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Binance and Busan come together for blockchain tech

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The crypto-verse seems to have a special meaning for the letter “B.” Blockchain, bulls and bears, and Binance, the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The company has been dabbling in numerous markets over the past few months as it prepares to expand. The Changpeng Zhao-led crypto platform was seen helping governments grow the crypto and blockchain industries in addition to opening offices in several jurisdictions. Busan, South Korea, has recently entered the list.

CZ said that Binance and Busan signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) earlier today.

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Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon and Binance 
CEO Changpeng Zhao

Binance hopes to help the city create a blockchain ecosystem through this partnership. According to reports, the exchange would give the city help for the same in terms of technology and infrastructure. The site would also promote the Busan Digital Asset Exchange in addition to these activities.

Heong-Joon Park, the mayor of Busan, made the following remarks about the same,

“With this agreement, we are one step closer to establishing the Busan Digital Asset Exchange as a global integrated platform for digital assets. By making Busan a blockchain-specialized city that is attracting worldwide attention, we will boost a new growth engine for the local economy and make it a global digital finance hub.”

Binance to take advantage of Busan’s regulatory free zone

The company plans to support blockchain efforts and business by utilizing Busan’s regulatory-free zone. Binance would support all blockchain-related research in the area. The agenda also included spreading technological education among the general public and launching activities through the Binance Charity to promote societal well-being.

It should also be emphasized that the exchange has become a favorite for governments all over the world. The exchange teamed up with the Philippine government earlier this week to introduce rules governing the crypto-verse. The business previously said in May that it had inked an MoU with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Digital Development.

Furthermore, investors have been warned by CZ to stay away from cryptocurrency inventors who switch between projects. Following his jab at poor players for causing cryptocurrency exchange jitters, the senior executive gained attention.

The CZ-led exchange appears to be attempting to win over the entire world by dominating the cryptocurrency market.

Kucoin and OSC in a tiff?

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The OSC was in the news once more as a result of its most recent alert regarding popular cryptocurrency exchange Kucoin and other parties.

Regulators from all over the world have recently shown a greater interest in the cryptocurrency world. While some have been attempting to enforce strict controls, others have been banning platforms that are inappropriate for use in their particular jurisdictions. The Ontario Securities Commission [OSC] has received a lot of attention recently in the cryptocurrency community.

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The most recent warning made note of Kucoin and its affiliates’ lack of registration to advise or trade in securities in Ontario. The alert lists 13 cryptocurrency platforms that were handling regional securities but weren’t reported. It should be emphasized that this was the second time this month alone that the OSC had criticized Kucoin.

In June, the OSC also prohibited Kucoin from conducting business in Ontario. At the same time, the OSC was seen shutting down several unregistered exchanges, including Bybit. According to OSC Director of Enforcement Jeff Kehoe,

“Foreign crypto asset trading platforms [CTPs] that want to operate in Ontario must play by the rules or face enforcement action. The outcomes announced today should serve as a clear indication that we refuse to tolerate non-compliance with Ontario securities law.”

These guidelines include adhering to the Terms and Conditions for Registered CTPs, requesting consent before providing a loan, and providing staking services. Leverage and margin also call for the final battle. Additionally, users of social media and advertising were included in the list.

Kucoin in troubled waters

More than ever, regulators are showing an interest in the cryptocurrency market. Although some companies providing these services were prepared for regulatory involvement, others, such as Kucoin, did not appear to be.

In addition to its most recent dispute with the OSC, the company also capsized in tumultuous South Korean waters. The nation’s Financial Services Commission [FSC] warned about 16 unregistered cryptocurrency platforms last week. On this list, Kucoin and Justin Sun’s Poloniex were both presents.

Although the company seems to be flourishing in other areas, the community theorizes that Kucoin may be under more regulatory pressure.

Huobi Global ceases trading derivatives in New Zealand

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Lately, Huobi Global seemed to be having a lot of problems. While Binance, Crypto.com, and other companies were expanding, Huobi was closing down operations in a number of regions. In perspective, there is no doubt that the cryptocurrency sector has grown. Governments have been attempting to accommodate cryptocurrency businesses as the entire world is moving toward the crypto sector. Exchanges have been looking for permits to run legally all over the world.

The limitation schedule of New Zealand user accounts for derivative trading was released by Huobi earlier today. This stated that from the following week, the cryptocurrency exchange would stop offering derivatives trading services in New Zealand. As of the following week, the Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange would no longer offer margin trading services, options, or ETPs due to “local compliance restrictions.”

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Source: Huobi blog post

The provision of services for coin-margined futures, coin-margined swaps, Tether [USDT]-margined contracts, options, and any exchange-traded products [ETP] to consumers residing in New Zealand has been suspended, according to the crypto exchange. These users wouldn’t be able to use these features beginning on August 23.

Note that the firm made the decision to enter New Zealand in June 2022. However, New Zealand would be subject to “limited jurisdiction” starting the following week on the aforementioned day.

The exchange stated,

“Underpinning Huobi Global’s commitment to local compliance policies, we will be including New Zealand as a restricted jurisdiction in respect of trading in derivatives, and restrict New Zealand user accounts for derivatives trading in an orderly manner while ensuring the safety of user assets.”

Huobi under distress?

Not the first area to be included in the restricted area is New Zealand. It is unlawful for residents of 11 countries, including the US, Singapore, Iran, Canada, and Japan, to use Huobi’s services. After a dispute with the regulators not too long ago, the Seychelles-based crypto exchange left Thailand’s borders.

Only last week did speculations regarding Huobi Group founder Leon Li selling the majority of his company stock start to circulate. The neighbourhood guessed that the cryptocurrency exchange would be in jeopardy given this downward tendency.

Huobi co-founder to sell major stake worth over $1B?

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Huobi’s co-founder Leon Li is apparently in negotiations to sell the majority of his shares in the company, which may be worth over $1 billion.

According to Bloomberg, Li reportedly held talks with a number of investors about selling a 60% share in the cryptocurrency company, which may be worth more than $1 billion and, according to some, as much as $3 billion.

Without going into specifics, a Huobi representative told Bloomberg that the co-founder is in talks to sell his controlling stake in the cryptocurrency exchange with a number of global juggernauts. Li reportedly told the company’s other investors about his choices at a shareholder meeting in July of this year. Li has given Hua Zhu the CEO responsibilities so he can concentrate on his health.

FTX and Sun to invest in Huobi?

According to the Bloomberg story, Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, and the global cryptocurrency exchange FTX were among the initial investors in discussions with the co-founder of Huobi. At the time of publication, Huobi had not responded to Cointelegraph’s requests for comments.

The purchase might be completed by the end of this month, according to the article. Once completed, it may rank among the largest transactions since the upheaval that began in the crypto market in May of this year.

For crypto goliaths like FTX, who have pledged $1 billion to the rescue of crypto exchanges battling to stay afloat due to significant losses and a lack of money, the market slump has also turned into an opportunity.

However, Sun took to Twitter to deny his involvment.

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Source: Twitter

Huobi, which was established in 2013, now represents a daily trading volume of more than $1 billion. After BTCC was shut down, the cryptocurrency exchange rose in popularity and quickly became the main location for Chinese cryptocurrency traders. After Beijing declared all cryptocurrency exchanges illegal and forbade foreign exchanges from providing their services, the exchange eventually stopped serving Chinese users.

Since the Chinese government’s ban, Huobi has significantly increased its global presence by obtaining licences in Dubai and New Zealand, as well as one from the United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Cryptocurrency balance freeze of Vauld: Indian saga

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The cryptocurrency accounts of Bengaluru-based Yellow Tune Technologies, a provider of financial services, have been blocked, according to a Friday announcement from India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED). Flipvolt, the Indian division of Singapore’s Vauld, held some of the accounts. The action is related to an ongoing investigation into money laundering by instant loan companies with ties to China. The organisation has intervened in the cryptosphere in relation to that matter twice this week.

After determining that Yellow Tune was a shell company formed by two Chinese nationals using aliases, the financial watchdog declared it was freezing the company’s bank balances, payment gateway balances, and balances in the Flipvolt cryptocurrency exchange for a total of 3.7 billion rupees, or $46.4 million. Newspaper reports claim that the ED spent three days searching locations connected to Yellow Tunes.

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Source: Press Release

The ED discovered 23 entities that had put money into Yellow Tune’s Flipvolt wallets before sending it elsewhere. The ED gave Flipvolt harsh criticism for how company handled the money. The agency further stated,

“Lax KYC [Know Your Customer] norms, loose regulatory control of allowing transfers to foreign wallets without asking any reason/declaration/KYC, non-recording of transactions on Blockchains to save costs etc, has ensured that Flipvolt is not able to give any account for the missing crypto assets. It has made no sincere efforts to trace these crypto assets.”

Cryptocurrency exchanges suspected by ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) of India is investigating cryptocurrency exchanges that may have handled transfers from companies under investigation to foreign wallets totaling more than 10 billion rupees, or nearly $130 million. ten cryptocurrency exchanges, at least, are apparently implicated.

However, local publications stated that WazirX, a cryptocurrency exchange, had its bank account suspended.

In a case involving rapid loans, it is claimed that organisations under investigation conducted transactions of up to 1 billion rupees ($1.3 million), or $1.3 million, in the names of individuals who had no relation to the money. These companies frequently had ties to China. Even though anti-money laundering and know your customer procedures indicated that the transactions were suspicious, neither enhanced due diligence nor suspicious transaction notifications were submitted to the ED.

Furthermore, WazirX bank accounts containing 647 million rupees ($8.1 million) were frozen by the ED. claiming that roughly 16 fintech companies under investigation for money laundering received assistance from the exchange.

BitMex exec pleads guilty in violation of Anti-Money Laundering Act

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Along with three other BitMEX co-founders who have previously acknowledged breaking U.S. law, a senior employee of the cryptocurrency futures exchange has pleaded guilty in New York to failing to implement an anti-money-laundering program.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York stated on Monday that a high-ranking employee at the offshore cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, Gregory Dwyer, entered a plea of guilty to breaking a federal anti-money laundering rule.

Dwyer admitted to breaking the Bank Secrecy Act by “failing to build, implement, and manage an anti-money laundering program” at BitMEX, where he formerly oversaw business development.

In a press release, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated,

“Today’s plea reflects that employees with management authority at cryptocurrency exchanges, no less than the founders of such exchanges, cannot willfully disregard their obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act.”

Lack of KYC aided BitMEX in criminal activity

The three co-founders of the company, Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed, had previously been convicted guilty by judgments obtained by the U.S. Attorney. According to prosecutors, BitMEX’s absence of know-your-customer (KYC) procedures allowed the business to flourish as a hub for illegal conduct, including as money laundering and sanction evasion.

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Arthur Hayes, former CEO of BitMEX

Two years ago, BitMex was hit with civil and criminal accusations by the CFTC, DOJ, and FinCEN after the company allowed Americans to trade cryptocurrency futures on its platform without having a U.S. registration or using poor know-your-customer (KYC) procedures. Although the agencies ultimately reached a $100 million settlement with the exchange last summer, the accusations led to a shift in the exchange’s management.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) filed civil lawsuits against the four men as well as BitMEX and other business entities, which resulted in financial penalties. Hayes, Reed, and Delo each had to pay $10 million after BitMEX was compelled to pay the regulators $100 million.

Huobi subsidiary hoops US license for yet another way of cryptocurrency transactions

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In order to offer cryptocurrency transactions, Huobi Technologies (1611.HK) said that its brokerage subsidiary, HBIT, has secured a license to carry out foreign exchange and money transfer activities in the U.S.

According to a statement released on Tuesday, HBIT has been granted a Money Services Business Registration License (MSB) by the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau (FinCEN).

According to the blog, this represents yet another step forward in Huobi Technology’s compliance process and lays a solid compliance foundation for the company to conduct future digital currency-related business in the United States, furthering the strategic objectives of globalization and compliance.

The laws governing digital money in European and American countries are rather clear, from the bill’s drafting to the closely guarded oversight. It has been stated that United States stands out among them because it encourages the orderly growth of digital assets and is imaginative in the speed of regulatory development.

With this license in hand, HT’s brokerage company is now authorized to operate as a money transmitter and a dealer in foreign exchange across the entire country.

The firm is anticipated to maintain the momentum of foreign business expansion in the future while continuing to offer users in the United States secure and legal digital asset services.

Huobi scores another one with its trust company

In December 2020, Huobi Trust Company, a division of Huobi Technology (HT) that provides trust services for digital assets, received a trust license from the Nevada Financial Institutions Division. The organization was permitted to provide custodial and compliance services in the US thanks to the license.

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Furthermore, it has been claimed that in the future, HT intends to “consolidate the momentum of international business expansion” and offer additional digital asset services to U.S. users.

The subsidiary of the Huobi Group, which manages the Huobi Exchange, called Huobi Tech is listed in Hong Kong. Despite not having a formal affiliation, the two businesses have Leon Li as a common stakeholder and use similar branding.

Huobi Group first made an entry into the US crypto market in 2018. Due to regulatory concerns, the firm had to exit the market. However, in February this year, the founder Du Jun said that the company planned to make yet another entrance into the US crypto market.

BestChange Cryptocurrency Exchange Truly The Best Change?

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Traders who wish to buy cryptocurrencies should go to centralized cryptocurrency exchanges first. However, there are often cheaper options available. It’s not easy to identify a dependable and profitable cryptocurrency exchange offer among the numerous cryptocurrency exchange instruments.

Nonetheless, here’s a particular platform that claims to provide a way to exchange cryptocurrencies or buy them with fiat currency, as well as with Visa and MasterCard. Several hundred exchangers are hosted on the platform, and their prices are tracked in real time. Users can choose the finest offer and conduct exchange operations in a convenient manner in this method.

To further clarify, crypto exchanger aggregators keep tabs on the best deals from reputable cryptocurrency exchanges and enable consumers to compare them to get the best terms, lowest fees, and most convenient deposit/withdrawal options. In perspective, BestChange claims to combine a large number of trustworthy crypto and e-currency exchange businesses in order to offer users reasonable rates.

The software automatically aggregates the rates and presents them in a table. Users can choose the currency they wish to sell in the first column, then choose the digital currency they would like to buy in the second column. After making a decision, the user can examine various exchange rates on the right side of the screen.

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Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, Monero, Dash, Dogecoin, Zcash, Stellar, Tron, and Tether are among the 15 cryptocurrencies that BestChange now supports (both Omni and ERC-20). Users can spend cryptocurrency or fiat currencies such as the US dollar, euro, and pound, and choose from a variety of payment methods like credit cards, PayPal, wire transfers, Skrill, Neteller, WebMoney, and more.

Secure new cryptocurrency exchanger

When adding a new service to the monitor, BestChange performs a thorough investigation to ensure that only reliable exchangers are included. The monitor excludes services with poor ratings or a shady reputation. All of the exchange platform’s exchangers’ websites have a large volume of business.

Three simple steps to buy/sell your cryptocurrency/fiat currency

Making a deal on the crypto exchanges featured on BestChange takes only three steps, making it acceptable even for crypto rookies.

  • Select the currency
  • Select your preferred exchanger
  • Leave your feedback

Overall, BestChange is a really useful tool for people who utilize cryptocurrencies for payments and exchanges in several countries. The BestChange cryptocurrency platform will ensure that your crypto exchange experience is smooth and secure, with the best rates, along with an intuitive UX/UI, a high-performance withdrawal toolkit, and cheap costs.

Two early birds of Binance to have caught the worm

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Binance Labs, the crypto exchange’s venture capital and incubator arm, has lost two prominent employees in recent weeks.

Bill Qian, the CEO of the crypto exchange, is expected to leave the company soon, according to numerous people familiar with the situation. According to her LinkedIn page, Nicole Zhang, the firm’s executive director, quit last month.

Qian’s move was verified by a representative of the exchange, who said:

“We don’t comment on people moves at Binance as a matter of policy. However, we can confirm that Bill is leaving Binance for personal reasons.”

Zhang’s resignation was also verified by another spokesman from the firm.

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The crypto exchange employed both executives for more than two years. According to his LinkedIn page, Qian joined Binance Labs in March 2020 after spending more than five years as the head of investment at China’s JD Group.

As can be seen in the Binance-Forbes agreement announcement from February, Qian, a Chinese national, reportedly changed his surname to Chin. His prior LinkedIn profile with the surname Qian is no longer active. His Twitter account appears to have been erased as well.

Qian did not respond immediately to the media, Zhang, on the other hand, started as executive director of the crypto exchange in April 2020, according to her LinkedIn profile. According to her LinkedIn page, she is now a partner at fintech-focused venture capital firm Lingfeng Capital, where she manages the firm’s, Innovation Fund.

Binance’s first outside capital

Binance Labs raised its first fund with outside cash earlier this week, and Qian and Zhang’s exits coincide with that. DST Global Partners, Breyer Capital, and undisclosed institutional investors helped the company raise $500 million.

Binance Labs was established in 2018 and has been investing its own funds since then. To date, Axie Infinity creator Sky Mavis, move-to-earn business StepN, decentralised exchange aggregator 1inch, and blockchain audit firm CertiK have all received funding from the firm.

Furthermore, this firm manages mergers and acquisitions in addition to investing. The company has made more than a dozen acquisitions, including CoinMarketCap, an Indian crypto market, and DappReview, a decentralized application analytics platform.

It’s unknown who will take Qian’s and Zhang’s places. According to the company’s website, Ken Li and Peter Huo are now serving as directors of Binance Labs.

Indian Parliamentary Panel Unhappy Over Crypto Stakeholders’ Focus On “Advocacy”

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Indian Finance Committee met key players in the crypto industry in Bengaluru on May 6. According to sources, the meeting did not turn fruitful as members of the finance body were apparently dissatisfied with the industry’s emphasis on “advocacy” instead of chalking out a plan to deal with risks like terrorism financing, for instance.

As per local sources, the parliamentary panel reportedly asked industry representatives to address its concerns on mitigating cross-border terrorism and money laundering. Besides that, it also requested members to present a model for regulation, and names of crypto-related firms.

In the meeting, the Committee stressed that the main focus should be on overall regulatory policy rather than individual industry concerns about new tax rules.

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Indian Parliamentary Panel Unhappy Over Crypto Stakeholders' Focus On "Advocacy" 11

“They haven’t done anything since the last time we raised concerns. It’s the same old thing. That’s what we chided the industry for. We are sick and tired of hearing advocacy, advocacy. Because they have to address the challenges that the government is putting forth, right? Plans, mitigation measures, or some kind of thing. I think that would go a long way,” an official present at the meeting remarked.

Tougher days ahead for Indian crypto exchanges

Its been quite an eventful month for the Indian crypto market. Since the tax came into effect, trading on digital asset exchanges in India took a nosedive, and to top that banks refuse to transmit payments to exchanges due to regulatory uncertainty. 

In general, we have seen trading volumes [on Indian exchanges] come down by 30%-40% in the last two to three weeks,” Nischal Shetty, founder, and CEO of WazirX, India’s biggest cryptocurrency trading exchange told in an interview.

Amid the sharp fall in the numbers, WazirX hinted at relocating its operations overseas, especially in Dubai.

However, it is not only WazirX that is reported to move out of India. The stringent tax rules have driven crypto talent to flock to friendlier regimes, with a few hoping things to improve soon.

Previously TronWeekly reported on Indian Tax authorities exploring ways to bring income generated from crypto platforms operating outside India under the lens, sources familiar with the matter said.