Kraken Staking Issues + Binance Temporarily Halts US Withdrawals

Coinigy Team -

Hello there!

Welcome to another news roundup of all the happenings in the crypto space from last week.

Well, there was very little to smile about the last seven days, but—fingers crossed—this new week might bear some exciting news.

Anyway, the global crypto market cap has dropped 1.58% over the last seven days, hovering around $1 trillion. There were very few gains in the top 100 cryptos, but small wins were recorded in the day-on-day charts during the week.

Zooming out, several regulatory moves were at play, causing the market’s dull mood last week.

Here are the major highlights

  • Kraken Settles With SEC Over Crypto Staking Program
  • Binance to temporarily suspend bank transfers in US dollars beginning Feb. 8
  • This CEO Predicts Bitcoin Could Reach ‘$10M’ by 2032
  • FTX CEO testifies on ‘pure hell’ post-bankruptcy days at the exchange

Kraken Settles With SEC Over Crypto Staking Program

As the SEC’s 2023 crypto crackdown builds, the US regulator on Thursday slapped Kraken with two charges related to its staking products.

Kraken settled on both SEC counts and shelled out $30 million accordingly. SEC Chair Gary Gensler — and other senior regulators — have recently emphasized their perceived need to protect retail investors from crypto staking activities.

The exchange agreed to “immediately cease offering or selling securities through crypto asset staking services or staking programs,” according to the SEC. Read the full story.

Binance to temporarily suspend bank transfers in US dollars beginning Feb. 8

Binance has announced that it is temporarily suspending bank transfers in United States dollars (USD) beginning Feb. 8. No other trading methods will be affected, the exchange said in a tweet on Feb. 6.

The news came with no explanation, although the company — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — added in the same tweet that: “We are working hard to restart the service as soon as possible. […] All other methods of buying and selling crypto remain unaffected.” Read the entire story.

This CEO Predicts Bitcoin Could Reach ‘$10M’ by 2032

Even though the market is currently wobbly, bullish predictions have not come to a halt. Blockstream CEO Adam Back recently opined via a Twitter thread that BTC could achieve an eight-digit valuation in less than a decade. Read the full story.

FTX CEO testifies on ‘pure hell’ post-bankruptcy days at the exchange

John Ray, who took over as CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has described some of the chaotic experiences at the firm following the company declaring bankruptcy. Read the full story.

Other highlights worth mentioning

  • Getting rid of crypto staking would be a ‘terrible path’ for the US — Cointelegraph
  • Genesis strikes a hopeful deal - Tradingview
  • Paxos ordered to stop issuing Binance USD Stablecoin - WatcherGuru