Nigeria Responds: Binance Bribery Allegations “Distraction Tactics”, and other News

Leonardo Perez
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Nigeria Responds: Binance Bribery Allegations “Distraction Tactics”, and other News

Nigerian authorities respond to a post by Binance CEO Richard Teng, who stated on his blog that Coinbase had been required to pay $150 million to resolve an ongoing criminal investigation.

Bloomberg reports that the spokesperson for the Nigerian Ministry of Information, Rabiu Ibrahim, denied the bribery accusations made by Teng, considering them unfounded.

Ibrahim added that Teng’s claim is simply “a diversionary tactic,” intended to divert attention from Coinbase’s illegal activities in Nigeria.

According to Teng’s blog, Binance attended a meeting called by Nigerian officials last January, in which criminal accusations were made against the company. Teng reports that after the meeting, unknown persons approached Binance executives to demand a payment in cryptocurrencies that had to be made within the following 48 hours, in order to resolve the accusations. In response to this report, the Nigerian government firmly denies having been involved in said extortion.

In his blog, Teng also recounts how two Binance executives summoned to the meeting were arrested. One of them, Tigran Gambaryan, remains in custody, and his trial will start at the end of this month.

Nigeria Accentuates Its Cryptocurrency Scrutiny

Nigerian authorities insist that Binance’s accusations are part of an “international campaign” orchestrated to damage the African country’s reputation. Additionally, they accuse Binance of creating a matrix of fictitious information through confusing media campaigns to clear its name, facing several criminal proceedings in various countries, including the US.

The Nigerian government has been analyzing the cryptocurrencies’ role in the depreciation of the naira, its local currency. They attribute this to adjustments in exchange control, as well as the increasing volatility. They have taken some measures to address such concerns. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, has banned peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading in naira, and announced new regulations for this sector.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, in addition to facing problems in several countries, including Nigeria, is currently serving a 4-month prison sentence in the US, for failing to resolve flaws in the Binance platform that allowed Cybercriminals and terrorists trade freely.

On the other hand, the Stock Exchange agreed to pay $4.3 billion to resolve the accusations raised by US authorities.

Binance has refused to respond to the Nigerian government’s allegations. It remains to be seen if and how Binance will address the situation, or if there will be clarifications on the allegations raised.

BNB Forecast

Currently, BNB, the exchange’s native token, is trading at $585, which is up 4.4% over the past week.

According to Coincodex, and based on data available as of May 09, 2024 at 00:17, the general Binance Coin price prediction sentiment is bullish, with 26 technical analysis indicators signaling bullish signals, and 3 signaling bearish signals.

Amid Political Uncertainty, UK Official Warns Against Strict Crypto Regulations

Last February, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury of the United Kingdom government, Bim Afolami announced the government’s intention to introduce new regulations for stablecoins and staking services. However, Afolami is currently advocating for the prompt implementation of such legislation.

With the general elections imminent, Afolami is confident that these regulations will be enacted in the coming weeks, prioritizing stability and security in the crypto space.

However, on May 8, Afolami expressed his concern at about the current regulatory measures, which, in his opinion, are too strict. His announcement took place during the Financial Times Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets Summit.

By Leonardo Perez

ARK Investment Sold 70,616 Coinbase Shares

Audy Castañeda
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ARK Investment Sold 70,616 Coinbase Shares

Previously on April 15, ARK also sold a small number of COIN shares of its ARKW ETF, worth $824,000.

The American company ARK Investment Management, led by Cathie Wood, sold 70,616 Coinbase shares this Tuesday, for an amount of $15.1 million, in three of its EFTs.

The firm had also sold 45,915 shares of its EFT ARK Innovation, for $9.8 million, 17,755 shares of Next Generation Internet for $8.8 million, as well as 6,946 shares of Fintech Innovation for $1.5 million, according to data from the latest commercial report. issued by this company.

Thus, it is the first time in a month that ARK Investment sells a significant amount of Coinbase shares, after having disposed of Coinbase shares for $20.4 million on April 11, amid the increase in the share price.

Furthermore, ARK reported the acquisition, through its EFTs, of a combined total of 1,252,667 shares of Palantir, a software company, for an approximate amount of $29 million, based on the value of the shares on the day of the transaction.

ARK’s purchase of Palantir took place although Palantir’s shares were trading downwards, according to the publication of the financial results for the first quarter, and when the moderate forecasts of the experts were disclosed.

Palantir shares had previously fallen due to the investors’ negative reaction to the company’s neutral forecast for the second quarter and full year.

As reported a couple of days ago, Palantir shares plummeted 12% in pre-market trading after it emerged that respective sales for this year are lower than expected.

Analysts at Deutsche Bank say that “Palantir’s ability to drive further growth acceleration in 2024 is being constrained by its governance and international commercial businesses.” They add that they are “not yet seeing AI tailwinds similar to those at U.S. Commercial.”

Palantir, which builds big data and AI solutions for government organizations and corporations, increased its revenue guidance for 2021. However, the range between $2.677 billion and $2.689 billion fell behind the estimates.

Despite Sale, Coinbase Continues Significant Participation in ARK Investment EFTs

According to experts, ARK Investment’s current strategy is aimed at not allowing any share to absorb more than 10% of an ETF portfolio, in order to maintain diversification within its funds. This implies the possibility of the asset manager continuing to rebalance its holdings of Coinbase shares. This, if said shares increase relative to ARK’s other holdings in the ETFs.

According to the most recent data from ARK Investment, COIN is the third most significant holding in its ARK ETF, with an 8.2% stake, behind Tesla with 11.2% and Roku with 8.4%. Additionally, Coinbase shares represent the fourth-largest holding in ARKW, at 8.2%, preceded by the ARKB Bitcoin Spot ETF at 10.2%.

On the other hand, ARK Innovation ARKK’s Coin holdings currently have a market value close to $547 million. ARKW’s COIN weightings, meanwhile, are valued at $129 million, while those of ARKF, ARKW, and ARKF achieved 24%, 55%, and 61%, respectively, last year, attracting investor interest.

So far in 2024, Coinbase stock has gained 24%, although it remains 37.5% below its all-time high set in November 2021 of $342.98. Yahoo Finance has provided data that indicates the current value of Coinbase at $49,650 as one of the main references in the sector.

By Audy Castaneda

Assessing Bitcoin as Grayscale GBTC ETF Future Sees New Inflows

Leonardo Perez
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Assessing Bitcoin as Grayscale GBTC ETF Future Sees New Inflows

Last week, US BTC ETFs had outflows of $156 million, amid the market decline. Meanwhile, GBTC saw inflows for two days in a row as markets improved.

Bitcoin ETFs saw outflows of $156 million last week, although this has apparently been changing as Grayscale’s GBTC decline comes to an end.

According to a report presented by CoinShares, the capital outflows that occurred last week were significant, as the price of BTC fell below the average purchase price of ETF issuers.

Likewise, the report points out that automatic sell orders could have accelerated the decline of BTC in the period analyzed.

According to a report presented by CoinShares, the capital outflows that occurred last week were significant, as the price of BTC fell below the average purchase price of ETF issuers.

Likewise, the report points out that automatic sell orders could have accelerated the decline of BTC in the period analyzed.

“We estimate the average purchase price of these ETFs since launch to be US$62,200 per bitcoin, as the price fell 10% below that level, it may have triggered automatic sell orders.”

On May 1, BTC hit a low of $56.5K, causing a bloodbath and selloffs across the market. All US spot BTC EFTs experienced massive outflows on that date, marking the departure of IBIT from BlackRock since January.

On May 1, then, total outflows reached $563.7 million, with Fidelity and Grayscale in the top spots with $191 million and $167.4, respectively. Outflows, however, slowed toward the end of the week, bringing total outflows to $156 million, according to the report.

The report also refers to the current status outside the US: “Regionally, while the outflows were primarily focused on the US, which saw US$504m of outflows, Canada, Switzerland and Germany also saw outflows, totaling US$9.6m, US$9.8m and US$7.3m respectively.”

Will GBTC U-Turn Lead to BTC ETFs Recovery?

As BTC rose from $56.5k to $65k, market sentiment improved. However, Grayscale’s GBTC rally was the most surprising event, and here’s why.

Last Friday, Grayscale’s GBTC recorded the first inflow of $63.9 million, and on Monday it confirmed another for $3.9 million. Grayscale’s U-turn took Bloomberg analysts by surprise, with one of them, Eric Balchunas, commenting as follows:

“I don’t know. But it looks like inflows again today too. They do have an extensive marketing budget. That combined w recent rebound and no more ppl looking to leave could be why.”

Investor appetite increased due to the recovery, as net inflows reached $378.2 million last Friday. US BTC EFTs remained in the green on Monday, recording a net inflow of $217 million.

Recently, BTC returned to its previous price range between $60,000 and $71,000, although it fell below $64,000, after obtaining liquidity at $65,500.

If the BTC recovery extends to the range high, the US BTC ETFs could reverse last week’s outflows of $156 million.

BTC Forecast

According to CryptoPredictions, Bitcoin started in May 2024 at $135,300 and is predicted to end the month at $50,448,685. For May, the maximum forecasted BTC price is $68,302,039 and the minimum price is $135,300.

For today, May 8, the BTC Price is expected to be in the $56,609.085 – $83,248.655 range. Bitcoin is predicted to end today at $66,598,924.

By Leonardo Perez

Binance CEO Defends His Employees in Nigeria

Audy Castañeda
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0
Binance CEO Defends His Employees in Nigeria

Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, condemns the Nigerian government’s actions by inviting company executives to meetings as a strategy and then detaining them.

Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, asked Nigerian authorities to immediately release his executive, Tigran Gambaryan, who is the head of compliance with respect to financial crimes at Binance, the most prominent company in the world for cryptocurrency trading.

The executive, who traveled to Nigeria in response to a request from that government to collaborate in an investigation into alleged crimes committed by Binance, was arrested along with another senior executive, Nadeem Anjarwalla.

Anjarwalla managed to escape from detention, a fact that made numerous headlines in various media outlets worldwide.

The fact is that Teng has come out in defense of his employees, to also take advantage of reporting irregularities in the case. In this sense, the executives’ defense maintains that they have been victims of human rights violations at the hands of the Nigerian authorities. Furthermore, they report an attempt to extort about $150 million in cryptocurrencies.

Information about the extortion was recently made public in The New York Times, a fact that Teng uses as a reference in his statement.

Authorities intensified their custody of Gambaryan after Anjarwalla’s escape, and according to recent reports, the detained executive is in a place normally reserved for criminals such as Boko Haram terrorists.

Binance CEO Feels Fear for the Safety of His Employees

Teng warns against this precedent against the business world, lamenting that its executives have been detained under deception, having traveled to Nigeria in good faith to collaborate with the investigations:

“I also feel that it’s time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community. To invite company’s mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, you have set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide.”

Teng stressed that his team feels great concern for the safety of its executives. Having been pressured to pay extortion, they become potential victims of retaliation. In this regard, Teng explains that the company did not pay any requested money, since it is not a legal agreement.

The Nigerian authorities, for their part, are in the process of creating a mandate that prohibits P2P trading with the local currency, the naira. They argue that the platforms alter the exchange rate and cause the loss of value of said currency. With these measures, Nigeria is likely to become a country where it is dangerous to do technology business.

The CEO of Binance assures that Nigeria’s requests were taken into account at the time, although this was not enough to avoid the arrest of its executives.

Binance Decides to Shut Down Services in Nigeria

Given the most recent events, Binance has made the decision to close certain services in Nigeria, all in the hope of resolving the problematic situation, and securing the release of Gambaryan.

Despite having received security guarantees, Binance has expressed its concern and rejection of the two executives’ detention against their will, including the confiscation of their passports and mobile phones.

The truth is that Gambaryan remains detained, and the Nigerian government conditions his release on compliance with certain demands on Binance.

By Audy Castaneda

Swiss National Bank Prefers Tokenized Assets over CBDCs, and other News

Leonardo Perez
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0
Swiss National Bank Prefers Tokenized Assets over CBDCs, and other News

The president of the BNS refers to the tokenization of assets as an alternative to CBDCs. SNB explores RTGS connection and supports private token money. In other news, 1.238 trillion PEPE tokens on Binance were deposited by a crypto whale.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) plays a paramount role in the integration of cutting-edge technology into the financial sector. At a recent summit held in Basel, SNB President Thomas Jordan announced the bank’s strategic move toward asset tokenization.

Jordan highlighted that the SNB is evaluating various methods to facilitate transactions using tokenized assets through central bank money. This approach aims to eliminate credit and liquidity risks, in addition to reinforcing the stability of the monetary system.

Helvetia III Project

Helvetia III is a project involving live pilots, where participating banks use wholesale central bank digital currency in Swiss francs (CBDC), with the aim of settling transactions with tokenized bonds on the SIX Digital Exchange (SDX).

Jordan stressed that the settlement of transactions in central bank money is crucial to preserving financial stability. He added that the SNB is a pioneer in taking advantage of blockchain technology in order to increase the operational efficiency of financial markets.

Jordan further stated the following:

“If the tokenization of assets becomes mainstream, settlement in central bank money will be crucial. This will allow central bank money to maintain its essential role as the anchor of the monetary system and to continue to serve as a safe means of payment.”

Finally, Jordan analyzed alternative settlement methods to wholesale CBDCs, focusing on the link between tokenized asset platforms with the Swiss RTGS system and the use of privately sourced, bankruptcy-protected and fully backed token money. for demand deposits in the SNB.

Crypto Whale Sent More Than $10.5 Million in PEPE to Binance

A crypto whale, identified with the address 0x1a2, sent 1.238 million PEPE tokens to Binance, involving an intermediary, 0xDe8, in a carefully planned movement that took place in a few days.

The activity began between May 4 and 5 of this year, days in which the crypto whale accumulated the memecoin on a large scale. He first withdrew 915.85 billion PEPE tokens from Binance, whose value reaches approximately $7.75 million. These tokens were purchased at a unit price of $0.00000846.

After a little more than 24 hours, the pace intensified, and the whale obtained an additional 1.238 billion tokens. Ultimately, the transaction culminated in a total investment of $10.4 million.

Apparently, what the crypto whale intended was to capitalize on market fluctuations in order to make profits.

Should the whale choose to sell at the current price of $0.00000841, he would have a moderate gain of $134,000, which would be approximately 1.28% in just three days.

Contrary to this maneuver, the history of the crypto whale shows mixed results:

“Previously, the whale had gained $146K (+14.2%) from one INJ trade but lost $118K (-8.01%) from one RNDR trade. The whale did not hold both tokens for long either,” as noted by the platform Spot On Chain analysis.

Despite such a significant sale, the PEPE market trend continues to rise. This memecoin currently presents a bullish pattern, characterized by a strong initial increase in price, which is then followed by a period of consolidation.

The patterns described above suggest that the bullish momentum will continue. If PEPE manages to successfully break out of this formation, its price could increase by up to 40% to reach $0.00001186. From a more conservative perspective, it could go up as much as 29%, reaching all-time highs of up to $0.00001081.

By Leonardo Perez

US Congressman Blasts Against SEC’s Ruthless War on Cryptocurrencies

Audy Castañeda
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0
US Congressman Blasts Against SEC’s Ruthless War on Cryptocurrencies

John Rose, a Republican congressman from Tennessee, recently called the SEC chairman a “rogue regulator,” as the regulatory agency appears to exceed its role in protecting investors.

As is known, for several years the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has maintained a relentless war against cryptocurrencies. This regulatory force has become more notable particularly since Gary Gensler, a highly controversial figure for his actions, took office.

At the end of 2022, the SEC began a confrontation against any company linked to digital assets. Before that date, there was only the case against Ripple, which the organization sued for alleged trading of unregistered securities with the XRP token.

From then on, the SEC intensified its judicial actions, focusing against several crypto exchanges and platforms, among which Binance, Coinbase and Kraken stand out. More recently, specifically on Monday of this week, the SEC sent a Well notice to the broker Robinhood.

This behavior on the part of regulators is not well received by enthusiasts and politicians who support blockchain-based ventures. Consequently, John Rose, US Republican congressman, lost his temper, and through his account on the X platform, called the SEC a “rogue regulator.” His publication was the following:

“The @SECgov exceeded its mandate to protect investors and maintain fair, orderly markets by issuing a Wells Notice to @RobinhoodApp, a precursor to enforcement action.”

Cryptocurrencies Have Allies in the US Congress

Harsh responses have emerged from the US Congress to the bloody war that the SEC is waging against cryptocurrencies. In fact, there are calls for Gensler to be removed from his position at the regulatory agency.

In this sense, Rose was emphatic with his publication against the SEC, mentioned above, stating that he was proud “to help lead the effort to provide clarity by passing the FIT for the 21st Century Act so that rogue regulators like @GaryGenslercan focus on their mandate to protect investors and not disrupt innovation.”

The statements made by Rose respond to the Wells notification that the SEC sent to Robinhood, a platform known for being one of the strictest when it comes to including tokens for trading. Hence, the SEC’s intention to take it to court has been received with surprise.

Apparently, the war that the SEC has waged against cryptocurrencies shows no signs of abating; On the contrary, as the months go by, the Commission’s attitude becomes more intense and aggressive towards technological innovation in the United States.

Gensler’s Reaction to Questions About Cryptocurrencies

In another vein, the current chairman of the SEC, Gary Gensler, seems to be uncomfortable with being criticized about crypto, and complains of receiving “an exaggerated proportion” of questions about it, in contrast to the topic of traditional finance.

On CNBC’s Squawk Box on May 7, Gensler said that “Crypto is a small piece of our overall markets,” in response to a question about the SEC’s priorities.

Next, Gensler compared the “$110 trillion capital market” that the SEC oversees and the cryptocurrency market, which is just $2.4 trillion. He argued that the latter “it’s an outsize piece of the scams and frauds and problems in our markets,” since much of it does not comply with United States securities laws.

All in all, so far in 2024, the SEC has filed six crypto-related lawsuits, while last year it carried out 46 enforcement actions against crypto firms, which is more than double the number from 2021. There are at least a dozen court cases brought by the SEC that remain open in US courts, with numerous people accused of selling unregistered securities and conducting illegal transactions.

By Audy Castaneda

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