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Read in the Digest:
Global news agency Reuters has accused the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, of becoming a hub for hackers, fraudsters and drug traffickers. Reuters claims that the minimal identity requirements for using Binance has made the exchange an attractive platform through which to launder money.
According to the investigation, Binance has served as a conduit for the laundering of at least $2.35 billion in illicit funds between 2017 and 2021. Reuters reports that Lazarus processed a portion of the $5.4 million stolen during its Eterbase hack through Binance.
Reuters also reports that part of the $622 million stolen from the Ronin sidechain in March 2022 was processed through Binance. Additionally, Hydra, the Russian darknet marketplace, used Binance to process payments for drugs totalling $780 million.
In a move unrelated to the revelation, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating whether Binance Holdings broke securities rules when launching its BNB token as an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017.
With accusations already levied towards the exchange in regards to “bad business etiquette,” the Reuters report serves to mount regulatory pressure on Binance, which already faces multiple investigations by regulators.
After breaking out of the bearish streak that lasted 9 successive weeks, pumping 7%, investors had been anticipating the start of a bull run. However, just a day after hitting $31,700, the price of Bitcoin has once again fallen to below $30,000.
Losing 6% over the last 24 hours, the price of Bitcoin plunged to as low as $29,300, fully erasing the week’s gains. As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $29,500.
The 24 hour price chart for Bitcoin (BTC). Source: CoinMarketCap
Over the last 24 hours, the notable dip has seen the liquidation of approximately $143.08 million, with long positions accounting for 84% of the wipeout. The loss piles further bearish pressure onto Bitcoin, which has been in sub $50k territory since the start of 2022.
In May alone, Bitcoin lost over $120 billion in terms of market cap as its price dropped from $37,720 to close the month at $31,200. Bitcoin had opened May with a market cap of approximately $732 billion, but closed the month with $605 billion.
IRA Financial Trust, a platform for managing self-directed retirement accounts and pension plans, has launched a lawsuit against the Gemini Trust for allegedly failing to secure the IRA’s crypto assets.
In February, hackers stole $21 million in Bitcoin and $15 million in Ethereum from IRA Financial Trust retirement accounts, which were hosted on the Gemini platform.
IRA blames Gemini for the hack, stating that the exchange “failed to freeze accounts within a sufficient time frame immediately following the incident.” IRA alleges that Gemini’s delay in freezing the account led to the theft reaching $36 million.
The lawsuit further outlines that the Gemini crypto exchange platform’s API was designed with a point of failure, demonstrating a lack of transparency with its cyber security procedures.
Gemini has refuted the lawsuit, claiming that its security standards are among the highest in the industry.
The state of New York has passed a bill putting a moratorium on crypto mining operations leveraging fossil fuel-generated power. The bill is the first of its kind in the United States.
The legislation looks to impose a two-year moratorium on air permit issuances and renewals for electric generating facilities providing fossil fuel-generated power for crypto mining. The measure marks part of the state’s efforts to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050.
The NY State Assembly Bill A7389C, if signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul, would place a two-year ban on Proof of Work (PoW) mining. However, the governor has gone on record to say that she has not yet decided whether to sign it.
She explained that a balancing act needs to be considered to protect the environment (the primary objective of the bill), while also protecting the opportunity for jobs that mining would otherwise provide.
The bill has moved forward with the intent to protect the environment in New York, which is fast becoming one of the more popular mining zones in the United States.
Today, Indonesian cryptocurrency exchange and wallet ‘Pintu’ announced that it has raised $113 million in a Series B funding round to expand its services to the burgeoning local market. Series A and A+ rounds saw Pintu raise a total of $41 million in 2021.
Pintu will use the fund to develop its product offerings and expand its educational arm, Pintu Academy. Pintu currently offers more than 65 crypto assets, including a native PTU token.
The fund will help Pintu scale its operations by enabling the listing of more tokens, adding more blockchain compatibility, increasing staff size, and the addition of new products and services.
Pintu’s latest funding round was backed by Lightspeed, Pantera Capital, Northstar Group, and Intudo Ventures. Eddy Chan, a founding partner at Intudo, believes Pintu will become “the Coinbase of Southeast Asia.”
With Indonesia still a young crypto market, the expansion of Pintu could be a key catalyst in driving crypto adoption in the region.
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