WuBlockchain Weekly: Binance Freezes Hamas Account, SBF Trial in Progress, Bitmain Wage Dispute and Top10 News

1. Fed Meeting Minutes: Most Officials Believe Another Rate Hike Is Appropriate link

On October 12th, according to the recently released minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting, it was revealed that during the September monetary policy meeting, Fed policymakers unanimously agreed that high-interest rates should be maintained ‘for a while,’ and they advocated a ‘cautious approach’ to interest rate decisions. Regarding the question of whether further rate hikes are needed, most participants believed that it would be appropriate to raise rates once more at future meetings, while some members also expressed the view that additional rate hikes may not be necessary going forward.

2. US CPI Unadjusted at 3.7% in September link

The U.S. non-seasonally adjusted CPI for September showed a year-on-year increase of 3.7%, slightly above expectations of 3.6%, but in line with the previous month’s figure of 3.7%. The core CPI for September, excluding volatile food and energy prices, came in at an annual rate of 4.1%, in line with expectations and down from the previous month’s 4.3%. According to WSJ reporter Nick Timiraos, the ongoing moderation in core price growth, along with some easing in wage growth and rising bond yields, may lead Federal Reserve policymakers to reconsider the necessity of further interest rate hikes this year.

3. G20 Releases Cryptocurrency Regulatory Roadmap link

On Thursday, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors approved the roadmap for the regulation of crypto assets, ensuring the effective, flexible, and coordinated implementation of a comprehensive policy framework for crypto assets. This roadmap is based on a consolidated document that incorporates recommendations from both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB). The FSB has proposed regulatory oversight of crypto assets rather than an outright ban to prevent them from potentially undermining macroeconomic and financial stability.

4. UK FCA Warns Against HTX and KuCoin link

On October 8, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added 143 entities to its warning list of firms that customers should avoid, including Huobi/HTX and KuCoin. Companies conducting crypto asset activities in the UK must register with the FCA or obtain temporary operating permission, or they may face criminal charges. In August of this year, the FCA stated that since 2020, it had received 291 registration applications and approved only 38, including Bitstamp, Revolut, and Gemini. Prior to this, Bybit suspended all its services in the UK in September.

Additionally, Komainu, a custody company jointly owned by Nomura Securities, Ledger, and CoinShares, has successfully registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

5. ESMA Publishes ‘Decentralized Finance: Classification of Smart Contracts’ link

On October 13, the European Securities and Markets Authority published a paper on the “Classification of Smart Contracts in Decentralized Finance (DeFi).” It points out that while the upcoming MiCA does not directly regulate DeFi, the interdependence of smart contracts with their LEGO-like features makes them potentially vulnerable to contagion. The increasing complexity of smart contracts and the adoption of more sophisticated technology have become characteristics of DeFi, and regulatory authorities need to understand and monitor this complexity.

6. Binance’s Weekly Summary

a. Israeli Police Freeze Hamas-Related Crypto Accounts with Binance’s Help link

On October 10, the Israeli police froze cryptocurrency accounts associated with the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas. Israel’s police department Lahav 433, in collaboration with the country’s Ministry of Defense, intelligence agencies, and Binance, took action against these accounts, and any seized funds will go into the Israeli treasury. Since 2021, Israeli authorities have previously seized approximately 190 Binance accounts suspected of having links to terrorist organizations.

b. Binance Co-Founder He Yi Responds to Freezing of Hamas-Related Accounts link

On October 10, Binance co-founder He Yi responded to the freezing of Hamas accounts by stating that Hamas is currently defined as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. Any international organization, including banks and trading platforms, is required to cooperate when they receive inquiries related to freezing such accounts. This is not about taking a political stance, but rather, no trading platform has the ability to refuse such a law enforcement request.

(Note: The initial statement has a discrepancy. While Hamas has not been defined as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, it has been defined as such by the United States, European Union, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Israel, and others.)

c. Brazilian Congress Suggests Charging Four Binance Executives link

On October 11, according to Bloomberg, a Brazilian congressional committee recommended prosecuting four high-ranking executives from Binance, including its CEO CZ. The committee accused cz and three other local Binance executives of fraudulent management, issuing or trading securities without prior authorization, and operating financial institutions without authorization. The committee recommended that the Federal Prosecutors’ Office review the tax compliance of Binance’s local department and its independent department, Binance Capital Management. It also suggested that the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) investigate Binance’s derivative sales activities under a cease-and-desist order. The actual decision on whether to proceed with prosecution will be made by the Brazilian authorities.

d. Bloomberg: Binance Founder’s $1 Billion Plan to Save Crypto Industry Quietly Fails link

On October 10, according to Bloomberg, in November last year, following FTX’s bankruptcy, Binance founder CZ initiated the “Industry Recovery Initiative” (IRI), with the goal of raising at least $1 billion to provide funding for promising industry startups. An analysis of the public digital asset wallets associated with this project shows that the “Industry Recovery Initiative” project has deployed less than $30 million since its inception. Out of nine publicly identified participants, only one has invested all of the funds they committed. A Binance spokesperson stated that the IRI has funded 14 projects but declined to disclose the names of these projects or provide specific funding amounts. Binance has since moved the $985 million in funds pledged to the IRI fund back to the company’s finances.

7. OKX’s Weekly Summary

a. OKX CEO: Okcoin to Be Rebranded as OKX Globally in the Next Few Months link

On October 10, OKX President Jay Hao announced that the Okcoin brand will be phased out and completely replaced by OKX. He mentioned, “We recently phased out the ‘Okcoin’ brand and products in several regions, including Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Hong Kong, etc. Over the next few months, we will rename ‘Okcoin’ to ‘OKX’ one by one, starting with Singapore, then the European Union, and finally concluding at the U.S. headquarters.

b. OKX UK Releases Update for New FCA Regulations link

On October 8, OKX UK released an update regarding the implementation of new regulations by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). For retail users in the UK, they have reduced the offered token assets to include over 40, such as BTC, ETH, and SOL. They have also introduced clear and explicit risk warnings and will subsequently release products and services that comply with the new UK regulations for UK users.

8. Bitmain Delays Partial September Salary Payments for All Employees Due to Cash Flow Issues link

On October 8th, as confirmed by several Bitmain employees, Bitmain issued a notice indicating that the company’s operating cash flow for September had not yet turned positive. Particularly, the progress in the mining section, referring to the deployment of mining machines in mining facilities, fell significantly below expectations. As a result, the Bitmain’s management team decided to temporarily delay the partial salary payment for all employees for the month of September. The salary release was scheduled to be reevaluated after the holiday on October 7th.

On the afternoon of October 7th, Bitmain proceeded to disburse the September salaries as intended. It should be noted that only the performance-based portion of some employees’ salaries was initially not distributed and has now been paid. Furthermore, the regular basic salaries were also paid on the 30th as per the usual schedule.

9. Deribit to Launch Three Altcoin Options Contracts, Plans to Relocate Headquarters to Dubai and Expand Hiring link

On October 9, Luuk Strijers, the Chief Business Officer of Deribit, the largest cryptocurrency options exchange, stated in an interview that Deribit will start offering options trading for Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Polygon (MATIC) starting from January next year. They anticipate an increase in volatility once these three altcoin options are introduced. Deribit is also planning to apply for a broker’s license in the European Union and has plans to relocate its headquarters to Dubai. Once the license is obtained, Deribit intends to hire an additional 12 employees, increasing their current staff of 115.

10. SBF, FTX’s Weekly Summary

a. Caroline Ellison Claims SBF Had Aspirations to Become U.S. President link

On October 11, former CEO of Alameda Research, Caroline Ellison, testified in court, stating that she was instructed by SBF to commit certain offenses. She claimed that Alameda misappropriated FTX client funds for investments and political donations. Even after being appointed as the CEO of Alameda Research, she continued to report to SBF and had no equity in Alameda, holding only a small share of FTX. SBF directed her to borrow as much money as possible and expressed a desire to purchase more FTT tokens.

Additionally, Ellison testified in court that SBF aspires to become the President of the United States. She mentioned that “he (SBF) said that he had a 5% chance of becoming President of the United States someday.” SBF believed that political donations were a good investment and he thought that contributing millions of dollars to the 2020 election campaign of the current U.S. President, Joe Biden, would help him gain significant recognition. “He thought it was very effective, to get a very high return for relatively little money,” she stated.

b. Caroline Ellison: Alameda Bribed Chinese Officials with $100 Million to Unlock Funds Frozen in Chinese Exchanges link

On October 12, according to @BitMEXResearch citing Caroline Ellison’s testimony, in 2021, Alameda Research’s trading accounts were frozen on both the original Huobi and OKX exchanges. They attempted to unfreeze the accounts by hiring lawyers, using various trading strategies, and attempting to bribe Chinese government officials. In November 2021, Alameda Research paid approximately $100 million to Chinese government officials to have the accounts unfrozen. This money was divided into multiple parts and sent to various cryptocurrency wallet addresses. According to Caroline Ellison, she was aware that the account had some level of connection with Chinese government officials and was likely used for bribing purposes.

Caroline Ellison also testified that one of SBF’s top priorities a year ago was to “get regulators to go after” the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. This was aimed at increasing FTX’s market share. However, she did not provide any details about SBF’s plans on how to achieve this.

c. FTX 2.0 Relaunch Narrows Down to 3 Bidders in Second Round of Bidding link

On October 12, according to @AFTXcreditor, FTX CEO John Ray has narrowed down to three bids in the second round of bidding. The predetermined minimum bid (stalking horse bid) will be determined on October 16.

Previously, it was reported that since May 2023, the FTX estate has contacted over 75 potential bidders to evaluate the possibility of relaunching the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. The deadline for bids for FTX 2.0 was September 24, with the aim of relaunching FTX com or FTX US through acquisitions, mergers, capital restructuring, or other transactions.

Fundraising

• Singaporean wallet service provider Account Labs has announced the successful completion of a $7.7 million funding round. link

• The cryptocurrency analytics platform Parsec secured $4 million in funding with Galaxy Digital taking the lead. link

• Cryptocurrency trading and lending platform Membrane Labs raised a substantial $20 million in its Series A funding round. link

• Web3 content creation platform RepubliK has successfully closed a $6 million seed funding round. link

• Cryptocurrency API brokerage platform Alpaca has declared a strategic partnership with SBI Group and received a $15 million investment. link

• The L1 network Initia has obtained seed funding from Binance Labs.Furthermore, L1 network Initia has secured seed investment from Binance Labs. link

Learn more, check out crypto-fundraising.info.

Follow us
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WuBlockchain
Telegram: https://t.me/wublockchainenglish