CryptoExplorer ✪

2023-03-08 13:17:29 Binance US wins court approval to acquire Voyager’s assets
Binance.US – the American subsidiary of Binance – has defeated the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). The American crypto exchange won the rights to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets, according to a report by Bloomberg. The bankruptcy judge of the Southern District of New York – Michael Wiles – gave the crypto exchange the green light after four days of the hearing. The judge struck down the claims made by the SEC. The commission had filed a limited objection to the acquisition in early January 2023. The main question of the commission was how the US crypto exchange was able to afford such a large deal. In addition, the regulatory authority claimed that parts of the deal violated federal laws, claiming that the exchange could have possibly violated securities law. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-07 23:44:33 US Judge Shuts Down SEC, Says Agency Will Not Be Allowed to Interfere With Crypto Bankruptcy Proceedings
A judge in the Southern District of New York says he will stop the SEC from interfering with a bankruptcy case by claiming a new crypto asset is a security. Judge Michael Wiles says he will not allow the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to punish executives and advisors working on proposals to create a new token that would help repay customers, reports Bloomberg. The SEC issued an objection to bankruptcy proceedings for the embattled crypto lender Voyager early this year, which would help repay customers affected by the lender’s collapse. Judge Michael Wiles initially said he needs specifics on why the SEC objects and why it has decided to “stop everybody in their tracks” with little to no explanation of its concerns. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-06 09:28:07 XRP Lawsuit Sees Biggest Twist Yet As Recent Supreme Court Ruling Supports Ripple’s Fair Notice Defense
Covering the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ill-conceived enforcement action against San Francisco-based blockchain company Ripple is never dull, and Friday offered yet another development in the suit. In court documents, Ripple argued that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Bittner v. United States buttresses their fair notice argument. Ripple noted that the Tuesday Supreme Court verdict in the Bittner case, which restricts the government’s ability to impose penalties on American taxpayers who do not report foreign bank accounts, stressed that the SEC failed to provide “fair notice” prior to bringing its enforcement action. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-05 18:00:55 This Week In Crypto (CW 9)
1. India explores offline functionality of CBDCs
2. OKX Crypto Exchange: Proof of Reserves is Future of CEX industry
3. China’s Digital Yuan Can Now Be Used to Pay Highway Toll Fees on Major Routes
4. Coinbase cutting ties with Silvergate forces crypto hedge fund to find a new bank
5. Alameda Gap Persists as Stunted Liquidity Holds Back Crypto Market

CW8 (last week) Open / Comment

2023-03-05 13:09:24 $1.3 Billion Digital Asset Management Firm Says Crypto Market Set for Largest Ever Bull Cycle
Crypto markets are set for unprecedented growth over the next few years, according to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer of Bitwise Asset Management, who during a recent interview expressed his optimism for digital asset markets, stating he is “especially bullish on the next three years.” During a recent interview on The Wolf of All Streets YouTube channel, Hougan predicted that the upcoming cryptocurrency market bull cycle will be the largest one yet in terms of user adoption, aggregate market cap increase, and other important metrics. While there may be bumps along the way, Hougan is confident that regulation will ultimately be a positive factor for the market. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-04 17:37:31 Major Crypto Trading Platform Uphold Reaffirms Support for $XRP
A major cryptocurrency trading platform that offers its users the ability to buy, sell, and hold various assets including cryptocurrencies and tokenized stocks, has reaffirmed its support for $XRP, the native token of the XRP Ledger. On social media, Uphold reacted to a trend on the microblogging platform Twitter where users kept on asking for trading platforms to relit XRP. XRP was delisted from several exchanges after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Ripple Labs over the sale of XRP, alleging it’s an unregistered security, in 2020. The lawsuit alleges the firm paid cryptocurrency exchanges to permit “the buying and selling of XRP” on their platforms. At the heart of the lawsuit is whether XRP is a security that should have been registered with the regulator or not. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-03 12:41:42 Ripple Positioned For Positive Outcome In SEC Lawsuit As XRP Army Expects Landmark Court Rulings Soon
The Ripple vs SEC lawsuit has kept many on edge, as a verdict is still yet to be passed. Although Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is confident that a verdict will be passed in the first half of 2023 and that Ripple will be favoured, many are still questioning the possibilities. However, Attorney John Deaton, the founder and host of CryptoLaw, also a well-known Ripple proponent, is certain that Ripple will win its case against the SEC in the Supreme Court. In a recent tweet, Stuart Alderoty, the Chief legal officer at Ripple, observed that the SEC has not been so lucky in the past with previous lawsuits. Stuart Alderoty noted that out of 5 cases, the SEC had lost 4 in the Supreme Court. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-02 13:41:30 Polygon launches web3 identification service using zero-knowledge proofs
Polygon, the Ethereum sidechain, released a web3 identification service called Polygon ID that will allow blockchain-based applications to authenticate user credentials without compromising personal information. Polygon-based crypto and NFT projects such as Kaleido, Fractal and Collab.Land, have already shown support for Polygon ID, which is accompanied with a developer toolkit. The offering can verify user data for blockchain apps while maintaining privacy on-chain; it uses zero-knowledge proofs, which can authenticate data while keeping it encrypted and hidden from the verifying party. Polygon ID could be beneficial in compliance use cases such as the "Know Your Client" process required for centralized exchanges, permissioned DeFi platforms, as well as fiat payments for on-ramp and off-ramp. It works alongside Polygon's wallet. Read more Open / Comment

2023-03-01 22:10:09 Salvadoran Bitcoin Education Program Is Launching A New Curriculum In English
Mi Primer Bitcoin, a Bitcoin education program based in El Salvador, has announced a new and improved diploma program in English. According to Dalia Platt, head of curriculum for Mi Primer Bitcoin, the “aim is to change the way people learn about Bitcoin. The goal is to make the course interactive, fun, creative, accessible and easy to understand for all, using examples that can reach and impact every corner of the world.” According to Platt, the organization has seen exponential growth. “We have educated more than 10,000 students this year, which is 25 times more than last year,” she said. “As the first Bitcoin nation, El Salvador has the unique opportunity to lead the way in Bitcoin education.” Read more Open / Comment

2023-02-28 10:21:24 SEC Chair Reasserts Every Crypto is a Security Aside From Bitcoin, Lawyers Disagree
Gensler reasserted his opinion that all crypto transactions aside from Bitcoin fall under securities laws. Lawyers tend to disagree. Gary Gensler’s recent interview with New York Mag (NYMAG) has ruffled feathers across the crypto industry again. The SEC chair reiterated that he considers all crypto assets and all transitions to be subject to U.S. securities laws, aside from spot trading for Bitcoin. Although crypto assets have yet to be officially classified, Gensler said “everything other than Bitcoin” is a security. In his opinion, the people behind all crypto projects and networks are furtively trying to lure investors into buying the tokens. Read more Open / Comment