Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) announced the launch of a new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform, called Bicasso, in a Twitter post. He added that the product is still in beta and limited to 10,000 candies. Sharing the launch of Bicasso on Wednesday, Zhao tweeted, “Here’s a fun new Binance AI product called Bicasso.” Binance’s product Bicasso is an NFT platform that allows marketplace users to create computer-generated images and mint them as NFTs. Bicasso is the result of combining AI and NFT technology.

“Beta version [is] live now,” said the Binance executive as he provided the link to Bicasso which was accessible only via the web browser. Bicasso was easy-to-use as the product was image and word prompted. Sharing the launch of Bicasso on Wednesday, Zhao tweeted, “Here’s a fun new Binance AI product called Bicasso.” Binance product Bicasso is an NFT platform that allows market users to create computer-generated images and print them as NFTs. Bicasso is the result of combining AI and NFT technology. Zhao said as he urged his Twitter community to go ahead and try Bicasso., You can turn your creative vision into an NFT with AI Zhao invited his followers to share their creations with him saying, “Try it and show me what you make with it.” Many Twitter users were seen proudly posting their creations on the thread. However, some users encountered an error message stating that the system was busy and to try again. When these users pointed out the issue to CZ, he replied, “The team is working on it. The AI is busy,” and the AI is single-threaded. CZ also mentioned that the test version was limited to 10,000 candies, and many enthusiasts were disappointed that they missed the opportunity. Two hours after Binance’s CEO announced product testing, users interested in using Binance’s Bicasso were asked to join the waiting list. A message now states that product testing is closed.

#Binance #ChangpengZhao #NFT #nftcommunity #ai

The CEO of #Binance which is the biggest cryptocurrency exchange globally, is currently dealing with a situation involving the propagation of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) on social media. This #fud is the result of unfounded rumors that he has been placed on Interpol's "red notice" list. For those who are not aware, a red notice is a request sent to law enforcement agencies worldwide, urging them to locate and arrest an individual on a provisional basis pending extradition, surrender, or any similar legal action.

The rumors have been further fueled by an image circulating on Twitter that purportedly shows a photo of #ChangpengZhao (CZ) on Interpol's red notice webpage. This photo has caused alarm and speculation among the public, with many believing that #CZ is facing severe legal issues.

However, CZ has now confirmed that the image is fake and has been created using photo manipulation software. As such, there is no evidence to suggest that he has been placed on Interpol's red notice list, and the rumors should be treated as baseless until further clarification is provided.

Crypto influencer Cobie tweeted a SHA256 hash with an encrypted message that stated, "Interpol Red Notice for CZ," which sparked rumors that the agency was looking for CZ.

According to Cobie, the message was only a rumor and an unlikely prediction, and nobody should have been able to see it.

“Have posted SHA256 hash of rumours >20 times in the last year without the secret being revealed – the point of a hash commitment scheme is nobody is supposed to be able to read them until after the secret is revealed… Well, it’s a ‘prediction’ and a rumor. It’s obviously impossible for it to be inside info without their being literal leaks at Interpol which seems unlikely.”

CZ advises anyone who are involved in the #cryptocurrency sector to disregard rumors and speculation that are not confirmed.

This news is republished from https://coinaquarium.io/

With emerging technologies like Web3, Metaverse, and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) technologies, it is quite evident that cryptocurrencies are here to stay and that too for an infinite time.

Malicious intent, manipulating data, and unstructured and unauthorised use of finance led to the gradual bankruptcy of the well-known exchange platform.

Black Swan events like the Luna crash and FTX will just rebalance the industry to shed the unhealthy ecosystem

The introduction of Cryptocurrency was like the discovery of fire or sliced bread. It is a one-of-a-kind, rare, phenomenal digital asset that functions on blockchain technology.

It has completely transformed the way investors look forward to financial independence. This could be seen as a way to freedom from the dictates of central banks and regulations. However, It always took investors on a roller coaster ride. Few of them became ‘instant’ millionaires while others are still in the process.

Since its arrival, cryptocurrencies are going through their worst crisis. Bitcoin faced a straight fall on the face in late 2020 and is yet to recover, the collapse of some so-called ‘stablecoins’ have put a question mark on the crypto industry. To make the industry even more volatile, the giant cryptocurrency exchange failed. Allegations of fraud layered on the FTX case.When it hit the bottom last year, it was all tears. With the collapse of FTX, the third-largest crypto exchange platform, and other crypto projects, the last year seems to be the darkest hour in the crypto sphere. It is filled with many ‘Hows’, ‘Whys’, and ‘Ifs’!

The Great Fall of #FTX and FTT

Sam Bankman-Fried(SBF) co-founded Alameda Research in September 2017, which made profits by hedging crypto assets. Looking at the exponential growth, SBF founded FTX Trading Ltd. (Futures Exchange), an exchange platform for cryptocurrencies. Other than providing exchange services, FTX created its native token, called FTT.A report revealed, the sister firm Alameda held a large portion of its assets in FTT tokens. After this report, a series of not-so-good events bombarded FTX. #ChangpengZhao (CZ), CEO - #Binance - the leading exchange announced the sale of all of his holdings of FTT. When FTX’s customers found out, they panicked and tried to withdraw their money. FTX could not handle such a massive amount of withdrawals and buckled under market pressures, inching closer to insolvency. When the layers of the case unfolded themselves, another shocking revelation was made. FTX’s bookkeeping system allowed them to secretly shift $10 Billion to Alameda without alerting anyone. Thus, it gradually slipped into bankruptcy, filed in November 2022. In a meager 8 days, the company had Zero valuation. The users were to bear a loss of almost 800 Million. Amongst all the hues and cries one can observe that the death of FTX was majorly because the face behind it misused the technology.

It is not wrong to believe that malicious intent, manipulating data, and unstructured and unauthorized use of finance led to the gradual bankruptcy of the exchange platform.

Terra #Luna Failure

Stablecoins are often assumed to be safe havens in the crypto space. Impliedly, they’re meant to have a fixed value. Terra was becoming one of the biggest red-hot crypto projects. The network and its founder, Do Kwon, took four years to get pride and prestige in the crypto world. In just a matter of a few days, it hit the bottom, crashing down.TerraUSD (also known as UST) and Luna are two sister coins on the Terra network.The idea was to leverage the arbitrage to take advantage of Luna and maintain the price of UST constant at $1. This would eliminate the requirement for the platform to maintain US dollar reservoirs. The platform would use built-in algorithms to monitor supply and demand market forces for both coins to maintain equilibrium. The belief was that Terraform Labs could use clever mechanisms along with billions in Bitcoin reserves to maintain the peg of UST without the backstop of the USD. As depositors lost faith in the tokens in May of 2022, They rushed for the exit in the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. Media sources had begun to label the Terra stablecoin and Luna token a Ponzi scheme and a rug-pull scam.

Cryptocurrencies Are Here To Stay

The cryptocurrency sector has been through a rough patch this year, and while it has been shaken up, all of us can use the disruption as a learning experience. Moreover, this is seen as a welcome change. With emerging technologies like Web3, Metaverse, and Decentralised Finance (DeFi) technologies, it is quite evident that cryptocurrencies are here to stay, and that too for an infinite time!

The Bottom Line

It is a learned opinion now that cryptocurrency is not just a fad, it is not going to disappear anytime soon. The durability of crypto-assets will continue to evolve and transform with the technologies that support them. Black Swan events like Luna crash and FTX will just rebalance the industry to shed the unhealthy ecosystem.

#coingabbar

Top global crypto exchange #Binance is now officially working on integrating Bitcoin (BTC) deposits and withdrawals via the Lightning Network.

The Lightning Network is a layer-2 scaling solution built on top of Bitcoin that aims to enable instant and cost-effective transactions for $BTC .

Binance first revealed plans to integrate Lightning Network in May after inconveniencing users and temporarily closing BTC withdrawals due to a network congestion issue. After about 90 minutes, withdrawals resumed but were halted again later that day for several hours.

#ChangpengZhao , the exchange’s chief executive, attributed the temporary halt in withdrawals to the massive fluctuation in Bitcoin network fees, which were skyrocketing at the time due to a surge in demand for BRC-20 tokens.

Binance said in May that Lightning withdrawals would aid in such situations.

The exchange confirmed this week that it’s now operating Lightning nodes but says “there’s still more tech work to be done” before fully integrating the network.

#Binance is working to integrate the #Bitcoin Lightning Network for deposits and withdrawals.

Some eagle-eyed users spotted our new lightning nodes recently. Yes – that's us!

However, there's still more tech work to be done. We'll update once Lightning is fully integrated. https://t.co/N0oN8561sN

— Binance (@binance) June 20, 2023

Earlier this month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Binance and Zhao for allegedly violating securities laws and operating what SEC Chair Gary Gensler described as “an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.”

"SAFU" in the context of Binance refers to the "Secure Asset Fund for Users". It was introduced by #Binance as a means to protect users and their funds in extreme cases.

This fund is an emergency insurance, so to speak, which is reserved and stocked up by Binance over time. As mentioned, it is primarily used to cover potential losses from unforeseen events such as hacks.

The term #SAFU itself comes from a meme within the crypto community. Originally, it was a humorous misspelling of the word "safe" in a video and later adopted by Binance's CEO #ChangpengZhao (CZ) in the announcement of the fund.

As of my last update, Binance commits 10% of all trading fees received into SAFU to offer protection to users and their funds in extreme cases. This amount is stored in a separate cold wallet.

Binance is regarded as a safe exchange that provides account protection for users with security features like the use of Two Factor Authentication (2FA).

After the last major security breach in 2019, Binance has been relatively safe and secure for trading. Additionally, they try to cover the losses of assets for their users out of their own pockets, which gives a higher level of integrity for the platform.

 According to Binance, one of their goals is to never use SAFU, they hope to achieve this by providing the most secure crypto platforms possible for all of their users, whether centralized or decentralized.

Bank of China investment bank BOCI issued fully digital structured notes worth 200 million of offshore renminbi ($28 million) on the Ethereum blockchain, making it the first Chinese financial institution to issue a tokenized security in Hong Kong.

UBS, the originator and partner of BOCI in this transaction, emphasized the significance of this milestone, stating, "This transaction marks a historic milestone in the Asia Pacific region, as it represents the first product of its kind constituted under both Hong Kong and Swiss law and tokenized on the main Ethereum blockchain. It successfully introduces regulated securities onto a public blockchain, paving the way for new possibilities and opportunities."

This remarkable accomplishment follows the successful issuance of a $50 million tokenized fixed rate note by UBS in December on a permissioned blockchain. The dedication of both BOCI and UBS to embrace digital innovation in the financial sector is truly commendable.

By leveraging the #Ethereum #blockchains , BOCI and UBS aim to usher in a new era of transparency, efficiency, and accessibility in the issuance and trading of securities. This move towards tokenization holds immense potential for streamlining processes, reducing costs, and enhancing liquidity within the financial ecosystem.

The decision to tokenize securities highlights the growing acceptance and recognition of the transformative power of blockchain technology within the traditional financial sector. It serves as a testament to the adaptability of established financial institutions as they embrace cutting-edge technologies, propelling the industry towards a more digitized and decentralized future.

The Hong Kong Transformation:

We are driving the simplification of digital asset markets and products, for customers in Asia Pacific through the development of blockchain-based digital structured products, designed specifically for customers in Asia Pacific," Ying Wang, Deputy CEO at BOCI, said in the statement. "We are encouraged by the evolution of Hong Kong's digital economy and are committed to promoting the digital transformation and innovative development of Hong Kong's financial industry.”

The move comes amid a flurry of activity in Hong Kong after it released new guidelines for the crypto industry on June 1. First Digital said earlier this month that it is introducing a new stablecoin that will be pegged to the U.S. dollar but regulated in Asia.

#China , meanwhile, has been the subject of much speculation about its crypto plans after it released a white paper for web3 innovation and development last month. Binance CEO #ChangpengZhao "CZ" Zhao said that Chinese-speaking communities had been "buzzing" after state broadcaster China Central Television appeared to broadcast a segment about cryptocurrencies that featured the #bitcoin logo

#LightningNetwork is very useful to users of crypto exchanges for two reasons. 

The first is that it greatly reduces the cost of #Bitcoin  transactions. Those who move large amounts of money to and from exchanges have no problem paying even $30 fees on individual deposits or withdrawals, but for everyone else even the current $2 can be a deterrent. 

LN reduces these castes to an infinitesimal, and therefore irrelevant, fraction, breaking down all possible barriers due to the high cost of Bitcoin transactions. 

The second and perhaps even more important reason is that it makes transactions in BTC almost instantaneous. 

Currently Bitcoin withdrawals and deposits to and from Binance can take up to hours before they are completed. 

In contrast, with LN they could be executed almost immediately. 

All of this makes holding Bitcoin on non-custodial wallets much cheaper and more efficient because it allows them to be moved quickly and cheaply to the exchange at any time. 

The slowness of Binance

#Binance is usually very quick to implement innovations. However, this time, as CEO #ChangpengZhao himself admitted, they have been particularly slow. 

It is better if the exchange takes its time to do things right. 

Also perhaps until now there was not a great demand from users to be able to use LN. 

Not least because to be able to use LN on Binance it is necessary to have a wallet that supports LN, and not everyone has that yet. 

However, lately there have been a lot of requests to be able to withdraw one’s funds from centralized exchanges in order to store them on non-custodial wallets, but in order to be able to do this smoothly, fast and cheap transactions are required. 

Thus this need also brings with it an implicit demand to be able to use Lightning Network to deposit or withdraw BTC on exchanges. 

The Lightning Network

Truth be told, the highest peak of existing LN channels was in February last year, when there were more than 87,000. Now they are down to 75,000, and they have been dropping since January. 

Instead, nodes are increasing slightly, even though the peak was still in January 2022. 

Instead, what is steadily increasing is the capacity of the LN network, which has risen above 5,400 BTC and close to all-time highs. 

#Binance has obtained authorizations and registrations in 18 markets globally, making it the first cryptocurrency exchange with a full licence in El Salvador.

The exchange holds the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider licence as well as a licence as a Bitcoin Services Provider.

Binance is now able to provide locally customised goods and services thanks to these certifications.

Binance, the largest #cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is now free to operate in El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele after obtaining necessary authorization that would enable it to provide tailored goods and services to El Salvadorean citizens.

Binance has obtained authorizations and registrations in 18 markets globally, making it the first cryptocurrency exchange with a full licence in El Salvador.

The exchange holds the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider licence as well as a licence as a Bitcoin Services Provider.

Binance is now able to provide locally customised goods and services thanks to these certifications.

After obtaining vital licencing that will enable it to offer tailored products and services to El Salvador's citizens, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is ready to operate freely in the nation of President Nayib Bukele.

The first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider (DASP) licence and a Bitcoin Services Provider (BSP) licence are two important licences that Binance Exchange has obtained in El Salvador. The two licences provide Binance full exchange status in El Salvador and give the company permission to provide "tailor-made products and services in the nation."

The National Commission of Digital Assets (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales) issued the DASP, whilst the Central Reserve Bank (Banco Central de Reserva) issued the BSP.

With this, Binance has received authorization for 18 markets worldwide, which is a significant accomplishment given that no other exchange has received as many authorizations. Now, the exchange is registered in a number of countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Dubai.

Using Min Lin, the head of Binance's Latin American division, as an example:

Binance is still collaborating with regulatory bodies from all around the world to support international norms for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

Even while the exchange will have operational independence in the Central American nation, it is still restricted by strict regulatory authorities in the US. With Binance Coin (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD) being classified as securities, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still pursuing the exchange and its CEO, #ChangpengZhao .

In addition, Binance and its CEO are under investigation by the financial watchdog for mixing and transferring billions of dollars in user funds to a third party company owned by CZ.

Together with the SEC, the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is taking action against Binance over claims that it provided unregistered cryptocurrency derivative products and instructed American customers to use VPNs to get around compliance measures, among other things.

It should be noted that Binance has refuted both reports, blaming FUD, but has continued to operate under both regulators' strict control. Recently, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has been considering filing fraud charges against the exchange, but it is choosing to go cautiously in order to protect users.

Binance has obtained authorizations and registrations in 18 markets globally, making it the first cryptocurrency exchange with a full licence in El Salvador.

The exchange holds the first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider licence as well as a licence as a Bitcoin Services Provider.

Binance is now able to provide locally customised goods and services thanks to these certifications.

After obtaining vital licencing that will enable it to offer tailored products and services to El Salvador's citizens, Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is ready to operate freely in the nation of President Nayib Bukele.

The first non-provisional Digital Assets Services Provider (DASP) licence and a Bitcoin Services Provider (BSP) licence are two important licences that Binance Exchange has obtained in El Salvador. The two licences provide Binance full exchange status in El Salvador and give the company permission to provide "tailor-made products and services in the nation."

The National Commission of Digital Assets (Comisión Nacional de Activos Digitales) issued the DASP, whilst the Central Reserve Bank (Banco Central de Reserva) issued the BSP.

With this, Binance has received authorization for 18 markets worldwide, which is a significant accomplishment given that no other exchange has received as many authorizations. Now, the exchange is registered in a number of countries, including France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Dubai.

Using Min Lin, the head of Binance's Latin American division, as an example:

Binance is still collaborating with regulatory bodies from all around the world to support international norms for the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries.

Even while the exchange will have operational independence in the Central American nation, it is still restricted by strict regulatory authorities in the US. With Binance Coin (BNB) and Binance USD (BUSD) being classified as securities, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still pursuing the exchange and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.

In addition, Binance and its CEO are under investigation by the financial watchdog for mixing and transferring billions of dollars in user funds to a third party company owned by CZ.

Together with the SEC, the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is taking action against Binance over claims that it provided unregistered cryptocurrency derivative products and instructed American customers to use VPNs to get around compliance measures, among other things.

It should be noted that Binance has refuted both reports, blaming FUD, but has continued to operate under both regulators' strict control. Recently, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has been considering filing fraud charges against the exchange, but it is choosing to go cautiously in order to protect users.

Daniel Acosta, General Manager for Central America and the Caribbean at Binance, praised the move as well, calling it a chance for cooperation with the El Salvadorian government on cryptocurrency adoption, financial inclusion, innovation, and client protection.

#BNB price stagnates while Binance advances internationally

Despite the biggest cryptocurrency exchange making headway globally, Binance Coin (BNB) is still trapped in a range. While bulls attempt to post further gains, the altcoin is testing the $247.9 level of the 50-day EMA. BNB price might hit the $256.5 resistance level and, in a strongly bullish scenario, run into the 100-day EMA at $261.8 if seller momentum increases above current levels.

The rising momentum is indicated by the relative strength index (RSI), which is pushing north. The Awesome Oscillator (AO) histograms are also positive, indicating that bulls are driving the market.

#ChangpengZhao , CEO of #Binance , said that customers of insolvent platforms are the focus of a fresh round of phishing assaults.

User data was leaked as a result of the data breach at the financial and risk advising organisation, which gave rise to the phishing attempts.

CZ published a list of advice for consumers on how to avoid phishing attacks and safeguard their crypto asset holdings.

FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis Global Holdco's bankruptcy claimants' information was compromised by Kroll, a financial and risk advising firm. Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the market, alerted his 8.6 million followers of possible phishing attempts targeted at these people.

FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis Global bankruptcy claims are the subject of phishing attempts, according to Changpeng Zhao, who alerted his Twitter followers to the threat. A particular kind of bitcoin fraud called phishing asks victims for their private keys or other sensitive information. Using a misspelt URL or clickable link in a phishing email, the attacker wins the victim's confidence.

The data leak at Kroll has been widely reported on social media.

CZ posted a piece from Binance on phishing defence that urged users not to click on links in emails containing security alerts. Some of the advice from the post include going to the website after double-checking the spelling and looking for a https at the beginning of the URL.

The CEO of Binance urged users to save their passwords and private keys. If they refrain from sending emails containing sensitive personal information, #crypto traders in the ecosystem are more likely to withstand phishing assaults.

Binance CEO #ChangpengZhao (CZ) has addressed claims that Binance significantly sold down #bitcoin (BTC) in reaction to growing rumours and accusations making the rounds in the cryptocurrency community. A price decline of 7% for Bitcoin has been attributed to these assertions.

CZ responded on Twitter by retweeting a thread from user ZkHopium, who presented a thorough analysis refuting the accusations and identifying the situation's core causes.

The ZkHopium thread clarifies the circumstances around the Venus Protocol liquidation of Binance Coin (BNB). It indicates that the exploit took place on the #Binance Smart Chain (BSC) on October 6th, 2022, producing 2 million BNB.

Of this sum, 900,000 #BNB were put on Venus Protocol to borrow USDT and USDC valued about $150 million. In retaliation, the BNB network destroyed more than 2 million BNB, which at the time was worth around $550 million, thereby eliminating these tokens from circulation.

Venus Protocol approved a governance proposal naming BNB Chain as the sole liquidator for the loan in order to speed up the liquidation procedure. The liquidator's wallet was then replenished by BNB Chain with 30 million BUSD in December 2022, 30 million USDT in June 2023, and 30 million USDT on August 21, 2023.

A collateral component or liquidation threshold is a part of the Venus Protocol's liquidation process. Liquidators can progressively liquidate up to 50% of the collateral when triggered, earning an extra 10% of the collateral's value in fees.

ZkHopium's study points up a number of important elements that distinguish this example from others. One liquidator in particular is not motivated to engage in market dumping, to start with. Second, no bots are used to front-run the liquidations; instead, they are carried out manually.

Moreover, considering the amount of the loan, the liquidation tranches are anticipated to be substantially lower than the 50% mark.

Regarding the claims, #CZ acknowledged ZkHopium's thorough investigation and stressed the "insignificance" of the effect a $30 million liquidation would have on the price of Bitcoin.

CZ said that the majority of incentives are given in BNB and that Binance does not issue BTC. Although $30 million represents less than 0.001% of Bitcoin's daily trading volume, he emphasised that the purported concern of a substantial influence on the price of BTC is incorrect.

The chart above shows that BNB is now trading at $217 at the time of writing. For the previous 24 hours, it has just slightly decreased by 0.2%.

Bitcoin Hovers Almost $26,000 Despite Slight Decline

By market capitalization, Bitcoin, the most valuable cryptocurrency, is presently valued at $26,000 and has declined by 2.4% since briefly reaching the $26,700 level.

Keith Alan, a co-founder of the research and analysis company Material Indicators, has made the following observations on the market scenario despite the present low levels of volatility:

The economic data that was provided this morning had little effect on volatility, but it will help shape the story that Jerome Powell will tell on Friday when he speaks at Jackson Hole.

The Jackson Hole Symposium is approaching, and interest in Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks is growing. As a result, the Bitcoin market is starting to exhibit symptoms of heightened activity.

Keith Alan contends that while the economic data won't have an immediate impact on volatility, it will influence Powell's speech's narrative.

As the Bitcoin market gets closer to the weekend, this expectation will probably cause it to become more volatile. As Powell's speech progresses, traders and investors are preparing for any market swings in the anticipation that his remarks may have a substantial influence on the cryptocurrency market.

Nigerian SEC released a circular on June 9 stating the illegality of #Binance Nigeria Limited in the country.

Reportedly, the entity mentioned in the circular is not affiliated with Binance Exchange.

Binance Exchange has come forward to deny any affiliation with Binance #Nigeria Limited, a website recently cited by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission for soliciting the country's nationals to trade crypto on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms. The news comes a day after Binance's US subsidiary won approval to operate in the United States.

Binance denies ties to Binance Nigeria Limited

Binance Exchange and CEO #ChangpengZhao have denied any ties to Binance Nigeria Limited, with the Chinese billionaire putting the claims out as FUD and highlighting that the company had issued a cease and desist notice to the purported affiliate.

A cease and desist order is a legally enforceable order from a court or government agency directing someone to stop engaging in a particular activity. With Binance issuing one against the Nigerian entity, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume wants to steer clear of any derailments as it continues maneuvering the SEC's clampdown.

The cease and desist order reinforces a statement by a Binance spokesperson on June 12 to deny any connections to the Nigerian entity. At the time, the exchange articulated that it was unaware of and not affiliated with the entity, stressing that user assets on the platform remain safe and accessible.

In case you missed it, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission flagged Binance Nigeria Limited in an official announcement, saying:

Binance Nigeria Limited is not registered nor regulated by the Commission, and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk.

The circular was a stern directive to Binance Nigeria Limited to stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever immediately.

Still, Binance Exchange continues to fight against the US SEC after the financial regulator filed 13 charges against Binance entities and Zhao. Citing agency Chair Gary Gensler:

Through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law.

Based on the charges, CZ led the exchange to mislead investors about their risk controls. The lawsuit also claims that the two powerhouse names in crypto corrupted trading volumes while actively concealing who was operating the platform.

Following the accusation, the US SEC petitioned the court to freeze Binance.US assets. As reported on June 17, the court turned down this application, citing the need to protect investors and the broader market.

There's absolutely no need for a restraining order should the two sides agree on limits restricting Binance.US' operations in the United States. Shutting [Binance.US] down completely would create significant consequences for the company and the digital asset markets in general.

The exchange will resume operations in the US, strictly under the Binance.US banner with Binance.com’s control over the US entity severed.

Binance Global officials are not allowed access to private keys of all wallets, including cold and hot wallets, hardware, and software. Further, they cannot access Binance.US’ internal systems and controls within 13 days.

Binance registered vs. supported countries

Binance Exchange serves customers from more than 100 countries with regulatory barriers and international sanctions limiting the reach of its services in regions such as the US, mainland China, and Singapore.

Citing the platform's regional selector, Binance exchange is supported, not registered, in several countries, including:

Africa - Nigeria & South Africa

America - Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico & Peru

Asia and Pacific - Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Taiwan & Vietnam

Europe - Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey & Ukraine

Middle East - Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates