Exchanges Reviews - Page 4

Coinbase launches new crypto think tank to help shape policies. Coinbase’s new “crypto native think tank” features an advisory board of finance and law academics from top United States universities and will publish original research to shape policies around crypto. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has created a “crypto native think tank” in an attempt to help shape the global conversation around policies for digital assets. The newly formed Coinbase Institute will also publish research on crypto and Web3. Coinbase tapped its director of policy Hermine Wong to head the institute. She previously served in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and before that worked at the Department of State. The related Coinbase Institute Advisory Board has also been formed and will feature academics across law and finance from top universities such as Harvard, MIT, Duke and John Hopkins, coupled with an academic partnership with the University of Michigan.

BitMEX launches spot crypto exchange following $30M penalty. Founded in 2014, BitMEX is one of the world’s oldest crypto trading platforms, but it has never offered spot crypto trading till now. Global crypto derivatives exchange BitMEX is expanding its platform beyond just derivatives by finally launching a spot crypto trading platform. BitMEX officially announced on May 17 that its spot crypto exchange, the BitMEX Spot Exchange, is now live, allowing retail and institutional investors to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). At launch, the exchange supports seven pairs of cryptocurrencies, including BTC, ETH, Chainlink (LINK), Uniswap (UNI), Polygon (MATIC), Axie Infinity (AXS) and ApeCoin (APE), all trading against the Tether stablecoin (USDT). The launch of the BitMEX Spot Exchange comes as the company plans to become one of the top ten largest spot exchanges in the world. The company decided to build its own spot exchange last year in response to the increasing crypto trading demand from its current user base, according to the announcement.

Crypto.com unblocks users, reverses glitched LUNA trades that made 30-40x. On May 13, Crypto.com abruptly barred users from trading after an internal tool detected the system quoting incorrect prices for LUNA. Crypto.com was one of the few crypto exchanges to keep Terra (LUNA) trades open as Terra’s death spiral saw an unrecoverable price crash of LUNA and stablecoin TerraUSD (UST). However, a technical glitch on Crypto.com’s mobile application allowed users to get away with a 30-40x profit on LUNA trades momentarily. On Friday, Crypto.com abruptly barred users from trading after an internal tool detected the system quoting incorrect prices for LUNA due to some error. Just when Crypto Twitter started raising concerns about trade reversals on the exchange, Kris Marszalek, CEO of Crypto.com, revealed details about a glitch that allowed users to make away with massive profits.

Binance Futures delists coin-margined LUNA perpetual contracts. Binance suspended withdrawals for LUNA and UST amid the UST stablecoin losing its peg to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday. Amid collapsing Terra network’s cryptocurrencies Luna (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST), crypto exchange Binance continues deactivating related trading services. Binance’s derivatives arm Binance Futures has delisted coin-margined LUNA perpetual contracts, the firm officially announced on May 12. “Users are advised to close any open positions prior to the delisting time to avoid automatic settlement,” the statement by the platform reads. Binance Futures has also started conducting automatic settlements on the contracts, reducing the leverage tiers and updating margin tiers for coin-margined LUNA perpetual contracts. As such, the 8x leverage tier is now the max leverage tier available on Binance for LUNA perpetual contracts, replacing the earlier maximum available leverage of 21-25x. 11-20x leverage is reduced to 7x, while 6-10x leverage is replaced with a 6x leverage tier, according to the updated data. According to the announcement, existing positions opened before the update will not be affected. “Binance reserves the right to further change the max leverage and margin tiers for USDT-margined LUNA perpetual contracts without further notice,” the firm added. The latest trading updates on Binance Futures come soon after Binance suspended withdrawals for LUNA and UST on May 10 amid a massive selloff of tokens on the Terra network, with the UST stablecoin losing its peg to the United States dollar and crashing to $0.67.

Coinbase's plans to purchase firm behind Mercado Bitcoin fall through. The crypto exchange previously announced the acquisition of blockchain infrastructure platform Bison Trails as well as the Routefire platform. Coinbase and Brazilian company 2TM, the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin, have reportedly scrapped talks around the crypto exchange purchasing the firm. According to a Tuesday Bloomberg report, 2TM and Coinbase have ended discussions around the United States-based crypto exchange buying the Brazilian company, which was valued at more than $2 billion. It’s unclear what led to the purchase not going through, as 2TM reportedly declined to comment and a Coinbase spokesperson said it was simply “committed to the Brazilian market.” As the parent company of Mercado Bitcoin — one of the largest crypto brokerage firms in Latin America — 2TM cemented its unicorn status in July 2021 following a $200 million funding round, pushing the company ahead of a $2 billion valuation. Cointelegraph reported in March that 2TM was valued at $2.2 billion ahead of Coinbase’s reported plans to purchase the firm. In addition, 2TM acquired a controlling stake in Lisbon-based crypto exchange CriptoLoja in January. A Coinbase institutional investor report on Latin America from December 2021 suggested interest in expanding operations in Brazil. In April, Brazil’s Senate approved a law to regulate cryptocurrencies in the country, expected to be signed into law by President Jair Bolsonaro by the end of 2022. Rio de Janeiro, the second-most populous city in Brazil, also announced in March it will accept Bitcoin (BTC) payments for taxes related to urban real estate within city limits starting in 2023.

I can argue for hours with anyone that would say that Binance is not the most progressive trading platform we have today. It has everything that both nascent and experienced traders need. The fees might not be the lowest, but they are definitely on the south side of the industry standard. CZ is doing a marvelous job of expanding the reach of Binance and adding new feats and stuff. I am a happy trader when I am not Binance, and I don't plan to migrate anywhere.

Binance.US, the US arm of popular crypto exchange Binance, has withdrawn from the crypto lobbying group Blockchain Association, several media outlets reported Wednesday. In a statement shared with media outlet CoinDesk, a company spokesperson revealed Binance has decided to leave the organization citing differences in “values, goals and standards.” They noted: “Binance.US made a major investment last year in the Blockchain Association. Our executives recently negotiated in good faith with Blockchain Association executives in an effort to grow Binance.US’ role within the group. But after multiple conversations we ultimately determined that our values, goals and standards were not fully aligned.” With its departure, the world’s largest crypto exchange will set up its lobbying operations in Washington, United States, and engage in a more direct and constructive dialogue with policymakers. Per the spokesperson, the company will now aim its resources at creating its in-house lobby in Washington DC and other state capitals.

Binance launches Binance Bridge 2.0 to connect Ethereum-based tokens (both listed and unlisted) as BTokens to the BNB Chain. You can use your wrapped BTokens to explore the metaverse, blockchain-based games, decentralized finance (Defi) and more in the BNB Chain ecosystem, reducing the need for swaps and overcoming other interoperability barriers that have plagued blockchain. Therefore, Binance users will be able to use the bridge as a one-stop shop for all centralized finance (Cefi) and DeFi. The intent behind the first version of the Binance Bridge was to make multiple blockchains more interoperable. In addition, it allowed anyone to exchange their crypto assets into Binance Chain (now BNB Chain) and Binance Smart Chain (now BNB Smart Chain) wrapped tokens (and vice versa). The technique for swapping tokens (supported only on Binance.com) contains two categories in the first version: Peg-In and Peg-Out. Using Peg-In, users can swap native tokens for pegged tokens on the BNB Chain or BNB Smart Chain. Meanwhile, the Peg-Out technique allows users to convert pegged tokens to native tokens on the BNB Chain or the BNB Smart Chain. Regular deposit and withdrawal functionalities in the Binance Bridge version 2.0 allow users to bridge tokens between their original blockchains and the BNB Chain. In the future, Binance also wants to improve its mobile app to enable users to perform similar conversions with a single click. This article aims to discuss the integration of CeFi and DeFi through Binance Bridge 2.0 and how the Binance Bridge works.

Coinbase suspended some payment services on its newly launched Indian exchange due to pressure from the local payment regulators. The largest United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase has stopped payment services through United Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform for Indian users just three days after its launch in the South Asian subcontinent. The UPI is the payment portal governed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), which facilitates buy orders on Coinbase’s India services. The exchange has already updated its payment method information on its website for Indian users, which urges users to try Immediate Payment Service (IMP) to place sell orders. The NPCI is a special division of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Ministry of Finance. Financial news outlet Business Standard reported on Monday that Coinbase stated that it would work to remedy the situation in India with the appropriate regulators and that it was “committed to working with NPCI and other relevant authorities to ensure that we are aligned, with local expectations and industry norms.” The NPCI said in a statement on Thursday that it did not recognize the legal standing of any crypto exchanges using the RBI’s United Payments Interface (UPI) even after Coinbase announced the release of its services. The impetus for the suspension may have arisen from this comment: “With reference to some media reports around the purchase of Cryptocurrencies using UPI, National Payments Corporation of India would like to clarify that we are not aware of any crypto exchange using UPI.” Indian Coinbase users do not appear to be vexed by the sudden suspension of service. Co-founder of the Crypto India YouTube channel Aditya Singh tweeted to his 210,000 followers on Monday that “This is not new, Indian exchanges have also been facing payment service problems since 2018.”

Coinbase to increase transparency on potential 2022 listings. The exchange issued the names of 50 projects that could possibly be listed in the second quarter of 2022 as a way of adding information symmetry to crypto markets. America’s largest crypto exchange, Coinbase, announced a long list of tokens it could potentially list in the second quarter of 2022 in an effort to increase transparency. A Tuesday blog post from the exchange includes a list of tokens under consideration, but notes that other tokens may be under consideration but not specifically mentioned. Among those on their radar are 45 ERC-20 tokens on the Ethereum network and five SPL tokens on the Solana network. Some of the tokens with a relatively large market cap are Binance USD (BUSD), which is the third-largest stablecoin on the market, and one of the largest DAO projects BitDAO (BIT), which boasts a market cap of just over $1 billion at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data. The exchange stated that its new approach toward token listings will also provide “as much information symmetry as possible.” Information symmetry promotes efficiency and fairness within a market. It also reduces the chances for a pump-and-dump scenario on listing day, as the retail trading frenzy can be mitigated by advanced knowledge of a listing. While it is far more common on other centralized and decentralized exchanges, Coinbase has had its share of such price action on coins it lists. In 2020, OMG Network pumped 200% within 15 minutes of being listed on Coinbase and crashed moments later. Crypto projects are aware of the attention a Coinbase listing, or even just the potential one can bring. The relatively small decentralized finance (DeFi) data tokenizer Big Data Protocol, with a $3.3 million market cap according to CoinGecko, tweeted in delight on Tuesday that Coinbase was giving it looks at potentially being listed. However, while the increased transparency may be a boon for investors and projects, the seasoned crypto trader from Twitter account “12yearoldwithcc” believes the potential listings are lackluster. The account tweeted today that “Coinbase is in their flop era.”

Coinbase kicks off retail crypto trading services in India. One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase has gilded its way into the country with the largest number of crypto holders present. At an event hosted in Bengaluru, Coinbase confirmed that it has launched digital assets trading services in India, with plans to lead Web3 expansion in the country. Part of the expansion included the exchange conducting mass recruitment with intentions to triple its team in India by the end of 2022. The app, catering to its Indian audience, is integrated with the popular UPI payment process. The Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which is an instant real-time payment system administered by India’s central bank, accounts for approximately 60% of the retail payment volume in the country. Coinbase expansion plans in India came despite the stringent regulatory environment in the country. The Indian government recently implemented a 30% tax rule on cryptocurrencies and NFT related transactions, placing them in the highest tax bracket. In addition, it has also levied a 1% TDS, which is set to enforce from July 1. However, Coinbase has so far remained enthusiastic about its plans to enter the Indian market. It has already invested about $150 million in the country’s crypto startups, such as Polygon, CoinDCX, CoinSwitch Kuber, and more.

I wonder when the majority of cryptocurrency traders have become so snobbish with regard to platforms like CoinBene. I totally understand the need for top-notch service, but you guys must give people behind CoinBene, and other exchanges, a break because they had created a trading environment that is sufficiently safe and efficient. Certainly, there is a lot of work to be done on the part of CoinBene, but they remain one of the best in the industry when it comes to fees.

I honestly can't figure out what people do to the Huobi Global support team that forces them to "ignore" their tickets or whatever. In my two years of trading on that platform, I have never encountered any problems with the support team, withdrawals, network freeze-up, etc. Everything always works smoothly and accurately as a Swiss watch. I reckon that the negativity comes from the loud-mouthed guys who just need some attention.

Kraken users report Bitcoin Lightning Network availability. Kraken was previously aiming to implement the BItcoin Lightning Network in 2021 after officially announcing the plan in late 2020. Major American cryptocurrency exchange Kraken reportedly started implementing the Bitcoin (BTC) Lightning Network for users a bit later than the firm originally planned. Bitcoin maximalist Mr.Hodl took to Twitter on Wednesday to report that Kraken has implemented the Lightning Network. He attached a screenshot of the supposed new Kraken withdrawal process allowing users to complete a withdrawal request from a Lightning wallet to receive BTC from their accounts. “The Lightning network runs on top of the Bitcoin blockchain to enable more uses of Bitcoin,” Kraken’s withdrawal notice on the screenshot reads. It appears that no other Kraken users have reported the supposed BTC Lightning implementation on the platform so far. Instead, some Kraken customers said that they didn’t have the Lightning option to withdraw BTC as of Tuesday, suggesting that the Lightning implementation should be extended for all accounts within 24 hours. The first reports of Kraken’s BTC Lightning integration surfaced in mid-March from data appearing on the Lightning Network explorer known as Amboss Space. Bitcoin Lightning enthusiasts spotted the new Lightning node and shared their suspicions about a Lightning integration on social media.

Binance continues to lower barriers to cryptocurrency trading. With the intent to lead a new era of global financial inclusion, infrastructure providers must first prove that cryptocurrency usage is for everyone. Cryptocurrencies were designed to lead a new era of global financial inclusion, providing people access to financial services that they would otherwise be unable to have. Through a simplified financial structure, individuals and businesses around the world are finally having their needs met, and this transformation is believed to reduce poverty, improve prosperity and transform how the world transacts on a large scale. Although freedom of money is the objective, the technology is still in its early stages of adoption. Therefore, it is the exchanges and infrastructure providers that now hold a pivotal role in providing an initial touchpoint for users to engage with and learn of the benefits that come with digital currencies and the transformation they represent. Binance, one of the world's leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has proven to be a leader in these aspects. Since its inception, the platform has continued to work hard to create an ecosystem that is inclusive of the entire blockchain community, from digital asset projects to merchants to crypto investors and traders of every level. With continued efforts to lower the barriers to entry in this space, features like their competitive pricing and fee structures, deep liquidity, reduced slippage and wide product selection, among other continuous improvements, have proven crucial to the growth of their community and the crypto industry alike.

Binance launches Binance Bridge 2.0 to integrate CeFi and DeFi. The service would allow users to bridge assets from any blockchain to BNB Chain. On Tuesday, centralized cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced the rollout of Binance Bridge 2.0. The feature enables users to bridge assets from any blockchain, including tokens not listed on the Binance app, to the BNB Chain. Bridged tokens listed on Binance will be stored in the Funding or Spot Wallet, while unlisted bridged tokens will be transferred to the Funding Wallet only. Users can bridge-in or bridge-out tokens between their native blockchains and BNB Chain via regular deposit and withdrawal functions. In the future, Binance also plans to create a better version of its mobile app to allow users to facilitate such conversion via a single click.

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has expanded its staking offerings to include Cardano’s native token ADA. Announcing the news on Thursday, the exchange revealed plans to add more tokens to its staking portfolio in 2022. Per the blog post, delegators can expect to earn up to 3.75% APY as the estimated annual return from staking ADA on Coinbase. Users will receive awards in their accounts every 5–7 days after the initial holding period of 20–25 days ends. The company noted that ADA allows staking through a dedicated wallet, the process can be “confusing and complicated.” Using Coinbase service would allow users to participate and earn rewards in an “easy, secure way.” With the latest addition, Coinbase now offers staking services for Ethereum (ETH), ALGO, Cosmos (ATOM), Tezos (XTZ), and Cardano (ADA).

Being bought and sold online frequently alongside other digital assets, NFTs are now becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. As one the world’s leading digital asset exchanges, Huobi Global is constantly on the lookout for high-quality NFT assets that will be well-received by collectors. NFT tokens that have been listed on the Huobi platform include: AXS, MANA, GALA, MATIC, LUNA, THETA, SAND, FLOW, CHZ, APE, etc.

Crypterium, the fast-growing digital fintech solution helping customers manage their assets with ease, has announced its largest listing in the history of the company on the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase. Transfers and wallet support for CRPT will now be available on Coinbase’s exchange with the Experimental Label in the regions where trading is supported, and will include the trading pairs CRPT/USD, CRPT/USDT and CRPT/EUR. Crypterium has also announced the collection of bids where investors transfer their tokens to Coinbase, and if there is enough volume they will begin trading in auction mode. Then they will be transferred into limit bids, and then into full trading on Coinbase’s exchange. Following this listing of CRPT on Coinbase, Crypterium expects to continue its growth and operations following the Coinbase listing.

Korean crypto exchanges are now in compliance with the Travel Rule. Complying with the rules puts South Korea ahead of the curve for regulating virtual assets, but may be harming the domestic industry with overbearing transfer restrictions between exchanges. South Korean crypto exchanges have reached the government-mandated deadline to come into compliance with the so-called Travel Rule, but not all industry players are pleased with the measure. Starting today, Korean exchanges will flag any crypto transfers worth more than roughly $821. Transfers higher than that value will be restricted to user-verified wallets and a select number of exchanges that have adopted their anti-money laundering system. The Travel Rule is a set of guidelines issued by the international financial watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) designed to help authorities track the movement of virtual assets between virtual asset service providers (VASP) such as crypto exchanges or digital asset issuers.