After a period of relative calm, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has kicked off its summer crypto crackdown by targeting two major exchanges, Binance and Coinbase.
A total of 13 charges have been filed against Binance. One of the allegations in the lawsuit claims that funds from Binance and Binance.US were mixed in an account controlled by Changpeng Zhao’s associate company, Merit Peak.
As for Coinbase, the SEC says it has been offering unregistered securities and has never been registered as a broker, stock exchange or clearing house. Many in the cryptocurrency industry have been puzzled by the allegations against Coinbase, mainly because it is a publicly traded company and received an earlier green light from the regulator.
While unsurprising, this week’s developments have once again shed light on the SEC’s dubious practices vis-à-vis the crypto space, as it said companies have failed to register with the regulator, despite the absence of a path to do so. . Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse She said Latest set of lawsuits are an attempt by the SEC to distract from the FTX agency debacle Let’s not forget that the SEC has not sued FTX, although it did indict its founder and former executives.
The crypto space has seen token and stock sell-offs, disrupted services, and heightened uncertainty in recent days, but these events could also bring something the industry is eager for with legal clarity.
Along with the recent spate of lawsuits, this week Crypto Biz also explores Apple’s new headset moving beyond the metaverse, Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin gets the green light for its fintech payments arm, and how European Union regulators are targeting fake news generated by artificial intelligence.
SEC complaint hints at why Brian Brooks stepped down as CEO of Binance.US
The latest SEC complaint against Binance may explain why former Binance.US CEO Brian Brooks chose to step down in August 2021, just three months after his appointment. According to legal sources, the complaint cites an anonymous source who ran Binance.US for a short time in 2021. The dates correlate with Brooks’ time as CEO of the company. Brooks, a former major banking regulator, led operations at the cryptocurrency exchange after replacing former CEO Catherine Coley. According to comments cited in the complaint, Brooks quickly realized that he wasn’t actually running this company. After acknowledging this, he decided to leave, announcing his resignation just three months later.
Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin is licensed as a payment service provider
On June 2, cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin obtained a payment service provider license from the Brazilian central bank. With the license, the company will launch its MB Pay fintech solution. The fintech arm will provide Brazilian users with specific digital banking services using cryptocurrencies held on exchanges, such as fixed-income digital investments, staking and other financial transactions. A debit card that offers a crypto ramp for users is expected to be available soon. Global cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the Brazilian market include Binance, Coinbase, Crypto.com and Bitso.
Apple’s Vision Pro headphones reveal the trading metaverse for spatial computing
Apple’s recently revealed mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, has been turning heads for tech enthusiasts for the past few days. The company, however, has deliberately labeled its technology as the first space computer to move away from the metaverse concept and differentiate its virtual reality tool from competitors. Apple’s marketing focuses on the words spatial and spatial computing rather than words like metaverse, AR, and VR. A clear step up from Microsoft’s Hololens and Metas viewers. The Apple headphones will launch in the US in early 2024, for a hefty $3,499 retail price, before expanding internationally.
EU officials want all AI-generated content to be tagged
A new European Union effort to stamp out fake news is targeting AI-generated content. According to EU officials, companies using generative AI tools should label their content to combat fake news. The statement comes as the EU prepares its next AI law, which will be a comprehensive set of guidelines for the public use of AI and the companies that implement it. Major tech companies, including Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms, have already signed up to the EU’s 2022 Code of Conduct on Disinformation.
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