FTX Overtook Coinbase & OKX in May, Speeding Up EU Crypto Regulation + More News

Sead Fadilpašić
Last updated: | 4 min read
Source: AdobeStocks / sdx15

 

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

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Exchanges news

  • Crypto markets experienced a surge in trading volume during the collapse of TerraUSD (UST), as crypto exchange Binance traded USD 224bn during the week, followed by FTX, OKX, and Coinbase with USD 42.1bn, USD 37.9bn, and USD 33.1bn in volume, respectively, during the 7-day period beginning May 8, according to crypto analytics firm CryptoCompare. Additionally, FTX overtook Coinbase and OKX in spot trading volume for the first time in May, as the former’s spot market volumes reached USD 89.4bn, an 80.8% increase from the month prior. Binance, meanwhile, retained its position as the largest exchange by volume with a market share of 50.9%, trading USD 532bn, a 14.3% increase from April.
  • Crypto exchange Bybit announced that it has enabled portfolio margin mode for eligible users on June 15. Users can start with the newly launched USD coin (USDC) perpetual contracts plus USDC options, while the feature will be expanded into tether (USDT) products in later stages.

Regulation news

  • European Commissioner for Financial Services Mairead McGuinness encouraged the European Union‘s lawmakers to speed up the passage of its cryptoasset regulatory framework. McGuinness cited three recent events as reasons for hastening the legislation: the war in Ukraine, the Terra crash, and the news that crypto-lender Celsius (CEL) was suspending withdrawals.
  • Iowa, USA, Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen issued a consent order against crypto platform BlockFi after the latter “offered and sold securities in Iowa that were not registered or permitted for sale,” as well as offering and selling securities without being registered as a broker-dealer or agent. The platform was ordered to pay an administrative fine in the amount of USD 943,396.22 and cease and desist from making any untrue statement of material facts regarding securities, they added.
  • Christy Goldsmith Romero, a US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) member, has rejected suggestions that the agency would take an easygoing approach towards regulating crypto, according to Law360. She added that the watchdog is positioned to protect consumers if given more authority.

Legal news

  • Australian bitcoin (BTC) mogul Greg Dwyer is in talks with US prosecutors to try to resolve a criminal case brought against him and the cofounders of crypto exchange BitMEX, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. He is facing charges that could carry prison terms in excess of 12 months, it added.

CBDCs news

  • Trials concerning the digital yuan, or e-CNY, have moved towards loans being granted to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the form of digital yuan in at least three cities, according to the South China Morning Post. The latest case was in Suzhou in eastern Jiangsu province, where a concrete producer borrowed CNY 1.5m (USD 223,400) from the Agricultural Bank of China with the proceeds to be used to pay suppliers in e-CNY, per the report.

Adoption news

  • Russian bank Sber is preparing to soon complete its first digital currency deal involving the bank’s proprietary digital asset platform, state-backed news agency TASS reported, citing Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of Sber’s executive board. The first transaction is expected to be completed by mid-July, per the report.
  • The iconic 1989 Ferrari 640 racing car, driven by former racing driver Nigel Mansell for Scuderia Ferrari in the 1989 Formula 1 season, has been sold using Himalaya Dollar (HDO), a stablecoin listed on crypto platform Himalaya Exchange. The transaction was completed for the equivalent of EUR 3.6m (USD 3.75m) thanks to classic car auction house RM Sotheby’s, with the buyer and seller wishing to remain anonymous.

Wallets news

  • Privacy-focused BTC wallet Wasabi Wallet announced they’re launching their 2.0 version that has a new interface, a new fee structure, and no minimum amount required.
  • Crypto analytics platform Nansen announced Nansen Connect, a messaging app that lets users log in with a crypto wallet and then connect to groups based on their crypto holdings and the NFTs they verifiably own. The Beta version of Connect will focus primarily on profile picture (PFP) communities and users, as well as label-based communities and end-to-end encrypted direct messages, they said.

DeFi news

  • Decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) has integrated its service ‘Chainlink Price Feeds’ to Moonbeam, a smart contract parachain on Polkadot (DOT), to provide data to developers in the platform.  Developers can now leverage Chainlink’s oracle network on Moonbeam to help them build decentralized finance (DeFi) applications using decentralized data and without leaving the Polkadot ecosystem, said the press release.

Investments news

  • Web3 startup DAOLens raised USD 5m in a pre-seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners, Better Ventures, and iSeed II. The funds will be used for product development, talent acquisition, and facilitation of the subsequent launch of the company’s stack of tools, they said.
  • NFT infrastructure builder for developers, NFTPort, announced it has raised USD 26m in a Series A funding round co-led by Taavet+Sten and Atomico. They will use the funding to develop their NFT infrastructure offer, they said.

Career news

  • Coinbase has hired Arnab Kumar, a former executive at venture investing firm Prosus Ventures, as director of India market expansion, TechCrunch reported, citing a spokesperson.