Binance walks out of deal to buy rival crypto exchange FTX

The world's largest crypto exchange Binance announced it will cancel the deal to acquire rival exchange FTX. Following a study of the organization's structure and financial records, Binance withdrew. “Our hope was to be able to support FTX’s customers to provide liquidity, but the issues are beyond our control or ability to help,” Binance said. We have decided not to pursue the potential acquisition of [FTX] as a consequence of our corporate due diligence and the most recent press reports involving improper handling of customer cash and purported investigations by U.S. agencies, according to Binance. Details here.

U.S. Regulators Initiate Probe Against FTX Empire's Lending And Handling Of Client Funds

US financial regulators are looking into whether troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX appropriately handled customer cash and its connections to other units of Sam Bankman-crypto Fried's empire, in a move that could derange its acquisition talks with rival Binance. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are both looking into the liquidity crisis at the trading platform that prompted a rival exchange, Binance Holdings Ltd., to intend to acquire its non-US operations, Bloomberg reported. The platform's connections to FTX.com's US counterpart FTX US and Bankman-trading Fried's firm Alameda Research are also being investigated by regulators". Read here.

Department of Justice probe looms over FTX: Report

After what appears to be its collapse, the US Department of Justice is investigating the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. State and federal officials were previously looking at FTX, but since it was discovered that the company has a liquidity problem, their interest in the crypto exchange has grown multifold. State officials are already probing FTX to see if either FTX or FTX let US clients trade derivatives products without registering with federal regulators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also looking into whether FTX handled its clients' money properly. Read here.

China owns $6 billion worth of cryptos, can “kill” market if it is so wishes

The Chinese government is a "crypto whale," having forfeited digital currencies worth $6 billion to the government coffers in 2019, according to Ki Young Ju, the founder, and CEO of blockchain data analytics company Cyptoquant. Young Ju has said that Chinese officials seized 833,000 Ethereum 194,000 Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from the PlusToken fraud in 2019. In comparison, publicly listed companies like MicroStrategy, Galaxy Digital Holdings, Tesla, Coinbase Inc, and Block, Inc hold 130000, 40000, 10725, 9000, and 8027 Bitcoin, respectively. Full story here.

Amid Binances' acquisition of FTX, U.S. Senator calls for clear regulations to protect consumers

Following the debacle of FTT, the native token of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, after Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao declared dumping all the tokens in his company's reserve, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis has called for clear regulations for cryptocurrencies.The most recent incidents involving FTX and Binance provide the best illustration yet of the necessity for clear regulations governing digital asset exchanges in the US, according to Senator Lummis. The speaker further said market manipulation, loan activity, and whether customer monies and assets were properly safeguarded are just a few of the numerous topics my colleagues and I need to consider in the coming days.  Full story here.

Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather Jr may win lawsuit for endorsing EthereumMax

After a court tentatively dismissed the case, reality TV star Kim Kardashian appears to be winning an investor lawsuit against her and other celebrities over their sponsorship of the cryptocurrency EthereumMax (EMAX). In a January complaint, Kardashian was named along with former boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce as those who hyped EMAX tokens to get investors to pay more for them. In order to settle accusations connected to her promotion of EMAX, in which she had not disclosed receiving a $250,000 payment, Kardashian paid the SEC $1.26 million last month. Details here.

Crypto Exchanges Line Up To Provide Proof Of Reserves

At least nine cryptocurrency exchanges have come forward to provide proof of fund reserves as the market remains rattled amid insolvency fears after the collapse of FTT, the native token of FTX. Nine exchanges, including Binance, Gate.io, KuCoin, Poloniex, Bitget, Huobi, OKX, Deribit, and Bybit — have independently announced that they will publish their Merkle tree reserve certificates in order to promote transparency over the previous 24 hours. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Tuesday urged exchanges to “do Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves,” as he announced that his crypto exchange will start the process soon to ensure transparency among investors. More here.

Amid FTX Fiasco, Most Of the Exchange’s Legal And Compliance Staff Have Called It Quits

Most of the legal and compliance staff of cryptocurrency exchange FTX have resigned from the company, even as the embattled firm led by its CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remains surrounded by a wave of controversies. Their departure would probably make it more difficult to save the cryptocurrency exchange, whose sale to rival Binance was approved in principle yesterday. According to reports, Binance is "extremely unlikely" to move forward with its proposed takeover of faltering rival FTX after less than a day of evaluating the business. Full story here