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Following a lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), crypto exchange Binance, and its US affiliate Binance.US, saw a $790 million outflow in the last 24 hours, according to data firm Nansen. Specifically, Binance saw a $778.6 million net outflow, while Binance.US experienced a net outflow of $13 million. The SEC’s allegations against Binance encompass artificially inflated trading volumes, misuse of customer funds, and providing misleading information to investors about its market surveillance controls. Source: https://www.reuters.com

Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini is reportedly gearing up to obtain a crypto licence to operate in the UAE, marking a key step in their global expansion strategy. This move aligns with UAE’s efforts to establish itself as a hub for digital asset businesses amidst rising economic competition in the region. However, the commencement date is yet to be announced. Despite recent industry setbacks, Gemini launched a derivative platform for trading perpetual futures outside of US jurisdiction in May. Source: https://www.reuters.com

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed 13 civil charges against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange on 5 June. The crypto exchange is accused of operating unregistered exchanges, broker-dealers and clearing agencies and mixing customer funds with those of separate firms owned by its CEO Changpeng Zhao. The SEC's chairman Gary Gensler said the 13 charges highlight a scheme involving deceptive practices, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure and wilful evasion of the law. This follows a lawsuit filed by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in March. Source: https://www.ft.com

Europol, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, seized the assets of cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer on 15 March, alleging its involvement in money laundering. The agency confiscated 1,909.4 Bitcoin, valued at $46 million, and shut down the ChipMixer website after seizing four servers hosting the application. Europol claimed that since its establishment in 2017, the unlicensed crypto mixer laundered over 2.73 billion euros. The funds were connected to various criminal cases within and outside the EU, including darkweb markets, ransomware groups, illicit goods trafficking, child sexual exploitation material, and stolen crypto assets.

The US Federal Reserve has announced that its long-awaited instant payments system, FedNow, will launch in July. The system will allow payments to be settled within seconds between merchants, consumers and banks without using blockchain technology. The program has been seen as an alternative to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins, and is expected to provide round-the-clock, real-time gross settlement. The Federal Reserve plans to onboard as many financial institutions as possible to increase the availability of instant payments.

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler reiterated his stance that proof-of-stake tokens should be regulated as securities. Gensler encouraged token operators to seek compliance, as crypto firms try to avoid the security label and its associated investor-protection requirements. The SEC has increased regulatory scrutiny, recently fining US-based crypto exchange Kraken $30 million for offering staking products. Despite differing views from Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam, Gensler maintained his concerns without commenting on specific tokens.

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) reportedly denied claims of a bias against cryptocurrencies after shutting down Signature Bank on 12 March. The NYDFS spokesperson clarified that the bank’s closure was due to “a significant crisis of confidence in the bank’s leadership” and its inability to provide “reliable and consistent data” following a wave of customer withdrawals. These comments were made in response to accusations by Signature Bank board member Barney Frank, who claimed that NYDFS’s intention was to send an anti-crypto message.

National Australia Bank (NAB) has claimed the first-ever cross-border stablecoin transfer by a major financial institution on a layer 1 public blockchain. NAB’s fully backed AUDN stablecoin, pegged to the Australian dollar, was used for the intrabank transfer. The transaction was carried out on the Ethereum blockchain and used smart contracts for seven currencies, including AUD, NZD, SGD, USD, EUR, JPY and GBP. The technology demonstrated the potential to reduce transaction times from days to minutes, and it is part of the bank’s focus on simplifying international banking protocols. The bank aims to support corporate and institutional clients in digital asset transactions by the end of the year.

Crypto exchange Binance will reportedly suspend sterling deposits and withdrawals after being informed by its partner Paysafe that the service will be halted from 22 May. The move will affect all Binance customers, and sterling transfers for new users have already been stopped on 13 March. While a spokesperson for Binance stated that the change would affect less than 1% of its users, the exchange did not provide information on the actual number of affected clients. Binance previously halted all dollar bank transfers in response to increased regulatory scrutiny in the US. Additionally, the exchange is currently under investigation by the Justice Department for possible money laundering and sanctions violations.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has invested 24 billion Korean won (US$18.1 million) in a fund aimed at driving metaverse initiatives in the country. The fund will support mergers and acquisitions of companies in the metaverse ecosystem and assist local metaverse-related companies to compete with global counterparts, given the challenges in raising capital through private investment. This investment comes as major tech companies show increased interest in the metaverse. South Korea launched a digital replica of Seoul in the metaverse in January, with an investment of around 2 billion won (US$1.6 million) for the first phase of the project. Source: https://cointelegraph.com

Signature Bank, a crypto-friendly bank based in New York, has been closed down and taken over by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The NYDFS has appointed the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to handle the insurance process. The Federal Reserve said the decision to shut down the bank was made with the FDIC to safeguard the country’s economy and bolster public trust in the banking system. While all depositors of Signature Bank will be reimbursed, shareholders and certain unsecured debt holders will not be protected. The bank held $88.6 billion in deposits as of 31 December 2022.

Bitcoin surged by 5.3% to reach US$21,582, the highest gain in almost a month after the US Federal Reserve announced measures to protect depositors’ money and provide easier terms for short-term loans to help cash-strapped banks. The move came after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the closure of the Signature Bank by the New York state financial regulator. Rachel Lin, co-founder of SynFutures, stated that the Federal Reserve’s rescue plan had boosted market confidence and eased concerns about the potential of further collapses. Other cryptocurrencies, including Cardano, Litecoin, Tron, and Avalanche, also experienced gains.