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Binance CEO Addresses Few Key Points On The CFTC Complaint

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In an extraordinary turn of events, the CFTC filed a complaint against Binance, alleging “Willful Evasion” of U.S. regulations and the sale of unregistered crypto derivative products.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the regulator claimed that Binance has undertaken a “calculated approach to increase its presence despite publicly stating its purported intent to block or restrict customers located in the United States from accessing its platform”.

The CFTC alleged that Binance initially concentrated on seeking out retail customers in the United States.

It then gradually started to rely on staff and suppliers in the US and actively pursued lucrative and strategically valuable “VIP” customers, including institutional customers, who were based in the US.

The complainant also alleged that the top exchange has flouted federal laws by not registering with the commission.

Despite Binance’s solicitation of and reliance on customers located in the United States to generate revenue and provide liquidity for its various markets, Binance has never been registered with the CFTC in any capacity and has disregarded federal laws essential to the integrity and vitality of the U.S. financial markets.

Changpeng Zhao, also known as C.Z., the CEO of Binance, responded by making a public statement on its website.

C.Z dismissed the CFTC’s civil lawsuit as an ” incomplete recitation of facts” and called it unexpected after cooperating with the agency for more than two years.

Binance Would Come Out With A Detailed Response Soon

While stating that a full response would be given in due course, the CEO also addressed a few major concerns in the blog.

In response to the charge that the exchange secretly permitted US users, CZ argued that the firm adheres to the highest standards in KYC and AML, and has blocked US users based on their nationality [KYC], IP [including VPN endpoints outside of the US], bank and blockchain deposits and withdrawals, and more.

In addition to that CZ revealed that employees are subjected to a 90-day no-day-trading rule, which prohibits them from selling or buying coins. Staff is not allowed to trade in futures as well.

Since the FTX meltdown, regulators have stepped up their enforcement campaigns against significant players in the crypto market, as evidenced by actions like Coinbase’s wells notice, Kraken’s suspension of US staking offerings, Do Kwon’s arrest, and TRON’s Justin Sun lawsuit.

However, a top exchange like Binance getting hammered has sent panic in the sector with some calling it as a dark day for crypto. The news caused Bitcoin, to drop below the $27k level and is still down by 3% at press time.

Shiba Inu L2 Docs Reveal More Details

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Developers of Shiba Inu’a layer 2 Shibarium published documentation outlining crucial details of the scaling solution, a few days back.

One Shib-focused community member Lucie has compiled some of the key aspects of the protocol particularly the Shibarium Staking Manager.

As previously underlined, Shibarium provides three types of security models for developers to build their DApp on.

One is Proof of Stake security, and the other two are Plasma security and Hybrid [Plasma + PoS].

Lucie wrote Shibarium handles all proof verification and staking activities on the Ethereum smart contract in order to secure Proof of Security consensus, letting L2 handle the computationally demanding tasks. Stakeholders that want to report fraud can act as a validator, delegates, or viewers.

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Shiba Inu L2 Docs Reveal More Details 2

The main contract for validator-related tasks including stake management, reward distribution, and signature verification is called StakeManager.

A single Ethereum address can only be allocated one duty by design, either validator or delegator. The system is protected from changes in ownership and signer by using NFT ID as the source of ownership.

Shibarium, touted to be the “Blockchain of Teh People”, serves as a base for the development of decentralized applications [DApps], including Shib – The Metaverse [Shib.io], Shiba Eternity, and various other products, projects, platforms, and services within the broader Shiba Inu community.

Besides processing “unparalleled transaction speed and cost efficiency”, an EVM-compatible PoS [Proof-of-Stake] chain’s cost per transaction is approximately 10,000 times lower than Ethereum’s one.

PoS also employs the reliable Plasma bridge framework and a decentralized network of PoS validators to ensure asset security.

Shiba Inu Doc Dispels FUD And Drama

To become a validator, one must stake BONE tokens utilizing staking management contracts that are present on the Ethereum mainnet. At every checkpoint, stakeholders received rewards in proportion to their stake, with the proposer receiving an additional bonus, the blog added.

Having said that, the disclosure of the documentation was well received, with some noting that information and the project advancement outweighed the FUD and drama.

As reported by TronWeekly, the Shiba Inu ecosystem was rocked by a scandal concerning the layer-2 protocol. The cause of contention was the Shibarium beta testnet sharing the same chain ID as an existing blockchain.

Developer Kaal Dhairya, later disclosed that a new version of the BETA network with a different chain ID will soon be launched.

Bitcoin, Ethereum Enabled In Burger King Paris: Details

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Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a host of crypto assets have been added to fast food behemoth Burger King [BK] at its Paris outlet, thanks to a partnership between crypto payment providers, Alchemy Pay and Binance Pay.

In accordance with the press release dated March 27, Burger King has installed market-leading Instpower power bank rental machines that take cryptocurrency payments processed by cryptocurrency payment providers- Alchemy Pay and Binance Pay.

Instpower previously collaborated with the two top payment modules to enable consumers to pay for power bank devices at more than 14,000 places across the world using cryptocurrency.

The latest addition of Burger King is touted as a big step forward for the firm and for the acceptance of cryptocurrency for real-world goods and services.

The inclusion of the machines in Paris has thrilled Yann Phu, CEO of Flash Development, the distributor in charge of achieving the deployment of Instpower equipment across Europe:

“This collaboration with Burger King in Paris has taken us to the next level with our operations in Europe. By having Alchemy Pay helping users to pay with crypto via Binance Pay, we are bringing cutting-edge payment options to Europeans.”

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Bitcoin, Ethereum Enabled In Burger King Paris: Details 4

In 2017, the Russian subsidiary of the highly popular Burger King restaurant conducted the first cryptocurrency test by issuing WhooperCoin tokens on the Waves network, which were made available to consumers at every purchase.

Although the project never took off, other BK branches started to accept Bitcoin payments, such as in the Netherlands, Germany, Venezuela, Brazil, and more. Nowadays, one can buy Whoppers with Bitcoin through debit cards.

Bitcoin also gained more utility, thanks to the crypto-based rewards program.

Crypto Reward Schemes Boosted Bitcoin’s Use Cases

These are becoming increasingly popular within the restaurant industry as brands look for new and innovative ways to engage with consumers and build their technological cred.

In 2021, Burger King US partnered with Robinhood to give away free cryptocurrency to its customers.

A year ago, popular burger chain Shake Shack launched a new Bitcoin-based rewards program in an effort to attract younger consumers and test the potential for long-term adoption.

As reported by TronWeekly, Shake Shack begin offering rewards of up to 15% in the form of Bitcoin for all payments made via Cash Card, a debit card available through Cash App.

Nvidia’s CTO Skeptical Of Crypto’s Value, Believes AI Is The Future

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US chip-maker Nvidia’s chief technology officer, Michael Kagan, has expressed skepticism about the benefits of cryptocurrencies. In a recent interview, Kagan stated that digital currencies do not “bring anything useful for society” and that other uses of processing power, such as Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, are more worthwhile than mining crypto.

AI chatbot More Worthwhile Than Mining crypto, Says Kagan

Nvidia has never been particularly welcoming to the crypto community. The company even released software last year that artificially constrained the ability to use its graphics cards for mining the popular Ethereum digital currency to ensure supply went to its preferred customers, such as AI researchers and gamers.

Kagan justified this decision by stating that using processing power to mine digital currencies has limited value, whereas artificial intelligence has the potential to be truly transformative. According to Kagan, Nvidia’s parallel processing capabilities made it a popular choice for programming crypto-related tasks. 

However, the use of Nvidia’s technology for crypto ultimately proved to be unproductive for society. On the other hand, he believes that AI has tangible benefits and is more useful to society.

Kagan also drew a comparison between crypto and high-frequency trading, stating that while the latter has generated a lot of business for Nvidia, he never believed that crypto was something that would do anything good for humanity. 

He said:

You know, people do crazy things, but they buy your stuff, and you sell them stuff. But you don’t redirect the company to support whatever it is.

Nvidia’s products have become integral to the AI boom, as the computationally intensive work of training a new AI system happens to work significantly faster on the types of simple yet powerful processors that had been adopted by gamers. 

The company has sold thousands of its AI-focused processors to companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle and also rents access to the chips directly through its DGX cloud service.

During Nvidia’s annual conference last week, CEO Jensen Huang referred to his company as the driving force behind the “AI iPhone moment” and emphasized that the “generative AI” technology his company provides has the potential to transform almost every industry. While Nvidia’s products may not be popular among crypto enthusiasts, the company’s focus on AI seems to be paying off in a big way.

Related Reading | Cardano’s Voltaire Era: Empowering Community Participation In CIP-1694 Discussions

TRON Founder’s Hong Kong Expansion Plan In Jeopardy?

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The founder of the TRON blockchain, Justin Sun has been recently served legal notice by the US Security and Exchange Commission for illicit sales of the cryptocurrencies TRX and BitTorrent [BTT], respectively.

In response, Sun called the lawsuit lacking in merit and that the foundation would continue to create the most decentralized financial system possible.

A month back, Sun-backed Huobi exchange, announced an expansion of its operations in Hong Kong and planned to apply for a virtual asset service provider [VASP] license in the Chinese territory.

Since then, the crypto entrepreneur has resorted to praising the nation for its crypto-friendly policy.

The TRON founder continues to strike a confident posture saying that Huobi’s commercial plans in Hong Kong will not be affected by the U.S. civil fraud allegations. As per a Huobi official in a Telegram message, there were “no changes [in plans] for us.”

Despite the fact that Huobi was not mentioned in the SEC lawsuit, a local news outlet, Nikkei Asia, said that the U.S. regulator’s move would make it more challenging for Hong Kong’s Securities Futures Commission [SFC] to approve a VASP application by Huobi.

According to Joshua Chu, a crypto lawyer,” an allegation of past market misconduct may torpedo if not exponentially make it harder for a smooth application process, as envisioned as the [SFC] will be under notice to place extreme scrutiny.”

In addition, legal professionals who counsel crypto companies on license issues indicated that when evaluating VASP applicants, the Hong Kong SFC closely watches any enforcement action taken by regulators in other jurisdictions.

TRON Founder-backed Huobi Exchange Embarks On A Difficult Journey

“In the virtual asset service provider licensing framework, the SFC will also consider the regulatory status of a VASP’s operations and virtual assets listed on its platform in other jurisdictions, not just Hong Kong,” said Kristi Swartz, partner at DLA Piper.

“For example, a VASP must consider whether a virtual asset is subject to any pending regulatory or enforcement actions relating to its issuance before listing it for trading.”

That said, the TRON founder who has a majority stake in Huobi said Hong Kong’s heightened attention is a result of its standing as “one of the experiment zones for crypto development in China.” 

Besides the Chinese-controlled territory, Huobi’s other key regions for business are Malaysia and the Caribbean. 

Binance’s New Blockchain Hub In Georgia: Web3 Education & Job Opportunities 

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Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, has opened a new regional hub in Georgia. The move is part of the exchange’s efforts to attract top talent to the blockchain sector, facilitate educational initiatives related to digital finance, and further develop Georgia’s crypto industry.

The exchange’s Georgia team currently comprises 25 people, but with the launch of the regional hub, the exchange expects to add dozens more jobs by the end of 2023. The company also plans to step up its efforts to strengthen blockchain education and accelerate the adoption of crypto in the region.

The arrival of Binance’s new regional hub comes after months of productive cooperation with local public and private sector organizations and a series of community events. 

Binance Partnerships To Advance Web3 Initiatives

Earlier this year, it announced partnerships with crypto payment gateway CityPay and GITA and launched its Charity initiative to support women-focused Web3 education and a BNB Chain hackathon.

The partnership with GITA will support the exchange’s large-scale educational and community initiatives designed to accelerate the development of the digital asset industry in Georgia.

The exchange has also signed agreements with several top educational institutions in Georgia, including the Georgian Business and Technology University (BTU), Alte University, Kutaisi International University, Georgian American University (GAU), and Caucasus University.

Under these agreements, the exchange and Binance Academy will provide educational materials and organizational support to help partner institutions up their game in blockchain education.

Vladimir Smerkis, Binance’s regional director, considers Georgia one of the region’s most innovative countries, with huge potential and interest in developing digital assets in the country. 

Binance’s Georgia general manager Giorgi Chagelishvili said:

The opening of the hub in Georgia is a logical continuation of the dialogue that we started with the government last year. Thanks to the hub, we will strengthen the development of the recruiting program in the country, as well as make an even greater focus on the regional presence of Binance.”

Nevertheless, the opening of its brand-new blockchain hub in Georgia is set to strengthen the development of the recruiting program and focus on the regional presence of Binance, accelerating the adoption of crypto in the region.

Related Reading | Coinbase L2 Network Eyes Inflation-Pegged Stablecoins

Mike Novogratz Calls For Truce In Bitcoin Vs. Ethereum Rivalry: Making Love, Not War

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A former hedge fund manager, Mike Novogratz, recently took to Twitter to call for a truce between the Bitcoin and Ethereum communities. It comes after Engaged value investor Mike Alfred tweeted a reminder that fundamentals should trump everything else, including short-term fads and opinions from children.

Novogratz stated in his tweet that he doesn’t understand why so many crypto advocates prefer an either/or proposition. He believes that both Bitcoin and Ethereum have huge communities that believe in their future and are willing to store a bunch of their wealth in them. He called for everyone to “make love, not war.”

However, other community members were quick to weigh in on Novogratz’s tweet. One said that much of their rivalry is a trojan horse-esque narrative battle to slow adoption and mock the idea of what digital scarcity can do for society. They suggested that dividing and conquering would be a better strategy for a central bank than banning Bitcoin outright.

Another community member responded by accusing Novogratz of being involved in the premise of Ethereum and suggesting that Bitcoiners will finish what they started. Others compared the BTC/ETH rivalry to the heated discussions of which gaming console is the best.

Even though there are varying viewpoints, many individuals involved in the cryptocurrency community acknowledge Bitcoin and Ethereum as prominent players in the industry. Some assert that BTC is a more dependable store of value, whereas Ethereum is regarded as the internet’s currency. 

Meanwhile, others remain optimistic about the progress and development occurring on the Ethereum network. Regardless of which stance one takes in this ongoing debate, it is evident that the Bitcoin versus Ethereum competition will persist. 

Bitcoin For Financial Inclusion In Africa

Meanwhile, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block, an American multinational technology conglomerate, and other top executives attended the first Africa Bitcoin Conference in Accra to discuss the potential of BTC as an alternative to the continent’s financial system, according to a report.

While many have dismissed BTC as a complex toy or a vehicle for criminals, proponents argue that it can provide a lifeline for the unbanked in countries where national currencies are unstable, access to banks is limited, and cross-border payments are expensive. 

Companies like Paxful and TBD at Block believe that Bitcoin’s decentralized nature could eliminate intermediaries, allowing people to send digital payments directly to one another.

Related Reading | Coinbase L2 Network Eyes Inflation-Pegged Stablecoins

G7 To Stricter Crypto Regulations While U.S. Govt Faces Criticism For Missteps

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The G7 major industrialized democracies reportedly plan to push for stricter cryptocurrency regulations. According to a report, officials with knowledge of the plan said that the G7 aims to increase business transparency and consumer protection in the crypto sector. 

The G7 will accelerate the pace of discussions towards a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in mid-May, just before the summit in Hiroshima. However, the move follows the collapse of the major exchange FTX in November, which exposed the poor governance of the industry and sent shockwaves through financial markets. 

It also comes amid investor concerns about sudden bank failures in the U.S., which included Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. The G7 is seeking to state its collective efforts in a leaders’ declaration, with Japan already having virtual currency regulations in place. 

The group is hoping to take the lead in formulating global standards, as the legal status of virtual assets and rules about them vary by country. Moreover, internationally, the Financial Stability Board and the International Monetary Fund have already released recommendations and policy papers on creating a regulatory framework for crypto assets. 

According to officials, IMF directors have generally agreed that virtual assets should not be granted official currency or legal tender status. Issues associated with crypto assets are likely to be on the agenda of the upcoming G20 meeting in Washington in mid-April.

Nevertheless, as of now, the legal status of virtual assets and rules about them vary by country. However, the G7’s move could potentially set a precedent for other countries to follow in the future.

U.S. Government’s Missteps In Crypto Regulation

While the G7 was busy with their planning, an intriguing debate emerged. The U.S. government’s recent attempts to regulate the cryptocurrency industry have come under fire from Keiko Yoshino, executive director of the Puerto Rico Blockchain Trade Association. 

Yoshino argues that recent directives from the Federal Reserve and executive branch designed to debank crypto firms, a pending lawsuit against the largest and most trustworthy U.S. exchange, Coinbase, and increasingly hostile rhetoric from Congress are far from appropriate.

Yoshino believes that the government has a role in overseeing the crypto industry, but recent regulatory announcements abuse power. She points out that crypto was born out of the financial crisis of 2008 and has emerged as an alternative to inflationary fiat currency. 

Yoshino argues that the government should not discourage banks from holding crypto or people from buying it if they want to. Instead, she believes the government should explore crypto as a potential alternative to fiat currency. 

She quotes Benjamin Franklin, who said:

Those who would give up essential Liberty to purchase a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

Related Reading | Weekly Market Watch: Bitcoin & Ethereum’s Bullish Ride, Altcoin Follows Their Footsteps

Shiba Inu (SHIB) And Theta Network (THETA) Seem Too Volatile To You? Meet Orbeon Protocol (ORBN)!

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Theta Network (THETA) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are two coins that have seen significant fluctuations in the last week. And although they are sluggishly making an effort to bounce back from a terrible crypto winter, a project in Stage 11 of its presale has caught the interest of various renowned experts with its current value of $0.0921 a 2203% price increase from initial value. Today, we will look closer at Orbeon Protocol (ORBN), an upcoming game-changer! Let’s dive in! 

>>BUY ORBEON TOKENS HERE<<

Shiba Inu (SHIB) 

Shiba Inu (SHIB), the popular meme-inspired crypto, has recently seen a remarkable rise in its burn rate, shooting up to around 5,000%. However, this burning did not result in positive movements for the Shiba Inu (SHIB) coin. 

Currently, Shiba Inu (SHIB) has a value of $0.00001079, which is a decrease of 0.98% in the last 24 hours. The trading volume for Shiba Inu (SHIB) has also decreased by 3.41% in that same time and sits at $314,727,742. 

The technical analysis for Shiba Inu (SHIB) also displays a strong sell signal, with its moving averages and indicators in red. Bullish analysts predict that Shiba Inu (SHIB) may pass the $0.00001490 level by the end of 2023. Those who expect a $1 valuation from Shiba Inu (SHIB) will soon be disappointed. 

>>BUY ORBEON TOKENS HERE<<

Theta Network (THETA) 

Theta Network (THETA) has announced its new collaboration with ABS-CBN, the top content provider in the Philippines. Theta Network (THETA) will partner in the Web3 video infrastructure for ABS-CBN’s business divisions.

Theta Network (THETA) is trading hands for $1.02 with a market cap of $1B, down 0.52% overnight. The trading volume for Theta Network (THETA), however, has jumped by 45% in that same period. Sentiment around Theta Network (THETA) is bearish, with the technical indicators also showing a sell signal. 

Analysts believe Theta Network (THETA) could reach $1.14 before heading south again. Even if Theta Network (THETA) manages to see an upward movement, investing in projects with long-term growth potential would yield more gains in the long run. 

>>BUY ORBEON TOKENS HERE<<

The Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) 

By creating the first decentralized investment platform where anyone may buy equity-based fractionalized NFTs, Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) will help regular investors and innovative businesses during their early stages. 

Say you are the owner of a company needing capital; you can now launch a financing round on the Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) protocol as they will mint fractionalized NFTs based on rewards or equity. Afterward, Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) will enable investors of all income levels to purchase them partially for a very affordable price ($1 even)! 

Not only that, Orbeon Protocol (ORBN) will have multi-chain capabilities – allowing users to trade across multiple blockchains like Polygon (MATIC), Solana (SOL), and Binance (BNB) for a reduced cost. These features will be driven by its native token ORBN, currently available for just $0.0921. 

Holding this token will give you access to passive income through staking, trading cost discounts, and governance voting rights. But do not wait, as only 355,200,000 tokens will be available during its presale, and they are selling fast – so much so that experts predict their value could reach $0.24 by the presale’s finish! 

If you are interested in what some analysts believe could be the best investment option for 2023, register for the ORBN presale below! 

Find Out More About The Orbeon Protocol Presale

Website: https://orbeonprotocol.com/

Presale: https://presale.orbeonprotocol.com/register 

Coinbase L2 Network Eyes Inflation-Pegged Stablecoins

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Coinbase developers are working towards building a new form of decentralized stablecoins that tracks the rate of inflation called ‘flatcoins’ on its newly launched layer-2 network Base.

These asset classes, in contrast to typical stablecoins, are anchored to the cost of living rather than being linked to real-world assets like fiat currencies, which enables them to maintain stability during times of market unrest.

According to a blog titled ‘Request for Builders’, published by Coinbase’s Base Network, flatcoins would enable users to have stability in purchasing power while having resiliency from the economic uncertainty caused by the legacy financial system.

We also welcome other forms of ‘flatcoins’ that do not peg to fiat but rather fill the space between fiat-pegged coins and volatile crypto assets. With the recent challenges in our global banking system, we believe these explorations are more important than ever.

The Coinbase team then provided a brief overview of the other important areas that require attention in addition to flatcoins. They are Onchain reputation, Onchain Limit Order Book [LOB] Exchanges, and Safer DeFi.

By using reputation methods that are inherent to on-chain entities, developers would concentrate on enhancing online trust and preserving user privacy and autonomy at the same time.

This may resemble a FICO or Google page rank type score on ENS names, merchant ratings and reviews, and other trust-building factors on-chain, the blog read.

Next on the agenda is to create a more sophisticated exchange—a limit order book exchange [LOB]—that eliminates counterparty risk through self-custody.

Coinbase Push For LOBs

The team believes that while the existing exchange offerings like AMMs, are crucial DeFi primitive, LOBs would play a greater role, especially for professional traders and institutions.

Finally, in order to construct a more secure DeFi, the exchange would focus on expanding better tools that would allow users and developers to keep up with the speed of innovation while protecting their funds from flaws in smart contract code, assaults on the ecosystem, etc.

The latest plan follows after Coinbase received a Wells notice recently from the SEC involving an unspecified amount of its listed digital assets, including the staking program Coinbase Earn, Coinbase Prime, and Coinbase Wallet.

The exchange criticized the regulator for being “unfair and unreasonable when it comes to its engagement on digital assets,” and vowed to fight back.