Category: Binance

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Binance Crime Crypto Exchange Crypto News

Binance Denies $2.4 Billion Money Laundering Allegations

According to a new report by Reuters, US$2.4 billion in stolen funds have been laundered through the cryptocurrency exchange Binance between 2017 and 2021. Binance, however, has vehemently denied the allegations, calling the report a “woefully misinformed op-ed”.

‘Analysis False’, Says Binance CCO

The report was conducted using court records, speaking with law enforcement, and working with monitoring firms Chainalysis and Crystal Blockchain to trace illicit funds moved across the exchange. It quotes Patrick Hillman, Binance chief communications officer, who told Reuters that he believed the analysis was false.

According to Hillman, Binance is in the process of assembling “the most sophisticated cyber forensics team on the planet” that would “further improve our ability to detect illegal crypto activity on our platform”.

In a post, Binance defended itself but Reuters maintains its claims. The charge of a “hub” for illegal activity was due to the possibility of users opening accounts and moving funds on Binance with an email address alone, and Reuters claims that the platform allowed them to operate with little to no “Know Your Customer” requirements until August 2021. During this time, the report alleges there were amounts of money flowing through the exchange from malicious actors.

Binance has previously been under investigation by the US Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Justice in an effort to uncover unreported crypto income from US citizens and other illegal activities on the platform.

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Binance Commits $500 Million to Elon Musk’s Acquisition of Twitter

Major crypto exchange Binance has committed US$500 million to help Elon Musk’s US$44 billion bid to acquire social media company Twitter, as revealed by a May 4 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A ‘Small Contribution to the Cause’

Musk wasn’t alone in his multibillion-dollar acquisition of Twitter, as major investment firms and digital assets companies such as Sequoia Capital, Fidelity, Andreessen Horowitz, and now Binance backed the temporary CEO’s takeover of the social media network.

Binance was the fourth-biggest contributor with US$500 million. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said it was a “small contribution to the cause”:

Ellison Kicks in $1 Billion

According to the SEC filing, 18 co-investors – including Oracle co-founder and Tesla investor Larry Ellison – participated in the acquisition. Ellison delivered the largest contribution with a US$1 billion investment, while Sequoia Capital and VyCapital invested US$800 million and $700 million respectively.

On April 27, Musk officially acquired Twitter for US$44 billion, a move hailed by some and decried by others. Despite his critics, Musk has signalled that freedom of speech would be the backbone of Twitter under his stewardship.

Investors believe that Musk has all the necessary skills to turn Twitter into something better than just spam bots and constant censorship, which have badly tarnished the social media network. Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz offered this glowing endorsement:

Elon is the one person we know and perhaps the only person in the world who has the courage, brilliance, and skills to fix all of these [problems] and build the public square that we all hoped for and deserve.

Ben Horowitz, co-founder, Andreessen Horowitz (Twitter)
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Binance Binance Australia

Binance Australia ESG Update

Brisbane, Queensland, May 3, 2022 – Binance Australia, the world’s first digital currency exchange to commence reporting on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics under a universal framework developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF), provides an update on its progress and initiatives from the first quarter. 

Binance Australia is a fully compliant and progressive Australian fintech brand that empowers customers and corporate institutions to access alternative, low-cost digital assets and products. We are pleased to lead the Australian digital asset industry by making digital investing easy and accessible, while also educating Australians and fostering credibility, transparency, and accountability. We are on a mission to make a positive impact on society by helping Australians achieve greater financial freedom and addressing important factors facing humanity, including ESG.

The highlights of our first update cover a wide array of initiatives, including the continued tree-planting initiatives with the Koala Clancy Foundation, a series of educational activities  focused on protecting customers from online scams, as well as the continued growth of our diverse and inclusive team. 

The Binance Charity Foundation (Binance.Charity) was pleased to see the continued partnership with the Koala Clancy Foundation (KCF) and in addition to the direct donation we were excited to see that KCF also received crypto donations outside of Binance. “Thanks for opening our eyes to this world,” Janine Duffy, CEO of Koala Clancy Foundation, said. 

The Binance Australia team has continued to grow in size and after a number of recent key hires is pleased to report a gender diversity ratio of over 40 percent. 

Binance Australia further focused on governance activities during the period, strengthening corporate governance through board skills matrix, risk management and stakeholder mapping. The team was pleased to implement a BNB trading tracking process to support governance and compliance within the organisation. 

Binance Australia continues to seek additional partnerships to broaden our positive impact in Australia from digital assets and looks forward to announcing further details in due course.

Binance Australia also  makes the following additional disclosures with respect to environmental metrics:

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (PL-01-A)

Currently, the company operates remotely with three shared office spaces in WA, QLD and SA, and emissions of its corporate offices are minimal. The company does not currently operate any heavy equipment, motor vehicles or other emissions-producing equipment.

Land use and ecological sensitivity (PL-02)

Due to the nature of the company’s operations, this is not a material area and therefore disclosures are not required.

Water consumption (PL-03)

Due to the nature of the company’s operations, this is not a material area and therefore disclosures are not required.

Socialsuite’s ESG Go reporting technology provides an easy way for investors and other stakeholders to assess the commitment and progress of the company on its journey to create “best in class” ESG credentials and outcomes. To follow the company’s progress towards its ESG objectives, please refer to our ESG Dashboard.

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Binance Blockchain Crypto News Markets Social media Steem

Social Blockchain Token STEEM Explodes 60% Following Major Exchange Listings

Steem (STEEM), the native cryptocurrency of the social media-focused Steem blockchain, has surged over 60 percent following an announcement from Binance that the exchange would start offering a STEEM/USDT trading pair from April 22.

Immediately following the announcement, before Binance even listed STEEM, its price went virtually vertical, surging from US$0.36 to $US0.56 in just a few hours. Once trading began on Binance, STEEM’s price increased further to $US0.61 – an overall gain of over 60 percent. 

What is the Steem Blockchain?

Steem blockchain was created in 2016 by Ned Scott, co-founder of BitShares, and Daniel Larimar, lead developer of the EOS blockchain. Steem aims to reward people who actively contribute content on social media. It incentivises constructive participation on social platforms by providing a non-censorable monetisation layer that rewards creators of digital content with cryptocurrency.  

The flagship platform running on Steem is Steemit, a Reddit-like social blogging platform that offers users crypto rewards based on participation. There are currently more than 400 social media applications actively using the Steem blockchain.

STEEM Price Action Since Binance Listing

In the days since its Binance listing, STEEM retraced most of its gains, bottoming out at around US$0.40 before again surging in the past two days. At the time of writing the price of STEEM was sitting at US$0.56, around 54 percent higher than its pre-listing price – making it the 254th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.

According to data from CoinGecko, STEEM’s price is still down 93.1 percent from its all-time high of US$8.19, which it hit on January 3, 2018, at the height of the 2017-18 bull run, indicating there may still be considerable room for price growth in the medium to long term.

STEEM’s price surge on the back of a major exchange listing is a familiar story. For example, in December Measurable Data Token (MDT) gained 90 percent in a single day after its Coinbase Pro listing; similarly, IDEX surged over 85 percent in December after it was listed on Huobi.

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Binance Binance USD Crypto News Payments Ukraine

Binance Launches Refugee Crypto Card with 75 BUSD for Displaced Ukrainians

Binance has launched a crypto card for Ukrainians forced to flee across borders to other European countries due to the ongoing war with Russia.

The Binance Refugee Crypto Card. Source: Binance

The Binance Refugee Crypto Card allows current and new Binance customers from Ukraine to send or receive crypto payments and make purchases at retailers in the European Economic Area (EEA) who accept card transactions.

Binance has already donated US$10 million to aid the humanitarian crisis in the region. The contribution was split among organisations including UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR and more.

The Binance refugee card has been launched in partnership with Contis, a UK-based banking platform, and is available in both virtual and physical formats.

More Than 4 Million Potential Beneficiaries

According to Kirill Khomyakov, general manager of Binance in Ukraine, more than 4 million people have already fled the country:

It is our responsibility to help those who were forced to leave their homes because of the war.

Kirill Khomyakov, general manager of Binance, Ukraine

Khomyakov added that Binance Charity was collaborating with non-profit organisations such as Rotary and Palianytsia to offer crypto-based cash assistance through the Binance refugee card.

Refugees will each receive 75 Binance USD (BUSD), worth around $US75, per month for up to three months. BUSD crypto will automatically convert to local currency according to which country refugees find themselves in, and relatives or acquaintances of displaced Ukrainians are also able to send crypto to the refugee crypto card.

The card itself is free but requires full KYC (know your customer) verification.

Limits Placed on Capital Outflows

Though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a crypto bill into law last month, this week Ukrainian citizens were banned from buying more than US$3,400 worth of crypto in a 30-day period. The country’s national bank said the measures had put in place under martial law to prevent “unproductive capital outflows” from Ukraine.

The National Bank of Ukraine said the measures were “temporary” and that it planned to allow citizens fleeing the country to make cross-border peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers within the above limit from accounts in its national currency.

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Australia Binance Blockchain BNB Crypto News Play to Earn Solana Tokens

Move-To-Earn Token STEPN Has Soared 217x in 2022  

Active types can now get paid to exercise and breathe in the fresh outdoor air with new Australian fitness app STEPN – an NFT-based play-to-move Web3 crypto “game” powered by the Solana blockchain.

Following in the footsteps of Genopets – the first move-to-earn NFT crypto game developed on Solana – STEPN is basically a mash-up of Apple’s step-counting Health app with Axie Infinity-style play-to-earn (P2E) tokenomics.

With over half a million downloads so far on Android alone, STEPN has taken off and so has its governance token, $GMT.

STEPN’s Green Metaverse Token (GMT) has sprinted upwards, increasing five-fold in value over the past month, from US$0.65 to an all-time high of US$3.79. $GMT is the token required for making upgrades to the App’s in-game NFT virtual sneakers. GMT’s market cap is now over US$2 billion and the token is currently ranked #60.


STEPN price chart (GMT). Source: CoinGecko.com

The most recent 26 percent spike came after STEPN announced a partnership with Japanese sports apparel giant Asics on April 18 via Twitter, launching a sneaker sale on the Binance NFT marketplace. Selected subscribers will be able to purchase the first STEPN sneakers on the BNB Chain version of the game:

Earn Crypto Exercising Outside

Users can earn crypto by walking or running with the STEPN App. The app tracks movement via your phone’s GPS and rewards are paid in STEPN’s game token: Green Satoshi Token (GST), which can be traded for USD Coin (USDC) or Solana (SOL).

Players begin by choosing a fitness level that suits their goals, which also determines how many tokens can be earned using the app. The four tiers are divided by different types of virtual sneakers: walker, jogger, runner or trainer. STEPN sneaker NFTs can be found and purchased from the in-app marketplace. Check the stepn.com website for full instructions on how to play.

Since the game has taken off, the price to get started playing has elevated accordingly. Currently the floor price for a pair of sneakers is 13.67 SOL (US$1,400+). Participants in the upcoming STEPN Shoebox sale on Binance will be offered mystery boxes containing a pair of NFT Sneakers of random quality and type, for 0.5 BNB (US$210).

STEPN plans to implement a sneaker-rental feature, coming soon to combat the high cost to entry.

How to Start STEPN

  1. Download the app from the App store (available for Android and Apple) and log in with your email address and verification code.
  2. Get verified. Join the official Discord and Telegram channels and get your activation code to enter the app on your phone. Note: due to popular demand, the development team is only releasing 1000 activation codes per day via Discord and 1000 per day via Telegram. You have to be quick, as codes refresh at midnight AEDT. You can also follow @Stepnofficial on Twitter for more activation code releases.
  3. Link your Solana wallet in the STEPN app and purchase your first pair of virtual sneakers from the STEPN marketplace. Sneakers can be customised and enhanced to increase token rewards.

STEPN buzz continues to gain traction amid rumours of further upcoming partnership announcements with other big shoe brands, including Nike and Adidas. Since the STEPN token sale in March, the app is off to a flying start, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Whether the move-to-earn model can prove sustainable over time will be the real test, but for now STEPN is showing no signs of slowing down.

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Axie Infinity Binance Crypto News DeFi GameFi NFTs

Binance Leads $150 Million Round to Reimburse Ronin Attack Victims

Following last month’s record-breaking hack of the Ronin network, responsible for Axie Infinity transactions, Binance has led a funding round to help reimburse affected users.

According to an announcement this week by Vietnamese gaming studio Sky Mavis, a funding round was led by Binance with other venture capital firms – including Animoca Brands, a16z, Dialectic, and Paradigm – to help reimburse funds lost in the US$625 million Axie Infinity hack.

Community to the Rescue

The hack is the biggest decentralised finance (DeFi) hack on record and has done a lot of damage to the Axie Infinity ecosystem Sky Mavis has created. Axie is the best performing blockchain game in the space, having processed 10 times more all-time volume than the next biggest NFT game.

We have seen the tremendous work and growth of the Sky Mavis team since working together on the Axie Infinity project on Binance Launchpad. We strongly believe Sky Mavis will bring a lot of value and growth for the larger industry and we believe it’s necessary to support them as they work hard to resolve the recent incident.

Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, CEO, Binance

Proceeds of the funding round along with funds on the Sky Mavis balance sheet will be used to ensure that all affected users are reimbursed. According to the post, “The Ronin Network bridge will open once it has undergone a security upgrade and several audits, which can take several weeks.”

The post also stated that “the 56,000 ETH compromised from the Axie DAO treasury will remain undercollateralised as Sky Mavis continues to work with law enforcement to recover the funds”.

If the funds are not fully recovered within two years, it has been decided that the Axie DAO will vote on the next steps for the treasury.

Sky Mavis post

Increasing Ronin’s Security

Following the attack, Sky Mavis started the process of implementing rigorous internal security measures to prevent future attacks.

On March 23, Sky Mavis’s Ronin validator nodes and Axie DAO validator nodes were compromised, leading to the record-breaking hack. With the support of Binance, the Ronin chain has now been able to expand its validator set from 5 to 21 – increasing the security of the network – according to Sky Mavis CEO Trung Nguyen.

There have been only a few cases where affected users were reimbursed, especially in a case as large as this. With Axie being the biggest NFT game, major players have come together to help the project get back on its feet. Last year, Rari Capital also reimbursed up to US$25 million after being hacked.

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Forbes Releases Rich List for Crypto and Blockchain Billionaires

Forbes’ crypto billionaires list has grown by seven this year, increasing to 19 members, though these new additions have not knocked Binance founder and CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao off the top spot.

Recent DLT News Review: New Launches by Forbes and Visa ...
Forbes releases its crypto billionaires list this week.

The Forbes list expanded by 58 percent this year. When it was first compiled in 2018, the bar to qualify was set at US$350 million. However, as the industry has since expanded exponentially, only billionaires qualify in 2022.

Binance founder and CEO ‘CZ’ Zhao is holding tight to his top position on the list for another year. Despite Forbes downgrading CZ’s wealth estimate from US$96 billion to $65 billion, he is still several lengths out in front:

In second place is FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, with a current estimated worth of US$24 billion. Bankman-Fried has grand intentions to donate much of his wealth to charities, keeping only 1 percent of his annual earnings each year, stating “I don’t want a yacht”. Brian Armstrong, CEO and founder of CoinBase, took third place with a net worth of US$6.6 billion.

Among the handful of newcomers are FTX’s co-founder Gary Wang, OpenSea co-founders Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer, Song Chi-Hyung (founder of Upbit), Kim Hyoung-nyon (Upbit’s EVP), and Nikil Viswanathan and Joseph Lau, co-founders of Alchemy.

Crypto Billionaires Line Their Pockets

For a select few, crypto investments have paid off immensely. Aussie billionaire Alex Waislitz bought crypto investments that reportedly increased in value by 400 percent. Nicknamed “Australia’s Warren Buffett”, Waislitz invested through a pre-IPO (initial public offering), which turned out to be a very smart move.

Billionaire PayPal founder Peter Thiel, on the other hand, has stated that he is disappointed he didn’t invest more before the boom.

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Binance Becomes Official Crypto Partner of 64th Annual Grammy Awards

Binance has entered a partnership with the Recording Academy to become the first-ever crypto exchange partner for the 64th annual Grammy Awards, to be held on April 3 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, US.

As per a statement from Yi He, co-founder of Binance, partnering with the Recording Academy will bring “fresh new experiences powered by blockchain and all the great things Web3 technology can bring to entertainment”:

There are no further details about the partnership as yet. However, it appears Binance is already rolling out plans to make it more than just a branding opportunity. As per the statement:

Binance will continue to work with the Recording Academy throughout the year to bring various Web3 technology solutions and experiences to the organisation’s members, events and initiatives.

Binance statement

Crypto Permeates Entertainment Industry

The increasing popularity of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) is making it harder for leading organisations in the entertainment industry to ignore the potential opportunities to work with this emerging sector, which is taking over the mainstream at a fast pace.

This is the second time the Recording Academy hass collaborated with crypto companies. As Crypto News Australia reported last November, the organisation announced that NFT collectibles would be awarded as prizes at the Grammys thanks to a collaboration with Tezos-based NFT platform OneOf:

Crypto Also Increases its Sports Presence

Binance is not the only exchange making waves in the entertainment world. Just a week ago, Crypto.com became the official crypto sponsor for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with the objective to bring awareness of the brand to billions of users who tune in to watch the tournament.

In January, Crypto.com also announced a five-year A$25 million sponsorship deal with the Australian Football League for both its men’s and women’s competitions.

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Crypto is Expanding in Brazil as Coinbase Swoops to Buy its Biggest Crypto Exchange

Coinbase is reportedly close to acquiring 2TM, the owner of Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil’s largest exchange, according to a local newspaper that didn’t disclose its sources.

According to the report by Brazilian newspaper Estadão, Coinbase and 2TM have been in talks since April 2021, a year in which the South American nation experienced a massive surge in crypto adoption that tripled stablecoin trading.

Mercado Bitcoin surpassed three million customers in 2021, of which one-third joined the exchange in that same year. During that time, the exchange reached trading volumes of over US$7 billion.

Rio de Janeiro Turns into a Crypto Hub

Shortly after the crypto boom in Brazil, several crypto companies shifted their focus onto the nation, including other leading exchanges such as Binance and Crypto.com.

Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s third-largest city by population – will reportedly receive crypto for tax payments, making it the first Brazilian city to embrace payments via digital assets. Commenting on the matter was Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, who tweeted:

Binance Expands its Brazilian Base

During his visit to Brazil on March 17, Zhao said Binance was set to acquire several banks and payment processors nationally and also looked forward to expanding its 100-person Brazilian team.

Brazil has been one of the few countries in the South American region to have supported and accelerated the development of proper infrastructure for digital assets nationwide.

As Crypto News Australia reported, last year Brazil became the second jurisdiction to approve a Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF). Both Brazil and Peru are now looking forward to developing their own central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by the end of 2022.