Evening News | The US SEC has filed 13 charges against Binance and Changpeng Zhao; Sequoia Capital will split into three companies
The stolen funds from the Atomic part have been transferred to the mixing platform used by the North Korean hacker Lazarus; the Binance NFT market now supports Bitcoin NFTs.整理：饼干，ChainCatcher
"What Important Events Happened in the Last 24 Hours"
1. SEC Files 13 Charges Against Binance and Zhao Changpeng, Including Mismanagement of Customer Funds
According to The New York Times, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed 13 charges against Binance and Zhao Changpeng, including mismanagement of customer funds and misleading regulators and investors about its operations. The SEC stated that Binance has been mixing "billions of dollars" of customer funds and secretly transferring them to an independent company controlled by Zhao Changpeng. Additionally, Binance misled investors about whether its systems were sufficient to detect and control manipulative trading practices. The SEC also indicated that Binance did not take adequate measures to restrict U.S. investors from using unregulated exchanges.
Zhao Changpeng immediately tweeted that the Binance team is on standby to ensure the stability of the exchange's systems, including deposits and withdrawals, and will respond to the incident later. This afternoon, Zhao Changpeng launched a Twitter poll asking "Binance or SEC, who can better protect users?" with Binance receiving approximately 84.7% support.
In terms of data, after the news of the SEC suing Binance broke, crypto market maker Cumberland withdrew 67.9 million USDC from Circle and deposited 67.1 million USDC into Coinbase. Crypto brokerage FalconX received 37 million USDC from Circle and deposited 29.5 million USDC into Binance, with these two institutions collectively depositing 96.6 million USDC into trading platforms. FBG Capital withdrew 44 million USDT from the exchange before the SEC lawsuit against Binance and later deposited it back into Binance.
Furthermore, according to Nansen data, Binance experienced a capital outflow of $719 million in the past 24 hours, with a current stablecoin balance of approximately $8 billion. Coinglass data shows that the total liquidation amount across the network in the past 24 hours reached $310 million, with long position liquidations amounting to $286 million. (Source Link)
2. Part of the Stolen Funds from Atomic Wallet Has Been Transferred to a Mixing Platform Used by North Korean Hacker Lazarus
Blockchain compliance analysis firm Elliptic reported that its investigation team has tracked part of the stolen funds from Atomic Wallet being transferred to the crypto mixer Sinbad.io, previously used by North Korean hacker Lazarus. Elliptic did not specify how much money was sent to the mixing platform but noted that these illicit funds are undergoing laundering operations.
Additionally, according to PeckShield monitoring, the attacker of Atomic Wallet stole approximately $4.28 million worth of cryptocurrency on Ethereum and has transferred about $1.7 million worth of cryptocurrency (including approximately 153.4 ETH) to centralized exchanges such as Binance and Huobi. (Source Link)
3. Sequoia Capital to Split into Three Companies, with Sequoia China, India, and Southeast Asia Units Rebranded as HongShan and Peak XV Partners
According to TechCrunch, Sequoia Capital will split into three companies, with Sequoia China rebranded as HongShan, and the Sequoia India and Southeast Asia units rebranded as Peak XV Partners. Sequoia's U.S. and European businesses will maintain their affiliation with the original Sequoia Capital brand.
Moreover, the Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia units stated that Peak XV Partners has raised $9.2 billion through 13 funds under its previous brand name and will now seek to deploy approximately $2.5 billion raised last year. (Source Link)
4. Argo Blockchain Q1 Financial Report: Revenue of $11 Million, Up 15% Quarter-on-Quarter, Net Loss of $8.7 Million
Crypto mining company Argo Blockchain released its Q1 2023 financial report, showing revenue of $11 million, a 15% increase quarter-on-quarter, with a net loss of $8.7 million. As of the end of Q1, the company had $14.2 million in cash and 85 bitcoins or bitcoin equivalents on its balance sheet. Argo Blockchain mined a total of 491 bitcoins in Q1.
According to a previous report by ChainCatcher, Argo Blockchain had a net loss of $240 million in 2022, its CEO Peter Wall resigned, and the board appointed COO Seif El-Bakly as interim CEO. (Source Link)
5. Binance NFT Marketplace Now Supports Bitcoin NFTs
The Binance NFT marketplace now supports users depositing Bitcoin NFTs, although batch deposits are not yet supported. It is reported that the Binance NFT marketplace supports 20 Bitcoin NFT series, including Bitcoin Bandits, Bitcoin Frogs, Bitcoin Pizzas, Bitcoin Punks, Bitcoin Wizards, Block Legends, BTC DeGods, BTC Machine, Clay Pepes, and DogePunks. (Source Link)
6. Huang Licheng: Has Transferred All BAYC and MAYC Holdings to Binance in Support
Taiwanese singer Huang Licheng (@machibigbrother) announced on Twitter that he has transferred all of his BAYC and MAYC holdings to Binance in support. On-chain data shows that the address marked as Huang Licheng's "0x020c…5872" completed the transfer of 39 NFTs 4 hours ago. (Source Link)
7. MakerDAO Has Transferred $500 Million to Coinbase Custody Services
MakerDAO has transferred $500 million to Coinbase Custody. According to previous reports, in April this year, MakerDAO approved the opening of a real asset (RWA) vault for Coinbase Custody Services and transferred up to $500 million in USDC stablecoins. The proposal received 84% support. The Coinbase custody department will pay an annual interest of 2.6% on deposits. (Source Link)
"What Excellent Articles Are Worth Reading in the Last 24 Hours"
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sued Binance and its CEO Zhao Changpeng (CZ) along with two other subsidiaries, BAM Trading Services ("BAM Trading") and BAM Management US Holdings Inc. ("BAM Management"), accusing the defendants of violating U.S. securities regulations. This article summarizes key excerpts from the 136-page complaint.
As the Ripple and Coinbase cases progress, we will have the opportunity to see how the courts view the SEC's enforcement actions. We will be watching closely, but the outlook may be brighter than the market expects.
3. “Is the Value of the StarkNet Ecosystem Overrated?”
StarkNet, with its unique technical features such as zk-STARK technology and a custom development environment, is in a leading technological position. This gives StarkNet advantages in handling high throughput, low cost, and privacy protection. Therefore, StarkNet is expected to become a leader among Layer 2 solutions and attract more developers and users.
