Binance’s plan to return to UK blocked, Genesis settles SEC lawsuit

Headlines

▌Bloomberg: Binance’s plan to return to UK faces regulatory objections

According to Bloomberg news, Binance’s plan to return to the UK has encountered regulatory opposition. In recent months, at least three British companies with regulatory licenses approving communications between crypto platforms and their customers have rejected Binance’s requests, people familiar with the matter said. The request was denied after licensing businesses expressed concerns.  

Bloomberg reported that Binance denied that its attempts were opposed, with the exchange saying in an emailed statement: “It is inaccurate to say that we were rejected by the UK’s Article 21 approvers. , we will continue to have productive conversations with potential approvers and believe we will be able to provide a positive update soon."

▌< strong>Genesis reached a settlement with the SEC over its Earn product lawsuit, or may pay a $21 million fine

According to Bloomberg, the bankrupt crypto lending platform Genesis reached a settlement with the SEC over its Earn product lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Genesis' Gemini Earn program violated securities rules and amounted to the issuance of unregistered securities.  

It is reported that Genesis agreed to pay a $21 million civil penalty to the U.S. SEC to resolve the lawsuit, but according to documents filed with the New York Bankruptcy Court, it will only be possible if the company can comply with Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. The penalty will only be paid when its customers and other creditors are repaid in full. Genesis will seek bankruptcy court approval of its debt repayment plan in a few weeks. Genesis said in court documents that the settlement will save some cash flow by avoiding further litigation with the SEC.

Quotes

As of press time, according to coinmarketcap data:

The recent transaction price of BTC was 43,084.2 US dollars. Intraday increase or decrease+1.33%;

ETH’s recent transaction price was US$2,301.56, with intraday changes +0.56%;

BNB’s recent transaction price was US$299.9, with intraday changes +0.00 %;

The recent transaction price of 1.24%;

DOGE’s recent transaction price was US$0.0792, with intraday gains and losses+0.38%;

ADA’s recent transaction price was US$0.5057, with intraday gains and losses+2.56%;

SOL’s recent transaction price was US$97.5, rising during the day Decline+1.53% .

Policy

▌The U.S. Biden administration has initiated restrictions on the electricity consumption of Bitcoin miners" Urgent” investigation

The government is worried that as the price of Bitcoin rises, more Bitcoin miners may come online, putting more pressure on the power grid. The Biden administration has imposed new reporting requirements on all U.S. cryptocurrency miners, requiring them to disclose data related to the power they consume. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) will begin an investigation next week asking mining companies how many mining facilities they own, where they operate, and whether they use proof-of-work (POW) or proof-of-stake (POS) consensus mechanisms to interact with cryptocurrencies.  

EIA Administrator Joe DeCarolis said in a statement that we will pay special attention to how the energy needs of cryptocurrency mining evolve, identify high-growth geographic areas, and quantify the use of energy to meet the needs of cryptocurrency mining. Required power source. Miners must submit data monthly or risk "criminal fines, civil penalties and other sanctions." According to official documents from the environmental impact assessment, the investigation request needs to be processed urgently because if normal cleanup is followed program, is likely to cause public harm.

▌The U.S. Department of Justice said the $400 million missing from FTX was due to the SIM card swap attack Stolen

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that the $400 million missing from FTX was stolen due to a SIM card swap hacking attack. Three people have been charged with planning a SIM card swap scam. , the scam embezzled more than $400 million from FTX. According to the indictment filed in federal court in Washington, the trio collected the personal data of about 50 victims and used the information to convince cell phone providers to port the victims’ phone numbers to their virtual phones, intercepting text messages in the process, including multi-factor authentication codes, which allowed the hackers to compromise the victims' financial accounts and crypto wallets. 

It is understood that the indictment does not FTX was mentioned, but two people familiar with the matter confirmed in court documents that FTX was actually "one of the victim companies."

▌

strong>The U.S. SEC has postponed its decision on the Pando Spot Bitcoin ETF’s 19b-4 filing

A document released by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart shows that the U.S. SEC Delayed decision on 19b-4 filing for Pando Spot Bitcoin ETF.

▌United States Lawmakers seek to overturn the SEC’s controversial crypto accounting policy

U.S. lawmakers are seeking to overturn the SEC’s cryptocurrency accounting policy, with Senator Cynthia Lummis and House members Wiley Nickel and Mike Flood pushing for a repeal In response to the SEC’s Staff Accounting Notice No. 121, a move that makes it more difficult for companies to custody cryptocurrencies, lawmakers issued the resolution under the Congressional Review Act seeking to repeal the policy. 

Rep. The statement said: "Despite the impact of accounting standards on the treatment of assets held by financial institutions in custody, the SEC issued SAB 121 without consulting prudential regulators. It is Congress’s job to act as a check and balance in the face of regulatory overreach. ”

▌U.S. Senator: “Delicate” negotiations on encryption legislation are ongoing

Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis said today that "delicate" negotiations on U.S. encryption legislation are ongoing, and negotiations are taking place every day not only between the Democrats and Republicans, but also between the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. 

Lummis is a member of the Senate , a cryptocurrency policy advocate in China and co-author of one of the most sweeping legislative efforts to regulate digital assets, said the stablecoin project has the best chance of success this year because it has received "good technical assistance feedback" from the Federal Reserve. Lummis said: “I am optimistic that we will see stablecoin legislation this year or even the first half of this year. ”

▌The participants behind BTC-e were arrested and face money laundering charges from the U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ ) announced that Aliaksandr Klimenka, a participant behind the defunct digital currency exchange BTC-e, has been arrested and faces charges of money laundering and operating an unlicensed currency services business. The indictment states that Klimenka is suspected of controlling BTC with Alexander Vinnik and others. -e, Klimenka also controlled technology services firm Soft-FX and financial firm FX Open. He laundered more than $4 billion worth of criminal activity proceeds from 2011 to 2017 during the early days of cryptocurrency, including through ransomware scams, identity theft schemes and a drug distribution ring. 

If convicted of all charges, Klimenka faces up to 25 years in prison.

▌El Salvador Vice President: If Bukele will continue to promote Bitcoin plans if he is re-elected

El Salvador Vice President Felix Ulloa said in an interview this week that if Nayib Bukele continues to be re-elected, El Salvador will continue to promote Bitcoin plans and Bitcoin will Remains the country’s legal tender and continues to build a tech-friendly city powered by volcanoes and funded by Bitcoin-backed bonds. Polls suggest El Salvador’s current president Nayib Bukele will win Sunday’s election.

Blockchain Application

▌Arkham integrates Linea and launches MetaMask Snap

Arkham announced that it is working with Consensys to support its Scale program, integrating Linea into the Arkham platform and adding tags to MetaMask via MetaMask Snap. By adding support for Linea, Arkham will provide over $173 million in total value locked (TVL ) data and more than 2.6 million unique addresses on the chain. In addition, Arkham will launch MetaMask Snap, allowing users to view Arkham entity tags directly in MetaMask.

▌< /strong>Eigenpie will integrate Chainlink CCIP to achieve cross-chain re-staking functionality

Eigenpie stated that it is integrating Chainlink CCIP (industry for secure cross-chain interoperability) across Arbitrum and Ethereum mainnets Standard), Eigenpie will leverage CCIP’s simplified token transfer functionality to facilitate cross-chain transfers of Liquidity Recollateralized Tokens (LRT).

Cryptocurrency

▌As of the close of U.S. stocks, the daily trading volume of BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF Exceeded GBTC for the first time

According to data from Bloomberg Intelligence, as of the close of US stocks on February 1, the daily trading volume of BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) exceeded GBTC for the first time, with IBIT slightly higher At US$300 million, GBTC is approximately US$290 million.  

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said: “There is still some after-hours trading, but it looks like IBIT is the first ETF to have a single-day trading volume that exceeds Grayscale GBTC. Although today’s total trading volume It was $924 million, but it’s still a bit bad. This is the first time since the inception of this type of product that the single-day trading volume has been less than $1 billion.”

▌BlockFi: More than $500 million in cryptocurrency has been returned and the next round of fund returns will begin

BlockFi issued a document on the Total value of cryptocurrencies exceeds $500 million. Today BlockFi announced the start of the next round of fund returns.  

Starting in February, customers of BlockFi’s remaining businesses (including BlockFi Interest Account (BIA), loan customers and private customers) will be able to initiate withdrawal requests. To be eligible for allocation, a claimant must have an allowed claim, claimants who have filed claims but have not yet been reconciled and approved will be eligible after claims reconciliation.  

The opening of withdrawals will be staggered based on account type and value to minimize risk and ensure smooth withdrawals for all participants within the expected weeks. Therefore, not all accounts will be available immediately and further announcements regarding opening dates for each type of account will be made separately.  

This is the first wave of refunds for these businesses, and BlockFi expects to return 20-40% of the allowed claims to qualified customers. BlockFi continues to anticipate further withdrawals of FTX assets, which will be distributed to customers upon receipt. Withdrawals will be made in batches and customers eligible to withdraw will receive an email with specific instructions.

▌CoinShares will issue staking rewards to its Ethereum ETP investors

CoinShares stated that investors in the European-listed CoinShares Physical Ethereum ETP will receive an annual staking reward of 1.25%. Townsend Lansing, head of product at CoinShares, said that this reward is shared through “an upward adjustment to the token’s stake,” which is the amount of underlying assets required to create and redeem the security.  

CoinShares recently announced that it will reduce the fees on its physical Bitcoin ETP from 0.98% to 0.35%, a change that takes effect on Thursday.

▌Bitwise Chief Investment Officer: Bitcoin Spot ETF is on the Head Capital inflows in 14 trading days exceeded those of gold ETFs

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan shared on social media that the flow of Bitcoin spot ETFs after the first 14 trading days: $1.7 billion , Gold ETF flows after the first 14 trading days: $1.3 billion.

▌Valkyrie’s BTC will be hosted by BitGo and Coinbase, becoming the first spot Bitcoin ETF to achieve custody diversification

A public document shows that Valkyrie has appointed BitGo as the custodian of its spot Bitcoin ETF, and Coinbase Trust Company will continue to serve as the custodian.  

Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said: "Valkyrie has become the first spot Bitcoin ETF to diversify token custody, and its BTC will now be held by BitGo and Coinbase."

▌Paradigm: Prediction Market Can Hedge Crypto Startups' Regulatory Risk

Paradigm, the venture capital firm led by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, filed a legal brief in support of prediction market platform Kalshi's lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ( CFTC).  

In the case filed in November, Kalshi asked the court to reverse the CFTC's decision to refuse to list contracts that would give political parties control of both houses of Congress after the election. The regulator concluded that New York-based Kalshi was engaging in illegal gambling activities "contrary to the public interest."

▌Billionaire Alan Howard sells crypto holdings and reinvests in Brevan Howard Digital

Billionaire Alan Howard has sold his holdings in cryptocurrency companies, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. a small personal stake in the company, with plans to reinvest the proceeds in Brevan Howard Digital. Alan Howard is the co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management.  

The shares sold include stakes in custody company Copper and broker Bitpanda, people familiar with the matter said. If an acceptable offer is received, Howard plans to reinvest the proceeds into Brevan Howard’s digital assets unit, shares The size or estimated potential value has not been disclosed.   

Another anonymous source said Brevan Howard Digital plans to add more capital to its existing strategy and launch new asset management products and services in the coming months.

▌U.S. Senator Warren once again criticized illegal financial activities in cryptocurrency

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown Concerns over the potential use of cryptocurrencies for illicit finance and fraud were raised during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday.   

Warren has been critical of cryptocurrencies. She has been pushing to advance the Digital Assets Anti-Money Laundering Act over the past year and has won the support of 19 other senators. Warren "This bill will close loopholes in our anti-money laundering rules, making it easier for financial regulators to track suspicious cryptocurrency activity and stop scammers," he said at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

< strong>▌JPMorgan analysts: Tether’s growing dominance is bad for the crypto ecosystem

JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report "Tether is most at risk due to a lack of regulatory compliance and transparency. Therefore, we believe that Tether's increasing dominance over the past year is detrimental to the stablecoin space and the broader crypto ecosystem."  ;

Tether’s competitor Circle appears to be actively preparing for upcoming stablecoin regulations, and Tether’s growing market share and regulatory uncertainty pose downside risks to the market, analysts said.

Important economic trends

▌There is still room for imagination for further easing of monetary policy

In the coming period, the market will usher in an important observation window period. "There is still room for imagination to further loosen monetary policy." Analysts believe that after the policy mix at the beginning of the year, the total amount and structural changes in credit supply, as well as the next move of monetary policy, are worthy of attention. Zhong Zhengsheng, chief economist of Ping An Securities, said that there is necessity and policy space for comprehensive interest rate cuts and further reductions in deposit reserve ratios. The pace of implementation will mainly depend on changes in economic growth momentum, the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, and changes in the U.S. dollar index. In the short term, we cannot rule out the possibility of lowering the LPR in February and lowering the policy interest rate in March. (Shanghai Securities News)

Golden Encyclopedia

▌What does it mean to cancel a smart contract?

Revoking a smart contract usually means disabling or terminating its functionality on the blockchain. For example, revocation may prevent access to a user's crypto wallet and the ability to move tokens. Additionally, revoking a smart contract stops the ability to view a user’s token balance or public address.

Disclaimer: As a blockchain information platform, Golden Finance publishes articles for information reference only and not as actual investment advice. Please establish a correct investment philosophy and be sure to increase your risk awareness.