Crypto News Roundup: August 11, 2023 📢

Welcome to the crypto news roundup, where I bring you the latest and most exciting developments from the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain.


Today, I have some major stories to share with you, including a hefty penalty for Bittrex, a glitch on Gemini, an investigation into Worldcoin, and a big investment in Curve. Let’s dive in!

Bittrex Settles SEC Charges for $24 Million ⚖️

Bittrex, one of the oldest and most popular crypto exchanges, has agreed to pay a $24 million penalty to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it violated federal securities laws by offering unregistered tokens to U.S. investors.

According to the SEC, Bittrex worked with token issuers to “scrub” their online statements of any indication that they were offering securities, such as promising profits or dividends, in order to evade the SEC’s oversight. The SEC also alleged that Bittrex failed to conduct proper due diligence on the tokens it listed and did not implement adequate anti-money laundering and customer identification procedures.

Bittrex did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings, but agreed to cease and desist from future violations and to cooperate with the SEC in any ongoing investigations. Bittrex also agreed to return funds to affected investors and to delist or disable trading of any tokens that are deemed securities by the SEC.

The settlement marks one of the largest enforcement actions by the SEC against a crypto exchange and signals the agency’s continued scrutiny of the crypto industry. The SEC’s enforcement director Gurbir Grewal stated,

“For years, Bittrex worked with token issuers to ‘scrub’ their online statements of any indicia that they were investment contracts — all in an effort to evade the federal securities laws. They failed. Today’s settlement makes clear that you cannot escape liability by simply changing labels or altering descriptions because what matters is the economic realities of those offerings.”

XRP Price Spikes to $50 on Gemini Due to Low Liquidity 📈

XRP, the native token of Ripple, experienced a brief but dramatic price surge on Gemini, one of the leading U.S.-based crypto exchanges, yesterday. The token’s price jumped from around $0.8 to over $50 in a matter of minutes, before quickly returning to normal levels.

The price spike was likely caused by a combination of low liquidity and a large market buy order that was executed at an inflated price on Gemini, which had just relisted XRP for deposits and trading after suspending it in January due to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple. The price anomaly did not affect other exchanges or the overall market cap of XRP, which remained around $37 billion at the time.

Gemini has not issued any official statement on the incident, but some users reported that their orders were cancelled or reversed by the exchange. The glitch also sparked some speculation and humor among crypto enthusiasts on social media, with some joking that XRP had finally reached its “moon” target.

Worldcoin Faces Investigation from Argentine Data Protection Agency 🔎

Worldcoin, a new crypto project that aims to distribute a universal basic income (UBI) to anyone who scans their eye with a special device, is facing an investigation from Argentina’s Agency for Access to Public Information (AAIP), which is responsible for enforcing data protection laws in the country.

The AAIP announced that it has initiated a preliminary inquiry into Worldcoin’s data collection practices, after receiving complaints from citizens who were concerned about the privacy and security of their biometric data. The AAIP stated,

“Cases like this show the need to strengthen the current legal framework regarding the Protection of Personal Data. Citizens have the right, whenever personal data is provided, to have clear and accessible information in relation to the assignment, use and purpose for which the data is collected and processed, especially with regard to sensitive data, such as biometric data.”

Worldcoin claims that it uses a proprietary technology called Orb that can scan people’s irises and generate a unique identifier for each person, without storing any personal information or images. The project also claims that it encrypts and anonymizes the data and uses zero-knowledge proofs to verify identities without revealing them.

However, some critics have raised doubts about Worldcoin’s claims and questioned its motives and ethics. Some have also pointed out that Worldcoin is backed by prominent investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, and Sam Altman, the former president of Y Combinator and co-founder of OpenAI, which could indicate a hidden agenda behind the project.

Binance Labs Invests $5 Million in Curve DAO Tokens 💰

Binance Labs, the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has announced that it has committed a $5 million investment in Curve DAO tokens (CRV), the governance token of Curve, a leading decentralized exchange (DEX) for stablecoins and other pegged assets.

The investment is part of a strategic collaboration between Binance and Curve, which could pave the way for Curve’s deployment on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a blockchain platform that supports smart contracts and offers low fees and high scalability. Binance Labs stated that it believes in Curve’s potential to become a key protocol in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space and to contribute to the growth of the crypto ecosystem.

The investment also comes after Curve’s founder Michael Egorov revealed that he had sold some of his CRV holdings in over-the-counter (OTC) deals to undisclosed buyers, sparking some controversy and speculation among the community. Egorov explained that he had done so to diversify his portfolio and to avoid being a single point of failure for the project.

Yi He, co-founder of Binance and head of Binance Labs, stated,

“Curve is the largest stableswap, and as a key protocol in DeFi it has contributed to the steady growth of the space in 2023. Given the recent events that have impacted the protocol, Binance Labs has offered our full support to Curve through our investment and strategic collaboration. We view this cooperation as a starting point and look forward to working together to further propel the growth of the DeFi ecosystem.”

Conclusion 🎉

That’s all for today’s crypto news roundup. I hope you enjoyed reading my summary and analysis of the latest developments in the crypto world.
Stay tuned for more updates and insights from me, and don’t forget to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments section below. Until next time, happy trading!

Sources 🔗

1. Bittrex to Pay $24 Million Penalty Over SEC Crypto Allegations | Source: Bloomberg
2. XRP's Market Cap Momentarily Zoomed to Trillions of Dollars on Gemini | Source: CoinDesk
3. Argentine Agency Opens Investigation into Worldcoin Over Biometric Data | Source: CoinTelegraph
4. Binance Labs Commits $5 Million To Invest in Curve DAO Tokens | Source: The Block

Don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter for daily updates on the crypto world. I will keep you informed about the latest news, trends, tips, and insights on everything related to cryptocurrencies.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!