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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.

☆ CFTC: U.S. regulators needed to step in aggressively on Binance
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - Activity at Binance was a pretty clear case of evasion and U.S. authorities needed to step in aggressively and as quickly as possible, the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Tuesday. The U.S. agency sued Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, on Monday. Behnam said Binance was a common enterprise comprised of dozens and dozens of entities scattered across the globe. "Not having a headquarters, not having a location is not going to prevent the CFTC from coming after you," he said. "So we're going to vigorously continue and fight this case in court," he told the CFTC.

☆ U.S. regulators have 'gone to war' on the cryptocurrency industry, says crypto exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. regulators have 'gone to war' on the cryptocurrency industry, says crypto exchangeAdrian Przelozny, CEO of Independent Reserve, discusses the suit that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed against Binance.

☆ Morning Bid: Swinging between bank fears and rate risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike DolanMarkets seem caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Easing concerns about bank stability this week have merely re-introduced interest rate risk, reining in any suggestion of a runaway relief rally as the first quarter closes on Friday. While nerves persist over March bank failures and contagion fears, central banks are still faced with punchy growth and inflation and will likely switch attention back to cooling that down once they're assured banks can take the strain. But interest rate markets are already correcting as signs of stability in the banking arena emerge. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

☆ CFTC chairman on Binance lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCFTC chairman on Binance lawsuitRostin Behnam, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss the commission's investigation and subsequent lawsuit against Binance, details behind the suit, and more.

☆ U.S. SEC and CFTC are in a turf war over who gets to regulate crypto: Crypto Council for Innovation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailU.S. SEC and CFTC are in a turf war over who gets to regulate crypto: Crypto Council for InnovationSheila Warren, CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, discusses the suit that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed against Binance.

☆ Binance Sued by CFTC Over Evading U.S. Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Eric Lee for The Wall Street JournalThe CFTC and other federal agencies have been investigating Binance for several years. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday sued Binance Holdings Ltd., alleging the operator of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange violated U.S. rules that require futures and other derivatives to be traded on regulated platforms. The CFTC’s lawsuit also named Binance founder Changpeng Zhao and Samuel Lim , who the agency said was Binance’s first chief compliance officer, as defendants. The lawsuit seeks restitution and fines as well as an order that would prevent the companies from any continuing conduct that violates U.S. rules.

In the week ended March 21, money managers reduced their net long position in CBOT soybean futures and options to 110,786 contracts from 127,661 a week earlier. In the week ended March 21, most-active CBOT soybean futures fell 1.8%, new-crop November soybeans shed 3.2%, soymeal lost 4.3% but soyoil added 0.1%. GRAINSMoney managers were modest buyers of CBOT corn futures and options in the week ended March 21 after selling nearly 300,000 contracts over the previous four weeks. Managed money net position in CBOT corn futures and optionsIn CBOT wheat, money managers cut their net short for a second consecutive week, to 86,500 futures and options contracts from 95,257 a week earlier. In the week ended March 21, most-active CBOT corn futures rose 1.5% but CBOT wheat fell 1.9%.

☆ Judge halts Voyager Digital's $1.3 bln sale to Binance.US
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 27 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Monday temporarily stopped bankrupt Voyager Digital (VYGVQ.PK) from completing a proposed $1.3 billion sale to crypto exchange Binance.US, allowing the U.S. government more time to pursue appeals that challenge the legality of the deal. Trustee, the Department of Justice's (DOJ) bankruptcy watchdog, filed appeals in early March over a bankruptcy court's approval of the sale. Binance.US has agreed to pay $20 million in cash to Voyager, and take on crypto assets deposited by Voyager customers. Those assets, valued at $1.3 billion in February, account for the bulk of the deal's valuation, according to Voyager. Binance.US maintains publicly that it is entirely independent of Binance.com, operating as the "U.S. partner" to the world's biggest crypto exchange.

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.

Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 142 million barrels in the six most important contracts in the seven days ending on March 21, after selling 139 million barrels in the week to March 14. Fund managers have slashed their combined position to just 289 million barrels (6th percentile for all weeks since 2013) from 570 million (46th percentile) on March 7. The fund community liquidated 163 million barrels of previous bullish long positions in the two most recent weeks, while establishing 115 million barrels of new bearish short ones. The most recent week saw heavy sales across the board, including Brent (-63 million barrels), NYMEX and ICE WTI (-48 million), U.S. gasoline (-15 million), U.S. diesel (-6 million) and European gas oil (-10 million). Anticipating the erosion of the surplus, funds have bought the equivalent of 774 billion cubic feet in the last seven weeks.

March 27 (Reuters) - Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance and executives, including CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao, have been sued by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for regulatory violations, according to a court filing on Monday. Binance's compliance program has been "ineffective" and the firm, under the direction of Zhao, told employees and customers to go around compliance controls, the CFTC said. It also accused Binance's former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim of aiding and abetting Binance's violations. "For years, Binance knew they were violating CFTC rules, working actively to both keep the money flowing and avoid compliance. Its core Binance.com exchange, the world's biggest, processed trades worth about $23 trillion last year, according to data provider CryptoCompare.

Asian markets could rebound on Tuesday from their sluggish start to the week, after a deal to buy the assets of stricken U.S. bank Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) prompted a relief rally in financials and allayed fears of deeper systemic stress. Treasury's sale of $43 billion five-year notes on Tuesday and $35 billion of seven-year notes on Wednesday will be worth monitoring. There are no central bank policy decisions on Tuesday, but investors can expect a slew of headlines from central bank officials around the world to hit their screens. In Asia, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda gives a speech, and finance ministers and central bank governors of the ASEAN nations attend a three-day summit in Bali. European Central Bank and Bank of England chiefs Christine Lagarde and Andrew Bailey head a raft of European policymaker events.

☆ 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.

ORLANDO, Florida, March 22 (Reuters) - First the record wager on higher U.S. interest rates, now the record wipe out. Their record net short position in three-month Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) futures of 1.17 million contracts was slashed to 329,638 contracts in the week through March 14. chartchartExpectations of a 6% fed funds rate have long faded. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall. The latest CFTC figures also revealed how the recent surge in volatility has put speculative accounts trading three-month SOFR futures out of the market.

Most-active CBOT futures contracts all traded lower in the week ended March 14, and losses are as follows: corn 2.1%, soybeans 1.4%, wheat 0.3%, soymeal 1.4% and soyoil 4.2%. Corn and soyoil notched multi-month lows during the week and wheat dropped to its lowest level in a year-and-a-half. Money managers were net sellers of more than 75,000 CBOT corn futures and options contracts in the week ended March 14, establishing a net short of 54,134 contracts, their first bearish stance since August 2020. Managed money net position in CBOT corn futures and optionsMoney managers also flipped to a net short in CBOT soybean oil as of March 14, their first since June 2020. In the week ended March 21, which represents the next set of CoT data, most-active CBOT corn futures rose 1.5% and soyoil added 0.1%.

☆ Oil rises 2% in retreat from 15-mth low as banking fears subside
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Arathy Somasekhar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Fears of a banking crisis and a recession have eased, brightening the oil demand outlook at least for now," said Fiona Cincotta, Senior Financial Markets Analyst at City Index. Wall Street indexes also closed sharply higher on Tuesday as fears over liquidity in the banking sector abated and market participants eyed the Fed. Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories rose by about 3.3 million barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. OPEC+ sources told Reuters the drop in prices reflects banking fears rather than supply and demand. The CEO of energy trader Gunvor, Torbjorn Tornqvist, said he expected oil prices to move higher toward year end as rising Chinese demand tightens the market further.

LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Portfolio investors dumped petroleum futures and options at one of the fastest rates on record in the early stages of the banking crisis, as traders anticipated an increased probability of a recession hitting oil consumption. Hedge funds and other money managers sold the equivalent of 139 million barrels in the six most important futures and options contracts over the seven days ending March 14. Fund managers have sold a total of 148 million barrels since the end of January, taking their combined position to 432 million barrels (20th percentile for all weeks since 2013). In the most recent week, there were heavy sales of Brent (-65 million barrels), NYMEX and ICE WTI (-59 million), U.S. gasoline (-12 million) and European gas oil (-7 million), with only minor buying of U.S. diesel (+4 million). Related column:- U.S. bank failure places oil prices under pressure (March 13, 2023)John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data shows that speculators held the largest ever net short position in three-month SOFR rate futures in the week ending March 7, only a few weeks after amassing a record short position in two-year Treasuries futures. Implied rates then plunged as much as 200 basis points in a week as traders drastically redrew their Fed outlook. Analysts at Deutsche Bank say the huge disconnect between bond and rates volatility over equity volatility recently is partly down to the extreme positioning in fixed income. A short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall.

☆ U.S. poised to tighten reporting rules on $20 tln private fund sector
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( Douglas Gillison | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

March 17 (Reuters) - Wall Street's top regulator is set to adopt new rules aimed at bolstering oversight of systemic risk in the burgeoning, multitrillion-dollar world of private equity and hedge-funds. As proposed in January 2022, the rule would require reporting of such events to the SEC within one business day. The agency billed the new rule in part as a means of supporting the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a multi-agency risk-monitoring body also created under Dodd-Frank. The proposal offered "scant evidence" that it would enhance FSOC's monitoring for systemic risk, she said in dissenting remarks against the proposal, adding that it would likely become a tool "for government to micromanage private fund risk management." Reporting by Douglas Gillison; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

However, they pushed their bullish soybean meal bets to a new record and bought a respectable amount of beans, though investors’ pessimism toward CBOT wheat increased even further. They also reduced their net long in CBOT soybean oil to 20,526 futures and options contracts from 28,093 in the prior week. Through March 7, money managers increased their net short in CBOT wheat futures and options by nearly 9,000 contracts to 100,636 contracts, their most bearish since January 2018. They also sold more than 3,500 Minneapolis wheat contracts through March 7, flipping to a net short of 3,029. Between March 7 and March 16, most-active CBOT futures traded as follows: corn -0.2%, soybeans -1.6%, wheat +0.1%, meal -2.8%, soyoil -1.6%.

☆ US CFTC to give pass over certain swap reporting failures tied to SVB, Signature Bank contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Wednesday said it would give a pass to firms that cannot meet certain swap reporting requirements following the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB.O) and Signature Bank (SBNY.O). The Commission will not launch enforcement actions against any counterparties that cannot meet agency reporting requirements for swaps contracts solely from the FDIC transfers, it said. Those may include business conduct, margin, clearing and trade execution requirements. Firms should "should use best efforts to fulfill their reporting obligations with respect to such swaps," the CFTC said. Reporting by Chris Prentice, Kanishka Singh, Rami Ayyub and Ismail ShakilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data published on Tuesday shows that speculators held the largest net short position in three-month 'SOFR' rate futures since September, and the biggest net short 10-year Treasuries futures position since 2018. While they trimmed their net short 2-year Treasuries futures position, it was only a reduction of around 5% from the record short a couple of weeks earlier. They trimmed their two-year futures net short to 656,575 contracts - two weeks prior they were net short 696,686 contracts, a record. chartA short position is essentially a wager that an asset's price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and interest rates, yields and implied rates fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall.

☆ Analysis: SVB collapse unleashes Treasury volatility, whiplashing investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Carolina Mandl | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] Customers wait in line outside a branch of the Silicon Valley Bank in Wellesley, Massachusetts, U.S., March 13, 2023. REUTERS/Brian SnyderNEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - Extreme volatility is rattling U.S. Treasury markets in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's (SIVB.O) collapse and investors fear a prolonged bout of gyrations before calm returns to bond markets. The Fed chief's hawkish message helped push yields, which move inversely to prices, to their highest levels in years. As investors piled back into Treasuries, yields plummeted. Over the longer term, sustained rate volatility is unlikely to be good for stocks, said Purves, of Tallbacken Capital.

LATEST DATAIn the week ended Feb. 21, money managers cut nearly 19,000 CBOT corn futures and options contracts off their net long, which fell to 215,928 contracts. They also increased their net long in CBOT soyoil by nearly 12,000 futures and options contracts, and the resulting net long was 34,301 contracts, a one-month high. When adding other reportable traders’ net long, the overall speculative soymeal net long is also a record at 173,690 contracts. and Minneapolis wheat futures and options contracts as of Feb. 21. Most-active CBOT futures hit some milestone lows on Friday.

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