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BNB hit its highest price since June after Bloomberg reported the Justice Department wanted $4 billion from Binance to end its probe into the exchange. BNB (BNB) has gained over 7% in the last day after Bloomberg report ed that the United States Department of Justice is contemplating a $4 billion settlement with Binance to resolve its investigation into the company. Cointelegraph Markets Pro shows BNB spiked 6% to $262 in around 30 minutes after Bloomberg’s Nov. 20 report , which said Binance was negotiating an agreement to resolve a DOJ probe into alleged sanctions violations, money laundering and fraud. BNB dropped to $252 around four hours later but notched a second spike to $266 — its highest price since June 7 — two days after the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao alleging they violated various securities laws. BNB has seen an over 7% gain in the last 24 hours. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro The Binance-issued token has the highest 24...

Bitcoin miner supplier Bitmain has released its brand-new Antminer T21, featuring a computing power of 190 TH/s and an energy efficiency ratio of 19 J/TH. Bitmain, a major global manufacturer of Bitcoin (BTC) application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), has officially released its new air-cooled BTC miner, Antminer T21. Bitmain took to Twitter on Oct. 26 to announce the world premiere of the new Antminer T21, the firm’s new air-cooling miner that can withstand ambient temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius. According to Bitmain’s head of marketing, Xmei Lin, the Ant miner T21’s global release happened at the Blockchain Life 2023 Forum in Dubai, where Bitmain was a “diamond sponsor.” Bitmain’s brand-new mining device is expected to start shipping in January 2024, the company’s spokesperson told Cointelegraph. The air-cooling miner supports the SHA256 mining algorithm used for mining proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as well as forked coins like Bitcoin Cash (BCH...

After halting withdrawals in June 2023, Haru Invest is yet to come up with a timeline to repay its customers. Troubled cryptocurrency platform Haru Invest is planning to suspend its server a few months after halting withdrawals in June 2023. Haru Invest is thinking of shutting down its server in order to reduce the server maintenance costs of services, Haru Invest CEO Hugo Lee announced on Oct. 16. The CEO emphasized that the server maintenance cost accounts for the “largest percentage of fixed costs” at Haru Invest and is a priority for the firm. “We plan to suspend the service in a few weeks, backing up all member information,” Lee wrote in the announcement, adding that the firm is “yet to have a definite plan” for the server suspension. The firm’s move to shut down the server comes as Haru Invest says it's “actively devising various strategies” to lower all costs associated with operating its services, the CEO said. “Some of the current fixed expenditures include the upkeep of ...

Crypto market analysts tend to interpret Bitcoin miners selling their of BTC rewards as bearish, but miners countered this logic in detail at the recent Bitmain WDMS conference. Crypto analysts, traders and anonymous influencer Bitcoin pundits on X (formerly known as Twitter) frequently interpret what Bitcoin miners do with their block rewards as a sentiment gauge for where BTC price might go.  According to the strategy, Bitcoin miner rewards sent to exchanges foreshadows pending sell pressure on Bitcoin price and possibly reflects distress among miners . Elements of this methodology were challenged by an assortment of publicly listed Bitcoin miners at last week’s Bitmain World Digital Mining Summit in Hong Kong. Bitmain WDMS panel on Bitcoin mining and renewable energy. Source: Cointelegraph According to Jeff Taylor, the Core Scientific EVP of Data Center Operations, “Core Scientific might be the poster child for the HODL strategy. We built a 10,000 Bitcoin hoard and we rode it up...

The approval is seen as a milestone moment for BlockFi's over 100,000 creditors, who have been long awaiting repayment. The customers of bankrupt cryptocurrency lending platform BlockFi are one step closer to being paid out after a United States Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey approved its liquidation plan. Bankruptcy Judge Michael A. Kaplan approved BlockFi's third amended Chapter 11 plan in a Sept. 26 court hearing, a filing on the same day shows. Sept. 26 court filing in the bankruptcy case of BlockFi. Source: Kroll The amount of repayment received by BlockFi's unsecured creditors will largely depend on whether BlockFi succeeds in its legal battle against FTX and other bankrupt cryptocurrency firms. BlockFi's liquidation plan was approved after the firm settled a long-fought dispute with the creditors committee over the company’s senior management. The now bankrupt lending platform blamed FTX's collapse for its own failure despite the creditor's committee c...

ANZ’s banking executive Nigel Dobson says the bank sees “real value” in tokenizing real-world assets on-chain like the Aussie dollar. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is one step closer to launching its bank-issued stablecoin A$DC after the bank successfully executed a test transaction on Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP): ANZ’s banking services portfolio lead Nigel Dobson said the transaction was a “milestone” moment for the bank in a Sept. 14 statement: “ANZ recently worked with Chainlink CCIP to complete a test transaction to simulate the purchase of a tokenised asset, facilitated using A$DC and an ANZ-issued NZ-dollar-denominated stablecoin.” Dobson said the firm has been experimenting with several networks — presumably to test out where the ANZ’s Australian dollar stablecoin can be best utilized: “We’re actively exploring the use of decentralised networks through a ‘test-and-learn’ approach,” the ANZ executive said. As Australia and New Zealand Ba...

MicroStrategy bought an additional 301 Bitcoin for $6 million at an average price of $19,851, the company’s executive chairman announced on Twitter. MicroStrategy owns 0.62% of all the Bitcoin (BTC) that will ever be mined. The company’s executive chairman, Michael Saylor, announced that the company had bought another 301 Bitcoin for roughly $6 million, at an average price of ~$19,851 per BTC.  In sum, the company is one of the largest holders of Bitcoin on the planet, holding 130,00 Bitcoin. Clearly, Saylor likes round numbers, buying 301 Bitcoin to reach the 130,000 milestone.  MicroStrategy has purchased an additional 301 bitcoins for ~$6.0 million at an average price of ~$19,851 per #bitcoin. As of 9/19/22 @ MicroStrategy holds ~130,000 bitcoins acquired for ~$3.98 billion at an average price of ~$30,639 per bitcoin.https://t.co/5kYW98ij4I — Michael Saylor️ (@saylor) September 20, 2022 Due to plunging price action, the company’s investment is down substantially in U.S. ...

Bitcoin mempool was clogged with over 400,000 transactions waiting to be processed on May 7. Crypto exchange Binance closed Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals on May 7 due to an alleged overflow of transactions on the Bitcoin network.  Bitcoin mempool was clogged with over 400,000 transactions waiting to be processed at the time of writing. The mempool is known as the "waiting area" for incoming transactions before they are verified independently by each node on the network. Bitcoin mempool at 16:42 UTC on May 7. Source: mempool.space Behind the congestion is believed to be a surge in BRC-20 transactions in the last few days. The trading frenzy on memecoins like Pepe (PEPE) drove Bitcoin transaction fees to their highest point in two years. The PEPE token has jumped over 263% in the past 7 days, according to CoinMarketCap. Developed after Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard, BRC-20 is an experimental token standard recently introduced that allows users to create and transfer fungible ...

BlockFi argues its creditors, not FTX’s, are the “ultimate victims” of FTX’s alleged fraud. Bankrupt cryptocurrency lender BlockFi is trying to block attempts by the similarly bankrupt FTX and Three Arrows Capital (3AC) that aim to retrieve hundreds of millions of dollars to pay back their creditors. BlockFi claimed in an Aug. 21 filing to a New Jersey bankruptcy court that its own creditors shouldn’t be pushed to the back of the line because FTX’s creditors were harmed by the exchange allegedly misappropriating $5 billion BlockFi lent it. “FTX seeks to recover on over $5 billion of claims filed against the BlockFi estates at the direct expense of the ultimate victims of FTX’s fraud: BlockFi’s clients and other legitimate creditors.” “To prevent further injustice to the creditors of BlockFi’s estates, the Court should disallow the FTX Claims under the doctrine of unclean hands,” BlockFi added. FTX also provided $400 million to BlockFi in June 2022 in addition to buying BlockFi equity ...

The company beat estimates while non-trading revenue beat trading revenue. New York-based crypto exchange Coinbase reported revenue in the amount of $708 million in the second quarter of 2023, despite the regulatory issues it's faced in recent months, boosted by a custody deal with Blackrock and institutional focus . The exchange said Q2 net revenue reached $663 million, down 10% versus the same period last year, yet beating early estimates on its growing market dominance in the United States as competitors such as Binance are bogged down by regulatory trouble. The crypto exchange’s impressive performance was also attributed to the strong crypto price cycle last quarter where the likes of Bitcoin and other altcoins posted new yearly highs. Early estimate s from the Zacks Consensus Estimate put crypto exchange’s earnings at $643.4 million, a 20.4% decline from the past year during the same time. Another report from Messari suggested that  for the first time, Coinbase's non-...

The proposal drew mixed reactions from the community where some criticized the strategy for buying more CRV even as others are looking to shed exposure. Amid growing uncertainty around Curve exposure for many decentralized finance protocols, Aave Chan founder Marc Zeller has proposed that Aave Treasury buy $2 million worth of CRV tokens in USDT from Curve Founder Michael Egorov. The proposal noted that the $2 million worth of Curve DAO Tokens (CRV) acquisition would send a strong signal of DeFi supporting DeFi while allowing the Aave DAO to strategically position itself in the Curve wars and help Aave’s decentralized multi-collateral stablecoin GHO’s liquidity. At the current price, $2 million worth of USDT would net 5 million CRV tokens and Zeller suggested these newly bought curve tokens could be locked as veCRV for four years. These tokens could then be used for voting rights on the Curve platform where Curve users would be able to use it to provide liquidity for token pairs that...

Senior Coinbase executives, including CEO Brian Armstrong, have been selling their shares amid the stock’s growth over the past month. Despite the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange facing a securities violation lawsuit in the United States, the company’s stock has been on the rise recently. Coinbase stock has added more than 50% to its value since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against the firm for allegedly offering unregistered securities. According to data from TradingView, Coinbase shares surged 51%, from around $52 on June 6 to $78.7 on July 7. The stock is also up around 133% over the past six months, while year-to-year growth is roughly 50%. Coinbase 30-day price chart. Source: TradingView Amid significant growth, some major Coinbase stockholders have continued selling some of their shares . On July 6, a number of senior Coinbase executives, including CEO Brian Armstrong, sold a combined total of 88,058 shares worth about $6.9 million. Accor...

Crypto-friendly bank DBS has conducted the first e-CNY transaction for corporate clients, involving a catering company in Shenzhen. Cryptocurrency-friendly bank DBS is cooperating with mainland China on the development of a new payment solution for the digital yuan, also known as e-CNY. DBS Bank China officially announced on July 5 the launch of the e-CNY merchant solution, allowing mainland businesses to receive payments in the central bank digital currency (CBDC). The new service will allow corporate clients of DBS Bank China to collect payment s from their customers in e-CNY and conduct automated settlement of e-CNY directly into their CNY bank deposit account. DBS’ solution is designed to enable a number of benefits, allowing businesses to collect CBDC “without having to go through manual settlement processes,” the announcement notes. The tool also features capabilities allowing merchants to receive payments in underserved regions with limited internet connectivity. Additionally...

MicroStrategy has increased its total Bitcoins holdings to 138,955 BTC, purchased for $4.1 billion at an average of $29,817 per coin. MicroStrategy, a Business intelligence firm and a major Bitcoin (BTC) investor, is acquiring more BTC amid the recent cryptocurrency market recovery. MicroStrategy co-founder and former CEO Michael Saylor took to Twitter on March 27 to announce that the firm has repaid its $205 million loan to Silvergate. Citing a form 8-K filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Saylor stressed that MicroStrategy repaid the Silvergate loan at a 22% discount. The company has also acquired a significant stash of Bitcoin, purchasing 6,455 BTC for $150 million, or at an average price of $23,238 per coin as of March 23, the former CEO said. With the purchase, MicroStrategy has increased its total Bitcoins holdings to 138,955 BTC, bought for $4.1 billion at an average of $29,817 per coin, Saylor said. MicroStrategy repaid its $205M Silvergate loan a...

The FDIC regulators have reportedly required any buyer of Signature to agree to give up all cryptocurrency business at the bank. The United States’ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has reportedly asked potential rescuers of some failed U.S. banks to not support any crypto services. The FDIC regulators have asked banks interested in acquiring failed U.S. lenders like Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank to submit their bids by March 17, Reuters reported. The authority will only accept bids from banks with an existing bank charter, prioritizing traditional lenders over private equity firms, the report notes, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The FDIC aims to sell entire business es of both SVB and Signature, while offers for parts of the banks could be considered in case the whole company sales do not happen. The FDIC has also required any buyer of Signature to agree on giving up all cryptocurrency business at the bank. New York-based Signature is a major cryp...

The recent collapse of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate will likely increase regulatory scrutiny on the ties between the crypto industry and the banking sector in the U.S. The collapse of crypto-friendly bank Silvergate will likley have a significant impact on the crypto ecosystem and its ties with the banking sector in the U.S.  Earlier this week, the parent company of Silvergate Bank announced plans to wind down operations and liquidate the bank. The announcement came after the crypto -friendly bank had suffered 1$ billion worth of losses in the last quarter of 2022 as a direct consequence of the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, one of Silvergate’s main clients. Silvergate was one of the very few regulated financial institutions providing Banking services to crypto companies and exchanges. Its downfall will likely reinforce U.S. regulators' arguments that crypto poses a threat to the traditional financial system. Earlier this year, the U.S. Banking regulators had already iss...

The funding round was led by Foundation Capital, with follow-on investment from CMT digital. London-based digital asset protection firm, Coincover, has secured $30 million in a Funding round led by Foundation Capital, with a follow-on investment from CMT digital .  According to Coincover’s announcement, the funds will be used to scale its operations, drive recruitment, develop new products, and form partnerships to help strengthen the security of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, thereby, providing even more comprehensive protection to businesses and individuals holding digital assets.  Coincover was founded in 2018 and launched in 2019 with the aim of providing trust to the digital asset industry. The company already works with over 300 businesses including exchanges, wallets, hedge funds, family offices, and banks, and directly with a number of digital asset custodians. Coincover is determined to tackle the Security concerns plaguing the digital asset industry, by offering busine...

Harrison said Bankman-Fried threatened to fire him on the spot and would destroy his professional reputation if he continued to confront the former FTX CEO. Former FTX US President Brett Harrison has lashed out at Sam Bankman-Fried for manipulating and threatening colleagues who proposed solutions to reorganize FTX US' management structure.  Harrison shared his experiences with Bankman-Fried and FTX US on Dec. 14, explaining how he was hired “casually over text” in Mar. 2021 after working together at New York-based trading firm Jane Street for a few years. But six months into Harrison's tenure at FTX US, “cracks began to form” between the two, he said. Despite recalling Bankman-Fried to be a “sensitive and intellectually curious person” at first, Harrison said he saw “total insecurity and intransigence” in Bankman-Fried when confronted with conflict, particularly when Harrison suggested FTX US establish separate branches for its executive, developer and legal teams. 16/49 I sa...

December continued to see Bitcoin trade below its 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages, but stabilization in the DeFi sector is flashing positive signals at the start of 2023. 2022 was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs for the blockchain industry . While the year’s first quarter looked promising, the crypto industry has been on a downward trajectory ever since. While indications of a global macroeconomic slowdown increase, these headwinds hamper the blockchain industry ’s potential recovery. There are some signs of stabilization in the crypto market and a potential upside at the start of the new year. For those serious about understanding the crypto space’s different sectors, including venture capital, derivatives, decentralized finance (DeFi), regulations and much more, Cointelegraph Research publishes a monthly Investors Insights report. Compiled by leading experts on these various topics, the monthly reports are an invaluable tool to quickly get a sense of the current state...

The deal, if executed, would essentially restructure the company into a hosting firm for Bitcoin mining rigs. According to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Dec. 20, Bitcoin (BTC) miner Greenidge stated that it reached an agreement with its creditor, fintech firm NYDIG, to restructure approximately $74 million worth of debt. The deal, in the form of a non-binding term sheet, would result in a major change to Greenidge's current business strategy. Essentially, it would transform Greenidge from self-mining to hosting for NYDIG's mining rigs.  Under the conditions, NYDIG would purchase miner s with approximately 2.8 exahash per second (EH/s) of mining capacity to be hosted by Greenidge, which will facilitate NYDIG rights to a mining site within three months following the completion of debt restructuring and hosting agree ments. In exchange for consideration amounting to the purchased miner s and transfer of mining infrastructure and credits to NY...