Binance - Optimisus

Binance.US's Acquisition of Voyager Stalled by Regulatory Barrier

1 week ago 2 mins read

Binance.US’s Voyager Acquisition Hits Regulatory Snag

Voyager Digital, an insolvent lender, has hit a roadblock in its plan to sell its digital assets to Binance.US, a cryptocurrency exchange, due to an objection by U.S. authorities. The objection stems from a clause in the agreement that would prevent U.S. authorities from taking legal action against anyone involved in the sale. U.S. Trustee William Harrington and other government lawyers filed a motion before a New York bankruptcy court, claiming that the court exceeded its statutory power in authorizing the clause. While not objecting to other aspects of the transaction, U.S. authorities argue that the clause would make it

1 week ago 1 min read

Binance CEO Dismisses Interest in CoinDesk

Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance, has dismissed reports that the cryptocurrency exchange was looking to acquire CoinDesk. The crypto media platform, owned by Digital Currency Group, has been put up for sale, with Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson reportedly expressing interest. Zhao responded to the rumors in a tweet on March 14, clarifying that Binance was “not buying” CoinDesk due to it not fitting with their “geographic coverage.” He added that while CoinDesk may be a good business, it was not a good fit for Binance. CoinDesk is a leading media platform in the cryptocurrency industry, but has faced liquidity issues

Binance Loses British Pound Fiat Gateway Support in Less than 10 Weeks

1 week ago 1 min read

Binance’s UK Fiat Gateway to Close Down in 9 Weeks

Skrill Limited, Binance’s current British pound transfer service partner, announced that it would cease to offer its services to the exchange. This means that Binance users will no longer be able to make British pound deposits and withdrawals via Faster Payments Service or card on May 22, 2023. Binance has said that it is working hard to find an alternative provider before Skrill terminates its services. The exchange has about nine weeks to find a new partner to provide British pound on- and off-ramp services to users. The change is unlikely to impact Binance Accounts or any Binance.com products or

This comes amid concerns that Circle, the issuer of USDC, holds some of its cash reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, which was closed by California's financial regulator on Friday.

1 week ago 1 min read

Coinbase and Binance Temporarily Suspend USDC Conversions Amidst Concerns over Dollar Peg Stability

On Friday night, the world’s top cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, announced that they would temporarily suspend USDC conversions. This comes amid concerns that Circle, the issuer of USDC, holds some of its cash reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, which was closed by California’s financial regulator on Friday. Binance cited “current market conditions” and temporarily suspended the auto-conversion of USDC to BUSD while it monitors the situation. Similarly, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, said it would suspend USDC conversion to USD over the weekend as banks are closed, citing the need for USD transfers from the banks

Binance gets green light to acquire Voyager Digital

2 weeks ago 1 min read

Binance.US Wins Court Approval to Acquire Voyager’s Assets, Defeats SEC Claims

In a recent court decision, Binance.US has won the rights to acquire Voyager Digital’s assets. The American subsidiary of Binance was given the green light by the bankruptcy judge of the Southern District of New York, Michael Wiles, after four days of hearing. The SEC had filed a limited objection to the acquisition, citing the US crypto exchange’s ability to afford such a large deal and claiming that parts of the deal violated federal securities laws. However, the judge deemed the commission’s objection as “vague” and asserted that the SEC had failed to submit supporting evidence. The approval allows Binance.US

Binance has already contributed over $2 million to support women

2 weeks ago 2 mins read

Binance Continues to Empower Women in Web3 Education

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is renewing its commitment to increase female participation and employment in the Web3 industry, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Binance has already contributed over $2 million to support women in over 10 countries worldwide through education and mentorship programs, and aims to expand its efforts in the coming year. In 2022, Binance Charity donated $2 million to fund more than 36,000 Web3 scholarships for women. This year, Binance Charity will continue to sponsor courses, initiatives, and scholarships, with a particular emphasis on women and underrepresented groups. Education is key to encouraging more women

Binance had attempted to hire Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the SEC in 2018

2 weeks ago 1 min read

Binance Reportedly Explored Hiring Gary Gensler in 2018 as Part of Plan to Foster Closer Relationship with US Regulators

According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), crypto exchange Binance had attempted to hire Gary Gensler, the current chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as an adviser in 2018 and 2019. Gensler, who was then teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was approached by Binance’s executives, including Ella Zhang, then head of Binance’s venture investing arm, and Harry Zhou, co-founder of Binance-invested firm Koi Trading. Despite declining the adviser position, messages from Binance’s executives suggest that Gensler was generous in sharing license strategies. The report also highlights the relationship between Binance

WSJ report exposes Binance's undisclosed affiliation with US entity in damning documents

2 weeks ago 1 min read

Binance’s regulatory compliance under scrutiny as WSJ reveals ties to unknown US unit

According to a recent report by the Wall Street Journal, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, allegedly did not fully disclose its control over Binance.US, an independent unit set up to comply with US financial regulations. Internal documents and communications reviewed by the WSJ reveal that Binance programmers in Shanghai had control over the software code that supported Binance.US users’ digital wallets, giving them potential access to US customer data. While Binance has denied mixing user data, the revelations could damage the company’s position with US regulators. The report also alleges that Binance did not disclose its partnership with BAM

3 weeks ago 1 min read

Coinbase Suspends Binance USD Trading Amid Regulatory Investigation

Coinbase, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, has announced the suspension of trade in Binance USD (BUSD) as of March 13. The move comes after US regulators began investigating the stablecoin as a possible unregistered security. Coinbase stated that BUSD no longer met their listing standards, prompting the suspension. However, users can still access and withdraw their BUSD after the suspension, as stated by Coinbase on Twitter. BUSD is currently the third largest stablecoin, with a market capitalization of $10.6 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data. Paxos, the firm that owns and operates BUSD, was recently ordered to suspend the

Binance Introduces Revolutionary Semi-Automated Reserve Token Management System

4 weeks ago 1 min read

Binance Unveils Semi-Automated Management for Reserve Tokens: Insider Report

Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world, has switched to a semi-automated process to improve the transparency of its reserve B-tokens. This comes after years of mismanagement, during which Bloomberg reported that Binance stored token collateral with user funds in the same wallet. The exchange has now set up a partially-automated process that ensures the B-tokens are “always transparently backed.” This is achieved through a system that only allows minting of new coins to take place after collateral has been added to the appropriate wallet. A Binance spokesperson said that the exchange has been moving the collateralized assets to

Binance has been hit with allegations of secretly moving over $400 million

1 month ago 1 min read

Binance.US Addresses Allegations of Secret $400 Million Bank Transfers

Binance has been hit with allegations of secretly moving over $400 million from its US affiliate to a trading firm linked to its CEO, Changpeng Zhao. A recent report by Reuters claims that between January and March 2021, a Silvergate Bank account named BAM Trading, which is operated by Binance.US, transferred these funds to Merit Peak, a market maker managed by Zhao himself. However, Binance has denied these allegations and stated that it has no access to the bank accounts held by its US partner. The company clarified that only Binance.US employees have access to these accounts, and the transfers

1 month ago 1 min read

Binance Shifts $400M from US Partner to CZ-Affiliated Company

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has reportedly accessed a bank account belonging to its U.S. partner without authorization. According to Reuters, the unauthorized access enabled Binance to transfer large sums of money from the U.S. partner’s account to a trading company controlled by its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ. Banking records and internal messages obtained by Reuters show that more than $400 million was transferred from an account belonging to Binance.US held at Silvergate Bank in California to Merit Peak Ltd., a trading firm controlled by CZ, in the first quarter of 2021. The account was registered