Binance Halting US Dollar Deposits and Withdrawals via Bank Accounts

Global crypto exchange Binance is suspending deposits and withdrawals in U.S. dollars via bank accounts starting Wednesday as more and more banking institutions try to reduce their exposure to the crypto market. “We are working hard to restart service as soon as possible,” Binance said. Binance Suspending USD Deposits and Withdrawals Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance…

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Binance’s cloud mining is affected by extreme weather conditions in North America

Users’ subscriptions to cloud mining products have been extended for three days due to the power outage.

The severe winter storm in North America shut down Binance’s cloud mining products from Dec. 24-26, according to an official announcement on Dec. 28. As a result of the power outage, the company announced that users’ subscriptions to cloud mining products were extended for three days.

Binance has noted that further outages as a result of the weather conditions will extend the duration of cloud mining subscriptions.

The exchange’s cloud mining service, launched nearly a month ago, allows users without mining equipment to earn mining rewards from Binance Pool. Subscriptions are required to buy hashrates and Bitcoin mining on Binance’s cloud.

During the days leading up to Christmas, a “bomb cyclone” unleashed extreme temperatures across the United States, leaving millions without electricity and claiming dozens of lives.

Related: Microsoft bans cryptocurrency mining on cloud services

Weather conditions in Texas drove Bitcoin miners to voluntarily curtail operations to give power back to the grid, allowing residents to keep their homes warm. Disruptions have impacted Bitcoin’s hash rate, which dropped to 170.60 Exahashes per second (EH/s) on Dec. 25, from a more typical rate of around 225-300 EH/s, Cointelegraph reported.

Bitcoin transactions worldwide have been slowed by 30% as a result of the Texas miners’ decision. Texas is among the top states for Bitcoin mining in the U.S., along with New York, Kentucky and Georgia. All states were affected by the bomb cyclone in the past few days.

Since FTX’s collapse in November, Binance has been surrounded by fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), resulting in billions of dollars in withdrawals. While fighting rumors, the crypto exchange has continued to work on diversifying its business model. Last month, the company also announced that its venture capital arm, Binance Labs, has invested in Belgian hardware wallet company Ngrave and will lead its Series A funding round.

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French investors sued Binance for over 2.4 million euros in losses

Binance France and Binance Holdings Limited are being sued over alleged misleading commercial practices and fraudulent concealment.

Binance France and its parent company Binance Holdings Limited are being sued by 15 investors in France over alleged misleading commercial practices and fraudulent concealment, according to local media reports. 

In a complaint filed on Dec. 14, the plaintiffs claimed that Binance violated French laws by advertising and distributing crypto services before receiving registration from the country’s authorities. As reported by Cointelegraph, France’s financial market regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers, has granted Binance a license as a digital asset provider in May 2022. The license allowed the crypto exchange to offer services such as assets custody and crypto trading.

The complaint reportedly contains screenshots showing Binance’s social media activity prior to its license, including a Telegram channel dubbed “Binance French”. The plaintiffs also claim to have lost over 2.4 million euros following the TerraUSD (UST) collapse, while Binance advertised the token as United States dollar-backed.

Related: France may oblige crypto platforms to obtain licenses

In a blog post, Binance France responded to questions about the case. According to it, the company did not conduct any promotional communications in France during the period in question, and noted that “Telegram groups are global community forums”, thus allowing users to create and join channels voluntarily.

Binance also addressed questions regarding Terra stablecoin advertisement in the country. The company noted that its communication presents staking with Binance as “safe, and not the underlying tokens.” The exchange also noted that it always includes market risk warnings for crypto products, and has further strengthened its descriptions.

As reported by Cointelegraph, a series of dramatic events in May 2022 resulted in an unprecedented decline in the price of the LUNA token and its associated stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), which was designed to maintain algorithmic parity with the United States dollar, but lost its peg and plunged to below $0.30.

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Binance US Appoints Former IRS Special Agent BJ Kang As New Head Of Investigation Unit

Binance

The leading cryptocurrency exchange, Binance US just launched its own investigation unit and as part of forming the departmental force, the company has appointed former FBI special agent BJ Kang as the new head. Kang with extensive experience in securities fraud will lead the company’s first paramilitary force to focus his efforts on detecting and […]

The post Binance US Appoints Former IRS Special Agent BJ Kang As New Head Of Investigation Unit appeared first on Blockonomi.

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