A London resident reportedly caught with bitcoins worth over .3 billion has been convicted for entering into a money laundering arrangement. The woman specialized in converting digital assets into physical assets, such as multimillion-dollar houses and jewelry. Converting Bitcoin to Physical Assets A British woman, found in possession of bitcoins currently valued at over .3 […]
Bitcoin News
US District Judge Sanctions Binance’s $4.3 Billion Plea Deal
Binance Holdings is set to pay .3 billion in fines following the approval of its plea agreement with prosecutors by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones on Friday. Beyond the financial settlement, a third party will oversee Binance’s operations for a duration of five years. Historic .3 Billion Binance Settlement Approved by Seattle Judge Binance, the […]
Bitcoin News
US Judge Urged to Approve Binance’s $4.3 Billion Plea Deal
A U.S. Federal Judge has been urged to accept a plea deal from U.S. authorities with the cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. Prosecutors, in a memorandum, have asserted that the agreed-upon sanctions are commensurate with the extent of Binance’s deliberate law violations. Binance’s Alleged Refusal to Register as a Money Services Business U.S. prosecutors have reportedly urged […]
Bitcoin News
BNB Plummets 10% Amid Binance’s $4.3 Billion Settlement And CEO’s Impending Resignation
Binance Coin (BNB), the native token of the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, has experienced a sharp decline of 10% following reports that Binance is preparing to settle criminal charges with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) through a .3 billion fine.
Binance CEO To Plead Guilty
The Wall Street Journal has disclosed that Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), commonly known as CZ, will plead guilty to violating criminal anti-money laundering requirements.
Concurrently, Binance will also plead guilty to a criminal charge related to anti-money laundering violations, resulting in a significant fine. Furthermore, CZ is expected to step down as CEO, with Richard Teng being considered as a potential successor.
Changpeng Zhao is scheduled to appear before a federal court in Seattle to enter his guilty plea. This crucial legal step can further impact BNB’s price action as investors assess the implications of CZ’s admission of guilt regarding violating anti-money laundering requirements.
The reported settlement involves Binance pleading guilty to a criminal charge related to anti-money laundering violations, leading to a hefty .3 billion fine. This substantial sum encompasses payments to settle civil allegations made by regulators.
These developments occur in an increasingly stringent regulatory environment in the cryptocurrency industry. The recent charges brought by the SEC against Kraken further highlight the regulatory scrutiny faced by industry players.
Additionally, market participants anticipate significant enforcement actions by the DOJ, which adds to the atmosphere of uncertainty and apprehension.
Will CZ’s Statement Halt BNB Downtrend?
Despite the shocking revelation surrounding Binance’s leadership and its impact on the crypto community, there may still be hopes for a potential recovery of Binance Coin and the overall crypto market as the case reaches its conclusion.
With CZ reaching a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and pleading guilty to criminal charges, the exchange can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that regulatory agencies have addressed their concerns and potential legal action.
Furthermore, this settlement could be seen as a victory for regulators, particularly in light of the ongoing legal battles between the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs, which involve the cryptocurrency XRP.
A favorable outcome in these cases could potentially boost confidence in the broader crypto industry and drive prices higher.
Currently, BNB is trading at 0, showing signs of recovery from its recent drop, which briefly touched 5 but managed to stay above the critical support level of 2.
In further declines, BNB bulls will need to hold the support levels at 8, 7, and 4 to prevent the token from dropping below the critical level of 0.
However, suppose Changpeng Zhao and the new Binance CEO can provide a statement that reassures the community and instills a sense of calm. In that case, it may bring a renewed positive sentiment and potentially halt the current downtrend for BNB.
The unfolding of the situation, the next steps for the exchange, and CZ’s fate remain to be seen. The community and market participants eagerly await further developments and announcements shaping the future of Binance and its native token, BNB.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView.com
DOJ Announces $4.3 Billion Settlement With Binance; CZ to Step Down as Part of Plea Deal
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has revealed a landmark settlement involving Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume. Under the agreement, Binance will pay .3 billion to settle with the law enforcement authority. This significant development was disclosed during a DOJ press briefing on cryptocurrency enforcement, which took place at 3:36 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday.
Crypto Giant Binance Settles for .3 Billion With U.S. Justice Department
In line with expectations stemming from a day’s worth of rumors and headlines, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has reached a settlement with Binance, wherein the crypto exchange consents to a payment of .3 billion as part of the agreement. The DOJ’s investigation into Binance had been previously reported, indicating an ongoing probe, yet no developments occurred until now. According to the DOJ, Binance breached certain anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions regulations since the investigation commenced.
The press conference featured Attorney General Merrick Garland, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and Chairman Rostin Behnam of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “Binance became the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in part because of the crimes it committed – now it is paying one of the largest corporate penalties in U.S. history,” Attorney General Garland said. He added:
In just the past month, the Justice Department has successfully prosecuted the CEOs of two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges in two separate criminal cases. The message here should be clear: using new technology to break the law does not make you a disruptor, it makes you a criminal.
This agreement between Binance, the DOJ, Treasury, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), marks the conclusion of the ongoing investigation. Binance’s Chief Executive, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), intends to resign and has pleaded guilty to infringing upon U.S. criminal anti-money laundering laws in a Seattle courtroom. CZ’s deal will be similar to the former Bitmex CEO Arthur Hayes’s plea bargain when he pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
In court documents unsealed on Tuesday, the DOJ disclosed that since as early as August 2017, CZ and several other employees “knowingly failed to register as a money services business.” The executives “willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering (AML) program, and willfully caused violations of U.S. economic sanctions issued pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.” While Binance is pleading to three counts, CZ’s guilty plea involves BSA violations and comes with millions of dollars in civil penalties.
Binance agreed to a total financial penalty of .316 billion, which includes forfeiting over .5 billion and paying a criminal fine of approximately .8 billion. Additionally, Binance will appoint an independent compliance monitor for three years to improve its anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions compliance programs. The company has also reached settlements with the CFTC, FinCEN, and OFAC, with the Department crediting about .8 billion towards those agreements.
The DOJ further detailed that the resolution considers Binance’s failure to voluntarily disclose its misconduct and its delayed cooperation with the investigation, resulting in a 20% reduced penalty. CZ admitted to serving U.S. users without proper registration and prioritizing the company’s growth over legal compliance, leading to transactions in violation of U.S. sanctions.
CZ also posted about the actions on Tuesday and said that he’s passing the leadership to Richard Teng, Binance’s former Global Head of Regional Markets. “I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself,” the Binance founder said. “Binance setting with the U.S. regulators would be super bullish,” billionaire investor Mike Novogratz said before the DOJ officially announced the deal.
What do you think about the DOJ’s deal with Binance? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.
Africa and Asia-Focused Fintech Jia Raises $4.3 Million in Seed Funding Round
Jia, a blockchain fintech startup, recently revealed it has raised .3 million in a seed funding round which was led by the early-stage consumer crypto fund TCG Crypto. Jia has said it will use the funds raised to bolster its Kenyan and Philippines operations. Later, Jia will also use the capital raised to fund the exploration of new markets.
Affordable Financing for Small Businesses
Jia, an Africa and Asia-focused blockchain fintech, recently raised .3 million in seed funding plus an additional million for onchain liquidity. According to a Techcrunch report, TCG Crypto, an early-stage consumer crypto fund, led the round.
Also participating in the round were Blocktower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital and Global Coin Research. Angel investors that participated in the round include Packy McCormick, Anand Iyer, Jared Hecht and Rory Eakin.
As per the report, Jia is planning to bolster its operations in Kenya and the Philippines with the capital raised. Afterwards, the startup is expected to explore new markets in West Africa, Latin America, and Asia. In his remarks following the successful capital raise, Zach Marks, CEO and co-founder of Jia, said:
The idea is to provide affordable financing for micro-businesses, and when they repay, they become owners by getting token rewards.
Meanwhile, the report suggested that Jia is attempting to create a financing model that is similar to community finance or table-banking groups which are popular in Kenya. In such groups, members are both borrowers and shareholders, which entitles them to an income. According to Marks, the fintech startup typically provides loans of up to ,000 for small businesses. The interest charged on such loans is about a third of what is levied by a consumer fintech lender.
In addition to availing credit to small businesses, Jia according to Marks is also providing “a path to economic resilience and this opportunity to build wealth in a new way that hasn’t been done before.”
Register your email here to get a weekly update on African news sent to your inbox:
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
ApeCoin Climbs 4.3% In Last 7 Days – Where’s APE Getting All That Energy?
ApeCoin (APE), the Bored Ape Yacht Club token, has been rallying over the past week with gains registering at a peak of 4.3% and trading at the .12 level.
- APE shows energy, rallies 4.3% in the past seven days
- Coin impacted by general crypto slump
- US inflation also weighing down on crypto price
APE is a busy bee and apparently, the recent uptick enjoyed by APE is said to have been ushered by current projects or developments in the network.
The Ape Foundation has recently rolled out a couple of recommendations in line with the Decentralized Autonomous Structure (DAO) election procedure. In the event that these proposals are approved, there would be a rolling election instead with an election of council members every three months.
ApeCoin Recent Developments Contributed To Its Surge
With the rest of the other altcoins having a hard time breaking through, quite the opposite is happening for ApeCoin. APE price has surged and looking bullish.
However, the plunge in the value of crypto is dubbed to be of the reasons why APE isn’t gaining traction.
ApeCoin has recently posted on Twitter stating that this provides an increasingly stable ecosystem to haul in new members and so far, ensures the consistency of the DAO to manage and transfer knowledge and expertise to the community.
Community members have been recommending broader representation from individuals who do not have existing affiliations with crypto-backed organizations to avoid any conflict of interests.
Currently, the Ape Foundation is composed of Amy Wu (FTX Ventures), Yat Siu (Animoca Brands), Alexis Ohanian (Reddit), Maaria Bajwa (Sound Ventures), and Dean Steinback (Horizon Labs).
Crypto Market Experiencing Downtrend
According to CoinMarketCap, ApeCoin’s price had nosedived by 4.05% or trading at .73 as of this writing.
The crypto market has been experiencing a downtrend recently with the total market cap sliding to below trillion as observed in the past 24 hours.
Evidently, the king of crypto, Bitcoin, failed to climb or show any improvement as it trades at roughly ,000 yesterday.
U.S. inflation seems to be severely impacting crypto prices. So, it is indeed the crypto market’s overall dilemma that prevents ApeCoin from moving further up north.
Another factor that is preventing the gains of ApeCoin is the current dollar strength. The U.S. dollar is on an upward trend since Thursday as it shoots through previous highs in line with the U.S. Federal Reserve trying to tame inflation.
Their efforts are seen to work with the U.S. dollar remaining stable at 109.84. More so, the risk-off market sentiment has also helped the U.S. dollar, increasing the demand for fiat currencies such as the U.S. dollar.
Judging by the technical side, APE seems to have gained support at the .95 zone and a breach below this mark could allow the coin to capsize further until it touches the support zone of .35.
On the other hand, the daily timeframe revealing an upward trendline is beneficial to altcoins.
On the flip side, a breach at the .35 level could trigger a downtrend for the APE/USD pair to funnel down to as low as .12.
APE total market cap at .46 billion on the daily chart | Source: TradingView.com
Featured image from The VR Soldier, chart from TradingView.com
NewsBTC
$4.3 Million in Cryptocurrency Seized from New Zealand Digital Pirate
A man suspected of online piracy has had almost US.3 million in cryptocurrency seized by authorities in New Zealand. Police also seized a further 0,000 in bank funds.
The funds were restrained by the Criminal Proceeds Recovery act. It is by far the largest seizure of cryptocurrency ever in New Zealand.
NZ Authorities Seize Online Pirate’s .3 Million Cryptocurrency Stash
According to a report in local publication NZ Herald, police have seized around US million in cryptocurrency and bank deposits from Jaron David McIvor. The seizure follows a US investigation into McIvor’s alleged involvement in an online piracy website.
International payments processing firm PayPal initially flagged a series of transactions as suspicious to the IRS. The agency linked these with McIvor and reported its findings to New Zealand’s Asset Recovery Unit.
Police believe the illegal streaming website generated around .28 million for McIvor. The suspect reportedly received money into bank accounts from wire transfers, PayPal, and Stripe.
Since the funds were obtained from a criminal act – copyright infringement -, Keith Kay, the head of the Waikato Asset Recovery Unit, said that simply by bringing them into New Zealand, McIvor was guilty of money laundering. The Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act demands that if there is “reasonable grounds” that an individual has profited from “significant criminal activity”, that the assets could be frozen.
Kay commented:
“Introducing illicitly-obtained funds into New Zealand constitutes money laundering and police will thoroughly investigate and restrain the assets of those who undertake such activity.”
The Detective Senior added that other individuals behind the website were under investigation. He mentioned suspects in the US, Canada, and Vietnam.
The cryptocurrency seizure is not the first of its kind in New Zealand. The report mentions the case of a drug dealer also forfeiting illicit funds over to the authorities. However, the more recent example is by far the larger seizure of cryptocurrency ever in the nation.
McIvor’s lawyer says that his client denies allegations of money laundering against him. However, given that Criminal Proceeds Recovery relies on a civil burden of proof, the threshold for him to be found guilty is much lower than it would be in a criminal case. Instead of having to prove his guilt “beyond reasonable doubt”, the court has to decide whether it thinks he was guilty of money laundering on a “balance of probabilities”. Whether McIvor ultimately has to surrender his cryptocurrency stash and bank funds will depend on the outcome of a forthcoming High Court case or prior settlement.
Related Reading: Bitcoin Support Level May Spark Explosive Bull Movement, If It’s Defended
Featured Image from Shutterstock.
The post .3 Million in Cryptocurrency Seized from New Zealand Digital Pirate appeared first on NewsBTC.
Bitcoin Price Recovers as BTC Adds $4.3 Billion in 3 Days: Can the Momentum be Sustained?
- Bitcoin prices on an uptrend
- Venezuela is a prime example of why BTC is needed
- Participation levels are high, poised to increase in coming days
After Feb 8 rockets, it is clear that momentum has shifted from bearish to bullish. Further padded by supportive fundamentals, it is likely that BTC will break and close above ,800 ushering in a demand wave that would see prices retest ,000.
Bitcoin Price Analysis
Fundamentals
There is a crisis in Venezuela, and the government’s endless tussle is wrecking ordinary Venezuelans. To quantify how nerve-wracking it has been for Bolivar dominated investments, if you had million worth of Bolivar before the super hyperinflation, that value would be worth .4.
That’s how grim the situation is and dark days are expected because of a political standoff. Maduro is clinching to power as the US and allies support the opposition leader. It doesn’t matter. There are no winners. The ones that stand to benefit are those who shifted their wealth to a censorship-resistant, political resistant super currency Bitcoin.
With no point of control, any Venezuelan who moved their stash to BTC before the value wiping inflation has more than quadrupled his holding and still enjoying the luxury of spending his “money” without fear of confiscation.
Candlestick Arrangements
From a top-down approach, BTC is trading within a bearish breakout pattern with resistance at ,800–,000 zone.
That is almost double the prices of spot rates and a rather ambitious target considering price dumps of the last 13 months. Even so, our previous BTC/USD price analysis is valid, and as long as there is confirmation of Feb 8 bull bar, odds are prices will surge above ,800 as prices snap back to the trend set in motion by Dec 17.
There are technical reasons backing our stand. First, BTC has support at the 78.6 percent Fibonacci retracement level after correcting from Dec 2018 highs of ,500. Secondly, following price springs of Feb 8, we now have a double bar bull reversal pattern complete with high trade volumes.
Although there might be attempts to buy on dips, it’s preferable to wait for satisfactory breakouts. That will only happen once prices close above ,800 as laid out in previous BTC/USD trade plans.
Technical Indicators
Propelling prices from ,400-500 zone were high volumes exceeding those of Jan 28—17k and those of Jan 20 of 20k. However, Feb 8 volumes were lower than that of Jan 10. All the same, at 31k, it surpassed previous averages of 11k. As a result of this, it is likely that bulls are back and all we need is a close above ,800 as bulls reaffirm Feb 8 bull bar.
The post Bitcoin Price Recovers as BTC Adds .3 Billion in 3 Days: Can the Momentum be Sustained? appeared first on NewsBTC.
Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Up 4.3%, Next Stop 60 Cents
- Ripple prices are back to green
- Binance is open for collaboration with Ripple
- There is an uptick in transactional volumes, XRP likely to register more gains
Binance is open for collaboration, and xRapid incorporation may be on the cards. Assuming that happens, XRP will surely rally above 34 cents to 60 cents in a matter of days as our trade plan reiteration come to pass.
Ripple Price Analysis
Fundamentals
Changpeng Zhao is straight up honest. In a recent podcast, he admitted that nothing is going on between Ripple and the world’s largest exchange by trading volumes as the team at Binance is busy with other projects—DEX updates and Project ICOs.
However, what’s interesting is that he said Binance is willing to partner with the real-time gross settlement platform in the future. That is precisely what the community wants to hear as prices try to maneuver and side step vicious bears.
Obviously, there are many benefits that the exchange stands to benefit once they collaborate with Ripple and even adopt xRapid. There would see immediate demand for the coin which is already in use by several payment processors and institutions. Remember, Binance made XRP base after numerous requests from the XRP community.
Candlestick Arrangements
Prices are back to green. As I write this, XRP is up 4.3 percent against the greenback bouncing off the 30 cents main support line as bulls flow back.
Now that there is a green bar, our last XRP/USD trade plan is valid, and we expect bull momentum to lift XRP from spot rates to above 34 cents and even to 40 cents as price action snap back to trend in line with events of mid-Dec 2018 and those of trend-defining surges of Sep 2018.
All in all, we shall maintain a neutral outlook until after prices race first above 34 cents, activating risk-off traders’ position and later 40 cents where risk-averse or the conservative type of traders can buy on dips with targets at Dec 2018 highs of 60 cents. The layout is highly likely to print out because Jan 30 upswings have already set momentum.
Technical Indicators
Our volumes indicators support buyers. However, before we recommend longs, prices must first clear and close above Jan 30 highs of 32 cents at the back of high volumes exceeding 47 million on the upside and 17 million on the lower limit. If anything, this is the only confirmation for bulls and the only way Jan 30 momentum will be set in motion lifting prices back to 40 cents.
The post Ripple Price Analysis: XRP Up 4.3%, Next Stop 60 Cents appeared first on NewsBTC.