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☆ From 25 years in prison to just four months: Inside the final verdict on a crypto billionaire CEO archrivalry
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance. A month earlier, on the opposite coast in downtown Manhattan, FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison sentence for his crimes. At the beginning of his trial, SBF sported a fresh haircut and wore suits, but by its end, his curls were wild again. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao speaks at a Binance fifth anniversary event in Paris, France, July 8, 2022. watch nowMoney makes all the differenceUnlike SBF, CZ didn't have his wealth wiped out by bankruptcy of the crypto company he founded.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Zhao Changpeng, Mike Segar, Benjamin Girette, Changpeng Zhao, FTX's Sam Bankman, Fried, Zhao, Binance's Zhao, FTX's, Toyotas, Braden Perry, Perry, Manfred, SBF, Michael Lewis, Lewis, Sam didn't, Amr Alfiky, Sam, Caroline Ellison, —, Zhao's, Yi He, Binance, David Ryder, Yang, Rachel Zhao, Yesha Yadav, Yadav, Mark Bini, Lewis Kaplan, Bankman, Kaplan, perjured, Neama Rahmani, Rahmani, Tre Lovell, Zhao hasn't, Lovell, weren't, FTX Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, Getty, Department of Justice, CFTC, Stanford University's, Bankman, CZ, Staff, Reuters Prosecutors, Alameda Research, Vanderbilt University, Wall Street, CNBC, FTX, Emergency Economic, Justice Department, DOJ Locations: Seattle, Manhattan, California, Hong Kong, Bahamas, Palo Alto, U.S, New York City, Alameda, Seattle , Washington, Paris, France, Angeles, Binance, Dubai, Delaware

☆ Chinese envoy meets Hamas chief Haniyeh after first visit to Israel since Gaza war began
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | Wayne Chang | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —Chinese diplomat Wang Kejian met Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, the first meeting between a Chinese and Hamas official publicly acknowledged by Beijing since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Wang and Haniyeh “exchanged views on the Gaza conflict and other issues” during their meeting Sunday, according to a brief readout from China’s Foreign Ministry Tuesday. Wang’s visit comes as Beijing aims to step up its profile as a peace broker and has become increasingly vocal in its opposition to the Gaza war. Fighting began on October 7 when Hamas carried out a deadly attack on Israel, killing more than 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, according to Israel. During his visit to the West Bank, Wang met with the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki, where the Chinese envoy said Beijing is “deeply concerned” about the conflict in Gaza.

Persons: Wang Kejian, Ismail Haniyeh, Wang, Haniyeh “, Haniyeh, Qatar Cao Xiaolin, ”, Cao, Wang’s, Riyad al, “, Zhai Jun, Wang Yi, ” Wang Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, China’s, Hamas, West Bank –, Foreign, “, Security Council, United Nations, International Court of Justice, China’s Foreign Ministry, West Bank, Ministry of Health, Palestinian, Foreign Ministry, Beijing, Palestinian National Authority, Global South, UN, UN Security Council, Washington, Palestine Locations: Hong Kong, Qatar, Beijing, Gaza, Wang, Israel, China, Lebanon, Egypt, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Indonesia, Global South Beijing, United States, Xinjiang

☆ China's Wang Yi Held 'Constructive' Talks With Blinken in Munich - Chinese Foreign Ministry
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi discussed lifting sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals in a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Munich Security Conference, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Saturday. Both sides also discussed facilitating people-to-people exchanges in the meeting held on Friday, the ministry said, adding the exchanges between the two were "frank, substantial and constructive". "Making 'de-risking' into 'de-China', and building 'small yards and high walls' and seeking 'decoupling from China'" will only backfire on the U.S. itself, Wang said, according to a statement from the foreign ministry. Both sides also exchanged views on regional issues including the Ukraine crisis and the Korean Peninsula, the statement said, without giving further details. China and the U.S. have made some progress in bilateral relations since Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President Joe Biden in November, where they reached agreements covering fentanyl, military communications and artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Persons: Wang Yi, Antony Blinken, Wang, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Albee Zhang, Ryan Woo, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: China's, U.S, Munich Security Conference, Economic Cooperation, Treasury Locations: BEIJING, de, China, U.S, Ukraine, Asia, Beijing

☆ Ukraine’s soldiers ‘in deep defense mode’ as uncertainty lingers over commander-in-chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Andrew Carey | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

A presidential spokesman denied the report but a source familiar with the matter said an announcement was expected within days. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters/FileA senior army spokesman with responsibility for the same region drew attention to another Ukrainian deficit opposite Russia, in comments on Ukrainian television – namely, a lack of ammunition. Where previously, Russian forces had been firing 60,000 rounds a day along the entire front line, the number currently was about half that, he said. “We are in deep defense mode and are holding back the enemy.

Persons: Oleksandr Syrskyi, ” Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelensky, Valerii, Syrskyi, ”, Zaluzhnyi, Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii, Valentyn Ogirenko, ” Illia Yevlash, Yevlash, Chasiv Yar, Oleksandr, Dmytro Lazutkin Organizations: CNN, President’s, Staff, Ukrainian Armed Forces Locations: Kupiansk, Kharkiv, Ukraine, Tabaivka, Luhansk, Russia, Bakhmut, Avdiivka

[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

Zhao Changpeng, founder and chief executive officer of Binance greets the audience during an event in Athens, Greece, November 25, 2022. "Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance," Zhao tweeted. Binance became the world's biggest crypto exchange within six months. As Binance hired more widely from traditional financial and regulatory worlds, Zhao's tight control over his company was undiminished. Richard Teng, a senior Binance executive who joined in 2021, is the new CEO, Zhao posted on social media on Tuesday.

Persons: Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Costas Baltas, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Prosecutors, Tuesday's, General Merrick Garland, Yi, Richard Teng, Teng, Tom Wilson, Lisa Shumaker, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, Justice Department, Binance, New York Times, U.S, Reuters, Futures Trading Commission, Thomson Locations: Athens, Greece, Binance, Binance ., Shanghai, China, Canada, Tokyo, New York, London

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Friday that he could potentially meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. “There has been no such meeting set up, but it is a possibility," Biden told reporters when asked about the prospects of a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader. Biden and Xi have not spoken since their meeting last November of the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. Political Cartoons View All 1202 ImagesThe Biden administration shot down a Chinese spy balloon that traversed the continental U.S. earlier this year. Beijing has stayed on the sidelines since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Biden, Xi, Gina Raimondo, Jake Sullivan, Wang Yi, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Raimondo, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer Organizations: WASHINGTON, Economic Cooperation Locations: Asia, San Francisco, Bali , Indonesia, White, U.S, China, Ukraine, Taiwan Strait, Beijing, Russia, Moscow, Malta

☆ Asia promotes crypto clarity amid regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Earlier this month, Hong Kong officially opened crypto trading to retail investors and upgraded licenses of two exchanges. "This will further boost investor confidence, making Hong Kong more attractive as a potential global virtual asset hub," said Lai. He concluded some crypto firms could leave the U.S. for more progressive jurisdictions as a result. Asia's regulatory clarityAcross the Pacific, Singapore and Hong Kong offer far more operational clarity for many industry players "Singapore has the first mover advantage in the Asia Pacific region, including being ahead of Hong Kong. watch nowSingapore's Payment Services Act — a framework for regulating payment services and the provision of crypto services to the public — came into effect in January 2020.

Persons: Ben Charoenwong, Lennix Lai, Lai, Ong Chengyi, Chainalysis, Hong, Blockchain.com, Ripple, Hong Kong, Janice Goh, Coinbase, Binance, Brad Garlinghouse, Goh Organizations: Getty, Nurphoto, National University of Singapore Business School, Monetary Authority of, Cavenagh, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, MAS Locations: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, China, Asia, U.S, Hong Kong . Hong Kong, Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong, Pacific

The exchange offers spot and derivatives trading and a host of services from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to crypto loans and asset management. FINANCESBinance's global trading platform, Binance.com, is by far the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. Last year it processed crypto trades worth about $65 billion a day, Binance said, dominating the crypto trading landscape with more than half of the market, CryptoCompare data shows. Binance last year extended its reach beyond the crypto sector in 2022, investing $500 million in Tesla boss Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter. A top Binance executive told the Wall Street Journal in February that the company expected to pay penalties to resolve U.S. investigations.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Binance, Zhao, Yi He, Yi, Noah Perlman, Morgan Stanley, Richard Teng, Teng, Elon Musk's, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Wilson, Hannah Lang, Marguerita Choy, Nick Zieminski Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Binance, Reuters, Twitter, Lazio, Argentina national, of Nations, U.S, Justice, Wall Street, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, U.S, Shanghai, Tokyo, Malta, Cayman Islands, Canadian, China, United States, Italian, London, Washington

LONDON, March 28 (Reuters) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao could never be accused of thinking small. The 46-year-old CEO didn't waver in his belief as he built up his crypto exchange. Binance and Zhao did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Binance became the world's biggest crypto exchange within six months, and now accounts for about 60% of global crypto trading volumes, according to research firm CryptoCompare. While Binance has hired widely from the traditional financial and regulatory worlds in recent years, Zhao's tight control over his company has continued.

☆ Factbox: Binance, world's top crypto exchange, at the center of US investigations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Tom Wilson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - The world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have been sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over regulatory violations, according to a court filing on Monday. The exchange offers spot and derivatives trading and a host of services from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to crypto loans and asset management. FINANCESBinance's global trading platform, Binance.com, is by far the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange. Last year it processed crypto trades worth about $65 billion a day, Binance said, dominating the crypto trading landscape with more than half of the market, CryptoCompare data shows. Binance last year extended its reach beyond the crypto sector in 2022, investing $500 million in Tesla boss Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.

☆ Explainer: What have Russia and China said about peace in Ukraine?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Caleb Davis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Zelenskiy last year proposed his own 10-point peace plan, which calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia still controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, despite losing swathes of land in major battlefield setbacks last year. Russia said on Wednesday that it welcomed China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict. Meeting Putin on Wednesday, Wang said China was willing to play a "constructive role" to end the Ukraine conflict. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said China had an obligation to use that influence to seek peace in Ukraine.

☆ China’s Top Diplomat Criticizes U.S. as Two Sides Seek Bilateral Talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Keith Zhai | William Mauldin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

China’s Wang Yi held discussions in Rome prior to the Munich conference. MUNICH—Wang Yi, China’s top diplomat, criticized the U.S. for what he called its “nearly hysterical” reaction to the appearance of a Chinese balloon in its airspace earlier this month, in a speech that comes as the two sides seek to renew high-level talks on the sidelines of a security conference here. Mr. Wang, speaking Saturday before an audience of largely Western defense and security officials at the Munich Security Conference, also said Beijing would set out its position on a potential “political resolution of the Ukrainian crisis” next week, timed to the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.

[1/3] Ukrainian territorial defence member Leonid Onyshchenko, 63-year-old, speaks to his family during a festive Christmas dinner, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine, December 24, 2022. Holding her three-month-old son Yaroslav with one hand, Maryna took a Christmas cake out of oven with the other. Vitalii helped two other sons, Petro and Tais, get dressed before the festive Christmas dinner. In the past, Ukrainian Christians mostly celebrated Christmas in early January. As the family gathers around the table, Maryna calls her father to wish him merry Christmas.

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