Happy Taco Tuesday, crypto amigos! 🌮
A lot happened this week– Apple went metaverse, Taylor Swift broke up with her beau, and the SEC declared war on Binance.
Grab yourself a margarita and get ready for a round-up of this week’s craziest crypto stories: 💸💥🚀
💰Binance SEC Lawsuit Is Way More Complicated Than You Think
💣Atomic Wallet Is Not Really Atomic
🎨Art Museum Rejects Donation From FTX
💶Now, EU Says Crypto Assets Are Transferable Security
Dissecting Binance-SEC Lawsuit
We are dissecting the SEC complaint against Binance while buying a bucket of popcorn 🍿 to enjoy the back-and-forth.
The allegations in the complaint are a doozy, and Gary Gensler (yes, the bald dude) isn’t holding back in his regulatory assault on CZ and his minions 🤨.
Among other things, the SEC is questioning the degree of independence that Binance International handed to its U.S. subsidiary, alleging evidence of commingling and diversion of customer funds, and accusing Binance US of manipulating trading volumes. 🤔
But let’s not pretend that this is merely a nuanced legal challenge. 🙅♂️
The SEC wants to snatch jurisdiction well beyond the shoulders of the Binance US management team and take on the whole Binance International shebang. 💼
In case you’re wondering, this is crucial if the SEC really wants to put CZ’s head on a spike (just kidding…kinda).
⏰We suspect that the regulatory wrangling will still be playing out way beyond any of our lifetimes.
It’s not clear how this legal wrangle will end, but we do know that the SEC intends to crack down on Binance to teach the rest of the industry a lesson🔒.
Looks like the SEC is casting a big net in its hunt for regulatory non-compliance, sweeping up Binance’s BNB, BUSD, Vaults and Earn programs, along with a handful of other 61 coins. Total haul? A $115 million risky asset.
But while the regulatory watchdog is doing its best to get a grip on the situation, the crypto world is unphased.
Last question, Why is it bad for crypto to be a security?
If crypto is branded as a security, that could mean more rules than a board game marathon at your in-laws’ house. It might sound like harmless fun, but increased regulations could make life harder for crypto exchanges and put a dampener on the party.
Atomic Wallet Loses $35 Million in Cryptos
Oh no, another day in crypto, another hacking story. 😱
This time, Atomic Wallet is the victim, with nearly $35 million worth of tokens snatched from under their noses. It’s like a scene straight out of an action flick – we just have to wait for Liam Neeson to show up, veins popping, ready to get his hands dirty. 💪
The hacked tokens included bitcoin, ether, tether, dogecoin, litecoin, BNB coin and polygon.
It’s not like Atomic Wallet wasn’t warned about the risk, either.
Last year, Least Authority (yeah, that’s the name) warned that Atomic Wallet’s security practices left its customers’ funds vulnerable. But, like the protagonist in a horror movie, Atomic Wallet always thinks they’re safe; until the moment the monster grabs them. 👻
Metropolitan Museum of Art Rejects Donation from FTX— Apparently Even Art Has Standards
The Metropolitan Museum of Art 🎨 in New York is returning a $550,000 donation from FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, because apparently, even art institutions have standards.
In March and May of last year, FTX’s U.S. wing, West Realm Shires Services, had donated the funds 💸, but with FTX now defunct, the museum is making moves to reimburse the exchange’s debtors.
The court documents filed on Friday state that there’s no need for additional litigation – it’s a done deal!
But we can’t help but wonder what could have been added to the Met’s collection with that $550,000. A Banksy? A shiny new Jeff Koons balloon animal? The possibilities are endless.
FTX’s former head honcho, Sam Bankman-Fried, was a fan of “effective altruism,” which sounds like the name of an edgy social media campaign for millennials.
Apparently, it also means donating profits to various causes💸, which FTX did on several occasions.
But now, under new management, the company wants back what it gave away in order to clear its debts to creditors.
EU Eyes Crypto Regulation Like a Judge on a Reality TV Show
Looks like the European Parliament is eyeing 👀 up crypto with the same level of scrutiny as a judge on a reality TV show.
In a new study, lawmakers have called for crypto assets to be treated 🔍like securities by default, and for decentralized finance (DeFi) organizations to be granted legal status.
The European Union is currently finalizing its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, which may need to be expanded to cover emerging areas like DeFi, staking, and NFTs. The study recommends that all crypto assets be considered a transferable security, meaning they would fall under the same regulatory governance and authorization rules as traditional stocks and bonds.
But let’s be honest – this kind of regulation is not surprising.
Crypto has been plagued by a lack of clarity on regulatory requirements, and the industry is long overdue for a bit of structure.
Honorable Mentions 🏆
- 💰 Reggie Fowler, Ex-Minnesota Vikings Co-Owner, Gets 6 Years Jail Term For Crypto Scam
- 🚀 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Silent on Bitcoin and CBDC During Twitter Talk with Elon Musk
- 🔥Google Searches for Crypto Down to 29-Month Low Amid Stagnant Prices and Trading Volumes
Crypto Market Watch ft. AI🚀
(This section is exclusively written by AI tools)
Bitcoin has been trading in a narrow range recently, with the prospect of continued stability if market risks remain low. However, recent news has been causing waves in the crypto world. The SEC’s lawsuit and charges against Binance and CEO CZ have led to speculation that many cryptocurrencies could be deemed unregistered securities, potentially leading to further regulatory action.
On the brighter side, Binance’s announcement of Richard Teng as CZ’s heir apparent is a positive move. Teng’s experience as a regulator should serve the company well in negotiations with US regulators. The success of Binance is critical for Bitcoin, as the cryptocurrency cannot afford to lose another major exchange.
Twice weekly crypto goodness, coming your way! Catch us every Tuesday and Friday. And hey, don’t forget to check us out on Wednesdays for all the latest AI news – because why limit yourself to just one kind of intelligence?
