Autor Cointelegraph By Prashant Jha

Binance's Paysafe deal worries UK financial watchdog

Binance's Paysafe deal worries UK financial watchdog

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 16, 2022 |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the top financial authority in the United Kingdom, has raised concerns over Binance’s recent partnership with Paysafe, a retail payment processor.The U.K. financial watchdog said the latest partnership of Binance gives it access to the extensive retail payment network via Faster Payment Services (FPS), a critical service that was discontinued for the crypto exchange citing regulatory concerns. FCA had ordered Binance to halt all its services in June. Prominent banks like Barclays have withdrawn their support to the exchange, resulting in the suspension of banking services.Binance managed to facilitate its consumers with Sterling deposits again and reopened SEPA transfers on Jan. 26 after its partnership with Paysafe. This has become a reason for concern for the financial watchdog that has deemed the exchange as a “significant risk.” However, the financial regulator also noted that they have little say in these kinds of partnerships, reported FT.“Paysafe is aware of our concerns and is subject to close ongoing supervision consistent with our approach for firms of its size. We cannot comment further,” FCA noted.Related: UK Treasury wants to remove blockchain reference from crypto definitionThe crypto exchange has maintained that it has been working with the FCA post the warnings to become a compliant exchange in the country. Binance and Paysafe didn’t respond to requests for comments from Cointelegraph at the time of publishing.Binance’s regulatory trouble in 2021 started in the U.K where regulators issued multiple compliance warnings against the crypto exchange followed by an order to shut down operations. This was followed by similar regulatory warnings from Hong Kong, Thailand, the Cayman Islands, Japan and a few others. The crypto exchange giant managed to mend its relationship in several Asian nations by the end of the year.Crypto regulatory frameworks in the U.K. are yet to be finalized, but crypto trading is not prohibited. However, the lack of a clear framework makes crypto firms rely on guidelines from regulators, which keep changing from time to time. The current regulatory discussion in the U.K. revolves around DeFi lending and staking. Lawmakers in the country are divided: Some want to make the U.K. a crypto hub, while others continue to make a case against it.

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Fed never did it: US Senate Banking head lashes out at Super Bowl crypto ads

Fed never did it: US Senate Banking head lashes out at Super Bowl crypto ads

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 16, 2022 |

The Super Bowl advertisements by crypto companies, including Coinbase, FTX and several others, ruled social media and news headlines for their out-of-the-box approach. However, United States Senate Banking Committee Chief Sherrod Brown was not impressed and blasted the ad-makers for not including appropriate warnings and risks involved.Brown, during the Tuesday Senate hearing on stablecoins, brought in the topic of popular crypto advertisements that aired during the Super Bowl. He said most of these ads failed to tell people about the downsides of investing in cryptocurrencies. The companies failed to mention the wild price swings and prevalent scams that occur in the market or the fact that the crypto market is not as well regulated as the traditional ones.Super Bowl advertisement slots are highly popular, and companies such as Coinbase and FTX paid nearly $20 million for a 30-second ad slot.Related: Crypto exchange FTX.US to give away Bitcoin as part of Super Bowl adBrown lashed out at the crypto companies, claiming they are just trying to make big profits and reaching out to as many Americans as they can. He also said that if crypto is money many of these companies claim it is, why do they need to spurge millions to promote it. He said:“The fact that these companies felt the need to advertise at all is a bit of a giveaway about one of their major claims — if this were actually meant to be used as currency, why would you need to buy ads? I’ve never seen the Federal Reserve buy a multimillion-dollar commercial for U.S. dollars.”The crypto community on Twitter was not very pleased with the Senate Banking head’s take on crypto ads as one user wrote:“As if ‘fiat’ currencies have never had issues with transparency, use illegality, being untraceable, used worldwide in criminal ways, and the like. Fear-uncertainty-doubt rules the day for some.”Another user recommended a more detailed education on cryptocurrencies:“Sounds like Sen. Sherrod Brown needs a crypto education. Brian Brooks, time to make another house call.”The Tuesday Senate hearing saw Brown also advocate against stablecoins, claiming they endanger the economy and hard-earned money of Americans. However, Representative Josh Gottheimer introduced a new legislature for government-insured stablecoins quite similar to fiat deposits.

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LooksRare team cashes out $30M in WETH, faces community backlash

LooksRare team cashes out $30M in WETH, faces community backlash

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 15, 2022 |

LooksRare, a nonfungible token (NFT) marketplace touted to be the OpenSea killer, became the talk of the NFT world after the team behind the project cashed out millions in Ether (ETH).The NFT marketplace confirmed that the core team has cashed out 10,500 WETH estimated to be worth $30 million from the unattributed staked native token LOOKS. The native token was used for paying fees on the platform and was also awarded to users when they sold their NFT on the platform. The unattributed LOOKS tokens were cashed out for Ether on the popular crypto mixing tool Tornado Cash.Reported LooksRare Tornado Cash Address Source:EtherScanThe team received heavy backlash from the community on Twitter when the news became public and the price of the native token LOOKS also tumbled by nearly 15% in the aftermath. However, one of the team members took to Twitter to defend the withdrawal and claimed that the team earning rewards in wrapped Ethereum was never a secret.Zodd, one of the core members added that the LooksRare team has been working on the platform for over six months without any monetary compensation and have already fronted the 7-figure cost before the launch. Related: Gamestop partners with Immutable X for NFT marketplace announces $100M grant for creatorsResponding to a tweet that the team has cashed out nearly $73 million in WETH, Zodd corrected the figure and claimed the actual amount was about $30 million. The team member also dismissed speculations of a probable rug pull and claimed they are going nowhere and the future of the platform is bright. LooksRare didn’t respond to a request for comment from Cointelegraph at the time of writing.(1/6)To address this:First off, the amount is incorrect: it’s closer to 10,500 ETH and we have 10+ full-time team members. You can verify the amount on the blockchain by checking ETH transfers sent out on the analytics tab from the team address.https://t.co/Z4Qkv5T02a— Zodd (@ZoddLooksRare) February 14, 2022The LooksRare community seemed unimpressed by the clarification behind the cash-out and suggested that the team purchase back the native token instead of cashing out in Ether. One user wrote:“Love that you address this like “we haven’t been paid for 6 months”. So each team member just cashed out over 3 million USD (for 6 months’ work) leaving the public bag holders broke with a shitty chart like this? Joke…. community-driven lol. Another crypto sad joke tbh.”Another user questioned the motive of using a mixing tool for cashing out and wrote:So why tornado it? Seems like you kinda got caught cashing out and now damage control

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Binance Smart Chain becomes BNB Chain

Binance Smart Chain becomes BNB Chain

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 15, 2022 |

Decentralized blockchain ecosystem Binance Smart Chain (BSC) today announced that it is taking a new name, BNB Chain, in a bid to reflect its connection with the native token of the ecosystem Binance Coin (BNB).According to the release, BNB now stands for “Build and Build” instead of short for Binance Coin. Powered by BNB, the BNB Chain would introduce advanced capabilities and focus on building Web3 infrastructure. Under the freshly-named BNB Chain umbrella, the chain governance part, the Binance Chain, where staking and voting happens, has become BNB Beacon Chain. On the other hand, the EVM-compatible, multichain-supporting Binance Smart Chain is simply named BNB Smart Chain, still shortened as BSC.The BNB Chain will bring all its Web3 development under the umbrella of MetaFi that will bring together developers and projects from the metaverse along with GameFi and SocialFi. The BNB Chain would bring large-scale applications and developer tools while expanding the validator set from 21 to 41 with a focus on scalability.Related: Binance Invests $200M in Forbes to boost consumer knowledge on BitcoinCointelegraph reached out to Binance for more info, and this article will be updated with the response.Binance Smart Chain was launched in September 2020 as an alternative to Ethereum blockchain and mimicked the platform in its operation with a lower transaction cost and time of processing. In a short time span, BSC became a popular choice for DeFi developers and NFT projects due to ease of operations, interoperability and low cost. The rebranding comes as an attribute to the next leg of the journey that will combine DeFi and virtual reality in the metaverse.

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Bitfinex money laundering: Husband faces pre-trial detention, wife gets bail

Bitfinex money laundering: Husband faces pre-trial detention, wife gets bail

Uverejnil používateľ | feb 15, 2022 |

The husband-wife duo accused in the infamous $3.6 billion Bitcoin (BTC) money laundering case had quite a contrasting valentine. A federal judge upheld the decision of a suspended release for wife Heather Morgan while husband Ilya Lichtenstein has been sent to pre-trial detention.Beryl A. Howell, the chief judge at the Federal District Court in Columbia, ruled that Lichtenstein has the motivation and resources to flee and thus must be kept under detention. While Morgan managed to fulfill the criteria for a suspended release on a bond of $3 million.The lawyer representing the couple denied any motivation for fleeing and argued that despite being under investigation from last year, the couple had no plans of leaving the country, citing their family ties and future plans, reported NYT.Related: Meet the ‘comedic rapper’ charged over Bitfinex hack launderingThe prime accused in the case are suspected of laundering 94,000 BTC out of 119,754 BTC stolen from the Bitfinex crypto exchange in 2016, estimated to be worth over $5.1 billion in today’s value. The early investigation found no connection between the duo and the theft of the funds back in 2016. However, they were found to be actively involved in laundering the money using a sophisticated network of accounts. The United States Department of Justice (DoJ) confiscated 94,000 BTC associated with the hack in possession of Lichtenstein, making it the biggest crypto seizure in the agency’s history. The DoJ first traced back 25,000 BTC from the Bitifinex hack to the financial accounts controlled by the couple and later recovered a total of $3.6 billion worth of BTC in their possession.The largest Bitcoin hack has already become a trending topic in the social circles and Netflix, the online streaming giant has already announced a new documentary series covering the theft and money laundering by the couple.

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