Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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Security news
- The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning about scam crypto job ads posted on social media and employment sites, primarily in Asia. “The FBI warns US citizens and individuals who travel or live abroad of the risk of false job advertisements linked to labor trafficking at Southeast Asia-based scam compounds where victims are held against their will, intimidated, and forced to commit international cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes,” said the alert.
Exchange news
- Binance has been dismissed from a lawsuit relating to an alleged online “pig butchering” crypto scam committed on Tinder. On May 22, a US District Judge ruled that there was no evidence that Binance Holdings Ltd. assisted in the theft that involved a Texas woman who was allegedly cheated out of $8 million by a man she met on the popular dating site.
- Bitget announced its registration as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Poland. “This significant milestone represents a necessary step for Bitget in expanding its presence in the European Union (EU) region,” it said in a press release. The platform’s compliance team has grown by over 50% in the last 12 months, the exchange added.
- Bitget released its quarterly transparency report for the first quarter of 2023, reporting that: website and mobile traffic increased by 35% QoQ to 33.1 million views; total volume of Bitget spot and futures markets reached $59 billion and $658 billion respectively, with an 8% QoQ growth for spot trading and 27% QoQ growth for futures trading; and BGB token price reached an all-time high and recorded a 120% gain, accompanied by a 146% surge in BGB holders.
- OKX applied for a Digital Asset Service Provider license in France under “the rigorous requirements set out by Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR),” said the press release. It also reportedly plans to hire around 100 full-time employees there in the next three years.
Wallet news
- Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier argued that governments subpoenaing access to user funds on a device that subscribed to the new Recover service (as former CEO Éric Larchevêque suggested) is unlikely to happen. However, he told the What Bitcoin Did podcast that “the only concern really is if we get subpoenaed by a government to say, now this user specifically, we would like you to retrieve the three shards, etc.” This is still unlikely to happen, he argued.
Regulation news
- The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) in Hong Kong announced that it will soon allow licensed platforms to serve retail investors. “Operators of virtual asset trading platforms who are prepared to comply with the SFC’s standards are welcome to apply for a licence. Those who do not plan to do so should proceed to an orderly closure of their business in Hong Kong,” it said. The SFC added that it would be implementing a “number of robust measures” to ensure protection for retail investors.
- The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) opened up its policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset markets for public comment. Consultation responses can be submitted until July 31. The recommendations cover a number of issues related to crypto, including client asset protection, market abuse, conflict of interest, disclosures, and potential risks. Haydn Jones, Global Lead of Blockchain and Crypto Solutions at Kroll, commented that “the recommendations published today by IOSCO are an important push for jurisdictions around the world to get on with regulating crypto assets. We already know that cryptocurrencies can be highly regulatable. Much of the data associated with many leading cryptocurrencies is in publicly accessible digital ledgers, meaning that the FCA, or any other regulator around the world, should be able to examine the regulatory compliance of transactions or holdings at any time. Putting in place the frameworks to do so is a vital step in order to protect against criminal activity, but also to allow for everyone to benefit from the underlying technology that cryptocurrencies rely on.”
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