Tag: binance

Technology

Cryptocurrency Investments: Pig-Butchering Scams Net More Than $75 Billion, Study Finds

Pig-butchering scammers have likely stolen more than $75 billion from victims around the world, far more than previously estimated, according to a new study.John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin, and graduate student Kevin Mei gathered crypto addresses from more than 4,000 victims of the fraud, which has exploded in popularity since the pandemic. With blockchain tracing tools, they tracked the flow of funds from victims to scammers, who are largely based in Southeast Asia.  Over four years, from January 2020 to February 2024, the criminal networks moved more than $75 billion to crypto exchanges, said Griffin, who has written about fraud in financial markets. Some of the total could represent proceeds from other criminal activities, he said. “These are l...
Technology

Govt Asks Apple to Remove Crypto Apps Including Binance From Local App Store

The Indian government stepped up its crackdown on offshore crypto exchanges operating without local registrations, asking Apple Inc. to take the apps of platforms including Binance off its App Store in the country. Bitfinex, HTX and Kucoin are among eight exchanges whose apps are no longer available on the App Store in India. They were removed on directions from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, according to people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the request isn't public. The move marks a significant escalation of India's clampdown on offshore crypto platforms like Binance, which started Dec. 28 when authorities notified nine exchanges that they are suspected of misconduct. Indian crypto traders had already began moving deposits...
Technology

Binance, Kucoin to Huobi, FIU wants MeiTY to block URLs of 9 offshore cryptocurrency platforms

In what may turn into a massive blow for cryptocurrency sector in India, Centre's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), which is under the Finance Ministry, has issued show cause notices to as many as 9 offshore cryptocurrency and virtual digital assets platforms, including Binance and Kucoin. The notifications were issued for non-compliance with anti-money laundering law.Not just the notices, FIU has even taken the next step by writing to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) to block the URLs of these nine entities that are operating illegally without complying with the provisions of the PML Act in India. Apart from Binance and Kucoin, the other virtual digital assets service providers (VDA SP) who have been issued notice for not registering as reporting entitie...
Technology

Binance Lapses Boosted Terrorists, Hackers, Sanctions Violators

Binance Holdings Ltd. had such lax controls over cryptocurrency transactions on its exchange that terrorists, hackers and sanctions violators used it for years to move billions of dollars, US prosecutors said.Binance and Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to criminal charges Tuesday, admitting they failed to take basic anti-money laundering steps that are the bedrock of government efforts to check the flow of dirty money worldwide. Binance will pay $4.3 billion, while Zhao will step down as CEO and pay a $50 million fine.  The stunning turn of events means Zhao, the most powerful crypto figure in the world, faces prison time and will no longer run the industry's largest exchange. It comes after a multiyear investigation by federal prosecutors and the fraud conviction...
Technology

Crypto needs a killer app more than a chastened Binance

Here's a question few of us will ever have to answer. Would you rather have $23 billion living in the United Arab Emirates with no US extradition treaty, or sacrifice a chunk of your wealth and perhaps spend 18 months behind bars to resolve all your issues with the US Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission?Binance Holdings Ltd. CEO Changpeng Zhao appears to have chosen the latter. We don't know all the details of the deal — most importantly the length of time, if any, Zhao must spend in prison — but it appears to clear the way for Binance to continue as the world's largest crypto exchange and for Zhao to keep his top-100 status on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. I see a major risk that the deal itself, as well as the strengthened controls it will require, will t...
Technology

What is Binance, why did the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange plead guilty?

The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, Binance, came under regulatory scrutiny earlier this year when the US Department of Justice (DOJ), along with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) cracked down on the company's lack of regulatory and legal mechanisms to prevent transactions made to fund terrorism, drug deals, and other illegal activities, as per the agencies. On Tuesday, the CEO of the company, Changpeng Zhao, pleaded guilty and agreed on a settlement worth 4.3 billion dollars.But if you are unfamiliar with the world of crypto and want to know what is Binance, the reasons for it to plead guilty, and how this decision may impact the crypto industry in the future, then here is a quick guide. Let us take a look. What is Binance?Binance, a cryptocurren...
Technology

Who is Changpend Zhao, the ex-Binance chief who pleaded guilty in $4.3 Bn settlement deal?

In a historic move in the cryptocurrency space, Binance cofounder Changpeng Zhao has agreed to step down from the position of the company CEO and has pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money laundering charges brought down by the US Department of Justice. The settlement of the case comes at an unprecedented 4.3 billion dollars to resolve a long-running investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency by trade volume. But who is Zhao, who created this massive empire and brought it to a fall, conceding a personal payment of 50 million dollars as a penalty to the US government? Let us take a closer look.Who is Changpeng Zhao?Popularly known as CZ among crypto enthusiasts, Zhao is a 44-year-old Canadian citizen who was born in China's Jiangsu province. He immigrated with his family t...
Technology

Changpeng Zhao, Brawling Titan of Binance, Meets a Sudden Defeat

Changpeng Zhao had long cultivated the image of the rugged pugilist of the cryptocurrencies world. When his rival Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire collapsed a year ago, Zhao, or “CZ” as his fans call him, was in the middle of it all, yanking his money in a very public way and helping trigger the ultimately fatal run on the firms. Years earlier he claimed the company's headquarters was wherever he happened to be, a thinly veiled salvo against regulators trying to nail down jurisdiction. And this March, when US regulators charged Zhao and his firm, Binance Holdings, with violating US securities laws, his on-line response was “4,” which is Zhao code for dismissing something as unworthy of his attention. On Tuesday, though, Zhao cut a very different image in a Seattle courtroom. Dressed i...
Technology

Crypto’s Most Powerful Woman Speaks Out as Crisis Rocks Binance

One senior Binance executive has managed to stay out of the global spotlight over the past six years and counting — even now as governments everywhere intensify their crypto clampdown: Yi He.As a co-founder of the besieged digital-currency empire, she's one of the most powerful players in the $1.2 trillion industry. She also has much to lose as the regulatory onslaught deepens and causes an existential crisis for crypto's largest exchange. After successfully marketing Binance in its early days across media platforms, Yi He — a former host on Chinese television — proved instrumental to its meteoric rise. Now she's confronting the most dangerous moment in the history of the firm, a dominant force in everything from token trading and venture capital to digital art. US financial watchdogs ...
Technology

Crypto feeds on AI hype as Tech offers new uses for blockchain

New lawsuits filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Coinbase Global Inc. and Binance Holdings Ltd. have raised serious questions about the future of crypto.As digital assets face mounting regulatory pressure and other market headwinds, they have also been dethroned as the latest technology fad. When OpenAI launched its ChatGPT bot in November, it paved the way for practical uses of artificial intelligence. Since then AI has captured the attention of founders and investors — the same folks that fueled the crypto boom. AI may have stolen the limelight, but some crypto enthusiasts say it can provide new opportunities to the blockchain industry. “You may actually see a situation where AI is sort of a catalyst to rush back to blockchain,” said Adam Struck, founder and ma...