miami alleges that FTX yield-bearing accounts were unregistered securities that were unlawfully sold in the United States.

☆ Crypto markets in turmoil over FTX bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange FTX filed for U.S. bankruptcy on Friday and Sam Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO, after a liquidity crisis that has prompted intervention from regulators around the world. FTX, its affiliated crypto trading fund Alameda Research and about 130 other companies have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware, FTX said. MARKET REACTION:Shares of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms dropped on Friday after FTX, one of the biggest crypto exchanges, said it would initiate bankruptcy proceedings in the United States, triggering a potentially massive meltdown in the industry. "The shock was that this guy was the face of the crypto industry and it turned out that the emperor had no clothes. Ultimately, the lesson here is that the crypto industry needs to stop trusting cults of personality, no matter how well-intentioned they might seem."

loadingHe said Binance, the world's biggest crypto exchange, will conduct due diligence in the coming days as the next step toward an acquisition of FTX.com. By then FTX had mushroomed into a growing rival to Binance, which dominates the crypto industry with over 120 million users. FTX token - which gives holders discounts on FTX trading fees - was last trading at $5.33, having slumped by more than three-quarters. On Sunday, Zhao said his firm would liquidate its holdings of the FTX token due to unspecified "recent revelations." "A *huge* thank you to CZ, Binance," Bankman-Fried wrote.

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