Bitcoin Price: US$37,423.70 (+4.74%)
Ethereum Price: US$ 2,063.19 (+6.78%)
F2Pool, the third-largest Bitcoin mining pool, faced criticism after reports suggested it might be censoring transactions from a U.S. government-sanctioned address. F2Pool co-founder Chun Wang seemingly confirmed this, leading to controversy within the Bitcoin community, as censorship resistance is considered a fundamental principle of the blockchain. Meanwhile, Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell criticised the U.S. SEC after the regulator sued Kraken for alleged securities law violations, calling the SEC the “USA’s top decel.” Powell advised other crypto firms to leave the “U.S. warzone” to avoid costly legal battles. Additionally, Binance faced a $4.3 billion fine and its CEO’s exit, potentially clearing the way for the SEC to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Despite the Binance settlement, analysts believe the exchange will retain international dominance but could face increased competition in regulated markets.
Binance experienced significant net outflows, surpassing $950 million in the 24 hours following criminal charges against the exchange in the U.S. and the resignation of its CEO, Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao. Despite the withdrawals, analysis suggests that the current volume is not yet significant compared to Binance’s total reserves. DefiLlama data indicates that the exchange holds over $67 billion worth of tokens and stablecoins. Nansen reported that the outflows didn’t result in a mass exodus of funds, and Binance’s total holdings increased to more than $65 billion. Meanwhile, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson commented on CZ’s resignation, describing it as “the end of an era” and emphasising the changing regulatory landscape for crypto entrepreneurs. Hoskinson suggested that compliance with regulations or the development of completely permissionless protocols would be crucial in the evolving industry.
BlackRock and Nasdaq representatives recently met with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss the potential listing of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). BlackRock presented models using in-kind or in-cash redemption for its iShares Bitcoin Trust. The SEC, rumoured to be nearing a decision on a spot BTC ETF, also met with Grayscale regarding its Bitcoin ETF. Meanwhile, Coinbase has urged the SEC to respond to its petition for crypto rulemaking, citing the recent enforcement action against Kraken as evidence of the need for regulatory clarity. Reports suggest the SEC may be nearing a decision on a spot Bitcoin ETF, a significant development for mainstream crypto adoption.
The HECO Chain bridge, associated with Tron founder Justin Sun’s HECO project, faced a significant exploit resulting in over $86.6 million being transferred to suspicious addresses. Tron founder Justin Sun announced that HTX would compensate users for any losses incurred in the hack. Another incident involved HTX (formerly Huobi Global) suffering an estimated loss of $13.6 million in a hot wallet hack related to the HECO Chain bridge exploit. The HECO Chain hack is the second recent exploit linked to Justin Sun, following a $100 million exploit at Poloniex on Nov. 10. Meanwhile, Binance, amid uncertainty and scepticism following Changpeng Zhao’s departure as CEO, sees its new CEO Richard Teng assuring investors of the platform’s “very strong” foundation and focusing on reinstating confidence, collaboration with regulators, and driving Web3 adoption.
Source:
https://cointelegraph.com
https://coindesk.com
Disclaimer: The following summaries are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to infringe upon any copyrights. All rights to the original content belong to their respective owners, and the summaries are intended to provide a brief overview of the content. If you are the owner of any of the content summarised here and have concerns about its use, please contact us to discuss the matter further.
