Binance has been significantly affected by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) crackdown on crypto firms. The exchange has reportedly fired over 1,000 employees and cut back on employee benefits due to the “current market environment and regulatory climate”, leading to a decline in profits. Binance is still the most popular centralized crypto exchange in the world, with total assets worth over $63 billion, the majority of which include Tether (USDT), Bitcoin (BTC), Binance Coin (BNB) and wrapped Ether (WETH).
On its anniversary, Binance’s CEO Changpeng Zhao remarked that the journey of the company was never smooth sailing.
Ripple Labs’ Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoty believes that following a recent court ruling, U.S.-based banks may turn to XRP for cross-border transactions. This is because the label of “security” is no longer hanging over XRP, thus partnerships between Ripple and banks that were dampened by the SEC lawsuit can find new life. Bank of America had been eyeing the blockchain firm in 2019 and American Express first partnered with Ripple in 2017.
Meanwhile, Marathon Digital is heading to court due to allegations that its CEO Fred Thiel, alongside other top executives, breached fiduciary duties, unjustly enriched themselves and wasted corporate assets.
Venture firms are also gearing up for new investments in crypto projects. Polychain Capital has raised $200 million for a new investment fund and Coinfund has secured $152 million for a seed fund.
Finally, Mark Yusko, the chief investment officer and founder of Morgan Creek Capital, predicts that BlackRock’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has sparked the beginning of a new crypto bull market, which will go parabolic at some point closer to the halving scheduled for April 2024.
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