DOJ Appeals Decision of New York Bankruptcy Judge in Regards to Binance.US’ Acquisition Plan
> The appeal was filed by the U.S. Trustee’s Office, which deals with insolvencies.
> This came only a day after Judge Michael Wiles gave the green light to the contract following a four-day hearing fraught with tension.
> Regulators, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and various state rule-makers, have been against the proposed agreement.
> The SEC registered an objection to the purchase of Voyager last month, claiming that Binance.US may be infringing on federal securities laws by operating an unlicensed securities exchange in the U.S. More here.
JP Morgan Experts Foresee Difficulties for Instant Network Processing in Crypto Market
> Silvergate served as a portal for over 1,000 institutional crypto market participants to transfer fiat currency between their Silvergate accounts and other Silvergate customers.
> JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated, “Replacing this instantaneous network for processing dollar deposits and withdrawals among crypto market participants will be tricky given the present situation and the ‘general reluctance of traditional banks to get involved with crypto companies following the FTX collapse and given high regulatory pressures.’ Continue here.
DeFi Platforms Vulnerable: Oracle Manipulation Attacks Cost $386.2M in 2022
DeFi protocols lost $386.2 million in 41 separate oracle manipulation attacks in 2022, according to a recent research report.
> These attacks occur when malicious actors manipulate the price oracles that DeFi protocols use to ensure assets on their platforms are priced in line with the wider cryptocurrency market.
> Attackers use large quantities of cryptocurrency to quickly increase the trading volume of low-liquidity tokens on the targeted DeFi protocol, leading to quick, significant price increases that do not reflect the wider market.
> Once an asset’s cost has been pushed up, attackers can exchange their artificially inflated holdings for other tokens with greater liquidity and a more stable value, or use them as collateral to borrow assets, never to be repaid.
Binance Begins Introducing Pre-Paid Crypto Card in Colombia
> This makes the third nation in Latin America to have access to the Binance crypto card, joining Argentina and Brazil.
> According to a press release, the card will enable the real-time conversion of digital assets into fiat at the point of sale and will be accepted at more than 90 million merchants worldwide and online.
> The roll-out of the pre-paid crypto card is part of Binance’s initiatives to link the burgeoning crypto environment with traditional financial infrastructure.
> Colombia, being one of Binance’s top markets, is a country with high levels of cryptocurrency adoption. Full details here.
Binance and Coinbase Temporarily Halting USDC Conversions
> The move followed concerns that Circle, the company behind USDC stablecoin, held some of USDC’s cash reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, which was shut down by California’s financial regulator.
> Binance suspended auto-conversion of USDC to BUSD, citing “current market conditions” without naming Silicon Valley Bank.
> The exchange called it a “normal risk-management procedural step to take while we monitor the situation.”
> Coinbase, the biggest crypto exchange in the US, also suspended USDC conversion to USD while banks were closed over the weekend. More here.
Bitcoin and Ether Show Signs of Recovery After Friday’s Drop Due to Contagion Risks from Silicon Valley Bank Collapse
Bitcoin and Ether rose as much as 4% in the past 24 hours after a sharp decline on Friday as contagion risks from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank spread to crypto markets, particularly the exposure of USD Coin-issuer Circle to the bank.
Ether (ETH) rose over $1,541 while Bitcoin (BTC) jumped over the $21,100 mark on Sunday to show early signals of market stabilization. Both tokens slipped below tough support levels on Friday.
Other cryptocurrencies did not post similar gains, however, indicating traders were not taking risks on lesser-known tokens yet.
Polygon’s Matic (MATIC) was up 6% while BNB Coin (BNB) was up over 3% in trading.
