Tag: Exchange

BitMEX to Launch BMEX Token Trading on Friday

by Blockchain News

Crypto exchange Bitmex has announced it will launch the trade of its BMEX token on 11 November. 

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As the company aims to regain market share in the derivatives space, Bitmex stated that the token would be used to reward users of its platform. The rewards will be allocated via trading fee discounts, withdrawal fee waivers, improved staking rewards, and access to new products and services on the Bitmex platform.

The token’s launch was initially announced in December of last year, and users started being airdropped with the BMEX tokens in February. According to the exchange, millions of tokens have been airdropped to over 80,000 traders since February. 

Just like other exchange tokens, such as BNB of the Binance exchange and FTT of the FTX exchange, the BMEX token is the digital currency issued by the Bitmex exchange. 

Though the BMEX tokens were expected to have launched earlier in June, the exchange chose to delay the launch citing unsatisfactory market conditions. However, Bitmex’s chief marketing officer Benjamin Usinger, later revealed that now is the right time to launch the token, and the exchange would like to contribute to growth in liquidity and revitalize the crypto markets. 

Bitmex will begin trading the BMEX token on Friday by first listing the BMEX/USDT pair on its recently launched spot exchange and then launching two new perpetual swaps — BMEXUSDT and BMEXUSD — on its derivatives platform.

While the exchange is preparing for the launch of its token, the company doesn’t still seem to be comfortable with the state of the market. Earlier this month, Bitmex decided to reduce its number of employees as part of a strategy to move away from the company’s “beyond derivatives” model.

“We are pivoting from our Beyond Derivatives strategy and will return much of our focus aiming at providing the crypto derivatives trading experience people will turn to,” stated Bitmex. The company added, “We are going to refocus on liquidity, latencies, and a vibrant derivatives community, including BMEX Token trading.”

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Avalanche Foundation Announces $4m Incentive Program for Trading Platform GMX

by Blockchain News

Avalanche Foundation has announced it will grant a $4 million incentive in AVAX tokens for the growth of the decentralized trading platform GMX.

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The million-dollar incentive is deducted from the Avalanche Rush, a liquidity mining incentive program by Avalanche Foundation aimed to boost the Avalanche DeFi ecosystem.  

According to Avalanche, the $4 million incentive will be issued over a multi-month duration alongside its collaboration platforms building on the GMX protocol. The collaborators include TraderJoe, YieldYak, Dopex, and Yeti Finance.

Launched on Avalanche in January, GMX is a decentralized exchange platform that enables users to trade spot and perpetual futures contracts on the Avalanche blockchain while also offering on-chain trading and deep liquidity.

The platform eliminates the risk of impermanent loss by allowing liquidity providers to risk the loss of their capital if GMX traders are profitable. Meanwhile, if traders lose their money instead, fees generated are rewarded to liquidity providers. In contrast, if the traders are being profitable, liquidity providers take responsibility. 

The incentive program cancels some of the risk correlated with providing liquidity on GMX. It allows the collaborators of the protocol to build new types of products on top of the revenue model used by GMX. Alongside the $4 million, which will be allocated over a few months, users would be able to provide liquidity on the GMX platform and make use of the new products the platform collaborators develop.

Notably, the incentive program Avalanche Rush has been a part of the rapid growth of the Avalanche DeFi ecosystem since its launch in 2021. As the smart contract platform stated, ”the incentive program boosted its DeFi total value locked (TVL) by 900% within just a month of its launch.’’

GMX is not the only platform utilizing the Avalanche blockchain amid the extreme market condition. In September, New York-based global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc announced that it had put some part of its private equity funds on the Avalanche blockchain.

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Binance is Not In “a War” With FTX, Says Co-Founder Yi He

by Blockchain News

In an explanation on Twitter, co-founder and chief customer service of Binance exchange Yi He claimed that Binance is not in a war with FTX and has no intention of engaging in drama. 

Following Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao or CZ’s announcement that the exchange would start selling its remaining FTX’s FTT exchange token holdings, rumours declaring both exchanges might be beefing with each other have been going around.

The speculations started to look real, specifically when FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried took to his Twitter and said,

“A competitor is trying to go after us with false rumors. FTX is fine. Assets are fine. FTX has enough to cover all client holdings. We don’t invest in client assets (even in treasuries). We have been processing all withdrawals and will continue to be.”

As a result, on Monday, Binance Co-founder Yi He decided to clear the air. Yi He tweeted, “Recently, the Portfolio Management team at [Binance] Labs decided to sell FTT based on the risk-control metrics we monitored.” She added saying a public announcement of such a decision evinces that Binance Labs “always respond to what our community asks in a transparent and direct way.”

In short, Yi He concluded, “The point we’d like to stress is that the decision to hold or sell a token depends on one’s own risk appetite and judgment. Our decision to sell FTT is a pure investment-related exit decision, which has nothing to do with “a war,” and we have no intention to engage in drama.”

Speaking of Binance, the exchange has been dipping its feet into different industry sectors over the past months. Last month, CZ disclosed in an interview with Bloomberg its plan to consider buying banks with $1 billion.

Though CZ did not specifically disclose the targets, he stated he was open to minority investments or full takeovers. Zhao also pointed out that investment banking is a reasonable strategy for Binance because when partnering with banks, Binance usually attracts many new users, which will also boost the bank’s valuation.

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Nairobi-based FinTech Mara Launches African Crypto Wallet Service

by Blockchain News

A new crypto project called Mara has now been introduced to the African crypto ecosystem. This project is backed by Coinbase Ventures, FTX-affiliated Alameda Research, Huobi Ventures, and other prominent venture capital firms and angel investors in the industry.

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Mara is a digital financial ecosystem project that appears only to be starting its ride with the launch of a cryptocurrency wallet for signed-up users in Nigeria.

Having raised $23 million in fundraising, Mara already has a waitlist with over 3 million users, the majority being Nigerians. It is said that as the wallet app advances, the whole product will be rolled out to other countries, including Ghana and Kenya. 

According to co-founder and CEO Chi Nnadi, Mara was explicitly built for the African crypto market through money transfer services and with the idea for a broader suite of financial products that sets it apart from other global brokerages and exchanges.

The Mara wallet will offer services such as cryptocurrency brokerage services that will permit users to buy, send, sell and withdraw fiat and crypto. It will also provide users with a U.K. entity that allows them to access dollars, pounds, and euros that can be used to buy and sell crypto.

Moreover, the wallet app will contain educational resources on cryptocurrencies and personal finance management, which users can access whenever. 

A nonprofit foundation called the Mara foundation partnered with USD Coin issuer Circle will also be launched alongside the wallet app to foster the growth of blockchain development in Africa. 

Mara aims to train 1 million developers on the continent using this nonprofit foundation. And in addition, it releases an educational community, which will provide free resources on financial literacy, cryptocurrency, Web3, and blockchain education in numerous languages.

The project also aims to launch a proprietary layer-1 blockchain solution called Mara Chain before the end of 2022. This blockchain is planned to have a native token to allow developers to build decentralized applications.

Mara is not the only one launching products to foster crypto adoption in the continent. The Central African Republic (CAR) has also recently launched its own national crypto hub, Sango.

Project Sango is designed to bring out the potential of blockchain technology on various fronts. It aims to attract businesses into the country as it looks to re-establish an economic boom and global connectivity.

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Robinhood Seeks Sanctions Investigators ahead of Self-Custody Crypto Wallet Launch

by Blockchain News

Robinhood is seeking to hire several Sanctions Investigators for its finance crimes compliance unit as it may be broadening its offerings, according to its official Linkedin page.

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The job description includes reviewing and analyzing alerts of potential matches of Robinhood customers to denied parties, managing the investigative process from initial detection to disposition and reporting, annotating findings providing proof of evidence and a final decision, escalating any matches that cannot be resolved to Sanctions Investigation management and in addition any accurate positive matches to the Sanctions Office.

Robinhood is a standalone wallet app that offers brokerage services and allows users to trade and swap crypto without network fees.

According to reports, the Brokerage app hiring sanctions investigators could be related to the firm’s upcoming self-custody wallets launch, which will be released officially in the coming months.

Per the job posting, the role requires two-plus years of experience working in financial crimes investigation and one-plus years investigating cryptocurrency transactions. While not required, “Chainalysis experience” is welcome.

In August, the Brokerage app firm was slammed with a fine of $30 million by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

As reported by Blockchain.News, the sanctions came as the regulator discovered that Robinhood Crypto violated several extant regulations, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML) violations, transaction monitoring inadequacies, and failure to make provisions for cybersecurity regulation.

The regulator noted that it discovered the flaws behind the sanction in Robinhood Crypto’s operating models following a supervisory examination and a subsequent investigation.

Superintendent of Financial Services Adrienne A. Harris stated that as the Brokerage firm grew, it failed to “invest the proper resources and attention to develop and maintain a culture of compliance—a failure that resulted in significant violations of the Department’s anti-money laundering and cybersecurity regulations.”

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South Korean Prosecutors Arrest Key Do Kwon’s Aid

by Blockchain News

South Korean prosecutors in charge of the Terraform Labs case have arrested a major employee of the embattled blockchain startup named ‘Yoo’.

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As reported by the Korean media platform JTBC, Yoo is one of the six people the prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for. His specific offence is centred around market manipulations. 

According to the report, Yoo’s market manipulation violated the Capital Markets Act of Korea. With the history of evading authorities, a bench warrant will be issued to keep Yoo in custody until his trial date.

A bench warrant is often issued to keep a suspect that has the tendency to abscond if granted bail. The collapse of Terraform Labs and the associated LUNA and UST tokens have notably distraught Do Kwon, Daniel Shin, and other key developers in the Terraform Labs startup.

With more than $40 billion worth of investors’ funds wiped out within the twinkling of an eye, South Korean regulators are seriously looking for who to pin the crash on for law enforcement. Do Kwon has been on the run since the investigation was launched, even though he claims he is not in hiding.

The Korean prosecutors have conducted raids on exchanges that might have transaction records involving the collapsed LUNA and UST tokens. While the discoveries made from these raids remain an enigma, the resolve to bring Do Kwon in for questioning and prosecution has intensified in the past few weeks.

The Korean prosecutors have also sought out help from Interpol, and a Red Notice to capture Do Kwon has been issued for his arrest. With the seizure of his personal cash holdings not enough to fish him out, Korean regulators have voided his passport after first sending him a message that he should return the passport within a 14-day timeframe.

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OKX Website Blocked in Russia with Unknown Reason

by Blockchain News

The trading website of the OKX exchange has been blocked in Russia, according to Roskomsvoboda, a platform that keeps track of censored platforms.

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The blockage remains unclear why the platform was being stopped and when it will be back online soon. However, the situation can offset the cryptocurrency ecosystem with the notion that the Russian government is all out for crypto-linked trading platforms.

Hasty conclusions may not serve users right as Russia is gradually beginning to wake up to the embrace of cryptocurrencies, with the sanctions from Western regulators still crippling the national economy. 

Since the war in Ukraine started, both countries have relied heavily on digital currencies for transactions as banks in the most affected areas were halted. 

It is unclear how Russia will want to sabotage crypto trading with the censorship of some of the biggest crypto exchanges around, considering the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Russia have recently found grounds for adopting Bitcoin as a means of transactions.

While the Ministry of Energy is advocating for the mining of Bitcoin using excess energy, the ministry in charge of trade is also considering adopting the coin for international settlements for goods and services.

The evolution of cryptocurrencies has gone through many phases this year alone, and it has gone from attempts by the Bank of Russia advocating for its ban to a stage where it is now being considered a viable avenue to survive the current economic and financial hardship rocking the local economy.

Notably, digital currencies now occupy a crucial part of most countries’ financial ecosystems. With countries like Ukraine, El Salvador, and the Central African Republic pioneering the legalization of Bitcoin and digital assets, the narrative is changing as key regions like the European Union are actively working on implementing its regulatory framework tailored for the crypto industry through the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.

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Crypto Exchange Volumes Sees Growth since May, Jumped to $733 billion in Sep

by Blockchain News

According to The Block, trading volume on cryptocurrency exchanges jumped to $733 billion in September, up 16% month-on-month and marking the first significant increase since May of this year.

In the year’s first half, the cryptocurrency industry did not perform as well as expected, with a significant drop in spot and derivatives trading volumes across major exchanges.

Cryptocurrency spot trading volumes fell nearly 28% in June to $1.41 trillion, the lowest level since December 2020, as bitcoin prices tumbled, according to data compiled by CryptoCompare.

The Block’s legitimate trading volume index shows $629 billion in June, $633 billion in July and $630 billion in August.

Source: The Block

Katie Stockton, the co-founder of Fairlead Strategies, said:

“Volumes have declined given investor sentiment in cyclical bear markets. So, before cryptocurrency prices break out of the bear cycle (which may be a few months away), volumes are expected to be below average.”

As Bitcoin (BTC) continued to oscillate near $19,000 recently, CryptoQuant noted that more than 60,000 Bitcoins have flowed out of exchanges over the past three days, the highest amount of outflows in months, a sign that demand is re-entering the market. Santiment also reported similar data, noting that traders are likely to be confident in the fourth quarter.

CryptoQuant data showed 61,301 bitcoins flowed out of exchanges in the past three days, marking the largest outflow in recent months. “This is quite an important indicator and highlights signs of demand re-entering the market after months of declines,” CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn said.

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Binance Seeks Reentry to Japanese Market

by Blockchain News

Japan’s easing crypto policy attracts crypto exchange Binance to ask for reentry to this island nation after failing to do so four years ago due to stringent measures, according to Bloomberg.

Based on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plan of revamping the economy, spurring growth in Web3 firms is a key agenda. Therefore, Binance seeks an operational licence in the nation to enhance crypto growth and adoption.

A Binance spokesperson pointed out:

“Binance is committed to working with regulators and policymakers to shape policies that protect consumers, encourage innovation, and move our industry forward.”

In August, the Japanese government proposed a corporate-friendly crypto tax that would take effect from 2023, Blockchain.News reported. 

For instance, a 20% tax on income tax on cryptocurrency gains earned by individual investors was proposed, down from the current rate of 55%.  

Lobby groups have been calling for corporate taxes to be relaxed because they were making crypto firms drift away and relocate to other countries like Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. 

For example, based on high taxation, Web3 infrastructure company Stake Technologies Pte relocated to Singapore in 2020. Nevertheless, the company’s CEO, Watanabe Sota, disclosed that he would relocate the firm back to Japan if the corporate tax was reviewed. 

On the other hand, the Japanese parliament passed a bill classifying stablecoins as digital money that must be connected to the nation’s currency, yen, or another legal tender. Furthermore, stablecoins were to be issued by licensed banks, registered money transfer agents, and trust companies.

This was a move meant to put up guardrails in the stablecoin arena following the shocking collapse of TerraUSD (UST), which triggered the loss of approximately $60 billion. 

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CoinFlex Creditors Backs Company’s Restructuring Plans

by Blockchain News

With the embattled cryptocurrency trading platform, CoinFlex may be getting headway with its restructuring plans as most of its creditors are backing the idea, as revealed in early voting. 

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According to the snapshot of the voters supporting the restructuring plan, as many as 46 million CFV tokens had been committed to backing the idea against 20,000 tokens saying No. Based on this trajectory, the terms of the proposal may eventually be accepted and implemented by the exchange.

CoinFlex was among the trading platform that took a significant hit with the crypto winter that swept the entire industry this year. The exchange, founded in 2019, halted its withdrawals as it claimed a counterparty was unable to pay for a margin call. The trading platform later came out to accuse Roger Ver, the CEO of Bitcoin.com, of being the counterparty. The exchange announced plans to sue Roger for failing to pay back in July.

CoinFlex has done a lot to ease the pains of its creditors as the outfit issued a 20% annual return despite the withdrawal halt. 

The proposed restructuring is what defined its final attempt to get back on its feet. Per the terms of the restructuring, the exchange proposed to grant 65% of its equity to its creditors, with 15% scheduled to vest over a period.

According to the terms of the proposal, the investors who participated in the company’s Series A will be squeezed out. Still, those who participated in Series B will be retained as shareholders. 

The company’s approach to its restructuring is notably different from those of other beleaguered outfits such as Voyager Digital and Celsius Network. Unlike CoinFlex, which placed the decision in the hands of its creditors through voting, the other startups filed for bankruptcy with the courts taking over their restructuring processes.

From CoinFlex’s approach, the company’s restructuring process may be finalized faster than its peers.

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