CEO of Collapsed Turkish Exchange Sentenced to 11,000 Years in Prison
- Faruk Özer and his two siblings were sentenced to 11,196 years in prison for their involvement in the $2 billion rug pull of Turkish crypto exchange Thodex in 2021.
- Özer fled the country after the collapse of the exchange, but was detained in Albania a year later, and extradited back to Türkiye in April 2023 where he faced seven criminal charges.
September 8, 2023, 1:10 PM
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DoJ Requests SBF’s Expert Witnesses be Barred From Testifying
- The U.S. Department of Justice has expressed its concerns over Sam Bankman-Fried’s seven expert witnesses, and requested they be barred from testifying on the case.
- The DoJ claimed most of the proposed experts lacked the necessary foundation for their opinions, making them unqualified to be an expert witness.
August 29, 2023, 12:28 PM
Former CEO of FTX Sam Bankman-Fried leaves the Federal Court in New York after pleading not guilty, 3 January, 2022.
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Balancer Exploited After Giving Warning
- DeFi protocol Balancer confirmed it was exploited almost a week after disclosing a critical vulnerability affecting several of its boosted pools.
- The platform did its best to mitigate some of the risks but was unable to pause the affected pools, and an estimated $980,000 in DAI were stolen in an attack.
August 28, 2023, 1:55 PM
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Kroll Data Breach Compromises FTX, BlockFi Customer Information
- A cyber security incident at bankruptcy service provider Kroll has resulted in the exposure of “non-sensitive” customer data for claimants involved in the FTX and BlockFi cases.
- Both companies confirmed that account passwords, systems, and funds remained safe, but warned customers to be on the lookout for phishing scams.
August 25, 2023, 2:26 PM
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Aug 24, 2023
Binance to Suspend Debit Card Services in Latin America and Middle East
- The company said it will be suspending its crypto-backed debit card service in the Middle East on 25 August, and in Latin America by 21 September.
- Although no reason was given for the decision, the company noted that “less than 1% of users” in those regions will be affected by the change.
Aug 21, 2023
Bitget to Update KYC Requirements in September
- Crypto exchange Bitget will make it mandatory for new users to undergo its level-1 KYC process starting 1 September, old users will have until 1 October to do the same.
- The level-1 KYC process requires users to submit a government identification and undergo facial authentication, and is in line with global regulatory guidelines.
Aug 16, 2023
Binance Shuts Down Connect Crypto Payment Platform
- A spokesperson said the change was due to the “changing market and user needs”, and that Binance will now be refocusing its resources on its main products and long-term goals.
- Launched in March 2022, Binance Connect helped crypto businesses connect with the traditional finance system, and supported 50 cryptocurrencies and networks such as Visa and Mastercard.
Aug 10, 2023
Coinbase Opens Base Blockchain to the Public
- Coinbase’s Base blockchain was made available to the public on Wednesday, featuring over 100 dApps and services as part of its ecosystem.
- In order to show its capabilities and promote its mainnet partners, Base has also launched an event called “Onchain Summer” that will allow users to mint exclusive NFTs on the network.
Aug 8, 2023
Bitstamp Reportedly Raising Funds for Global Expansion
- Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running crypto exchange, has been raising funds since late June, with its advisor being Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.
- The new funds will reportedly be used to launch a new derivatives platform in Europe, expand to new markets in Asia, scale its operations in the U.K..
Jul 31, 2023
SEC Staff Asked Coinbase to Delist all Crypto Except BTC Before Lawsuit
- During an interview with FT, CEO Brian Armstrong said that before the lawsuit a SEC staff member had said that all crypto except BTC was security, and should be delisted.
- When asked how he came to that conclusion, the SEC staff member reportedly said “we’re not going to explain it to you, you need to delist every asset other that Bitcoin”.