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☆ Crypto.com's Exchange, Sponsorships, and Commercials, Explained
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Emily Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

(That's not a knock on the company — for a lot of crypto exchanges, the Empire State is a tough nut to crack.) Crypto.com's primary business is its cryptocurrency exchange, which works as a middleman for people buying and selling crypto, but it also offers other products, including crypto Visa cards. To be sure, the casino thing could be said about most crypto exchanges — and sports-betting apps, and many regular trading apps. It's a good reminder that, whatever the company, it's better to use exchanges only for trading your crypto assets, not for storing them. Or maybe in five years we'll be looking back at this moment and saying: "Remember that one crypto company?

Persons: Eminem, Sam Bankman, Crypto.com doesn't, Jojo Siwa, it's, He'd, Nic Carter, Crypto.com, Kris Marszalek, Foris DAX Asia, It's, Matt Damon, Steven Kalifowitz, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, FTX, hasn't, Marszalek, wasn't, Alex Gladstein, Emily Stewart Organizations: NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, It's, UFC, NASCAR, Lakers, Castle, Ventures, Staples Center, Miami Heat's, Binance's, Forbes, Financial Times, Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, PayPal, JPMorgan doesn't, Human Rights Foundation, Business Locations: New York, America, Singapore, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Monaco, Hong Kong, Polish, Los Angeles, Bahamas, Netherlands, Asia, Americas

☆ 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

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao speaks at a Binance fifth anniversary event in Paris, France, July 8, 2022. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani agrees, adding that Zhao's personal wealth won't be affected by his sentence. That's a different siutation from Sam Bankman-Fried, the controversial ex-CEO and founder of crypto exchange FTX. Bankman-Fried received a 25-year prison term for crimes connected to the operation of his crypto exchange. "Negative long-term impact on Binance will diminish the value of CZ's investment in the crypto exchange," said Yadav.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Reuters Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Gabriel Abed, Richard Jones, Tre Lovell, Neama Rahmani, David Ryder, Binance, Braden Perry, Sam Bankman, Joshua de Vos, de Vos, Fried, Yesha Yadav, That's, Forbes, he's, Lucas Kiely, Kiely —, —, Yadav, it's Organizations: Staff, Reuters, CNBC, U.S, U.S . Department of Justice, District, Toyota, Bloomberg, Getty, Bank, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Vanderbilt University, Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC Locations: Paris, France, Seattle, Zhao, Binance, Los Angeles, Seattle , Washington, Dubai, U.S, bitcoin, Iran

Changpeng Zhao, the founder and former CEO of crypto exchange Binance, heads to a Seattle courtroom on Tuesday to learn whether the crimes he admitted to committing will land him in prison for an extended sentence. As part of his plea deal with the Department of Justice, Zhao agreed to step down as CEO. Once a titan of the crypto sector, Zhao grew Binance into the world's largest centralized crypto exchange globally. Unlike rival exchange FTX, which collapsed into bankruptcy when founder Sam Bankman-Fried was criminally charged, Binance has continued to operate. Binance processed a whopping $18.1 trillion worth of trading volume in 2023, according to data from CCData, a crypto market data firm.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Richard Jones, Binance, Sam Bankman, Fried, Nansen, he's Organizations: Department of Justice, District, Prosecutors, Bank, U.S, Justice Department, Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, SEC Locations: Seattle, U.S, CCData, Iran

[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

The market reaction reflects an expectation that a $4 billion payment would be manageable for Binance, four crypto investors and market participants said. Its status has for years left investors wary of risks to the wider market from a string of regulatory and legal headaches facing Binance. Any resolution of the DOJ probe would remove the risk to the crypto market of Binance's sudden collapse, said Sui Chung, CEO of crypto index provider CF Benchmarks. "Binance disappearing overnight remains a potential systemic risk to the crypto market," Chung said. Other investors cited the personal wealth of Zhao as being sufficient to cover any settlement with the DOJ.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Bitcoin, Binance, Anatoly Crachilov, Crachilov, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Sui Chung, Chung, Tom Wilson, Elizabeth Howcroft, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Justice Department, Bloomberg, Reuters, London, Asset Management, DOJ, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Assets Fund, Thomson Locations: Binance, 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

REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/ Acquire Licensing RightsOct 3 (Reuters) - The global cryptocurrency market remains badly scarred following the tumultuous collapse of crypto exchange FTX and other big players last year, with crypto prices, volumes and venture capital investment well below their 2021 peaks. BITCOIN BLUESBitcoin, by far the biggest cryptocurrency and the chief barometer for crypto market sentiment, has bounced back about 37% since Nov. 1. Reuters Image Acquire Licensing RightsCRUMBLING MARKET CAPAfter peaking at $3 trillion in November 2021, the value of the overall crypto market plummeted through 2022, hitting a two-year low of $796 billion as FTX imploded. Yet the relative calm in crypto markets is not necessarily a good thing, said some market participants, noting that many investors are attracted to crypto precisely because of its volatility, which offers opportunities to make quick profits. Reuters GraphicsVC CRYPTO BETS TUMBLEVenture capital (VC) investments flooded into crypto during its boom year of 2021, and even through 2022.

Persons: Damian Williams, Samuel Bankman, David, Dee, Delgado, Sam Bankman, FTX, cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, bitcoin, Ben Laidler, Usman Ahmad, Anders Kvamme Jensen, Robert Le, CCData, Noelle Acheson, Hannah Lang, Elizabeth Howcroft, Tom Wilson, Michelle Price, Andrea Ricci Organizations: REUTERS, Capital, Silvergate Bank, BlackRock, Reuters, Zodia, Chartered, Reuters Graphics, U.S, Venture, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New York, Singapore, London, Washington

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Bitcoin isn't the only asset experiencing a late summer slump. It has shrunk by almost a tenth this year, standing at $124.4 billion as of Sept. 14. A jump in the dollar index on interest rate hikes last year was accompanied by a big rise in stablecoin volumes, he added. Yet all is not equal: Dollar-pegged Tether, the biggest stablecoin, is bucking the losing trend. Reporting by Hannah Lang in Washington; Editing by Michelle Price and Pravin CharOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: James Butterfill, CoinGecko, Paolo Ardoino, Paxos, USDC, TerraUSD, Dante Disparte, it's, Hannah Lang, Michelle Price Organizations: U.S ., New York Department of Financial Services, U.S, Silicon, Bank —, Thomson, Reuters Locations: South America, Central Asia, U.S, Washington

Their new platform is cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN.O), which on Aug. 16 became the first crypto-focused firm to win approval to offer cryptocurrency futures to U.S. retail customers. Yet, trading volumes in derivatives decreased by nearly 13% in July to $1.85 trillion, the lowest monthly volume since December 2022 and second lowest derivatives trading volumes since 2021, research firm CCData reported. Derivatives made up 78.2% of the total cryptocurrency trading volume on centralized exchanges in July, CCData reported. Spot cryptocurrency trading volumes also fell 10.5% to $515 billion in the same period, CCData showed. This essentially means that there is potential for growth in derivatives trading.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Lucas Kiely, languish, disinclined, Todd Groth, CCData, Dessislava Aubert, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Sumanta Sen, Vidya Ranganathan, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Derivatives, Research, Reuters, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

☆ Coinbase wins approval to offer crypto futures trading in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A representation of the cryptocurrency is seen in front of Coinbase logo in this illustration taken, March 4, 2022. The approval was granted by the National Futures Association (NFA), a self-regulatory organization designated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The NFA approval, which came nearly two years after Coinbase filed its application, could allow the company to expand into a largely untapped market. In July, crypto derivatives trading volumes globally totaled about $1.85 trillion, according to research firm CCData. The latest offerings will be from Coinbase Financial Markets, a unit of Coinbase.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, Gary Gensler's, Niket, Saumyadeb Organizations: REUTERS, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, National Futures Association, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Coinbase Financial, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

Hands hold the biometric imaging device, the Orb, of the identity and financial public utility Worldcoin, which aims to create a World ID digital passport, with a tradeable cryptocurrency, in Berlin, Germany August 1, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File PhotoAug 8 (Reuters) - Worldcoin has no problem attracting eyeballs. More than 2.2 million people have signed up, getting their irises scanned in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free crypto. The new project from ChatGPT founder Sam Altman aims to create a blockchain-based "identity and financial network". PitchBook analyst Robert Le said there were several startups trying to build blockchain-based digital identity systems, but none on Worldcoin's scale.

Persons: Annegret, Sam Altman, WLD, Gordon Grant, Andreessen Horowitz, Robert Le, James Butterfill, Worldcoin, It's, Riyad Carey, Elizabeth Howcroft, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, Genesis, Reuters Graphics, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Pravin Char, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Berlin, Germany, Kenya

Thin liquidity and big playersCrypto "market depth" has been sitting at very low levels this year. Market depth is a measure of liquidity in a market. According to data firm Kaiko, bitcoin's market depth has fallen 20% since the start of this year. Low liquidity, which has been a feature of the crypto market all year, is also partly behind bitcoin's 80% year-to-date rally. "I think trading volumes and price volatility are two of the most telling indicators of crypto market activity.

Persons: Andriy Onufriyenko, Bitcoin, Kaiko, Jamie Sly, Sly, bitcoin, Clara Medalie, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Carol Alexander, Alexander, you've, Vijay Ayyar, Ayyar, CCData's Sly Organizations: BlackRock, CNBC, BTC, Securities, Exchange Commission, Retail, University of Sussex, Citadel, Fidelity Locations: U.S, CoinGecko, Invesco, Blackrock

Over 50 cryptocurrencies worth over $100 billion in total and making up about 10% of the overall market, are now viewed by the SEC watchdog as securities, according to CCData. Among major players, for example, solana , polygon and cardano have sunk between 23% and 32%. Bitcoin and ether weren't named in the SEC's lawsuit, nor were stablecoins such as tether and USC Coin. By contrast, bitcoin investors who have held their coins for more than five months appeared relatively calm and accounted for just 1.9% of deposit volume. Investment products tracking altcoins have seen positive - albeit small - net inflows this year, in contrast to bitcoin and ether, Coinshares data showed on Monday.

Persons: Vetle Lunde, Ryan Rasmussen, solana, Lucas Kiely, Alex Thorn, Noelle Acheson, James Butterfield, Lisa Mattackal, Medha Singh, Pravin Organizations: U.S, SEC, K33 Research, solana, Securities, Bitwise Asset Management, Reuters Global Markets, Cardano Foundation, Solana Foundation, Reuters, Polygon Labs, Reuters Graphics Reuters, USC, BTC, ETH, Firmwide Research, Galaxy Digital, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: cardano, altcoins, Bengaluru

☆ Binance charges are a last gasp for crypto
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Binance founder Changpeng Zhao doesn’t have much to look forward to. The SEC alleges that Binance knowingly helped U.S. customers trade illegally on its exchange. Binance, in a blog post, trotted out a familiar crypto defense: The SEC, which has been vague on how cryptocurrency should be regulated, is beyond its reach. In March, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed similar charges against the company. Follow @AnitaRamaswamy on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSThe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume.

Persons: Changpeng Zhao doesn’t, Zhao, –, Sam Bankman, Fried, Binance, Gary Gensler, FTX, Changpeng Zhao, Richard Teng, Coindesk, Teng, Zhao “, Lauren Silva Laughlin, Sharon Lam Organizations: YORK, Reuters, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Federal Trade Commission, U.S . Commodities Futures, Commission, Thomson Locations: United States, U.S

LONDON, April 20 (Reuters) - Major U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc (COIN.O) has said it has secured a licence to operate in Bermuda, as part of a wider push to expand globally. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said on Tuesday that crypto firms will develop in "offshore" havens unless the U.S. and UK create "clarity about regulation" for crypto. Coinbase is planning to launch a crypto derivatives exchange in Bermuda as soon as next week, Fortune reported on Wednesday, citing a person close to the company. In March, derivatives trading volumes on major exchanges hit some $2.8 trillion, according to London researcher CCData, versus spot trading volumes of just over $1 trillion. Crypto firms say they need clarity about regulations, but Gensler has said that crypto markets "suffer from a lack of regulatory compliance, not a lack of regulatory clarity".

What is the bitcoin halving? The event cuts the rewards to bitcoin miners — volunteers running specialized equipment to validate transactions on the network and mint new tokens — by 50%. Currently, bitcoin miners receive 6.25 bitcoin for each block they successfully mine. Once the next bitcoin halving occurs, this reward will be reduced to 3.125 bitcoin. This would correlate with the next expected Bitcoin halving date, which is another 378 days ahead."

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