Three United States senators led by Elizabeth Warren have sent a letter to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) and Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder expressing concern over a number of facets of Binance’s activities and requesting information from the companies that includes their balance sheets. Crypto skeptic Warren’s cosigners were fellow Democrat Chris Van Hollen and Republican Roger Marshall. They claimed there is evidence that the companies attempted to evade U.S. regulators, that the companies sanctions evasion and facilitated the laundering of at least $10 billion and they lack transparency. "What little information about Binance’s finances is available to the public …

Two United States senators have penned a letter asking Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt a plan to allow young adults to access the firm’s metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds. In a March 1 letter, Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal said that Meta’s reported plan to “invite young users into a digital space rife with potential harms” should not be implemented if the strategy was driven by profit. According to the two lawmakers, allowing teenagers between 13 and 17 years old access to the virtual environment posed “serious risks”, citing privacy concerns, eye strain, and online bullying. “Meta’s plan to …

Legislation has been introduced in the American state of South Dakota to amend the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to limit the definition of money to exclude cryptocurrencies. Central bank digital currencies (CBDC) would still be considered money under the proposed new definition. The 117-page amendment, introduced into the state house of representatives by Republican Mike Stevens, defines “money” as “a medium of exchange that is currently authorized or adopted by a domestic or foreign government. The term includes a monetary unit of account established by an intergovernmental organization or by agreement between two or more countries.” The bill continued: “The …

The Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia in the United States is moving forward on a lawsuit against business intelligence firm MicroStrategy executive chair Michael Saylor related to tax evasion. According to a Feb. 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, MicroStrategy said the court had not dismissed a claim against Saylor for failing “to pay personal income taxes, interest and penalties due” following an October 2022 motion from the firm. However, the court granted a motion dismissing allegations that Saylor — on his own and acting in concert with MicroStrategy — violated the …

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that it had terminated its partnership with Silvergate Bank as its U.S. dollar banking partner, citing the ongoing investigation. In an announcement tweet, the exchange said: "In light of recent developments & out of an abundance of caution, Coinbase is no longer accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate." The crypto exchange will facilitate institutional client cash transactions with their other banking partner Signature Bank. The decision will not impact payment instructions in GBP or euro. This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Amid various reports about Binance trying to revive its crypto licensing plans in Singapore, the crypto exchange has come out to set the record straight. Binance told Cointelegraph that Ceffu, its "independent institutional custody partner," is the one looking to apply for an institutional crypto custody license when Singapore’s central bank opens up applications. Singapore has established itself as a hub for crypto businesses owing to its flexible tax policies, access to diverse tech talent, and its convenient location that allows companies to operate smoothly within the region in Asian time zones. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is expected …

An investor with nearly $2 million worth of funds frozen in bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi has filed a class action complaint against its founders, two directors and crypto exchange Gemini. In a Feb. 28 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, investor Trey Greene accused the defendants of numerous wrongdoings, including violating the consumer fraud and exchange acts, breaching its fiduciary duties, as well as offering and selling unregistered securities. “The unregistered securities sold by the BFI [BlockFi] Defendants on behalf of BlockFi were marketed and sold via a steady stream of misrepresentations and …

The United States commodities regulator is set to take a close look at the decentralized finance (DeFi) space at an upcoming meeting of its tech committee, where it has also invited crypto industry executives to present. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated on Mar. 1 that the agenda for its Mar. 22 meeting of its Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) will include a panel on “exploring issues in decentralized finance.” Other panels will explore responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) development and possible threats arising from AI along with cybersecurity threats to financial markets. CFTC commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero said in a …

Around 20% of banks have exposure to crypto assets, a Bank for International Settlements (BIS) report released Feb. 28 found. The majority of those banks are in the Western Hemisphere. According to the report, which is based on data from the first half of 2022, 17 Group 1 banks reported approximately 2.9 billion euros in crypto asset prudential exposure and 1 billion euros in crypto assets under custody. A Group 1 bank is one that has Tier 1 capital of more than 3 billion euros and is internationally active. Tier 1 capital is a bank's equity capital and disclosed reserves. …

Civil charges were announced against former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh on Feb. 28, the same day he entered a guilty plea to three counts of criminal fraud in Manhattan district court. Both the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are pressing charges against Singh. Singh pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX customers and one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud after reportedly reaching a deal …

A cryptocurrency researcher and former CIA analyst believes the United States government’s relatively slow start on Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) development may result in it losing grip on controlling the global financial system. Yaya Fanusie, the policy head at the crypto advocacy group the Crypto Council for Innovation explained in a Feb. 28 Bloomberg interview that sanctioned states are looking to transact on financial infrastructure that isn’t controlled or heavily influenced by the U.S. in order to move funds more freely cross-borders. If the U.S. continues to sit on the “sidelines” and lag behind on CBDC adoption, Fanusie believes …

A move by Binance US to acquire assets belonging to the bankrupt crypto lending firm Voyager Digital has been favored by 97% of Voyager’s customers. A Feb. 28 court filing shows an overwhelming majority of Voyager Digital account holders are in favor of the buyout from the United States-based arm of the crypto exchange Binance. Bankruptcy management firm Stretto conducted the balloting of Voyager customers which polled 61,300 account holders with claims against the embattled crypto lender. Of that total, 59,183 voted in favor of the Binance US restructuring plan with just 3%, or 2,117 voters rejecting it. The voters …