Crypto
Binance is sued by another US regulator, sparking plunge in cryptocurrency values and shares
US regulators have filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency exchange Binance alleging a string of violations including the misuse of investor funds.
Cryptocurrencies and shares in crypto and blockchain-related companies tumbled after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed 13 charges against the world’s largest exchange and its founder Changpeng Zhao.
The watchdog claimed they artificially inflated trading volumes and diverted customer funds, and also failed to restrict US customers from its platform and misled investors about market surveillance controls.
Its lawsuit further accused them of secretly controlling customers’ assets, allowing them to mingle and divert investor funds “as they please.”
Binance responded by saying it would “defend our platform vigorously”.
It added that, in its view, the SEC’s powers were limited because it was not a US exchange.
The sell-off in values was predictable given historic volatility for prices in times of trouble.
Bitcoin, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency was down 5.3% – falling to its lowest level since mid-March.
Binance’s cryptocurrency fell 9.4%.
Shares of rival crypto exchange Coinbase Global were down 11.6%.
In March, Binance and Zhao were sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission for operating what the regulator said was an “illegal” exchange and a “sham” compliance program.
The charges against Binance have dented a rally for crypto values following a torrid 2022.
The collapse in November last year of FTX and the subsequent arrest of its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, raised the focus of regulators on the sector.
Coinbase was earlier this year sent a ‘Wells Notice’ by the SEC which is usually an indicator of looming legal action.
Crypto
Charles Hoskinson: ‘Under the Trump Administration, We Founded and Built Cardano’
In a recent video titled “Humility,” Charles Hoskinson, Co-Founder and CEO of IOG (Input Output Global), shared his insights on humility, the current political landscape in the United States, and its implications for the cryptocurrency industry. This blog post delves into Hoskinson’s key points, especially his views on former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden, as well as his call to action for the 2024 election.
Hoskinson starts by addressing a Reddit post that critiques him for lacking humility. He clarifies that while he strives to be a decent person who acknowledges others’ contributions, true humility involves recognizing the value of viewpoints other than one’s own. He admits that his logical, mathematical mindset can sometimes obscure the complexities of real-world perspectives.
The Reddit post suggests that Hoskinson struggles with admitting the validity of differing viewpoints. It argues that his approach to logical reasoning might lead to a misunderstanding of the nature of reality and other perspectives. Hoskinson agrees that humility is about recognizing potential misperceptions and valuing other viewpoints.
Hoskinson criticizes the Biden administration for its definitive anti-crypto stance. He attributes this position to a deal made between Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren during the 2020 presidential campaign. Warren, a staunch opponent of cryptocurrency, was given control over domestic treasury policy, leading to the appointment of many anti-crypto officials in the Treasury Department.
He highlights the administration’s systematic efforts to unbank cryptocurrency companies, evidenced by Wells notices against major players like Robinhood, Coinbase, Uniswap, Kraken, and Binance. Hoskinson points out a clear trend of hostility towards the industry.
Despite the cryptocurrency industry’s extensive efforts to engage with the Biden administration through meetings, open letters, and private discussions, Hoskinson believes the administration remains unyielding and duplicitous. While claiming to be open to dialogue, the administration has aggressively worked to undermine the industry.
Hoskinson asserts that the Biden administration’s policies have created significant challenges for the cryptocurrency industry, including driving businesses abroad and treating crypto users as criminals.
Hoskinson contrasts the Biden administration’s hostility with the relatively neutral stance of the Trump administration. While the Trump administration did not provide regulatory clarity, it did not exhibit the same level of adversarial actions toward the cryptocurrency industry.
Hoskinson suggests that a potential Trump victory in the next election might not lead to the same level of hostility towards the industry as seen under Biden. However, he emphasizes the importance of electing pro-crypto candidates regardless of their party affiliation.
Hoskinson endorses Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) for the presidency, arguing that the American people deserve better leadership than what is currently offered by both Trump and Biden. He believes RFK represents a much-needed alternative.
Hoskinson stresses the importance of the 2024 election for the future of the cryptocurrency industry. He argues that the political consequences of opposing cryptocurrency should be made clear. If anti-crypto stances result in electoral losses, politicians will be forced to reconsider their positions.
Hoskinson argues that the issue at hand is not about humility but about policy. The cryptocurrency industry has consistently approached the government with humility, presenting well-reasoned arguments and data. However, the administration’s actions suggest a predetermined decision to oppose cryptocurrency, regardless of the industry’s efforts.
In his closing remarks, Hoskinson calls on the cryptocurrency community to vote for pro-crypto candidates in the 2024 election, regardless of their political affiliation. He emphasizes the importance of preserving liberty and freedom and urges the community to fight for a better future.
Crypto
Cryptocurrency: Top 3 Coins To Watch in May-End 2024
The cryptocurrency market seems to be stagnating over the last few days. Bitcoin (BTC) is struggling to overcome the $67,000 level, while the global crypto market cap is hovering around $2.5 trillion.
However, with cooler-than-anticipated inflation numbers in the US, we may witness a surge in the crypto market over the next week. With that said, let’s look at three crypto assets to watch for the end of this month.
Top3 cryptocurrencies to watch in May-end 2024
Bitcoin (BTC):
BTC has rallied by 8.3% in the weekly charts, 3.6% in the 14-day charts, and 4% over the previous month. However, the asset has faced a nearly 1% correction in the daily charts.
Also Read: Top 3 Cryptocurrencies to Buy Now with NVIDIA’s Earnings Around the Corner
According to CoinCodex, BTC could hit a new all-time high this week, surpassing the $74,000 level by May 23, 2024. Moreover, the platform anticipates the original cryptocurrency to hit $79,493 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $79,493 from current levels would translate to a growth of about 19.2%.
Changelly also predicts BTC to hit a new all-time high this week. Moreover, the platform predicts BTC to surpass the $80,000 level by the end of this month, hitting $80,131 on May 31, 2024.
Shiba Inu (SHIB):
Shiba Inu (SHIB) is another popular cryptocurrency that has struggled to gain momentum over the last few days. SHIB is facing significant resistance at around $0.000025. However, the asset may turn the tide very soon.
Also Read: Cryptocurrency: Top 3 Dogcoins For Maximum Profits
According to CoinCodex, SHIB could surge to $0.00003551 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $0.00003551 from current levels would lead to a price spike of about 47.6%.
Changelly also paints a bullish picture for SHIB over the next few weeks. The platform expects SHIB to hit $0.00003769 on May 31, 2024, a rise of about 56.4% from current levels.
Avalanche (AVAX):
AVAX is another popular cryptocurrency that may witness a price spike by the end of this month. According to CoinCodex, AVAX could surge to $52.17 on May 31, 2024. Hitting $52.17 from current levels would entail a growth of nearly 45%.
Changelly also presents a bullish prediction for AVAX over the next few weeks. The platform anticipates the cryptocurrency to hit $55.73 on May 31, 2024.
Crypto
XRP: the latest news on Ripple's cryptocurrency
In recent days, the price of XRP, the Ripple cryptocurrency, has slightly increased, probably due to some positive news that circulated last week.
The trend of XRP and the latest crypto news on Ripple
Currently the price of XRP is about $0.51.
This is a price level in line with that of October 2023, before the recent bull run started.
However, it is also the price level it had in June of last year, and it turns out to be lower than that of the beginning of 2021.
Actually, it is even in line with that of October 2018, so much so that it could even be stated that the price of XRP has been moving sideways around the half dollar for almost six years now, although during this period it has not been at all still.
In 2017, before the great bull run that brought it to its historical highs of $3.8 in January 2018, its price was just under $0.3, so the current price is only 70% higher than it was seven years ago.
When the first major speculative bubble burst in 2018, the price of XRP first dropped to 0.5$, and then fell below 0.3$. The worst, however, came in the following years, with a decline to 0.15$ in March 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic.
In the rest of 2020, it managed to approach 0.3$ again, before jumping up to almost 0.7$ by the end of the year. However, at that point the SEC started the lawsuit against Ripple and XRP, and during the great bull run of 2021 the price failed to exceed 2$.
With the burst of the second bubble in 2022, the price of XRP returned to around $0.3, and since then it has continued to fluctuate between $0.3 and $0.7 with a very brief exception in July 2023 thanks to the favorable ruling in the lawsuit against the SEC.
Current trend
During 2024 it first dropped from $0.63 to $0.5, then rose to $0.71 but only to fall back to $0.48 in April. In the last month it has fluctuated within a very narrow range, between $0.48 and $0.56.
Starting from May 7th, it had begun a descent that brought it down to $0.49 last week, before rebounding slightly and bringing it back above $0.52 last Friday.
Yesterday, however, it slightly dropped to 0.50$, before rising back up to 0.51$ today.
Practically in the last twelve days it has fluctuated between $0.49 and $0.52.
So even though last week saw a small rebound, it is simply normal movements within the sideways range that has been going on for two months now.
Furthermore, even extending the analysis a little further back in time, it has been since July of last year that it has not been well above $0.7. However, at least it has been more than a year since it has not fallen below $0.48.
The crypto news on Ripple (XRP)
Given that it has been twelve months since nothing really interesting has happened to the price of XRP, neither positively nor negatively, recent news has only been able to move it within the sideways trading range.
Surely last week the good news about inflation in the USA also had positive consequences on the price of XRP. However, they were not able to unlock the crypto market, now relatively flat for some weeks.
One interesting thing has happened.
Indeed, according to Santiment data, XRP whales (wallets holding between 1 million and 10 million XRP) have increased the total number of XRP held by a whopping 110 million, thus increasing their wealth in this cryptocurrency by about 55 million dollars in just the last two weeks.
This suggests a period of accumulation.
Furthermore, on-chain transactions have increased by 108% in the first quarter of 2024, with a total of 251.39 million transactions in three months on the XRP Ledger.
This is a number not much lower than that of the Ethereum blockchain, which however does not include transactions on layer-2.
What is surprising, however, is the cost of transactions, because on the XRP Ledger the average cost in the first quarter was only $0.000856 per transaction, while on Ethereum it is more than a thousand times higher.
Quantum computing
In addition, yesterday Ripple published an article regarding the potential issues that cryptocurrencies could face due to quantum computers.
The article concerns the insights of Professor Massimiliano Sala, a mathematics professor at the University of Trento in Italy, regarding the impact of quantum computing on blockchain.
According to Sala, quantum computers could easily solve fundamental problems for digital signatures, potentially undermining the mechanisms that protect users’ resources on blockchain platforms.
However, Sala also highlighted the progress made by the cryptographic community towards the development of “post-quantum” cryptographic schemes designed to resist potential attacks carried out using quantum computers.
It is therefore a real problem, although not current, and well known, for which some possible solutions are already known.
However, Sala advises crypto organizations to start transitioning to quantum-resistant technologies now, because although such threats are not imminent, they would be significant enough to justify proactive measures.
In this regard, Ripple is organizing a national XRPL Hackathon involving over 20 universities and 60 developers from November 21st to 23rd, 2024 in Rome.
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