Cryptocurrency exchange Okx has decided to withdraw its virtual asset service provider (VASP) license application in Hong Kong. As a result, Okx will stop offering centralized virtual asset trading services to Hong Kong residents by May 31, 2024. The exchange stressed that customer funds remain secure, and withdrawal services will continue unaffected. Okx’s web3 (self-hosted […]
Bitcoin News
Crypto Exchange Gate.HK Ceases Operations — Urges Users to Withdraw Assets
Gate.HK, the Hong Kong arm of cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io, is undergoing a significant platform overhaul to enhance security and compliance, withdrawing its applications for licensing under Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) and the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO). Effective immediately, new user registrations and asset deposits are suspended. All tokens will […]
Bitcoin News
Acinq to Withdraw Phoenix Wallet From US Markets Amid Regulatory Concerns
On Friday, April 26, Acinq announced that its Lightning Network bitcoin wallet, Phoenix, will cease services for U.S. residents from May 3, 2024. This announcement followed closely on the heels of the Samourai Wallet indictment and what is perceived as a targeted U.S. government effort against financial privacy and non-custodial solutions. Lightning Network Platform Phoenix […]
Bitcoin News
Crypto Exchange Okx Shuts Down Services in India Due to Regulations — Advises Users to Withdraw All Funds
Cryptocurrency exchange Okx has notified its users in India that the platform is shutting down services in the country “due to local regulations.” The exchange has advised users in India to “withdraw all funds” from their accounts by the end of April. The Indian government has not regulated crypto and the country’s finance minister recently […]
Bitcoin News
Ethereum Exodus: Whales Withdraw $64 Million ETH From Exchanges, Bullish Signal?
According to data from Lookonchain, an on-chain analytics platform, Ethereum (ETH), whales have withdrawn roughly .2 million worth of ETH from major exchanges.
This significant movement of funds coincides with a notable uptick in the price of ETH, indicating an increasing interest in the asset.
Ethereum Whales Movement Signals Confidence
According to Lookonchain’s findings, much of the ETH supply has been shifted from exchange wallets to custodial wallets. The on-chain analytics platform reported that an Ethereum address labeled 0x8B94 had withdrawn an amount of 14,632 ETH, valued at approximately .5 million, from Binance.
Lookonchain states these funds have been actively staked within six days, indicating a deliberate move towards adopting long-term investment strategies.
The analysis from the platform also points out that another two fresh whale wallets have transferred 6,000 ETH, amounting to .7 million, from Kraken to undisclosed wallet addresses over the last two days.
Whales are accumulating $ETH!
0x8B94 withdrew 14,632 $ETH(.5M) from #Binance and staked it in the past 6 days.https://t.co/bywnrZ2glt
2 fresh whale wallets withdrew 6K $ETH(.7M) from #Kraken in the past 2 days.https://t.co/0kEvOmiv3hhttps://t.co/90fqjJXsSu pic.twitter.com/J0ewl8S3OX
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) February 26, 2024
This trend suggests an increase in major investors to secure substantial amounts of Ethereum away from exchange platforms, potentially as a means of positioning for long-term asset appreciation.
Further echoing this is a recent analysis from CryptoQuant’s Quicktake, which underscores a notable trend regarding Ethereum withdrawals from exchanges over the past few weeks. This observation relies on the “Exchange Reserve” metric, which monitors the quantity of ETH tokens held in the wallets of all centralized exchanges.
When the value of this metric increases, it signifies that investors are depositing more assets than withdrawing them from centralized exchanges, indicating a buildup of Ethereum reserves. Conversely, a decline in the metric suggests a net outflow of assets from these platforms.
According to data from CryptoQuant, over 800,000 ETH, equivalent to roughly .4 billion, has exited cryptocurrency exchanges since the beginning of the year. Such substantial outflows from these platforms typically indicate a surge in investor confidence in the Ethereum network and its native token.
Ethereum’s Price Momentum And Potential For A Significant Breakout
Meanwhile, Ethereum’s price has displayed bullish momentum, witnessing a 5.5% increase in the past week and reclaiming the crucial ,000 mark.
Financial guru Raoul Pal has drawn attention to Ethereum’s potential for a major breakout, pointing to a “dual-chart pattern” observed on the ETH/BTC chart.
The ETH/BTC chart is an absolute stunner…and ready for the next big move the break of the mega wedge…lets see how is pans out… pic.twitter.com/5x4tJLjtJy
— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) February 25, 2024
Pal highlights a “mega wedge” pattern alongside an inner descending channel, indicating a consolidation phase with bullish potential.
Featured image from Unsplash, Chart from TradingView
Samourai Wallet, Strike and Others Ask FinCEN to Withdraw Proposed Rules Tied to Crypto Mixing
Samourai Wallet, River, Strike, Swan, and other companies in the cryptocurrency space have sent a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), commenting on the proposed rules over mixing transactions introduced in October. These companies are asking FinCEN to withdraw its proposal because it considers it inadequate for many reasons, criticizing it for being “overbroad” and including lawful activities under its scope.
Samourai Wallet Blasts FinCEN Cryptocurrency Mixing Proposed Requirements
A group of 26 companies linked to the cryptocurrency industry have sent a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the U.S. Treasury, commenting on the validity of the rules the institution has proposed to apply for cryptocurrency mixing transactions in October.
The letter, produced by Samourai Wallet and Ten31 and co-signed by River, Strike, Ronindojo, Swan Bitcoin, Primal, GRIID, Zaprite, Peach, Mempool Space, Upstream Data, Stakwork, Vida Global, Voltage, Coinkite, Mutiny Wallet, Standard Bitcoin Company, Satoshi Energy, Cathedra Bitcoin, Anchorwatch, Bitnob, Oshi, Battery Finance, Fold, and Start9 asks FinCEN to withdraw the rules proposed based on several reasons, calling them overbroad and telling these would interfere with valid security practices for blockchain networks.
The co-signers of the letter state that the application of these rules would “overly burden our use of such technologies in ways that would not assist FinCEN in achieving its mandate of preventing money laundering and other illicit use of money.”
The letter also comments that the proposed rules classify the practices considered by most industry actors to be lawful as mixing, encumbering the use of these measures for privacy-related objectives. In this regard, the co-signers state:
Employing these techniques to safeguard valuable digital assets is as routine and mundane and free of illicit purpose as using two-factor authentication to secure a digital wallet.
Furthermore, it argues that FinCEN does not need to impose more reporting duties on companies already reporting flagged or suspicious transactions, with this data being available on public blockchains for the institution. “Covered financial institutions should not have to become de facto law enforcement officers to make investigations easier for FinCEN,” it concludes.
What do you think about Samourai Wallet’s take on the proposal of rulemaking for cryptocurrency mixing transactions? Tell us in the comments section below.
81 Binance Wallets Withdraw $31 Million In LINK, What This Mean For The Altcoin
Recently, Binance, one of the world’s leading crypto exchanges, witnessed an unusual pattern of withdrawals. Particularly, 4.7 million LINK tokens, equivalent to roughly .58 million, were suddenly withdrawn over a brief period by 81 newly minted wallets.
The event is noteworthy due to the large number of tokens moved and the swift, simultaneous action across newly created accounts. This pattern of withdrawals raises questions about the strategies and intentions behind these movements and what they could spell for the token, LINK.
A Timeline Of The Puzzling LINK Withdrawals
On September 18, 2023, Lookonchain, an on-chain analytics platform, identified a bizarre spree of LINK withdrawals. Initially, the observation was limited to approximately 35 new wallets on Binance that had extracted 755,687 LINK, valued at roughly .08 million.
However, in just a day, the number of LINK tokens and the participating wallets increased, culminating in 81 wallets drawing out 4.7 million tokens.
It is worth noting that for those who follow the pulse of the cryptocurrency market, such huge withdrawals, especially from new wallets, don’t go unnoticed and could hint at the beginning of a bullish trend.
There are a total of 81 fresh wallets created on Sept 15 started withdrawing $LINK from #Binance on Sept 18.
And these wallets have withdrawn a total of 4.7M $LINK (.58M) from #Binance so far.
Details: https://t.co/hSdkoncNgZhttps://t.co/AzUM8VleQQ pic.twitter.com/4IxdSHtv6C
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) September 22, 2023
The details were further elaborated in a Google document shared by Lookonchain, which itemized every transaction, breaking down the amount of tokens withdrawn and their equivalent value in US dollars.
Among these transactions, the most substantial withdrawal saw a single wallet moving 280,567.67 LINK, translating to .88 million—moreover, four of these accounts extracted over 200,000 tokens over the monitored period. The list also highlighted that all the wallets had withdrawn only 5,000 LINK tokens.
Decoding The Implications For Chainlink
Given the sequence of events, Lookonchain hypothesized that there might be an ongoing whale accumulation. To Clarify, ‘whale accumulation’ refers to large-volume holders or “whales” acquiring a significant amount of cryptocurrency, typically indicative of their bullish sentiment.
However, it’s essential to approach such hypotheses with a balanced perspective. While the intent behind these transactions remains elusive, the broader implications for Chainlink and its native token, LINK cannot be ignored.
Such movements could influence market sentiment, either buoying confidence among potential investors or creating cautionary tales for the more risk-averse. But as with all crypto dynamics, one event seldom dictates the long-term trajectory.
Meanwhile, LINK currently trades for .74 at the time of writing. The asset has been up by nearly 10% in the past week and currently has a market cap of .7 billion and a 24-hour trading volume of 6.8 million.
Featured image from iStock, Chart from TradingView
BREAKING: Balancer V2 Pools Under Threat, LP Users In Race Against Time To Withdraw Funds
Balancer, a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol operating on the Ethereum blockchain, has recently disclosed a critical vulnerability impacting several of their V2 Pools.
While emergency measures have been implemented successfully to safeguard a significant portion of Total Value Locked (TVL), a portion of funds remains at risk.
As a precautionary measure, Balancer Labs advises users to withdraw their affected Liquidity Provider (LP) funds without delay. It is important to note that, at present, no funds have been lost, and the vulnerability has not been exploited.
Balancer Discovers Critical Vulnerability
According to the announcement, Balancer Labs promptly executed emergency mitigation procedures upon receiving the critical vulnerability report, successfully protecting over 80% of the affected pools. However, approximately 4% of Balancer’s TVL is still exposed to risk.
Balancer has received a critical vulnerability report affecting several V2 Pools.
Emergency mitigation procedures have been executed to secure a majority of TVL, but some funds remain at risk.
Users are advised to withdraw affected LPs immediately.https://t.co/PDzX32gqeS pic.twitter.com/F1f649Wz3L
— Balancer (@Balancer) August 22, 2023
To address this, the Emergency SubDAO 60 swiftly enacted measures to facilitate proportional exits from all impacted pools and implemented a pause on pools that remain within the designated pause window.
While the funds within the mitigated pools (designated as “mitigated”) are believed to be secure, Balancer Labs advises liquidity providers’ users to migrate their holdings to safe pools or initiate immediate withdrawals.
Pools that could not be fully mitigated are labeled as “at risk,” and LPs who are currently part of these affected pools are urged to exit promptly to ensure the safety of their funds.
Furthermore, Balancer Labs has provided a personalized page on their user interface (UI) to assist users in identifying if their connected wallet is associated with any impacted pools. A streamlined withdrawal process has also been established to guide users through the necessary steps.
Ultimately, Balancer Labs plans to publish a comprehensive post-mortem report, detailing the nature of the vulnerability and the steps taken to address it effectively, aiming to provide users with a clear understanding of the incident and the subsequent mitigation efforts.
Following the vulnerability disclosure, Balancer’s native token, bearing the ticker symbol BAL, has experienced a decline of 2.6% in the past few hours. Presently, the token is trading at a value of .475.
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com
Tether to Withdraw Support for USDT on Omni, Kusama, and Bitcoin Cash’s SLP
Tether has announced a strategic transition that will see the company withdraw support for USDT issued on Omni, Kusama, and Bitcoin Cash’s Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP). The company stated that one of the factors that affected this decision was the level of community interest in these projects, declaring that maintaining support for projects without traction was “inefficient and may jeopardize security and oversight.”
Tether to Withdraw Support for USDT Issued on Top of Omni, Kusama, and Bitcoin Cash
Tether, the company behind the issuance of USDT, the largest stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market, has announced a “strategic transition,” discontinuing support for USDT tokens issued on top of Bitcoin-based protocol Omni, Kusama, the Bitcoin Cash-based Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP).
In a press release, Tether explained these actions are directed to maintain “a robust blockchain ecosystem for USDT” and derived from an evaluation of “the effort required, encompassing security, customer support, compliance, and regulatory oversight, to ensure the security, usability, and sustainability” of maintaining USDT on each one of the networks where it is available.
The company detailed that users will not be able to mint USDT on these chains starting August 17. Tether will support redemptions of tokens issued on these networks for the next 12 months, with independent exchange channels also operating.
Focused on Bitcoin
Tether lamented the situation of USDT on the Omni protocol, given that it was the first transport layer that the token leveraged when it was launched back in 2014. The company acknowledged that Omni languished after the arrival of new transport layers, which were favored by many exchanges in the cryptocurrency space.
However, the company declared it still had hope in the potential of Omni, saying that the “increased utilization of the Omni layer’s decentralized exchange and its token issuance protocol (including NFTs) would allow us to reconsider issuing USDT on Bitcoin via Omni.”
Nonetheless, the company reinforced its support and belief in Bitcoin, stating that it was “the most secure, audited, and decentralized blockchain ever built.”
In this regard, the company revealed that it was developing RGB, a smart contracts system that would function on top of Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Tether also announced the release of USDT on this platform, stating that “once USDT on RGB goes live, the world will witness USDT on another super-powerful and scalable Bitcoin layer.”
What do you think about Tether dropping support for USDT issuance on some chains? Tell us in the comments section below.
Binance US Restores USD Withdrawals, Suggests Users Withdraw or Spend Their Dollars
The U.S. subsidiary of the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, announced it has resolved the issues with U.S. dollar (USD) withdrawals. The trading platform, which recently averted an asset freeze sought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), informed customers, however, that withdrawal services are likely to be discontinued again.
Binance US May Convert Remaining USD Balances to USDT in the Future
The American unit of the leading global digital asset exchange announced it has worked with partners to resolve almost all delayed USD withdrawals. Binance US advised users to resubmit previously failed withdrawal requests and said most will be completed within five business days.
At the same time, the crypto trading platform explained that currently its systems remain fully operational but noted it expects its banking partners to discontinue the USD withdrawal service in the near future and suggested:
While we continue to pursue new partners to re-establish USD deposits and withdrawals, we encourage users to use, withdraw, or convert their USD fiat balances to stablecoins to continue crypto-to-crypto trading on the platform.
Binance US halted USD deposits and withdrawals earlier this month and asked customers to withdraw dollars by June 13, pointing out that the SEC’s legal action against it “has created challenges for the banks with whom we work.”
The regulator sued the operators of the American exchange, BAM Trading Services and BAM Management US Holdings, as well as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), alleging they have been selling unregistered securities in violation of U.S. laws and mishandling user funds. Under a deal with the SEC, managed to avoid the freezing of its U.S. assets.
Binance US also announced it’s transitioning to a crypto-only trading platform. As part of the shift, any remaining USD balances in customer accounts may be converted to tether (USDT) at a future date, the company said, and revealed it will expand trading offerings with the dollar-pegged stablecoin while it will remove most USD trading pairs on June 26.
“Thereafter, USD Advanced Trading pairs will only be available for the following digital assets: BTC, ETH, ADA, BNB, LTC, MATIC, SOL, VET, USDC, and USDT,” the exchange detailed and urged traders to execute or cancel any open orders with the dollar before these pairs are removed.
Binance US also sought to reassure customers that their assets are safe and secure. The American coin trading platform took a hit from the SEC’s litigation and recent data showed that its share of the U.S. crypto exchange market has shrunk to just around 1.5%.
Do you think Binance US will secure new banking partnerships that will allow it to permanently restore USD deposits and withdrawals? Tell us in the comments section below.