BNB Chain, the native blockchain of Binance, has launched AvengerDAO, a new community-driven security initiative to help users against scams, malicious actors and possible exploits. The security-centric decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has been developed in association with leading security firms and popular crypto projects such as Certik, TrustWallet, PancakeSwap and Opera, to name a few. The AvengerDAO security initiative mainly consists of three major components, namely a passive API system called Meter, a subscription-based alert system called Watch, and a programmable fund management system called Vault. When a user on the BNB Chain interacts with any applications or counterparties, the …

Major Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX has opted to delist the USD Coin (USDC) from its platform and convert the remaining balances into Binance-backed Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin. WazirX officially announced on Monday that it has stopped deposits of USDC alongside other stablecoins like Pax Dollar (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD). According to the announcement, the platform will instead offer the BUSD stablecoin to enhance liquidity and capital efficiency for users. WazirX will implement BUSD auto-conversion for users' existing balances of USDC, USDP and TUSD at a 1:1 ratio on Oct. 5, the firm said. “Users will be able to view their …

Widespread adoption of Web3 mayeventually become a reality but Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen foresees three main barriers standing in the way of mass adoption. During the Australian Crypto Convention on Sept. 18, Chen outlined how security, ease of use, identity, and privacy were all vital aspects to address for growth in the Web3 industry. Chen is the CEO of Trust Wallet, a major multi-chain, non-custodial crypto wallet acquired by Binance two years ago. She was speaking in a keynote presentation that was attended by Cointelegraph reporters on the ground in Queensland, Australia. On the security front, Chen says protections …

Binance announced Friday that it has partnered with the Ukrainian supermarket chain VARUS, saying it will enable cryptocurrency payments for grocery purchases through its Binance Pay Wallet. The grocery store is one of the largest companies in Ukraine with over 111 stores across 28 cities in the country. The company said that this partnership will allow its customers to access instant cryptocurrency payments and fast delivery in 9 cities in Ukraine, namely; Kyiv, Dnipro, Kamianske, Kryvyi Rih, Zaporizhzhia, Brovary, Nikopol, Vyshhorod, and Pavlograd. The companies have also announced a “reward fund promotion”, where customers who order anything from the VARUS …

Binance’s smart contract blockchain platform BNB Chain has partnered with Google Cloud to bolster Web3 and blockchain startups. Startups that are currently building products and services on the BNB Chain blockchain will also be able to build on Google Cloud’s scalable, secure and open source infrastructure. This will see over 1,300 active, BNB Chain-based decentralized applications (DApps) from the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), metaverse, blockchain games and nonfungible tokens given access to the tools and infrastructure provided by both platforms. These projects will also be able to make use of Google Cloud for data encryption and on-demand analysis of …

A report from blockchain analytics platform Nansen highlights five entities that hold 64% of staked Ether (ETH) ahead of Ethereum’s highly anticipated Merge with the Beacon chain. Ethereum’s shift from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake is set to take place in the coming days after final updates and shadow forks were completed in early September. The key component of The Merge sees miners no longer used as validators, replaced by stakers that commit ETH to maintain the network. Nansen’s report highlights that just over 11% of the total circulating ETH is staked, with 65% liquid and 35% illiquid. There are a total …

On Wednesday, the U.S. subsidiary of cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced that it would introduce an Ethereum (ETH) staking program with annual percentage yields of up to 6.0%. Unlike direct staking on the Ethereum network, which would require 32 ETH, only 0.001 ETH would be required under the new service introduced by Binance US. Regarding the development, Brian Shroder, CEO of Binance US, said: "ETH plays a critical role in the broader Web3 ecosystem. As the Ethereum network continues to transition towards The Merge, we are thrilled to offer ETH staking with some of the highest APY rewards in the industry." …

According to a new Twitter post, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO of USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin issuer Circle, said that the recent decision by Binance to merge stablecoin dollar books is "a good thing" for USDC. "This move would lead to a gradual net share shift from USDT to BUSD and USDC," said Allaire. The day before, Binance announced it would cease trading support for USDC and auto-convert deposits after Sept. 29 to a consolidated Binance USD balance comprising other stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar. Users will be able to withdraw individual constituents from the consolidated balance at par …

Crypto exchange giant Binance has confirmed it has no plans to “auto-convert” Tether (USDT) to Binance USD (BUSD) at the moment, though noted that this “may change.” On Sept. 6, the crypto exchange surprised the market with the announcement it will cease trading support for U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) on its platform, along with USDP Stablecoin (USDP) and TrueUSD (TUSD). Any users that are still holding the three stablecoins on Sept. 29 will begin to have their holdings auto-converted to BUSD at a 1:1 ratio over a 24-hour period. Binance stated that the move was a decision to …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced Monday that it plans to halt all deposits and withdrawals of Ethereum (ETH) and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH) on selected networks, starting September 6th at 2 am (UTC) in anticipation of Ethereum's Merge event. #Binance will suspend deposits and withdrawals for Ether $ETH and Wrapped Ether $WETH on the following networks starting from September 6, 2022 at 02:00am UTC. ETH (Arbitrum) ETH (OP) WETH (RON) — Binance (@binance) September 5, 2022 In the announcement, the company shared a list of tokens and networks that will be impacted during the Merge — Namely ETH (Arbitrum), ETH (OP) and …

The Nigerian government has held a preliminary meeting with crypto exchange Binance to potentially establish a special economic zone aimed at supporting crypto and blockchain-related businesses. According to a Sept. 2 post from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the authority has held preliminary talks with Binance and technology infrastructure company Talent City to discuss the proposed digital city, referred to as a “Virtual Free Zone.” NEPZA managing director Adesoji Adesugba said the proposed zone will be a first in West Africa and act similar to Dubai’s virtual zones, which are designed to provide crypto-friendly laws, regulations, and tax …

Helping investigate a $265,000 hack on decentralized crypto exchange KyberSwap, crypto exchange Binance narrowed down two suspects that seem responsible for the attack. On Sept. 1, Kyber Network succumbed to a frontend exploit, allowing the attacker to make away with $265,000 worth of user funds from KyberSwap. While investigations were underway, KyberSwap offered a 10% bounty — of roughly $40,000 — to the hacker as means to remediate the situation. Parallelly, based on an independent investigation, Binance’s security team identified two suspects that may be responsible for orchestrating the virtual heist. Binance CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao confirmed that the intel …