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☆ Binance's US arm struggles to find bank to take its customers' cash, Wall Street Journal reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. arm of cryptocurrency exchange Binance is struggling to find a bank to handle its customers' cash after the failure of Signature Bank (SBNY.PK) last month, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter. Previously, the deposits were sent to either Signature Bank or Silvergate Capital Corp (SI.N), both seen as crypto-friendly banks. However, after both failed, the exchange is rushing to find a new banking partner, according to the report. The company has unsuccessfully tried to establish relationships with Cross River Bank and Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI.N), the report said, adding that banks are reluctant due to concerns over regulatory risk. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

He had told Oxford Gold that he wanted to "get the lay of the land" ahead of picking up a $9 million order for 151 gold kilo bars. But most unusual was that Mancuso wanted to pick up the order from the Oxford Gold office, the source said. The next day, Mancuso contacted Oxford Gold about buying $9 million worth of gold, and the company agreed to sell him 151 gold kilo bars. But Oxford Gold was alerted on December 2 that this was a fraudulent transaction, said a source with direct knowledge. Unsure what to do, Oxford Gold contacted the Beverly Hills Police Department, and eventually got in touch with the FBI, this source said.

Binance's Australian derivatives license was canceled at the crypto exchange's own request, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission said Thursday, after the regulator had begun a "targeted review of Binance" in February. Binance's exchange token was down just under 0.5% Thursday morning. Binance's regulatory scrutiny has been mounting in recent weeks and months. An apparently inadvertent compliance issue led to the Australian regulatory probe. Australia's top securities regulator has had a challenging relationship with the crypto industry in recent months, pursuing enforcement actions against several firms which the regulator alleges have violated Australian law.

☆ Crypto exchange Binance expands in Argentina
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Anna-Catherine Brigida | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BUENOS AIRES, April 4 (Reuters) - Crypto exchange Binance, which has been sued by U.S. regulators, said on Tuesday it is expanding services in inflation-hit Argentina, allowing users to buy and sell digital currencies directly with local pesos. Until now, Binance had operated in Argentina only as an intermediary platform to match crypto buyers and sellers. He said local users could transfer pesos to a Binance account and see their balance reflected there in local currency, which would then be usable to buy crypto. As Binance has faced mounting scrutiny from regulators, the exchange has lost some banking partners needed for so-called on-ramp, off-ramp transactions to fiat currencies. "Argentine users know the crypto world," Hinz said.

☆ Stocks finished the quarter surprisingly strong. What’s next?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The tech-heavy Nasdaq made a remarkable resurgence, soaring nearly 17% in its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2020. The labor market has remained red hot, despite the Fed’s aggressive tightening campaign. The number of job openings fell in January , signaling a slight cooling but still hot labor market. The March jobs report. Friday: March jobs report and February consumer credit.

☆ Stocks bounced back in the first quarter, but it’s too early to celebrate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The broad-based S&P 500 seesawed throughout the quarter, ending January on a high note before tumbling in February, rising again in March and ultimately ending the quarter up about 7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq made a remarkable resurgence, soaring nearly 17% in its best quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2020. That comes after a tough 2022 for tech stocks, as investors sought out less risky avenues to ride out turbulence from the Fed’s interest rate hike campaign. Bond prices rose as investors wagered that the Federal Reserve won’t raise rates as high as previously expected due to the banking crisis. Wall Street largely shrugged it all off, however, with stocks recouping their losses — and then some — as investors started snapping up tech stocks, boosting the broader equity market.

☆ Stocks bounced back this quarter, but it’s too early to celebrate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Krystal Hur | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

☆ Crypto Giant Binance Offered Perks to ‘Flash Boys,’ Regulator’s Lawsuit Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Alexander Osipovich | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A regulator’s lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance Holdings Ltd. has shed light on the secretive role of high-frequency traders in crypto and how Binance sought to curry favor with such big-ticket customers. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s lawsuit, filed Monday, shows that Binance ran a “VIP” program for big trading firms that gave them various perks including slightly faster access to the exchange’s core systems than other customers enjoyed.

☆ CFTC Charges Against Binance Highlight Role of Former Compliance Chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A Binance spokeswoman called the complaint filed by the CFTC ”unexpected and disappointing as we have been working collaboratively with the CFTC for more than two years.”The suit by U.S. regulators against Binance Holdings Ltd. focuses in large part on the work of the cryptocurrency exchange’s former chief compliance officer, alleging he willfully aided and abetted the firm in evading U.S. laws. Samuel Lim, Binance’s compliance chief between 2018 and 2022, faces civil charges of undermining Binance’s compliance program and conducting activities to evade rules designed to prevent illicit financial activity, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Monday.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to latest round of federal fraud, bribery charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty in New York federal court Thursday to five additional charges related to the collapse of his former crypto exchange FTX and hedge fund Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried's hedge fund then allegedly used the unfrozen assets to continue to fund Alameda's loss-generating trades, continuing on what the government says was a fraud upon customers and investors for another year. The 13-count indictment gives details of hundreds of political donations that Bankman-Fried allegedly directed in violation of federal campaign finance laws. Bankman-Fried already pleaded not guilty to eight other counts. In addition to this federal indictment, Bankman-Fried also faces civil charges from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

☆ Bitcoin’s correlation with stocks is at its lowest since 2021 as investors grapple with the cryptocurrency's narrative shift
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The break became more noticeable in March, as investors rediscovered bitcoin's appeal as alternative banking system as the regional banking crisis unfolded. Bitcoin's correlation with the S & P 500 is now at its lowest since September 2021, after reaching its highest ever in 2022 , according to Coin Metrics. Meanwhile, bitcoin's correlation with gold, a traditionally "risk-off" asset, has risen. This break in correlation is perhaps a sign more investors are waking up to this fact." Bitcoin became more of an institutional asset at the start of 2021 as big investors, short term traders and macro funds jumped into the market.

☆ Dollar rebounds as banking fears fade; yen falls on quarter-end flows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - The dollar rose against most major peers on Wednesday, reversing some of its recent declines, and gained sharply against the yen, which was volatile as the end of the Japanese fiscal year approaches. Improving risk sentiment and investor hopes that central banks can once again turn their attention toward fighting inflation was helping support the dollar, Given said. The dollar rose to a one-week high against the yen, which remained volatile in the run-up to the end of the Japanese fiscal year on Friday. "A decent amount of USD/JPY flow today is end of quarter related," Monex USA's Given said. The dollar was 1.37% higher at 132.71 yen .

NEW YORK, March 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto firm Beaxy.com and several executives for registration failures on Wednesday, expanding regulators' push to rein in the industry. That structure, which is common throughout the crypto industry, is one that the SEC's chair has criticized for conflicts of interest and risks to investors. On Monday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission sued Binance, accusing the world's largest crypto exchange of violating rules preventing illegal activity. The next day, prosecutors in New York added a Chinese bribery charge to their fraud case against Sam Bankman-Fried, who founded the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. Another man, Brian Peterson, was accused of acting as an unregistered dealer by providing marketing services to Beaxy.

☆ Dollar firmer as banking fears fade; yen sinks on quarter-end flows
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Saqib Iqbal Ahmed | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"The dollar is trading mixed today with a bit of upside as global risk sentiment improves and central banks can turn their attention back toward inflation," Given said. The dollar rose to a one-week high against the yen , which remained volatile in the run-up to the end of the Japanese fiscal year on Friday. "A decent amount of USD/JPY flow today is end of quarter related," Monex USA's Given said. "Traders are concerned with real money outcomes at the moment, but as global risk sentiment continues to improve, JPY as a traditional haven looks less appealing," she said. The dollar was 1.03% higher at 132.275 yen.

☆ Dollar soothed by uneasy market calm
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar index , which tracks the currency against six peers, was flat at 102.42, giving up small gains of up to 0.3% in the European morning. It has fallen for the past two sessions, and is set for a 2.1% monthly fall, a victim of the market ructions induced by problems in the banking industry. "We have returned to a sense of calm right now, but I don't think it's all over. The dollar touched a one-week high on the yen and was last up 0.7% to 131.85 yen , while the euro gained 0.7% against the yen to 143. The dollar had dropped 0.5% against the yen the previous day, when it uncharacteristically moved in the opposite direction to long-term U.S. Treasury yields, which have been rising as calm returns to markets.

The dollar index , which tracks the currency against six peers, gained 0.15% to 102.64. It has fallen for the past two sessions, and is set for a 2.1% monthly fall, a victim of the market ructions induced by problems in the banking industry. The dollar touched a one week high and was last up 0.8% to 131.99 yen , while the euro gained 0.6% against the yen to 142.9. The dollar had dropped 0.5% against the yen the previous day, when it uncharacteristically moved in the opposite direction to long-term U.S. Treasury yields, which have been rising as calm returns to markets. Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Shri Navaratnam, Jamie Freed and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Safe-haven dollar sluggish as banking fears ebb; yen drops
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The dollar index , which tracks the currency against six major peers, edged 0.08% higher to 102.57 in Asian trading, following drops of about 0.3% in each of the past two sessions. The weakness comes despite a rise in U.S. Treasury yields, also the result of ebbing demand for the safest assets. The yen remained volatile in the run-up to the end of the Japanese fiscal year on Friday. The dollar jumped 0.59% to 131.68 yen , and touched a one-week high of 131.80. The yen had dropped 0.5% the previous day, when it uncharacteristically moved in the opposite direction with long-term U.S. Treasury yields.

Bankman-Fried is expected to be arraigned on the new indictment on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan federal court. The new indictment said Bankman-Fried ordered the $40 million cryptocurrency payment to a private wallet from Alameda's main trading account, to persuade Chinese government authorities to unfreeze Alameda accounts with more than $1 billion of cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said the Alameda accounts had been frozen as part of an investigation into an unnamed Alameda counterparty, and Bankman-Fried's prior efforts to lobby Chinese officials to lift the freeze were unsuccessful. They also said Bankman-Fried around November 2021 authorized a transfer of tens of millions of dollars of additional cryptocurrency to "complete" the bribe. Concerns that Bankman-Fried might tamper with witnesses prompted Kaplan to threaten jailing him unless tighter restrictions could be worked out.

☆ Binance Sees $2 Billion in Outflows as Troubles Compound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Vicky Ge Huang | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said the CFTC complaint is ‘unexpected and disappointing.’Traders are pulling billions of dollars from Binance as problems plaguing the world’s largest crypto exchange continue to mount. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Monday sued Binance, alleging the exchange operated illegally in the U.S. and violated rules designed to prevent illicit financial activity. Last week, Binance announced it would charge fees on spot bitcoin trading again after cutting them to zero last summer. It also had to temporarily suspend spot trading for hours while it fixed a software error.

☆ Bitcoin climbs 5% above $28,000 as investors shrug off regulatory crackdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Industry insiders said the bank collapses have sent investors looking for alternatives to the traditional banking system and there is also anticipation of a slowdown in interest rate rises, which is helping bitcoin. Bitcoin climbed sharply Wednesday as investors shrugged off initial fears surrounding U.S. regulators' crackdowns on industry giants and became willing to take some risk. Bitcoin has retaken the $28,000 level after dipping below it on Monday following news of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission FTC's lawsuit against Binance. Investors have taken some comfort from the thought of a reversal in the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate hiking moves, which put pressure on risk assets like stocks. Bitcoin has been known to follow movements in equity markets, with investors treating it like more of a traditional risk asset.

☆ Morning Bid: Bank calm, rates firm, Alibaba steals show
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A semblance of calm has returned to world markets in the final week of the first quarter as the banking storm abates and the spotlight switched to a share-boosting six-way revamp of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Investors cheered the surprise move from Alibaba (9988.HK) as a sign Beijing's corporate crackdown may be nearing an end, sending shares of the Jack Ma-founded firm and peers soaring. The surprise move seeks to take advantage of Ermotti's experience rebuilding the bank after the global financial crisis 15 years ago. Broader stock markets were higher across the board, with Wall St futures up almost 1% ahead of the open. Futures markets now show a 50-50 chance of one more Fed rate hike in this cycle in May and half a point of easing by yearend.

Companies Binance Labs FollowLONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Investors withdrew $1.6 billion of cryptocurrency from crypto exchange Binance since it was sued by the U.S. CFTC on Monday, blockchain data tracker Nansen said on Wednesday. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) sued Binance - the world's biggest crypto exchange - along with its CEO and former top compliance executive, alleging that they were operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program. Since the lawsuit, Binance has seen $1.6 billion of overall withdrawals and $852 million in the last 24 hours, Nansen said, in a step up from the average of $385 million per day over the last two weeks. Martin Lee, research analyst at Nansen, said that the outflows were higher than usual, but still not as high as Dec. 13, when investors pulled $3 billion from Binance as they grew nervous about the status of Binance's reserves. Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft, Editing by Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Dollar on the defensive as banking fears ebb; yen drops
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

In this photo illustration, US 100 dollar bills seen on an American flag. The dollar index , which tracks the currency against six major peers, was flat in early Asian trading, following drops of about 0.3% in each of the past two sessions. The yen remained volatile in the run-up to the end of the Japanese fiscal year on Friday. The dollar jumped 0.51% to 131.59 yen , erasing all of the previous day's 0.5% decline, when it uncharacteristically moved in the opposite direction with long-term U.S. Treasury yields. The token had dipped as low as $26,541 on Monday, after its retreat from a nine-month high of $29,380 last week.

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.

FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried paid out tens of millions of dollars worth of bribes to at least one Chinese government official, federal prosecutors alleged in a new indictment Tuesday. The indictment said accounts belonging to Bankman-Fried's hedge fund, Alameda Research, were the target of a freezing order from Chinese police "in or around" November 2021. Bankman-Fried and his associates considered and tried "numerous methods" to unfreeze the accounts, which contained around $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency, prosecutors allege. Ultimately, after both legal and personal efforts failed, Bankman-Fried agreed to and directed a multimillion-dollar bribe to have the frozen accounts unlocked, prosecutors alleged. Bankman-Fried now faces a federal indictment and civil charges from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

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