2024-05-07 08:28

In January the company refused to pay a demand from "unknown persons" to settle allegations. Binance CEO Teng called on Nigeria to release the executive, who has been held for 70 days. Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla were detained after flying to the country for talks on regulatory supervision. The detention after being invited for talks sets " a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide," Teng wrote. Binance CEO Richard Teng called on the Nigerian government to release Tigran Gambaryan, head of the crypto exchange's Financial Crime Compliance team, who flew to the country in February for talks on regulatory supervision. "As you may be aware, one of our beloved colleagues, Tigran Gambaryan, continues to be held by the government in Nigeria for more than 70 days," Teng wrote in a blog post. "I also feel that it's time to speak out about this issue on behalf of the global business community. To invite a company's mid-level employees for collaborative policy meetings, only to detain them, has set a dangerous new precedent for all companies worldwide." The government of Africa's most populous nation is struggling with an economic crisis that sent its currency to a record low against the dollar in March while inflation climbed to a 28-year high of 33.2%. In February, Bank of Nigeria Governor Olayemi Cardoso said Binance had allowed $26 billion of funds to leave the country untraceably last year, hitting tax revenues. Binance has been trying to contact the country's Securities and Exchange Commission since 2022 to clarify the licensing requirements, though it hasn't received responses to its approaches, Teng wrote. Gambaryan and the exchange's regional manager for Africa, Nadeem Anjarwalla, were detained in February after flying in for a meeting that included the CEO of the SEC, the deputy governor of the central bank and the national security adviser, according to Teng. The executives were originally held in a secure compound, according to Teng. Anjarwalla made headlines in March after escaping custody. Gambaryan, who is now being held on money laundering charges, is in the Kuje prison – which also houses suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorist group – after an Abuja court postponed a bail hearing until May 17. The two have filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian authorities for violating their human rights. A $150 million bribe: NYT The New York Times reported that during a visit in January, Gambaryan has been asked by "someone in the Nigerian government" for a bribe amounting to roughly $150 million in crypto, citing five people familiar with the matter and messages it reviewed. In his blog post, Teng referred to the request from "unknown persons," without mentioning an amount. Gambaryan alerted contacts in the Nigerian government and wrote a three-page report describing the payment request, which he gave to Binance’s lawyers, the NYT said. "Our team grew increasingly concerned about their safety in Nigeria and immediately departed," Teng wrote. "We, of course, declined the payment demand via our counsel, not viewing it to be a legitimate settlement offer ..." Nigerian government authorities did not immediately respond to a CoinDesk request for comment on the report. Gambaryan's family said they had nothing further to share. Nigeria vows to ban P2P crypto trading in naira In Nigeria's latest step against cryptocurrency ever since it accused Binance of manipulating the local exchange rate, tax evasion and money laundering, the nation has now vowed to ban person-to-person cryptocurrency trading in the naira, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The decision was announced by Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission Director General Emomotimi Agama at a meeting with fintech professionals on Monday, the report said. “The thing that needs to be done is delisting the naira from the P2P space in order to avoid the level of manipulation that is currently happening,” Agama said. “Recent concerns regarding crypto P2P traders and their perceived impact on the exchange rate of the naira has underscored the need for collective action." Additionally, Agama said that new rules would be rolled out “in the coming days” covering crypto exchanges, digital asset custodians and other corners of the sector, the report said. In the blog post, Teng said Gambaryan and Anjarwalla were detained on Feb. 26, and "the next 24 hours were marked by aggressive behavior towards" them. On Feb. 28, "we removed the naira pairing from our site and shut down the P2P product for Nigeria on the Binance platform," requesting immediate “safe passage to the airport" for the executives, Teng wrote. Camomile Shumba contributed reporting. Read More: Jailed Binance Exec’s Bail Hearing in Nigeria Postponed Until May 17 https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/07/binance-ceo-teng-says-nigeria-must-release-beloved-colleague-gambaryan/

2024-05-07 07:05

The ATO said the data will help identify traders who failed to report their cryptocurrency-related activities. Australia’s tax office will force cryptocurrency exchanges to provide personal and transaction details of 1.2 million traders. The regulator is attempting to crack down on people trying to avoid paying their tax liabilities. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has asked cryptocurrency exchanges to provide the personal data and transaction details of up to 1.2 million accounts, according to reports. The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that “as part of a surveillance effort announced in April, the ATO said its latest data collection protocol would require designated cryptocurrency exchanges to provide the names, addresses, birthdays and transaction details of traders to help it audit compliance with obligations to pay capital gains tax on sales.” The ATO said the data would help identify traders who failed to report their cryptocurrency-related activities, including the exchange of crypto assets when they sold it for currency or used it to pay for goods and services, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Australia’s crackdown on the crypto industry has been more evident since the collapse of FTX. It has sued companies for attempting to sell tokens without the appropriate licenses, banking partners have blocked payments to cryptocurrency exchanges and has proposed a new licensing regime for crypto exchanges. Last year, the ATO clarified that its capital gains tax on crypto products also extends to wrapped tokens or token interaction with decentralized lending protocols. Read More: Australia Updates Its Capital Gains Tax Guidance to Include Wrapped Tokens and DeFi https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/05/07/australias-tax-office-tells-crypto-exchanges-to-hand-over-transaction-details-of-12-million-accounts-reuters/

2024-05-07 06:32

The number of active bitcoin call contracts is significantly higher than puts, indicating bullish market sentiment. Bitcoin rebound spurs demand for out-of-the-money calls at strikes from $70,000 to $100,000. Analysts said the path of least resistance for bitcoin is on the higher side. Bitcoin's (BTC) renewed price upswing has options traders reconsidering the possibility of the cryptocurrency reaching the $100,000 level at some point this year. The leading cryptocurrency by market value has risen over 12% to $63,470 since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell ruled out additional tightening or rate hikes as the next policy move last Wednesday, CoinDesk data show. Friday's disappointing U.S. nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data validated Powell's stance, accelerating BTC's recovery. As such, there has been a notable increase in demand for bitcoin call options on leading cryptocurrency exchange Deribit and over-the-counter (OTC) networks. These options are specifically targeting a rally to new highs, potentially surpassing $75,000 and even reaching $100,000. "We are seeing some bullish follow-through in volatility and rates following the reversal bounce from Friday and into the weekend. BTC risk reversals have gone positive (calls more expensive than puts), and [there has been a] renewed demand for BTC Sep expiry $75,000 and $100,000 calls," QCP Capital said in a note on Monday. A call option gives the right to purchase the underlying asset at a predetermined price on or before a specific date. A call buyer is implicitly bullish on the market and a put option buyer is bearish. OTC institutional cryptocurrency trading network Paradigm made a similar observation Monday, stating increased demand for out-of-the-money (OTM) calls or those at strikes well above BTC's going market rate. "The options market seemed to anticipate a short-term leg higher up earlier this morning with top BTC and ETH trades on Paradigm consisting of OTM calls bought in size. We noticed the previous March 25 [expiry] $200,000 call buyer closing his position to buy the July 2024 [expiry] $85,000 strike," Paradigm said in a Telegram broadcast. Data from Deribit show traders have locked in over $688 million in the $100,000 strike call options across different maturities. That's the highest notional open interest among all options listed on the exchange. As of writing, more than 150,000 call option contracts worth $9.5 billion were active on Deribit. That's more than two times the open interest in put options, a sign of bullish market expectations. Notional open interest refers to the dollar value locked in the number of active or open contracts. On Deribit, one options contract represents one BTC or one ether (ETH). Analysts bullish on BTC Both fundamental and technical analysts are again coalesced around on the idea that the path of least resistance for bitcoin is on the higher side. "Bitcoin continues to be supported by the U.S. election cycle and ongoing deficit spending. This is why we have adjusted our 'line in the sand' from 68,300 to 62,000 in our report from May 3 — the market could trade (tactically) bullish above 62,000," 10X Research said. Siwssblock Insights expects the dollar index (DXY) to remain defensive unless Powell's stance is challenged. A weaker DXY is usually good for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.The DXY has declined by 1.2% to 105.20 since Wednesday's Federal Reserve meeting. "The dollar's weaker position is likely to persist as long as economic data remains supportive of that direction and as long as Federal Reserve officials don't counter Powell's stance. The labor market is showing signs of loosening, but more hawkish Fed voices could still push for keeping rates higher for longer, which may impact the dollar's trajectory," Swissblock Insights latest newsletter said. Meanwhile, Elliot wave analysis by John Glover, chief investment officer of Ledn, suggests bitcoin's could rise to 92,000. ‘The BTC price action continues to track my expected path for Wave 4 as can be seen in the chart below. Although the dip to $56.5k may have completed the correction, I still expect to see a price of $52-55k before Wave 4 completes, 2/ Once the 4th wave is completed I expect that the Wave 5 push to circa $92k will ensue," Glover said in an email to CoinDesk. Ralph Nelson Elliott introduced the Elliot wave theory in 1938 in his book The Wave Principle. The theory assumes that asset price movements can be predicted by observing and identifying a repetitive wave pattern. Trends unfold in five waves, of which 1,3 and 5 are impulse waves, representing the primary trend, while 2 and 4 show temporary retracements of the preceding impulse waves. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/07/bitcoin-rebound-has-crypto-options-traders-anticipating-100k/

2024-05-07 06:00

London-based Revolut, which has more than 40 million customers worldwide, has developed Revolut X to compete with leading crypto exchanges Revolut told customers it was set to introduce a crypto exchange in February. Revolut is among the first banks to build a standalone exchange to offer customers crypto trading. Digital bank Revolut's crypto exchange Revolut X is now available to professional cryptocurrency traders. London-based Revolut, which has more than 40 million customers worldwide, has developed Revolut X to compete with leading crypto exchanges. Having allowed the buying and selling of crypto within its app for several years, Revolut told customers in February that it was set to introduce an exchange. The standalone exchange is designed to entice users to trade through it rather than buying and selling with the Revolut app by offering lower fees. Revolut will charge zero fees to the maker of a trade and 0.09% to the taker, according to an emailed announcement on Tuesday. While some banks offer cryptocurrency trading to customers in some form, Revolut is among the first to build a standalone crypto exchange for this purpose. Read More: Crypto Exchange Coinbase Had a Blowout First Quarter: Analysts https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/07/revoluts-crypto-exchange-goes-live-for-experienced-traders/

2024-05-07 05:51

The hacked funds had previously been dormant for 178 days. The hacker sent 11 batches of 100 ether to Tornado Cash over a two-hour period. The wallet also sent $32 million worth of bitcoin to an unlabelled wallet last week. A hacker that stole $125 million from Poloniex's hot wallets in November has sent 1,100 ether (ETH) to sanctioned coin mixer Tornado Cash, according to blockchain data. The ether, worth roughly $3.3 million, was sent to Tornado Cash in 100 ETH batches on Tuesday, having been dormant for 178 days. The Poloniex hacker also sent 501 bitcoin (BTC) worth $32 million to an unlabelled wallet on April 30. It still holds a total of $181 million worth of crypto across various blockchains, Arkham data shows. Tornado Cash is a protocol that allows users to obfuscate crypto tokens by mixing assets across multiple wallets over a prolonged period of time. It was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2022 shortly after it was used by North Korean hacking group Lazarus, which attempted to hide funds secured from the $625 million Axie Infinity exploit. Blockchain security firm Elliptic said in March that Lazarus Group used Tornado Cash to launder $12 million from the Heco Bridge hack, which occurred shortly after the Poloniex Hack. https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/05/07/poloniex-hacker-sends-33m-worth-of-ether-to-tornado-cash/

2024-05-06 20:39

Despite the recent bounce, the correction isn't over, said one technical analyst, expecting bitcoin to fall to the low-mid $50,000 area before rallying to new all-time highs. Digital assets performed mixed, with BTC sinking 1.5% while Solana's SOL and XRP gaining most among crypto majors. Robinhood disclosed its crypto arm received warning from the SEC that could foreshadow enforcement action. An Elliot Wave technician sets a $92,000 price target for bitcoin's next cycle high. The crypto rally paused on Monday during U.S. trading hours with bitcoin (BTC) slipping back to near $63,300 as U.S. regulators ratcheted up pressure on crypto companies. A move to above $65,000 early Monday quickly reversed and prices were pressured further after popular brokerage Robinhood (HOOD) disclosed its crypto arm received a Wells Notice over the weekend from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a move that often foreshadows an enforcement action against a company. The pullback has been shallow, though, with most crypto assets firmly above last week's low. BTC declined 1.5% over the past 24 hours but was still up over 10% from Wednesday. Alternative cryptocurrencies performed mixed, with ether (ETH), dogecoin (DOGE), shiba inu (SHIB) and layer-2 network Polygon's native token (MATIC) sinking 2%-3% during the day, while solana (SOL) and Ripple-adjacent XRP showed relative strength advancing 4%-6%. The broader market gauge CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) was down 0.3%. Despite the halt in the rally, crypto hedge fund QCP Capital observed renewed demand for bitcoin call options for September with a strike prices of $75,000 and $100,000, underscoring the increased optimism that BTC will climb to higher prices over the next few months. "We are seeing some bullish follow-through in volatility and [funding] rates following the reversal bounce from Friday and into the weekend," crypto hedge fund QCP Capital said in a Monday market update. Hong Kong ETF rumors Perhaps fueling the quick recovery from last week's lows were rumors about broadening access to the newly listed Hong Kong spot bitcoin and ether ETFs for Chinese investors. Richard Byworth, managing partner of Syzcapital, said in an X post that "there's talk" in Hong Kong about adding the crypto products to the so-called Stock Connect facility, which would allow qualified mainland Chinese investors to access eligible shares listed in Hong Kong. In theory, the move would have a significant impact opening the floodgates of Chinese money seeking alternative assets amid the real estate and stock market rout. However, Chinese investors have been barred from crypto ETFs and there wasn't any official communication about changing the rules. BTC targets $92,000, but bottom might not be in Bitcoin ended last week on a bullish tone, recovering swiftly from its pullback to $56,000. John Glover, chief investment officer at crypto lender Ledn, said there's still possibility for a breakdown to lower prices before ending its correction from March's all-time high of $73,000. "Although the dip to $56,500 may have completed the correction, I still expect to see a price of $52-55,000 before wave 4 completes," Glover said, referring to the Elliot Wave theory, a technical analysis that assumes that asset prices move in repetitive wave patterns. The theory alleges that price trends develop in five stages, of which waves 1, 3, and 5 are impulse waves representing the main trend, while waves 2 and 4 are retracements between the impulsive price action. "Once the [corrective] wave is completed, I expect that the Wave 5 push to circa $92,000 will ensue," he concluded. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/05/06/bitcoin-slips-to-63k-as-crypto-market-faces-more-us-regulatory-pressure/