by admin | May 30, 2023 | Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin Price in Binance Australia has been trading at around $5,000 lower than the international markets as customers seek to exit the market. On May 18, the exchange informed its customers that it would suspend the Australian Dollar following issues by its third-party services provider.
Binance Australia closes fiat ramp making Bitcoin price trade lower
As a result of Binance lacking a replacement in sight for its Australian dollar fiat ramp third party, the exchange decided to suspend the currency in May. This has resulted in massive sell-offs of Bitcoin against the Australian dollar, weakening the Bitcoin price against the AUD on the exchange.
On May 30, one Bitcoin was trading at a hefty discount of $5000 against the AUD as the deadline for PayID service withdrawal with the local currency is set for June 1, 5 pm local time. The exchange has also warned Australian customers that Bitcoins remaining on the platform after May 31 would be converted into USDT.
Although this discount initially seemed like a gold mine, those seeking to make quick money may be disappointed. The depositing of Australian dollars is no longer supported, while conversion of other currencies to the AUD bears premium fees locking enthusiasts out of the discounted Bitcoin price.
The exchange has said it will continue looking for alternate service providers for the Australian dollar deposits and withdrawals. However, it may have to delist the trading of several crypto trading pairs with the AUD on June 1.
Binance Australia tweeted earlier in the day, reporting that discontinuing bank transfers has caused the disruption. However, Aussie users can still deposit into the exchange via bank cards, P2P trading, and supported third-party payment systems.
Though Binance remains optimistic about finding a new bank transfer services provider for Aussies, it’s not promised since the exchange has been caught up in legal issues with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, which even led to canceling its derivatives license there. Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on this and other related stories.
by Samuel Mbaki | May 25, 2023 | Learn
Introduction
Crypto adoption has been accelerating lately despite the recent market turns proving that the industry may already be beyond the point of return. As such, large financial institutions previously objecting to legalizing crypto technology are slowly warming up to it, with the likes of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JP Morgan Chase Banks even offering custodial services.
German Banks are offering crypto services to institutional investors
Crypto is still young and thus yet to be legalized in most nations, including Germany. However, the narrative is now changing slowly but at a steady pace. Germany is exploring the potentially game-changing abilities of the crypto industry due to concerns about missing out as other nations are doing the same.
In March 2023, Deutsche WertpapierServiceBank (Dwpbank) introduced its wpNex crypto trading platform that exposes 1,200 banks and financial institutions in Germany to digital assets. However, how well the banking institutions will receive innovation over time remains to be seen.
In other reports, several banking organizations already offer crypto services to institutional investors. Deutsche Bank majorly owns the asset management group DWS, which has been looking for a way of getting into crypto and exposing its investors to digital assets.
In April, DWS announced that it was working with Galaxy Digital to develop exchange-traded products linked to cryptos that will be available in the European markets. Its CEO posted a statement on Linked In saying that though cryptos are most fraudulent, some innovations will disrupt international markets.
Other banks like Commerzbank and Dekabank are among the growing entities seeking crypto licenses from Germany’s financial watchdog, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin). However, their plans are geared towards institutional investors and not retail.
Though there are still limits on who can use German banks to access crypto assets, crypto adoption is seemingly taking root. However, only time will tell where the government will stand regarding crypto adoption there.
Select U.S. banks spearheading crypto adoption
Though the U.S. SEC is vehemently going after crypto ‘troublemakers, banks in the country are not stopping or slowing down crypto adoption. The number of banks warming up to the industry is slowly rising, showing signs of possible total crypto adoption.
Goldman Sachs, a major banking institution in the U.S., began providing cryptocurrency trading in the U.S. in 2018 but had to discontinue it as investors began becoming wary. However, the 2021 bull market brought more pressure from investors to access major crypto assets like Bitcoin, which made the bank start offering crypto trading again. Now, it allows for the trading of both Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Metropolitan Commercial Bank is another U.S.-based financial institution allowing crypto trading via partnerships with major crypto exchanges like COinbase and Gemini. It also provides wire transfer services with Bitcoin firms and other crypto-related financial services.
JP Morgan Chase is one of the largest banks in the world and is based in the U.S. It has been gearing up to offer crypto services even with its CEO actively despising the assets on a personal basis. Now, his bank allows its users to connect to Coinbase exchange to buy and sell crypto assets. It has also built a private blockchain and crypto known as JPM coin to facilitate international payments.
Bank of America, one of the largest banks in the U.S., has shown itself to support crypto adoption, though it still doesn’t allow its customers to invest directly into crypto assets. It uses one of its subsidiaries, Merrill Edge, an electronic trading platform launched in 2010 to allow its customers to trade Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that provide exposure to crypto assets.
In 2021, the Bank of America also introduced a new executive position, head of digital trading. Mark Donoghue will be helmed and tasked to deal with investment questions regarding digital assets.
HongKong banks exploring how to take part in spearheading crypto adoption
Chinese banks are readying themselves to offer banking services to offer crypto startup services in Hong Kong as the China ban still ensues but does not extend to the break-away city. As major crypto banks like Signature and Silvergate have already collapsed, these chines banks are scrambling to replace them.
Hong Kong-based ZA Bank is one such bank. It is already allowed to serve as a settlement bank for regulated Web 3 companies in the city. The online bank will now offer crypto-fiat conversions with two licensed digital assets, exchanges HashKey and OSL.
Other Hong Kong banks like Bank of Communications Co., Bank of China Ltd., and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank have also started to offer financial services to local crypto firms or, in other cases, offered to help. These developments foreshadow a growing acceptance of digital innovation, likely boosting crypto adoption in Asia.
On May 24, 2023, Binance CEO revealed that China State TV had covered crypto news long after the country enacted a blanket ban against investing in crypto assets in September 2021 and jailed the ‘lawbreakers’ on this front. However, things did not cool down as Bitcoin registered an all-time high price in November of the same year.
Now, the narrative of nations against crypto adoption seems to be changing into nations protecting investors against being taken advantage of by regulating digital assets. This journey has been joined by banks, which shows that the crypto industry is still here to stay and most likely thrive. However, only time can tell how regulation will factor in the development and growth of the industry.
Keep watching Fintech Express for updates on this and other related stories. No part of this article should be regarded as financial advice. Do your research and use caution if you choose to invest in the crypto space.
by Samuel Mbaki | May 3, 2023 | Banking
Bitcoin bull and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan has released a statement on Twitter claiming that the US actively ignores looming financial meltdowns. He also said that he is still optimistic about Bitcoin hitting the $1M tag but in 90 months now rather than 90 days.
Balaji concedes that Bitcoin won’t hit $1M in 90 days and is not happy with US economic meltdown
Bitcoin enthusiast Balaji has confirmed that the famous bet that Bitcoin would hit a $1M price tag within 90 days is officially closed out by mutual agreement. He made this statement via Twitter, saying that he conceded the possibility of that happening and has fully paid the bet amount and exceeded it by 50%.
Balaji said that he paid the amount in provable on-chain donations as follows:
1) $500k to Bitcoin Core development via Chaincode: http://bit.ly/core500k
2) $500k to Give Directly: http://bit.ly/gived500k
3) $500k to Medlock: http://bit.ly/med500k
In his Twitter statement, he said that he honored the bet because he believes in the public good but is disappointed that it’s not feasible to rely on the public sector anymore for alarms when something needs to be fixed.
He claimed that Treasury’s Janet Yellen knew the 2008 financial meltdown was coming but didn’t bother telling anyone. He said that Yellen claimed the economy would face a mild recession only for a global collapse to happen 158 days later.
An excerpt from his tweet read:
“So I spent my money to send a provably costly signal that there’s something wrong with the economy and that it’s not going to be a “soft landing” like Powell promises — but something much worse.”
He added links to articles covering the 2008 financial meltdown and a video asking people to gather information and figure out if we are indeed headed for soft economic turbulence.
[1]: https://archive.is/CMsIM
[2]: https://archive.is/N9ETF
[3]: https://archive.is/1yWtb
[4]: https://balajis.com/fiat
Watch Fintech Express for updates on the 2023 banking crisis and other fintech-related stories.
by admin_786 | May 1, 2023 | Cryptocurrencies
Binance has warned Justin Sun of possible legal action if he uses TUSD to farm SUI tokens on the Binance Launchpool. The exchange’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, has asked Justin Sun not to try to farm SUI tokens using TUSD after he deposited over $59M in TUSD today.
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao fires warning shot at Justin Sun
Justin Sun, the founder of the Tron Network, is known for his witty usage and investments in the crypto market. He has made several large transactions that made him huge profits, a trend that has been noticeable over the past years.
Due to these trends, Binance CEO has warned Sun to avoid using TUSD to join the SUI LaunchPool, saying that legal action may be taken.
Sun replied that his colleagues did use the opportunity and TUSD tokens to participate in the SUI token launch but are regretful.
In a statement, Sun said
“Regrettably, some of our team members were not fully aware of the intended purpose of these funds and inadvertently used a portion of them to participate in exchange campaigns. Upon realizing this error, we immediately contacted the exchange team and arranged for a full refund of the funds.”
Neither Binance nor its CEO has issued a stance on the next steps they will take on Sun for defying their directives. Also, Sun seems apologetic and willing to cooperate with the exchange. Keep watching for updates, as this is a developing story.
by Fintech Express | Jan 20, 2023 | Cryptocurrencies
Genesis Capital has filed for bankruptcy protection with a New York court following a series of troubles with Digital Currency Group, its parent company. Bybit has been caught up in the crossfire as its investment arm reportedly committed sizeable funds to Genesis Capital, prompting its founder to speak out.
Mirana invested heavily in Genesis before bankruptcy
Ben Zhao, the Bybit founder, took to Twitter earlier today to comment on the developments regarding the connection between the now-bankrupt Genesis capital and Bybit.
He commented on an earlier tweet that had pointed at Bybit as a risky entity at the moment following Genesis Capital’s fall. The tweet claimed that Miran(Bybit) is one of Genesis capital’s creditors. The tweet detailed that Bybit had committed around $151M.
Zhao tweeted what he called full disclosure and said that Mirana is Bybit’s investment arm. He added that Mirana is tasked to manage some bybit company assets only and that client funds are separate from the funding that Mirana receives. He added that Bybit’s earn products also do not use Mirana.
Zhao also stressed that of the reported $151M, around $120M is in collateralized positions that Mirana already liquidated before DCG and Genesis capital’s woes.
Series of bankruptcies continues in the crypto space
Genesis capital is one of the many platforms that have met their end in the 2022 bear market. Big names like FTX, Celsius, Voyager, and Blockfi have all filed for bankruptcy. Most of these players have gone under due to poor management and leadership.
Other big crypto empires like Terra Luna have also gone down, claiming the life savings of many. Now, there is no end in sight as even more organizations continue to file for bankruptcy, have lay-offs, and leave the crypto space.
It remains to be seen if the crypto space will learn from its mistakes this bear and do better in the future or if the mayhem will continue. Keep watching FintechExpress.news for crypto and other finance-related news.
