06
SEC sues Binance and CEO Changpeng Zhao for U.S. securities violations

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed 13 charges against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging both comingled billions of dollars worth of user funds and sent them to a European company controlled by Zhao, CNBC reports. 

The U.S. regulator alleged on Monday that Zhao and his exchange worked to subvert “their own controls” to allow high net worth U.S. investors and customers to continue trading on Binance’s unregulated international exchange.

One senior executive allegedly told a compliance officer that the company was operating as a ”[f---ing] unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro.”

The complaint alleges Binance created Binance.US as a shield for the main company and Zhao, to “reveal, retard, and resolve” law enforcement targets and insulate Binance.

Binance issued a statement on its blog stating:

We are disappointed that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chose to file a complaint today against Binance seeking, among other remedies, purported emergency relief.  From the start, we have actively cooperated with the SEC’s investigations and have worked hard to answer their questions and address their concerns.  Most recently, we have engaged in extensive good-faith discussions to reach a negotiated settlement to resolve their investigations.  But despite our efforts, with its complaint today the SEC abandoned that process and instead chose to act unilaterally and litigate.  We are disheartened by that choice. 

 

05
Elon Musk accused of manipulating Dogecoin price in $258 billion lawsuit

The CEO of Twitter and Tesla has been accused of insider trading and manipulating the price of Dogecoin in a proposed class action lawsuit, reports Mashable

Investors are claiming that Musk used his influence on Twitter, TV appearances, and paid online influencers to trade profitably at the expense of other investors

A Wednesday night filing in Manhattan federal court claims that Musk, for example, sold roughly $124 million worth of Dogecoin in April after he replaced Twitter's logo with Dogecoin's logo, which led to a 30 percent increase in Dogecoin's price. According to the filling, Musk went on a "deliberate course of carnival barking, market manipulation and insider trading" in order to defraud investors. In all, the complaint claims Musk had intentionally driven the price of Dogecoin up by over 36,000 percent over several years, and then let it crash.

29
Dubai to welcome world's first ‘Bitcoin Tower’

On the evening of May 24, Salvatore Leggiero, developer of the forthcoming Bitcoin Tower, officially launched the project at an exclusive architecture-focused event by designer Simone Micheli, reports COINTELEGRAPH

During the event, Leggiero and Micheli presented their collaboration for the Bitcoin Tower, which will have a version in the metaverse and a physical building.

The developer said that because of this experience, he imagined a project that would match his expertise in real estate and his passion for crypto — and the idea for the Bitcoin Tower in Dubai was born.

Leggiero also told Cointelegraph that he wants the project to be an open project, mentioning the possibility of creating a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) for the project.

25
South Korea passes bill requiring public officials to disclose crypto holdings from 2024

South Korean lawmakers on Thursday unanimously approved a new bill requiring public officials and candidates to disclose their crypto holdings from 2024, according to local news outlet Chosun-Ilbo.

High-ranking public officials above Grade 4, such as the members of the National Assembly, will be required to report their crypto holdings, regardless of amount, from Jan. 1, 2024.

The bill, spearheaded by conservative lawmaker Lee Man-hee, also imposes a limit on the investment amount for an official involved in the crypto sector.

​​The proposal follows the ongoing scandal surrounding former lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk of the opposing Democratic Party. He is under investigation by local prosecutors for campaign finance violations, tax portals and concealment of criminal proceeds surrounding his hidden crypto possessions and transactions. 

22
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Becomes First Presidential Candidate to Accept Bitcoin Campaign Donations

Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the first presidential candidate to accept Bitcoin campaign donations, reports WatcherGuru.com. Moreover, Kennedy previously referred to the digital asset as more than a currency but as an “exercise in democracy.”

The candidate has emerged as a vocal defender of the digital asset industry. Subsequently, amid US regulation in the sector, that remains unclear. As Federal Reserve-issued CBDC is on the horizon, the industry is primed to be a vital aspect of the upcoming elections. 

In recent weeks, former lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has brought digital assets into the political arena. Specifically, he has remained outspoken against government-issued digital assets, and spoken in defense of one of the most important ones.

19
EU Passes Law Requiring Identification for All Crypto Transactions

Finance ministers representing all 27 member countries of the union voted unanimously to enact the Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation just weeks after the European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a consensus version, Bank Info Security, reports. 

The proposal, known as MiCA, will go into effect progressively. Rules applying to stablecoins will go into effect in July 2024 and provisions for other crypto assets are set for January 2025.

The regulation requires crypto-asset issuers to draft detailed white papers and register with a national financial regulator, which could deny authorization for the asset. Registration in one European country will allow the crypto platform to operate across the entire bloc. Regulators will be able to suspend crypto-asset service providers from trading for up to 30 working days should they believe the platform has violated provisions of MiCA such as a requirement for internal controls to safeguard against market abuse.

MiCA also requires crypto trading platforms to hold minimum cash reserves, with the amount depending on the type of crypto asset.