Binance, Kraken, Gate.io Under Fire From NY Attorney General
A number of major crypto exchanges, Binance, Kraken, and Gate.io under suspicion of potential infringement of the law, as claimed in a published report by the New York Attorney General’s office. A state Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative was launched this April, requesting that 13 exchanges disclose information about operations. However 4 prominent exchanges - Binance, Kraken, Huobi, and Gate.io - insisted not permitting trade form New York, and hence refusing to participate in the initiative. The refusal to comply with the request raised eyebrows and alarmed the office, and the matter whether these 4 exchanges didn’t indeed function in New York was looked into.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- Binance and Kraken are major crypto exchanges that now are being scrutinized by a U.S. state department.
- The report is not all negative about the exchanges, and it can be derived from the results that some exchanges are doing better than others, one such exchange being the Winklevoss brothers Gemini.
UK: Crypto - a “Wild West” Industry
UK parliamentarians sitting on the Treasury select committee have issued a report claiming that cryptocurrencies are living in a “wild west” industry according to a report. The committee says that the unregulated industry is failing at protecting the customers. Furthermore, it facilitates money laundering and that the government is being left unable to take any actions. According to the report, the key issues with crypto are the volatile prices, barely any consumer protection, a high risk of becoming a victim of a cyber attack, and money laundering. The committee also added that none of the cryptocurrencies currently on offer are well-functioning and therefore they should be referred to as “crypto assets.”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- In February, CryptoUK was set up as a self regulated body to watch over the cryptocurrency industry. It openly welcomes the report from the Treasury Committee.
- Another recently found body, the Cryptoassets Task force that set up earlier this year and is part of the FinTech Sector Strategy will look into how to deal with the issues outlined by the report.
- Earlier it was reported that the UK government has set out to create a more favorable environment for blockchain-startups in the country. Also, the UK Ministry of Justice wants to use the distributed ledger technology to improve the performance of its judicial system.
Nasdaq Plan Buyout of Pro-Crypto Cinnober Exchange
The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq) has made an exciting announcement, the upcoming purchase of Cinnober, a Swedish stock exchange technology firm that has a positive outlook on crypto, and has been attempting to make investments into digital assets easier. Nasdaq, the New York-based, second largest stock exchange by market cap, has made“a USD 190m all-cash recommended public offer” to Cinnober, which it considers a prominent “financial technology provider to brokers, exchanges and clearing houses worldwide.” This acquisition, according to Nasdaq themselves “would strengthen its position as one of the world’s leading market infrastructure technology providers.”
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- This could be another potential step towards the crypto sphere by one of the most powerful stock exchanges in the worlds. Nasdaq, is allegedly planning to add an instrument to its Analytics Hub that will help in predicting crypto prices and reportedly the stock exchange is preparing to launch a crypto platform in 2019.
- If these expectations become a reality, this will be a big breakthrough for cryptocurrencies, possibly becoming a pivotal point in the history of digital currencies.
Upbit’s Dunamu Will Launch Crypto Exchange in Singapore
Dunamu Inc., which is an operator of one of the largest exchanges of South Korea’s Upbit, plans to launch a crypto exchange in Singapore next month. The exact date of the launch of the new site has not yet been established. However, company representatives say that the stock exchange will be launched in early October.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- Singapore is not in vain becoming a magnet for crypto companies. The country is distinguished by low taxes and friendly atmosphere for the ICO. The headquarters of Litecoin, TRON, and VeChain are located there. Also, such crypto exchanges as Coinbase, Gemini and Huobi are already present in Singapore.
- Dunamu is also actively working on the development of the blockchain. At the beginning of the year, the Upbit operator announced its intention to invest $92 million (100 billion won) over the next three years to develop various projects based on the distributed ledger technology.
Brazil Will Protect Crypto Companies from Banks
The Brazilian antitrust regulator has launched an investigation into the largest banks suspected of unreasonably refusing to cooperate with crypto companies. The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) drew attention to the problem after the appeal of the Brazilian Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association (ABCB), which received several complaints from bitcoin brokers.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
- The antimonopoly authority is sure that banks should suppress illegal activities, but this does not mean that restrictions should be imposed on all operations with cryptocurrencies. So financial institutions need to learn how to find illegal transactions and suppress them, rather than trying to oppress a whole crypto industry.
- The banks themselves are sure that they do not commit anything illegal. Their representatives stated that they adhere to the practices based on moral principles and respect for free competition.
- Crypto companies have faced a similar situation in different countries, for example, in Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Bulgaria, and other countries. In some countries, the accounts of crypto companies are closed by the financial regulators themselves. For example, this situation has already developed in India.
At 18:50 (GMT+1) total cryptocurrency market capitalization stands at $198,05 billion
Cardano (+2,04%) showed the best growth in the top-10
Chainlink (+9,69%) showed the best growth in the top-100
Market Dynamics
The trading volume of cryptocurrencies for 24 hours reached $11,1 (-2,1 billion per day)
Mining Profitability
- BTC $2,3 for 10 TH/s
- ETH $0,17 for 10 MH/s
- BCH $0,23 for 1 TH/s
- LTC $2,77 for 1 GH/s
- DASH $0,08 for 1 GH/s
Ongoing ICOs:
Expected ICOs:
- 26 September Cryptyk
- 1 October Open Packaging Network
- 1 October Tiberius
- 2 October CryptoCasher