The crypto market is buzzing with excitement due to strong optimism surrounding Binance, the largest crypto exchange in the world.
There are hopes that Binance will not be put out of business by the all-powerful United States Securities Exchange Commission
Bloomberg stated that Binance may be required to pay $4 billion to settle accusations of multiple criminal violations brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The negotiations between the United States Department of Justice and the digital asset-based company also leave open the possibility of criminal charges being filed against Binance’s founder, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
The agreement “strikes a balance” between sufficiently punishing Binance and allowing it to continue operating, and preventing a collapse in the cryptocurrency market, three people familiar with the matter said.
Binance was founded in Shanghai in 2017, the holding company is based in the Cayman Islands, the crypto exchange provider says it does not have a physical headquarters and declined to provide the location of its main exchange, Binance.com
The exchange offers spot and derivatives trading, as well as a variety of services from non-fungible tokens to crypto lending and asset management.
According to the website, the number of users is 120 million. The company also has a strong presence on social media with over 10 million Twitter followers.
BNB rose as much as 8%, breaking above $265 before falling back below $260. Matt Walsh, founding partner of crypto venture firm Castle Island Ventures, said: “The agreement with the monitoring clause protects investors and allows Binance to evolve towards a more institutionalized and compliant future.
The was also a significant increase in open interest for BNB, which suggests a higher level of capital inflow to the assets. This supports a positive outlook on the price of BNB.
Binance has been under investigation by U.S. authorities for several months regarding money laundering, bank fraud, and violations of U.S. sanctions laws.
The talks regarding these allegations are expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
If Binance accepts such a fine from the U.S financial watchdog, market pundits anticipate greener days for the crypto market, however, the fine tag of $4 billion, would represent one of the largest settlements in cryptocurrency history
The bullish momentum in the crypto market moderated when Kraken, a major crypto exchange, was accused of listing over a dozen unregistered securities on its platform and of mixing company funds with customer funds.
Kraken is accused in the lawsuit of commingling customer funds and of breaking numerous securities laws. Kraken has integrated all these conventional services since 2018, operating in the US as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency, according to a press release from the SEC that goes along with it.
SEC enforcement director Gurbir S. Grewal said, “We’re holding Kraken accountable for its misconduct and sending a message to others to come into compliance.
Kraken’s choice of unlawful profits over investor protection is one we see far too often in this space. interactions with company assets that put both parties at risk of suffering significant losses. Customers faced “a significant risk of loss” based on Kraken’s practices.
Bitcoin held onto key support levels even after the U.S. authorities delayed the approval for a spot bitcoin ETF from Global X and Franklin Templeton.
The leading digital asset made a second attempt to climb above $38,000, but the rally was short-lived due to trading activity in the futures and spot markets.
Price analysts cautioned that while the current phase may look like a cooling phase following BTC’s recent uptrend, investors should proceed with caution