Binance's BUSD Stablecoin Sees $500M Outflows After CFTC Lawsuit
Binance USD (BUSD) has seen over $500m in outflows since a lawsuit was filed against Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, which is smaller than the outflows seen following the February crackdown on New York-based BUSD issuer Paxos by the SEC. This could be due to Binance's decision to shift towards other stablecoins, with the exchange ending zero-fee trading for BUSD-listed trading pairs and moving them over to TrueUSD (TUSD)-listed pairs instead. Despite the turbulence, BUSD has maintained its peg and there have been no unforeseen incidents concerning BUSD on Binance chain-based DeFi applications, in which the stablecoin plays a huge role.
CFTC-Binance Lawsuit Could Worsen Crypto Market Liquidity, Pull Bitcoin Down to $25K: Observers
Binance's regulatory troubles may exacerbate liquidity problems in crypto markets, which have been plaguing the industry since the collapse of FTX in November. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sued Binance for running an alleged illegal exchange and a "sham" compliance program. Binance has long been the leading digital assets exchange, accounting for 81% of the total bitcoin traded on centralized exchanges in February. Observers worry that the lawsuit would bring a deeper decline in market liquidity, exacerbating volatility and causing large players to stay on the sidelines. Liquidity is measured by a metric called the 2% market depth, which has been slipping since FTX's sister firm Alameda Research closed shop five months ago. Some observers expect bitcoin to revisit former resistance-turned-support near $25,000 in the wake of regulatory uncertainty.
Binance Denies Hunting User Stops or Liquidation Prices, Emphasizing User Protection
Binance's chief strategy officer, Patrick Hillmann, recently took to Twitter to emphasize the exchange's commitment to user protection and deny the practice of hunting user stops or liquidation prices.
BNB Dumps 6% As CFTC Sues Binance And CEO For Non-Compliance
BNB, the native currency of the Binance ecosystem, has dropped 6% in the past 24 hours, underperforming the broader cryptocurrency market and trailing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others. The coin is now trading at $309, down 6% in the past 24 hours, and has broken below a critical support line visible in the BNBUSDT daily chart. Technical indicators, especially moving averages, are "bearish" within the last six to 24 hours. While BNB remains bullish for longer time frames, it might be negatively impacted in the days ahead as the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission is suing Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for violating trading laws and giving access to citizens.
Binance Saw $850M Withdrawal Prior to CFTC Indictment: Data
Just before the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) accused Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao of regulatory violations, almost $1bn in crypto reportedly left the exchange's wallets. According to Thanefield Capital data research, $850m was withdrawn from Binance in the 12 hours preceding the indictment. Just one hour after the announcement, Binance saw an additional $240m withdrawn. However, Binance still holds $63.36bn worth of cryptocurrency assets, including over $2bn worth of USDT, $17bn worth of Bitcoin, and $8.1bn worth of Ether. Binance has been under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service and federal prosecutors, as well as the SEC, for various alleged violations.
CFTC Could Force Binance to Cease U.S. Operations as Part of Settlement: Bernstein
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may require Binance to cease operations in the US as part of a potential settlement, according to a research report by Bernstein. The CFTC sued the crypto exchange and its founder Changpeng Zhao earlier this week for allowing US citizens to trade derivatives and for willful evasion of the country's laws. Binance.US makes up less than 5% of the exchange's global operations, and Bernstein expects that Binance will look to "safeguard its dominant international business" in Europe, Africa, and Australia. Bernstein doesn't expect this news to trigger a large selloff in the market, as the "regulatory narrative" has shifted from the US to expected Hong Kong and China flows.
Binance Bitcoin Balance Drops by 3.4K BTC Within 24 Hours of CFTC Lawsuit
Following the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) lawsuit against Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao, investors have reportedly pulled more than 3,400 Bitcoin from the exchange within 24 hours. This comes as investors have started spreading out their assets to minimize the impact of a potential shutdown. Binance's total Bitcoin balance has decreased by over 3,900 BTC over the past week, with 3,400 BTC withdrawn in the past 24 hours. Other exchanges, including Coinbase, Bitfinex, and Gemini, have seen an increase in BTC reserves during the same period. It's worth noting that Bitcoin balances on major exchanges have been decreasing since March 20, with nearly 27,000 BTC taken off exchanges in the past week.
Cointime News Wrapup-Afternoon Version: Montenegro to Hold Terra-Luna Fugitive Do Kwon for 30 Days, Says Yonhap News
Do Kwon will be held in Montenegro for a month on charges of using forged travel documents, according to local prosecutor Haris Shabotich.
XRP Surges to Five-Month High as Some Point to Bitcoin Commodities Mention
XRP tokens rose 8% to just under 50 cents in Asian morning hours on Tuesday, reaching a five-month high. Some members of the community suggested that the classification of major tokens as a commodity in a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filing against Binance could mean XRP tokens were commodities instead of a security, as alleged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in the ongoing Ripple v. SEC case. Ripple has previously made the case for xrp tokens as a commodity. The CFTC filed against Binance, alleging that it offered unregistered crypto derivatives products and directed US customers to evade compliance controls through the use of VPNs.
7 Details in the CFTC Lawsuit Against Binance You May Have Missed
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has accused Binance of market manipulation, lack of compliance effort, and obstruction of investigative subpoenas, among other things, in a surprise lawsuit. The CFTC has labelled Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether, and Binance USD as commodities, contradicting the SEC's argument that BUSD is an "unregistered security." The lawsuit also alleges that CEO Changpeng Zhao approved minor office expenses and paid for company services such as Amazon Web Services with his own personal credit card. The CFTC is seeking monetary penalties, injunctions, and disgorgement of any trading profits, salaries, commissions, loans, or fees gained from their wrongful actions. Binance has already rejected many of the allegations, hinting that a more in-depth response is incoming. A spokesperson from Binance has maintained that the exchange maintains country blocks for US citizens, regardless of where they live in the world. (Cointelegraph)
