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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

After receiving $145 million from Binance.US's operator by 2021, Sigma Chain spent $11 million on buying a yacht, the SEC complaint said, without elaborating. It is unclear from the SEC complaint how much money Zhao is alleged to have drawn from Merit Peak and Sigma Chain. The SEC also said Zhao used Merit Peak to direct more than $16 million to fund Binance's purportedly independent U.S. affiliate Binance.US. Binance used its BUSD holdings to meet customer withdrawals by selling them for dollars as needed, Reuters reported in May. The SEC complaint also identified Binance Labs, a venture capital arm of Binance, as part of the exchange's plan to increase demand for BNB.

Persons: Zhao, Binance, Benoit Tessier LONDON, Changpeng Zhao, John Reed Stark, Stark, Binance's, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Lisa Barrington, Hadeel Al, Elisa Martinuzzi, Alexander Smith Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, REUTERS, Binance, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Swiss, Sigma Chain, Reuters, Silicon, Internet, Futures Trading Commission, U.S . Justice, Reuters Graphics, Silvergate Bank, Merit, Sigma, Binance Labs, Thomson Locations: Porte, Paris, France, Binance, U.S, Virgin Islands, Dubai, London, Hadeel Al Sayegh

LONDON/SINGAPORE, June 6 (Reuters) - Investors have pulled around $790 million from the crypto exchange Binance and its U.S. affiliate in the last 24 hours, data firm Nansen said on Tuesday, a day after a top U.S. regulator sued both exchanges. Binance saw net outflows of $778.6 million of crypto tokens on the ethereum blockchain, with its U.S. affiliate, Binance.US, registering net outflows of $13 million, Nansen tweeted. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued Binance, its CEO Changpeng Zhao and the operator of Binance.US over what it called a "web of deception" to evade U.S. laws. The world's biggest cryptocurrency was last at $25,723, flat on the day but pinned near a more than two-month low. The SEC complaint is the latest in a series of legal headaches for Binance.

Persons: Nansen, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Tony Sycamore, Binance's BNB cryptocurrency, Zhao, Tom Wilson, Rae Wee, Ankur Banerjee, Kevin Buckland, Sonali Paul, Tom Hogue, Louise Heavens Organizations: LONDON, U.S, Binance.US, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Monday, SEC, Reuters, IG Markets, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, U.S, London, Singapore, Tokyo

LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - A senior Binance executive was the main operator for five bank accounts belonging to the giant cryptocurrency exchange’s purportedly independent U.S. affiliate, including an account that held American customers’ funds, bank records show. This allowed Chen and her deputies to move funds held in the bank accounts. The previously unreported bank records and messages show that Binance’s management over the U.S. business’s finances extended across its bank accounts at Silvergate and detail how this secret access was granted. Binance.US has denied that Binance ever operated its bank accounts. ‘PRIMARY ADMIN USER’The Binance.US trading platform was launched by its operating firm, BAM Trading, in mid-2019 under then Chief Executive Catherine Coley.

Persons: Guangying Chen, Changpeng Zhao, Chen, Binance, Zhao, Binance.US, Krishna Juvvadi, Christian Hertenstein, Brian Shroder, ” Hertenstein, “, Chen’s, Juvvadi, ”, Peak’s, Catherine Coley, Coley, Silvergate, James McDonald, Hertenstein, Susan Li, Li messaged, Li, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Janet McBride, Michael Williams Organizations: Silvergate Bank, U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Reuters, BAM, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, ” Reuters, SEC, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, American, US, Binance, Shanghai, Binance.US

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/IllustrationJune 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday accused the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, of operating an "elaborate scheme to evade U.S. federal securities laws." The SEC charged Binance and Zhao with 13 offences, including operating an unregistered securities exchange and failing to restrict U.S. customers from its platform. "Any allegations that user assets on the Binance.US platform have ever been at risk are simply wrong," Binance said. Merit Peak and Sigma Chain were used to transfer tens of billions of dollars involving Binance, Binance.US and other related entities, the SEC said. Zhao instructed Binance.US to onboard Sigma Chain and Merit Peak as market makers on the Binance.US platform, the SEC said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Binance, Binance.US, Chain’s, Angus Berwick, Michelle Price, Nick Zieminski Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Peak's, Reuters, Silvergate Bank, Sigma, BUSINESS Zhao, BAM, Sigma Chain, U.S, Thomson Locations: U.S, Switzerland, Binance.US, Shanghai, Cayman Islands

LONDON, June 5 - A senior Binance executive was the main operator for five bank accounts belonging to the giant cryptocurrency exchange’s purportedly independent U.S. affiliate, including an account that held American customers’ funds, bank records show. This allowed Chen and her deputies to move funds held in the bank accounts. The previously unreported bank records and messages show that Binance’s management over the U.S. business’s finances extended across its bank accounts at Silvergate and detail how this secret access was granted. Binance.US has denied that Binance ever operated its bank accounts. ‘PRIMARY ADMIN USER’The Binance.US trading platform was launched by its operating firm, BAM Trading, in mid-2019 under chief executive Catherine Coley.

Persons: Guangying Chen, Changpeng Zhao, Chen, Binance, Binance.US, Krishna Juvvadi, Christian Hertenstein, Brian Shroder, ” Hertenstein, Zhao, “, Chen’s, Juvvadi, Reutersalso, Peak’s, Catherine Coley, Coley, Silvergate, James McDonald, Hertenstein, ”, Susan Li, Li messaged, Li, Angus Berwick, Tom Wilson, Janet McBride, Michael Williams Organizations: Silvergate Bank, U.S, Reuters, BAM, U.S . Commodity Futures Trading Commission, CFTC, “, Thomson Locations: U.S, Washington, American, US, Binance, Shanghai, Binance.US

LONDON/TOKYO, June 1 (Reuters) - Global shares rose on Thursday amid receding bets for a U.S. rate hike this month and relief over the passage through the U.S. House of Representatives of a bill to suspend the federal debt ceiling. The Euro STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) rose 0.8% after closing at a two-month low in the previous session. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS), which tracks shares in 47 countries, added 0.2%. Also bolstering the mood were U.S. Federal Reserve officials including governor and vice chair nominee Philip Jefferson pointing to a rate hike "skip" at the Fed's June 13-14 policy meeting. However, shortly after, the Fed's Jefferson said skipping a rate hike in two weeks would provide policymakers time to see more data before making a decision.

Persons: Joe Biden, Ray Attrill, Philip Jefferson, Sandrine Perret, Jefferson, Patrick Harker, It's, it's, Tony Sycamore, Tom Wilson, Kevin Buckland, Simon Cameron, Moore, Lincoln, Emelia Organizations: U.S . House, Republicans, National Australia Bank, Federal, Fed, Philadelphia Fed, IG Markets, Treasury, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, U.S, Unigestion, Asia, London, Tokyo

May 9 (Reuters) - Digital stablecoin tether is winning the race for the title of the crypto world's "least risky" asset. Tether is already the top performer among stablecoins -- digital tokens pegged to some fiat asset like the dollar -- and has seen its market value soar since March. Buying tether and bitcoin is really a vote against the U.S. system," says Jensen. On CoinMarketCap's database of 23,891 tokens, tether has risen to number 3 with a market cap of $82 bln and a share of 6.83%. NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWSTo be sure, tether has long been dogged by doubts about its peg being backed by dollar reserves.

The seizure was to "thwart the activity" of Islamic State and "impair its ability to further its goals," the NBCTF said on its website. The NBCTF document, which has not been previously reported, did not give any details on the value of the crypto seized, nor how the accounts were connected to Islamic State. Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volumes, did not respond to Reuters' calls and emails seeking comment. The U.S. Treasury said in a report last year that Islamic State had received crypto donations it later converted to cash, accessing funds via crypto trading platforms. The owner of the two Islamic State-linked Binance accounts seized by Israel was a 28-year old Palestinian called Osama Abuobayda, the NBCTF document shows.

☆ Trump, other 2024 hopefuls seek NRA's blessing amid spate of shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A number of hopefuls, including Trump's closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are deliberating if and when to jump into the 2024 race to challenge the former president for the nomination. Trump, whom the NRA enthusiastically backed in 2016 before he was even officially declared the Republican presidential candidate, will address gun aficionados in person on Friday. DeSantis, and other White House hopefuls, Nikki Haley and Senator Tim Scott, will do so by video message. Trump's campaign website says he will "always defend your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms," but does not provide detailed policy proposals. For some fervent NRA members, however, neither Trump nor DeSantis are committed enough to the cause.

Known as Shapella, the latest upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain since its Merge upgrade will enable investors to redeem an offshoot of ether tokens that they have deposited in return for interest on the blockchain network over the past three years. Such so-called "staked ether" tokens currently account for about 15% of all ether tokens, according to data firm Dune Analytics, and are worth some $31 billion. Deposits & withdrawals for ETH, OP, ARB and ERC-20 tokens via the Ethereum, Optimism, and Arbitrum networks are now back online," Binance said in a tweet. The changes will likely lead to heightened volatility for ether, investors have predicted. In its last significant upgrade, Ethereum in September drastically reduced its energy usage - a move proponents said would give Ethereum an advantage as it seeks to surpass bitcoin.

April 12 (Reuters) - The software that underpins the second-biggest crypto coin ether is due for a software upgrade on Wednesday that will give investors access to more than $30 billion of the digital tokens. Such so-called "staked ether" tokens currently account for about 15% of all ether tokens, according to data firm Dune Analytics, and are worth some $31 billion. The upgrade is due for around 2230 GMT, according to a tweet by Tim Beiko of the Ethereum Foundation, a body that speaks for the Ethereum network. loadingThe changes will likely lead to heightened volatility for ether, investors have predicted. In its last significant upgrade, Ethereum in September drastically reduced its energy usage - a move proponents said would give Ethereum an advantage as it seeks to surpass bitcoin.

Reuters could not determine Coley's status in the government investigations or whether she had cooperated. While he was its director of enforcement, the CFTC increasingly worked on investigations in parallel with federal prosecutors. McDonald's representation of Coley comes as the U.S. investigations pile pressure on Binance, which dominates the crypto sector as the world's largest digital currency exchange. The CFTC's complaint said that Binance personnel, including Zhao, have "dictated Binance.US's corporate strategy, launch, and early operations." In a subpoena addressed to Coley that same month, the SEC also requested all records of her activities and meetings.

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.

The CFTC sued Binance, Zhao and its former top compliance executive with "willful evasion" of U.S. law, "while engaging in a calculated strategy of regulatory arbitrage to their commercial benefit." "Upon an initial review, the complaint appears to contain an incomplete recitation of facts, and we do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint," Zhao said in a statement. Firms such as brokers that facilitate U.S. customers' trading of such products are required to register with the agency. 'PIRATE SHIP'Founded in Shanghai in 2017, Binance sits at the heart of the global crypto industry. With a holding company based in the Cayman Islands, Binance has never revealed the location of its core exchange.

Senators have asked giant cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its U.S. partner Binance.US for information about their regulatory compliance and finances, citing a series of investigations by Reuters and some other media reports, according to a letter released on Wednesday. The collapse of rival crypto exchange FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been charged with fraud, “underscored the need for real transparency and accountability in the crypto industry," the senators wrote. Binance has previously disputed Reuters’ articles, calling the illicit-fund calculations inaccurate and the descriptions of its compliance controls "outdated." In the letter, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, the senators requested Binance and Binance.US provide documents and answers to their questions by March 16. The senators are seeking information about the companies’ balance sheets, U.S.-based users, anti-money laundering policies.

☆ Gentle soul, accordion player, mushroom lover: Half Moon Bay victim mourned
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - When friends of farm supervisor Marciano Martinez heard of the shooting at the Half Moon Bay mushroom plantations on Monday, they had a sinking feeling. Unmarried and with no children, he gradually became a part of Ortega's family, she said. When Ortega's husband, Reyes Vargas, was ill, Martinez would rush to the hospital after work. As Ortega's husband took a turn for the worse, he asked Martinez to look after his wife, Ortega recounted. In turn, Ortega, a talented cook, would prepare Mexican chiles rellenos, tongue tacos or her coveted homemade tortillas.

☆ Suspect in California's latest shooting rampage due in court
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Alexandra Ulmer | Thomson Reuters | U.S. National Affairs Correspondent Who Spent Four Years In Venezuela Covering President Maduro'S Administration | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] A suspect is arrested by law enforcement personnel after a mass shooting at two locations in the coastal northern California city of Half Moon Bay, California, U.S. January 23, 2023 in a still image from video. HALF MOON BAY, Calif., Jan 25 (Reuters) - The man accused of shooting and killing seven farm workers near San Francisco in the latest of two back-to-back gun rampages in California that claimed 18 lives overall was due in court on Wednesday for his initial appearance before a judge. Chunli Zhao, 66, the lone suspect in Monday's massacre at two mushroom farms in the seaside town of Half Moon Bay, is expected to be formally presented with murder and other charges at the San Mateo County Superior Court in nearby Redwood City. The suspect was described as a resident of Half Moon Bay, a community of about 12,000 residents known for its foggy weather, fishing, and agriculture. San Mateo County jail records showed Zhao was booked on suspicion of premeditated murder, attempted murder and firearms offenses.

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