Ibex Pay, a payment rail that accepts Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network, announced on May 15 that it will cease operations in the U.S. The payment firm stated that the suspension of services for the U.S. market will take effect on May 31, but did not provide reasons for the decision. The company is […]
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Legal Action Forces US Energy Department to Suspend Crypto Mining Investigation
Following legal action initiated by Riot Platforms and the Texas Blockchain Council against the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the department’s statistical branch, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), has put a temporary hold on its bitcoin mining survey and quarantined the data gathered to date. DOE Puts Bitcoin Mining Inquiry on Hold Amid Legal Challenges […]
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Binance And Coinbase Temporarily Suspend USDC Conversion After Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
The two biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, have revealed that they would temporarily suspend USDC conversions on their platforms. This comes in the aftermath of the collapse of US lender Silicon Valley Bank and concerns about its effect on USDC.
Binance And Coinbase Suspend USDC Conversion
Binance was the first to make a move by announcing that it had temporarily suspended its auto-conversion of USDC to BUSD. Citing current market conditions, the exchange added that it was a standard risk-management procedure while monitoring the market situation.
It should be noted that Binance had earlier in the year courted controversy with its decision to auto-convert USDC transactions to BUSD. At the time, Binance cited improving liquidity for users, and it is unknown if this latest development could lead to permanently delisting the stablecoin.
Related Reading: PancakeSwap TVL Drops 12%, Did This Exchange Received A Lethal Blow?
Following Binance’s announcement, Coinbase also tweeted that it would pause its USDC conversion to USD until Monday. The exchange noted that during heightened activities, conversions rely on USD transfers from banks completed during banking hours. It further added that conversions would resume on Monday when banks reopen.
Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse has caused a ripple effect in the fintech company, with several companies revealing their exposure to the U.S-based bank. Some affected crypto companies include Pantera, Avalanche, and BlockFi.
Circle, the company behind USDC, revealed on Friday that it had .3 billion of the billion reserves backing the stablecoin in the now-defunct bank. It added in a statement on Twitter that Silicon Valley Bank was one of six banks it uses to manage 25% of USDC reserves. Circle noted that it would continue to operate normally while awaiting clarity from the FDIC on how SVB collapse would affect depositors.
USDC Market Cap Decreases Following Circle Announcement
Unsurprisingly the crypto market has reacted to the news with investors removing their assets from USDC. At the time of writing, more than .3 billion has been redeemed from the stablecoin in the past few hours.
The trading price of USDC has also suffered volatility dropping from its pegged value of to as low as .93, according to data from CoinMarketCap. This is the lowest the stablecoin has reached since its all-time low of .89 in May 2019. Its marketcap has also reduced to billion.
Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse has been tagged as the worst bank failure since 2008, and there’s uncertainty about what is next for the bank. Its stock is down 87% in two days due to the crash and has been placed into FDIC receivership.
Related Reading: Bitcoin Timing Tool Says This Might Be The Dip Worth Buying
Experts have hypothesized that other banks may likely suffer the same fate if their business models and balance sheets are not properly managed for rising interest rates and the growing possibility of a recession.
The consistent raising of interest rates by the Federal Reserve could have been a significant factor to SVB’s implosion.
Featured Image from Unsplash, Charts from Coingecko
Crypto Exchanges Binance and Kuna Suspend Card Transactions in Ukrainian Hryvnia
Major cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Ukraine have temporarily suspended operations with hryvnia bank cards. The measure stems from restrictions imposed by the country’s central bank, Binance and Kuna indicated in comments for crypto media.
Ukrainians Unable to Trade Crypto Assets Using Cards in National Currency
The world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, and a leading Ukrainian exchange, Kuna, have announced temporary suspensions of operations with bank cards in Ukrainian hryvnia. Both trading platforms confirmed about the problems with such transactions.
The limited processing of deposits and withdrawals in the national currency results from restrictions imposed by the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), representatives of Binance told the crypto news outlet Forklog. The exchange has advised traders to use its peer-to-peer marketplace.
“Currently, fiat channels, namely input and withdrawal through a bank card and other payment services, are temporarily suspended among cryptocurrency exchanges throughout Ukraine,” the trading platform stated in a Telegram post on Thursday, quoted by Bits.media.
“Regarding the hryvnia card and input/output to the exchange. Yes, it doesn’t work … In brief, we are looking for ways out of the situation, under the threat of stopping the entire Ukrainian crypto/card UAH market,” Kuna founder Michael Chobanian said in his Telegram channel.
On Friday, Chobanian suggested that the difficulties with non-cash hryvnia transactions are potentially related to efforts undertaken by Ukrainian authorities against money laundering and tax evasion through online gambling sites.
He was referring to a recent statement by a Ukrainian lawmaker who claimed that this kind of turnover amounts to 54 billion hryvnia (almost .5 billion) annually. The deputy, Oleksiy Zhmerenetsky, later confirmed he sees a link between the two.
Hryvnia Restrictions for Exchanges Likely to Affect Crypto Donations for War-Torn Ukraine
The issues with depositing and withdrawing hryvnia on crypto exchanges started in September, last year, and since the end of December the restrictions introduced by the central bank have become tougher, Chobanian explained. He further elaborated:
The NBU banned P2P and A2C transactions for financial companies, and since all crypto exchanges work through them, as a result, everything is gone for them.
Chobanian believes that the restrictions bring reputational damage to Ukraine, a leader in crypto adoption in the region and beyond. He thinks the situation will also affect the activities of small and medium-size companies as well as cryptocurrency donations.
Recent reports by blockchain intelligence firms Elliptic and Chainalysis revealed that, since the start of the Russian invasion in late February, 2022, Ukraine has raised over 2 million in crypto for defense and humanitarian efforts, million of which has been received by government-provided addresses.
At the end of April, the National Bank of Ukraine imposed a monthly limit on transactions for the purchase of cryptocurrencies of 100,000 hryvnia per person (,400 at the time, around ,700 now). The monetary authority is yet to comment on the consequences of its restrictions for the country’s crypto market.
Do you think Ukrainian authorities will lift the restrictions for hryvnia transactions with crypto exchanges in the future? Share your thoughts on the subject in the comments section below.
Coinbase to Suspend Trading of BUSD Amid Regulatory Crackdown
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced it will suspend trading and delist the Paxos-managed stablecoin asset BUSD. The decision follows Paxos’ revelation that the New York State Department of Financial Services directed the firm to stop issuing the U.S. dollar-pegged token BUSD.
Coinbase to Suspend BUSD Stablecoin on March 13
On Feb. 27, 2023, Coinbase announced that it will suspend trading of binance usd (BUSD) following a recent regulatory crackdown on the stablecoin by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on February 13. Reports indicated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sent Paxos a Wells Notice regarding BUSD on that day. Paxos confirmed in a press release that the NYDFS directed the regulated firm to stop issuing the stablecoin.
“We regularly monitor the assets on our exchange to ensure they meet our listing standards. Based on our most recent reviews, Coinbase will suspend trading for [binance usd] (BUSD) on March 13, 2023, on or around 12pm ET,” the company said in a tweet published on Monday. “Trading will be suspended on Coinbase.com (Simple and Advanced Trade), Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime.”
Several crypto supporters commented on Coinbase’s suspension of BUSD. “Will you suspend USDC when Gary comes for that too?” one person asked in the thread. Others criticized Coinbase’s timing of the stablecoin suspension. “So at what point did BUSD suddenly fail to meet your listing standards, and which standard specifically did it fail to meet?” another person wrote in response to the Coinbase tweet. According to the stablecoin’s token contract at press time, statistics show that 177,125 unique wallets hold BUSD.
Currently, BUSD is the 11th largest cryptocurrency by valuation after being removed from the top ten crypto assets by market capitalization. Prior to Paxos’ announcement on February 13, there were 16.1 billion BUSD in circulation. As of February 27, there are 10.73 billion BUSD in circulation after 5.37 billion BUSD were removed from the number of tokens. Binance’s reserve portfolio indicates that the exchange holds 8.64 billion BUSD, which represents 80.52% of the entire circulating supply.
What impact do you think Coinbase’s suspension of BUSD will have? Share your thoughts about this subject in the comments section below.
Coinbase Forced to Suspend Ethereum Classic Trading After 51% Attack
Ethereum Classic, the original unforked Ethereum blockchain, has suffered a 51% attack resulting in nearly half a million dollars worth of double spends according to Coinbase.
Coinbase detected the deep chain reorganizations over the weekend, forcing the cryptocurrency firm to freeze all Ethereum Classic transactions on their trading platforms and other products and services.
Ethereum Classic Hit With 51% Attack, Chain Reorg
Rumors began circulating over the weekend regarding a potential chain reorganization of the Ethereum Classic blockchain, however, the official Twitter account for the cryptocurrency took to Twitter to refute the claims, saying that the ETC network appeared to be “operating normally” despite reports claiming otherwise.
Hours later, the account changed its tune and began requesting that exchanges and mining pools allowed for a “significantly higher confirmation time” on ETC withdrawals and deposits, indicating that something may be awry.
Related Reading | Bear Market Strikes: Etheruem Classic Dev Folds
The following morning, the Twitter account for Etherchain.org confirmed the “successful 51% attack” on the Ethereum Classic network with “multiple” block reorganizations, and made recommendations that corresponding services and exchanges increased confirmation time, much like the Ethereum Classic account first suggested.
Coinbase: Nearly Half a Million in Ethereum Classic Double Spends
Following the events that transpired, Coinbase published an update on the discrepancies discovered in the Ethereum Classic network. Coinbase in a blog post said it discovered a deep chain reorganization that included a double spend that prompted the firm’s security team to halt all Ethereum Classic deposits and withdrawals.
After the initial detection that led Coinbase to pause all ETC activity, eight additional reorganizations including double spends were discovered that totaled 88,500 ETC, or roughly 6,000 at ETC’s current price of .04 on Coinbase Pro.
As of Coinbase’s blog post this evening, Security Engineer Mark Nesbitt says the attacks are still “ongoing.”
A 51% attack occurs when a miner or group of miners control the majority portion of a network’s hashpower, allowing them manipulate transactions to their advantage. In this case, the culprit selected a previous block and extended an “alternative block history” in what’s called a chain reorganization.
Related Reading | Cornell Professor: Most Crypto Costs M a Day to 51% Attack
The cryptocurrency community took to Twitter to discuss the prominent cryptocurrency, which currently ranks in the top 20 cryptocurrencies according to CoinMarketCap. Litecoin creator Charlie Lee was among the most vocal, warning investors to “be careful” with coins that aren’t dominant in the mining algorithm they use, “especially ones that are NiceHash-able.” Lee explained that ETC is 98% NiceHash-able.
Advisor for various blockchain firms, Tim Swanson, also added his thoughts on the subject, warning that proof-of-work blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum Classic, “cannot guarantee settlement finality.” As was the case with Ethereum Classic, should any one entity gain majority control of the network’s computing power, it puts the entire blockchain and userbase at risk. Swanson warns that the “disruption to commercial activity could be devastating.”
Featured Image from Shutterstock
The post Coinbase Forced to Suspend Ethereum Classic Trading After 51% Attack appeared first on NewsBTC.
Single Syscoin Sells for 96 Bitcoin Forcing Binance to Suspend Trading
Binance has suspended all transactions earlier this morning after a single Syscoin was purchased for 96 Bitcoin on the exchange.
Syscoin Blockchain Compromised
Information coming from both Syscoin and Binance twitter feeds confirm that Binance has halted all transactions and Syscoin has suffered an attack on their blockchain.
As a precaution we had requested exchanges halt $SYS deposit/withdrawal today after we observed odd trading behavior coupled with atypical blockchain activity. After investigating the #Syscoin blockchain is safe. We are asking exchanges to reopen. Detailed wiki post tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/NEypr531zi
— Syscoin (@syscoin) July 4, 2018
It is being reported that more than one billion Syscoin was mined from a single block despite the fact that the cryptocurrency’s total potential supply is set at 888 million. The company has yet to determine what has happened but has confirmed their blockchain was compromised and that they have requested all exchanges to suspend any trading of their tokens for the time being.
Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin developer was quoted by Hard Fork about how hackers could have exploited a vulnerability in the blockchain’s protocol:
“Breaking the monetary supply rules for a cryptocurrency can’t be accomplished via a 51% attack; this indicates that a flaw has been found and exploited at the protocol level, it’s likely similar to the buffer overflow vulnerability that was exploited in Bitcoin in 2010 that allowed someone to create 184 billion BTC.”
Binance Halts Trading
The hack on Syscoin seems to be related to Binance suspending all trading due to one Syscoin with a value of .453290 at the time of writing being sold for 96 BTC worth .23 million on the exchange. The sale resulted in a massive pump of Syscoin’s price as it shot up 85% in value according to coinmarketcap.com, before trading was halted.
Binance’s twitter page is currently showing this latest announcement tweet:
API Key Creation Now Re-enabledhttps://t.co/ntu8n3M9IE pic.twitter.com/8xWDlgpkbd
— Binance (@binance) July 4, 2018
Which links to a notice stating:
“Binance has removed all prior existing API keys and has now re-enabled API key creation. API users may now recreate their API keys from their user account center.
Another announcement regarding the re-opening of trading will be made once the maintenance is complete.”
At the time of writing, neither Binance nor Syscoin is correlating the breach on Syscoin’s blockchain with the dubious sale of the coin on the Binance exchange but others in the Twitterverse are making that connection for them.
#Syscoin Binance hack in steps:
1. Mine alot of $SYS
2. Send $SYS to Binance
3. Set very high sells vs. $BTC
4. Hack Binance API
5. Use $BTC of Binance users that use API to buy $SYS
6. Take over $SYS mining power to prevent rollback of chain
7. Hope to get $BTC out of Binance— Ʀu฿en (@Ruben_Rotterdam) July 3, 2018
If the inflated sale does turn out to be related to the attack on Syscoin’s blockchain it will be just the latest in a series of hacks aimed at exploiting altcoins and wallet security vulnerabilities.
Image from Shutterstock
The post Single Syscoin Sells for 96 Bitcoin Forcing Binance to Suspend Trading appeared first on NewsBTC.
Kraken to Suspend Trading in Japan due to Rising Costs and Low Volume
Japan is a very important country to cryptocurrency companies. With its open-minded regulation and positive approach to cryptocurrencies, there are a lot of benefits to this region. Surprisingly, the Kraken trading platform is ceasing its service in Japan very soon. This sudden decision is the direct result of rising costs associated with offering services to local customers.
Kraken is Exiting Japan
This decision by Kraken comes as a big surprise to most cryptocurrency enthusiasts. The company is one of the few Western service providers offering services in Japan as of right now. That situation will soon change, allegedly due to rising costs of doing business in Japan. This decision is not necessarily permanent, as the company may come back in the future.
Considering how the company has been active in Japan since October 2014, Kraken had plenty of time to evaluate its position in the market. Suspending the services in Japan will let the company provide “better focus on other geographical areas”. Which countries those will include, remains to be determined. Kraken also confirms this temporary suspension only affects residents of Japan.
It also appears Kraken isn’t the most popular trading platform in Japan. Its BTC/JPY pair accounted for 0.07% of the company’s overall trading volume in the past 24 hours. The company also provides an ETH/JPY pair, which is even less popular. There are dozens of exchanges active in Japan who also provide access to both Bitcoin and Ethereum in exchange for the Japanese Yen.
No Impact on the Mt. Gox Process
Unlike most other exchanges, Kraken is allowed to operate in Japan without a license. As such, the company is a bit of an odd creature in the country. It is this lack of oversight which may hurt the platform’s popularity as of right now. The exchange will remove its services from the country by the end of June 2018.
As is always the case, speculation runs wild when news like this is made public. Considering Kraken’s position in the ongoing Mt. Gox investigation, it makes even less sense for them to suspend services in Japan. Halting the trading services in this region should not necessarily impact that ongoing process. For now, it remains to be seen how all of this will play out.
Despite the loss of this exchange, Japan remains one of the most crypto-friendly countries on the planet. The local government remains supportive of all different currencies and is even leaning toward legalizing ICOs. That latter development will certainly shake things up in Asia. Other countries, including China and South Korea, have made initial coin offerings illegal and a crackdown on them is imminent in Thailand.
Image from Shutterstock
The post Kraken to Suspend Trading in Japan due to Rising Costs and Low Volume appeared first on NewsBTC.
Japanese Regulators Suspend Two Crypto Exchanges
Japan’s Financial Services Agency is halting the operation of two domestic crypto exchanges while requiring six exchanges to report improvement plans.
CoinDesk
Report: Japanese Regulator Could Suspend Some Crypto Exchanges
Nikkei reports that Japan’s Financial Services Agency will hit some cryptocurrency exchanges with penalties and suspend others for poor practices.
CoinDesk