Major crypto exchange Binance initially pushed back against a Bloomberg report that its Binance-Peg BUSD stablecoin “doesn’t always appear to have been completely backed by BUSD”. In a Jan. 10 blog post, Binance said the basis for the report — later amended to clarify the difference between a pegged and backed stablecoin — was a “timing mismatch in backing Binance-Peg BUSD with BUSD”. The news outlet reported that the Binance-peg BUSD was often undercollateralized between 2020 and 2021 based on an analysis from ChainArgo co-founder Jonathan Reiter, a gap that sometimes exceeded $1 billion. However, according to the exchange, its …

According to user reports on Jan 10, cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com plans to delist Tether (USDT) for Canadian users effective Jan 31, 2023. According to the firm, if users do not withdraw or convert their USDT assets by the deadline, then their Tether will be automatically converted into USD Coin (USDC). "You may incur a retrieval fee if deposits of USDT are made from external wallets after this suspension period, and fund retrieval may not be possible in some cases." In August 2022, Crypto.com announced that the Ontario Securities Commission had accepted the firm's pre-registration undertaking for operations in Canada. As …

Web3 accelerator Beacon has wrapped up its first cohort with 13 graduating companies and has provided a venue for project founders to demo their blockchain-based startups. Beacon’s first 12-week cohort, dubbed Cohort 0, kicked off in October with 15 companies across various cryptocurrency subsectors, including decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming and infrastructure. Beacon held a demo day on Jan. 10 with 13 graduating companies: Arcana, Blinkmoon, ChapterX, Colexion, Community Gaming, Cubist, FastLane, Meta Apes, Mystic Moose, Nillion, Davos Protocol, Timeswap and Ylide. Polygon co-founder and Beacon creator Sandeep Nailwal described the first batch of graduates as the “MVP of Beacon” because …

The business model that cryptocurrency exchanges currently use relies on ignorance and fear. It relies on their customers not knowing much about decentralized finance (DeFi) and their fear of what could happen if they get things wrong with their crypto investments. Cryptocurrencies seem like an obscure and risky investment to most, and unsurprisingly, concerns about losing assets in market crashes, losing wallets or security keys through carelessness, or being scammed by unscrupulous operators are prevalent. These concerns are reasonable considering the volatility of the market and the prevalence of sharks, crooks, bluffers and shysters who operate in the industry. In …

UK crypto app Tap Global has become the first 2023 listing on the Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE), according to a press release from the company. The listing was accomplished through a reverse takeover by Quetzal Capital, according to a press release on Jan. 10. The first #AQSE listing this year. Thank you to @SimonPeterHunt of The Evening Standard (@standardnews) for covering the news of our stock market debut. #TAP #RTO #PLC Full article: https://t.co/NK5Wp2VqjG — Tap Global Group Plc (@TapGlobalPlc) January 10, 2023 Tap provides fiat banking services, a crypto swap service that sources crypto from partner exchanges, and access …

The brother of a former Coinbase product manager, Nikhil Wahi, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy charges, in what is believed to be the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. As reported by Reuters, Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty in September to initiating trades based on confidential information obtained from his brother, Ishan Wahi, who was a former Coinbase product manager. Ex-Coinbase manager's brother sentenced to 10 months in insider trading case https://t.co/Kyy6DqSb9D pic.twitter.com/ruQjwr5i4h — Reuters (@Reuters) January 10, 2023 Nikhil Wahi admitted to trading with the use of inside information obtained from Coinbase. According …

The Easy Company, a startup focusing on building a consumer layer for the decentralized web, has raised $14.2 million in a seed round for its “social” crypto wallet, which seeks to help onboard more mainstream audiences into the Web3 ecosystem. As reported by TechCrunch, the seed funding round was supported by a diverse group of investors, including venture capital firms Lobby Capital, Relay Ventures and 6th Man Ventures, as well as Tapestry, Upside and Scribble. Additionally, the round featured angel investors with backgrounds in traditional social media and Web3, including former executives from Instagram, Novi, Airbnb, Twitter, Uber, OpenTable and …

As the global economy continues to reel from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is increasing data suggesting that more and more people are now favoring a remote work-based lifestyle. In this regard, a survey sample of working United States citizens shows that Millennial and Generation Z workers prefer joining a remote workforce and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) as opposed to going to an office. As part of the study, more than 1,100 U.S. citizens were asked to provide their preferences regarding remote work and the emergence of DAOs in recent years. Using research pertaining to DAOs published …

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, has penned an open letter to the board of Digital Currency Group, or DCG, saying CEO Barry Silbert was “unfit” to run the company. In a Jan 10. letter, Winklevoss claimed Silbert and Genesis Global Capital — a subsidiary of DCG — had defrauded more than 340,000 users who were a part of Gemini’s Earn program. The letter followed a Jan. 2 appeal on Twitter to Silbert directly, in which the Gemini co-founder said Genesis owed Gemini $900 million, accusing the CEO of hiding “behind lawyers, investment bankers, and process.” According to …

The South Korea-based cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb is under a “special tax investigation” by the country’s National Tax Service (NTS), according to local reports. On Jan. 10 tax agents raided the exchange’s headquarters in the country’s capital city Seoul as a part of a compliance investigation. The investigation was carried out by the 4th Bureau of Investigation of the Seoul Regional Tax Service, which specifically investigates “special tax investigations”, as opposed to standard ones. Previously, Bithumb was under a special tax investigation in 2018 by the NTS, through which it won roughly $64 million in income tax. This story is developing …

Crypto exchange Binance has been a major talking point since the downfall of FTX, both inside and outside of the crypto industry. The company and its founder, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao, have been under a microscope in an attempt to keep the behemoth in line. On Jan. 10, a tweet surfaced regarding the cryptocurrency exchange’s employee policy to prevent insider trading. It claimed Binance employees of any ranking are not allowed to participate in personal short-term trading and must hold positions for a minimum of 90 days. Cointelegraph reached out to Binance to confirm its policy and comment on the implications. …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is starting 2023 with more layoffs, letting go of another 20% of its employees in a second major wave of layoffs. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong officially announced on Jan. 10 that Coinbase will cut 950 jobs as part of the company’s measures to reduce the firm’s operating costs by around 25% amid the ongoing crypto winter. Armstrong emphasized that Coinbase is “well capitalized,” and crypto “isn't going anywhere,” but the firm has to proceed with layoffs in order to keep the “appropriate operational efficiency.” “In fact, I believe recent events will ultimately end up benefiting Coinbase …