The SEC just dropped a bombshell on Binance.US, the American arm of the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange. The regulator filed an emergency action application against Binance.US to freeze its assets, as part of the regulators recent crackdown on the crypto exchange.

Protecting Customer Funds On Binance

According to the documents filed with the court, the request was brought forward with the intention of ensuring that the assets of Binance.US clients are safeguarded and kept in the United States. At least pending the outcome of the ongoing litigation being conducted by the SEC. 

The filing is also looking to activate other emergency relief against Binance Holdings Limited, the arm of the exchange operating globally, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao. This is coming after news broke out on Monday, June 5, that SEC brought 13 charges on Binance.US and its billionaire founder, Changpeng Zhao, saying the company broke US rules by offering securities in the form of cryptocurrencies. 

According to the charges, the exchange had no oversight or controls to ensure that the assets are properly secured. 

What Does This Mean For The Industry?

Basically, the SEC is arguing Binance.US has been illegally facilitating the trading of securities. As the biggest exchange in the world, this has got many investors feeling a bit rattled and confused about what it all means. However, Binance is not the only target of the SEC. The commission also went after Coinbase, alleging that popular cryptocurrencies offered by the exchange qualify as securities.

A big part of the crypto community seems to be unified on the matter, as many investors see this as an attack on the entire crypto industry. Of course, Binance.US and Coinbase deny all allegations, with Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong tweeting that the SEC has taken a regulation by enforcement approach that is harming America.

Binance seems to be calm on the matter as in response, the exchange released a statement saying we intend to defend our platform vigorously, although it will continue to cooperate with regulators and policymakers in the U.S. and across the globe. 

Changpeng Zhao also took to Twitter to announce that if the order is granted, it would only affect funds under Binance.US, and not the global Binance.com.

Things also seem to be level headed, as faith in crypto platforms remains strong. However,...

On this weeks episode of The Market Report, Cointelegraphs resident expert discusses the details of the SECs lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao.

The EU flag (Ralph/Pixabay)

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood. (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

CoinDesks Margaux Nijkerk (right), the author of this piece, interviews Offchain Labs CEO Steven Goldfeder on stage at Consensus 2023. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

The latest price moves in bitcoin (BTC) and crypto markets in context for June 7, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesks daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

Bitcoin daily price chart (CoinDesk)

SEC Chair Gary Gensler (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer, Coinbase (CoinDesk)

Exchange Bitcoin holdings, unlike Ether, appear stable in light of the Binance and Coinbase lawsuit news.

ARK Invest bought over 400,000 shares of Coinbase stock totaling more than $21 million on the day the SEC served the exchange with a lawsuit.

We are different than ___, the crypto exchange said in a statement.

CoinDesk reporter Frederick Munawa, the author of this piece, interviews Trust Machines CEO Muneeb Ali on stage at Consensus 2023. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

Lido DAO (LDO) price gains today suggest the bulls are determined to push it to the $2.5 mark as the broader crypto market cap increased in the last day. 

LDO has joined the top-gaining coins today, June 7, with an over 6% price increase over the past 24 hours. The token closely follows PEPE, which has gained over 12% in the last 24 hours.

LDO Price Surge Amid Improved Market Sentiments

While LDO ranked 6th among top daily gainers, it scored second among top weekly gainers with a 13.48% price increase over the past seven days. Having a high of $2.45 and a low of $2.22, LDO is eyeing the $2.5 price level and might conquer it if the bulls continue to dominate the market.

According to CoinMarketCap data, Lido DAO has witnessed impressive price performances over the past 30 days. The token price has increased by over 36% in the last 30 days, 20.2% in 14 days, and 13.48% over the past seven days.

The crypto market seems bullish as investors anticipate the May CPI data, which the US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release on June 13. The inflation rate reduced to 4.95% in April from the 5.0% recorded in March against the 5.0% forecasted by economists. This shows that the Feds hawkish inflation-curbing strategy is taking effect.

Moreover, given the increasing recession and severe macroeconomic conditions, the Federal Reserve said it would pause the interest rates hike. And that has been reflected in crypto prices as Bitcoin prices pushed higher above $28,000. The sentiments appear higher still, even as investors anticipate the upcoming CPI data release.

At press time, the crypto market cap is up by 2.86%, while the total market volume has increased by 12.13%, rubbing off on most coins.

Increased Network Activities Propel LDO Price 

The effect of the crypto market volume increase on assets is evident on LDOs trading volume, which has increased by over 37% in the last 24 hours. Thats not all. According to Stelareum data, LDO total value locked (TVL) is up by 4.59%, against the 5.09% decline recorded on June 6. Lido Analytics also shows that LIDO TVL spiked 7.2...

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk)

Bitcoin has a marketing problem, but journalist and BTC evangelist Joe Hall is doing his best to fix it.

Layah Heilpern has attracted a big following for her no-bullshit take on Bitcoin. Weirdly, in a former life she worked for China state media.

Bitcoin of Americas shutdown in Connecticut highlights the obstacles for companies operating crypto ATMs.

Data from Santiment suggests that the latest Bitcoin rebound took place after most investors had given up on the idea of it happening.

Bitcoin Observes Rebound After Buy The Dip Crowd Goes Silent

According to data from the on-chain analytics firm Santiment, calls for buying the dip had mostly disappeared right before the actual rebound. The indicator of interest here is the social volume, which measures the total number of social media text documents that mention a given topic or term.

The text documents here refer to a collection of posts/threads derived from various social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Telegram, and 4chan. Note that the metric only cares about whether such posts make at least one mention of the given term, and not exactly how many times they do it.

This means that even if a thread mentions the topic several times, its contribution to the social volume still remains one unit. The benefit of this restriction is that it provides a better picture about the trend being followed in the whole sector, as only a few posts with a lot of discussion cant skew the total in their favor this way.

Now, in the context of the current discussion, cryptocurrency-related talks where users call out to buy the dip are of relevance. So, Santiment has taken the social volume of the entire digital asset sector and has then filtered it specifically using terms related to buy and dip.

Here is a chart that shows the social volume related to this topic broken down for each of the major social media platforms:

As displayed in the above graph, right after Bitcoin and the rest of the market had crashed due to the news of SEC suing Binance breaking out, the social volume for discussions related to these terms had observed a large spike on Reddit and Twitter.

This would imply that users had become hyped and had started calling for buying the dip as soon as the price plunge had occurred. As it turned out, however, there wasnt any price rebound just yet, and BTC rather continued to go down after the market had become excited.

As the coin continued to move mostly sideways over the next day, though, the discussions related to buying the dip started to die out. Thats when the...

This is an opinion editorial by Sergii Gerasymovych, CEO and Co-Founder of EZ Blockchain, a bitcoin mining company focused on using wasted and underutilized energy.

Weve been here before. This is the second crypto winter for my company, which produces Bitcoin mining containers.

In this article, I will share the story of how our Bitcoin mining company survived its first crypto winter, and is now surviving its second (as well as the worlds ongoing energy crisis), and what we think will happen with the energy and crypto mining industries in the future.

Our First Crypto Winter

Our company was launched in the first quarter of 2017 as a data center hosting solution with a mission to bring the best technology to Bitcoin miners.

We suffered a knock-on effect and initiated widespread redundancies as we struggled amid the looming cryptocurrency crash of the time. But we were still young, so our company had little to lose. We had only five employees and we had to learn to survive, mainly by managing cost and operating in a lean and mean way.

Surviving Our Second Crypto Winter

We arrived at the second crypto winter as one of the world's largest Bitcoin mining container producers (producing 10 containers every week). We have been one of the pioneers in utilizing wasted flared gas energy for Bitcoin mining and had built 10 cryptocurrency mining facilities across eight states and Canada, operating with more than 200 megawatts (MWs) of power.

But 2022 was among the most challenging years for us and the entire Bitcoin mining industry. It was characterized by declining bitcoin prices and rising energy costs, influenced by the energy crisis provoked by the war in Ukraine. Many mining companies declared bankruptcy, and those that survived had to reconsider their operations.

Some companies managed to survive in a year-long crypto winter, one that is arguably not over yet, record mining difficulty and completely-frozen funding. From my six years of experience running a Bitcoin infrastructure company, there are a few solutions I can share that I hope will help others or offer insight into how resilient Bitcoin mining can be. This should not be considered a panacea for market downturns or managerial advice, but simply what I have learned for myself.

First, We Called Our Power Providers

The bull run over the last few years has shown that Bitcoin miners prioritize acquiring miners over securing relationships with utilities.

But we believe that prioritizing the securing of p...

<p>Optimism ushers in a new era with the successful completion of its highly anticipated <a href= "https://blockchainmagazine.net/all-about-optimism-bedrock-hard-fork-reducing-deposit-times-and-layer-1-fees/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Bedrock</a> upgrade. This transformative enhancement, announced by OP Labs, the networks developer, brings forth accelerated deposit times, decreased layer-1 fees, and fortified security measures. </p> <p>The implementation of these advancements marks a pivotal step in the developers ambitious mission to establish a Superchain comprised of scalable Web3 networks, leveraging the cutting-edge Optimism OP Stack software. </p> <h2><strong>Optimism Bedrock: Revolutionizing Efficiency & Security

According to an announcement by Optimism on Twitter, the network now possesses the ability to identify chain reorganizations occurring on Ethereum, seamlessly reflecting these reorgs in users Optimism balances.</p> <p>This revolutionary development has paved the way for deposit times to be dramatically reduced to a mere one minute, in stark contrast to the previous average wait time of 10 minutes. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en"><img alt="" class="wp-smiley" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2705.png" style= "height: 1em;">OP Mainnets migration to Bedrock has concluded and the Bedrock sequencer has started up.</p> <p>Key external OP Mainnet infrastructure is starting to come back online. You can track infrastructure status here:<a href= "https://t.co/XTtaArdI03" rel= "nofollow">https://t.co/XTtaArdI03</a></p> <p> Optimism (<img alt="" class="wp-smiley" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2728.png" style= "height: 1em;"><img alt="" class="wp-smiley" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f534.png" style= "height: 1em;">_<img alt="" class="wp-smiley" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f534.png" style= "height: 1em;"><img alt="" class="wp-smiley" src= "https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2728.png" style= "height: 1em;">) (@optimismFND) <a href= "https://twitter.com/optimismFND/status/1666155844776361985?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow">June 6, 2023</a></p> </blockquote> <p>The significant time savings are achieved by eliminating the need to achieve finality on L1 before processing deposits from Ethereum to Optimism.</p> <h2><strong>Streamlined Gas Optimization</strong></h2> <p>Recognizing the importance of affordability and accessibility, the Bedrock upgrade takes a stride towards a more user-friendly ecosystem. By leveraging the networks innovative gas optim...

Kim Kardashian. (James Devaney/GC Images/Getty)

At present, Chainlink (LINK) continues to witness further losses, with the altcoin experiencing a decline of nearly 7% in the past 24 hours. This depreciation has led LINK to touch its lowest point in several months, primarily driven by the overall weakness observed in the broader market.

On the weekly chart, LINK has lost approximately 4% of its value. Although there has been a slight recovery from the nearest support, the technical analysis of LINK still suggests a bearish outlook. Demand and accumulation indicators have also declined on the chart.

As Bitcoin begins to recover, moving back into the $26,000 range after a drop into the $25,000 zone, altcoins have also initiated their respective recovery processes. However, the sustainability of this recovery relies on the return of demand and buying confidence in the market.

Related Reading: Ethereum Price Regains Strength But Key Downtrend Resistance Intact

For LINK to experience significant price growth, it needs to surpass its overhead resistance level. Since encountering strong resistance at the critical level of $8.70, bears have dominated the market, resulting in intensified selling pressure and the breaking of significant support levels. Currently, the market capitalization of LINK remains low, indicating a lack of buyers in the market at the time of writing.

Chainlink Price Analysis: One-Day Chart

At the time of writing, Chainlink (LINK) was trading at $6.17. As Bitcoin rebounded to the $26,000 level, LINK also experienced a bounce from its support level of $6. The immediate overhead resistance for the altcoin was $6.36.

If this resistance level is surpassed, Chainlink could potentially reach $6.70, leading to a significant rally of 8%. However, its worth noting that prevailing market weakness could still cause LINK to depreciate further at the time of writing.

In such a scenario, a drop from the cu...

(Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith said that while the SECs approach to regulation is expected due to its anti-crypto stance, its still unacceptable.

(Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock)

In this article, we will delve into the world of Bitcoin Casino Canada, exploring various aspects such as legality, payment options, game variety, bonuses, and more. Join us as we take you through our review of the best crypto casino sites available to Canadian players in 2023.

• Bc.game Best Canadian Casino
• Luckyblock Best New Casino
• Metaspins Top Crypto Casino
• Betplay Our Recommendation
• Jackbit Best Mobile Casino
• Cloudbet Reputable BTC Casino
• Cryptoloko Best Crypto Bonus
• Vave.com Best Promotions
• Flush.com Quick Crypto Deposits
• Katsubet Premium Bitcoin Casino
• Blizz.io Best Crypto Games

The Best Crypto Casinos Toplist

Instant Payments...

Algorithmic stablecoins seek balance through unconventional means. (eswaran arulkumar/Unsplash)

The countrys financial watchdog claimed it was very difficult to accept the acquisition requests amid accusations of securities laws violations.

Polygon (MATIC) recently experienced a sudden surge in large transactions. These sizable movements of funds on the network have caught the attention of market observers, prompting speculation about the motives and actions of cryptocurrency whales. 

The catalyst behind this flurry of activity appears to be the recent lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Binance and Coinbase. 

As regulatory uncertainties loom over the industry, the surge in large transactions on Polygon has become a key indicator of the strategies employed by these investors.

Surge In Large Transactions On Polygon Network Raises Speculation 

Large transactions within the cryptocurrency market are often viewed as indicative of whales actions, serving as a glimpse into the strategies they are formulating.

According to IntoTheBlock, an on-chain analytics firm, large transactions are defined as those exceeding $100,000. The firm reports a notable surge in the volume of large transactions on the Polygon network, reaching $64.44 million, which represents a staggering 742% increase within the last 24 hours.

The surge in large transactions on Polygon occurs against the backdrop of a broader cryptocurrency market downturn. Following the SECs actions against the major crypto exchanges, most cryptocurrencies have experienced declines.

As regulatory uncertainties loom over the industry, market sentiment has been dampened, leading to widespread selling pressure and a decline in prices across various digital assets.

As of the time of writing, Polygons native token, MATIC, is trading at $0.804240, based on CoinGecko data. Over the past 24 hours, MATIC has witnessed a 2.8% decline, while the past seven days have seen a notable slump of 9.6%.

...

Despite a tumultuous year, the Philippines financial regulator decided not to rush a legal framework on the crypto industry, which was initially planned for late 2022.

One of the latest SEC filings in its lawsuit against Binance claims billions of customer funds are at the mercy of Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

Bull (Ajithkumar M/Pixabay)

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman (House Financial Services Committee)

Volcano Energy said the funds would go toward developing a 241-megawatt power generation park.

Unlock the power of AI tools to extract key insights and condense complex information effortlessly, revolutionizing your research paper summarization process.

Binance Logo (Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

The U.S. House of Representatives committee did not disclose all the topics for discussion, but the community expects the hearing to address critical issues in the space.

Bitcoin snaps back into its classic trading range, but BTC price has yet to reclaim a key level above $27,000.

The MAS proposed stablecoin rules last year which set capital and reserve requirements for issuers. (Sandali Handagama/ CoinDesk)

Every major player has been sued by the SEC except for FTX, several members of the crypto community have noted.

Since Binance and Coinbase were sued for offering unregistered securities, the longtime Bitcoin advocate has tweeted posts promoting a focus on BTC development.

Memecoins that draw their likeness from Gary Gensler and the SEC have rallied significantly since the regulator sued Binance and Coinbase.

While Apple Vision Pro comes with features geared toward personalized virtual reality, Miras headsets are purpose-built for industrial applications.

The senators werent happy with the seemingly minimal protections to fight against fraud and cybercrime in Metas AI model.

Over 3.6 million documents have yet to be produced by prosecutors in the criminal trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, according to his lawyers.

1.00 AUD = 0.00003 BTC
0.00010 BTC = 4.00 AUD
Converter

0.00010 BTC = 2.66 USD
1.00 USD = 0.00004 BTC
Converter

Ethereum price recovered losses and traded above $1,860 against the US Dollar. ETH must clear $1,920 to start a strong increase in the near term.

• Ethereum is showing positive signs above the $1,860 level.
• The price is trading above $1,850 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $1,865 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could still struggle to clear the $1,920 resistance zone.

Ethereum Price Trims Losses

Ethereums price found support near the $1,775 zone after a major decline. ETH formed a base and started a fresh increase above the $1,800 resistance zone, similar to Bitcoin.

There was a clear move above the $1,840 and $1,850 resistance levels. Besides, there was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $1,865 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. A high is formed near $1,898 and the price is now consolidating gains.

Ether is now trading above $1,850 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. It is also above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $1,777 swing low to the $1,898 high.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

Immediate resistance is near the $1,900 zone. The next major resistance is near the $1,920 level (a multi-touch zone). A proper move above the $1,900 and $1,920 resistance levels might send Ether toward $1,950. The next resistance sits near $2,000, above which Ethereum could rise toward $2,040. Any more gains above the $2,040 resistance zone might send the price toward the $2,120 resistance.

Fresh Decline in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $1,900 resistance, it could start another decline. Initial support on the downside is near...

Bitcoin price trimmed yesterdays losses and climbed above $26,500. BTC is now again facing strong resistance near the $27,400 zone.

• Bitcoin started a fresh decline after it dived toward the $25,500 support.
• The price is trading above $26,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
• There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance near $26,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair is now facing a major hurdle near the $27,400 and $27,500 levels.

Bitcoin Price Revisits $27,500

Bitcoin price found support near the $25,400 zone after a major decline. BTC formed a base and was able to start a recovery wave above the $26,000 level.

There was a break above a connecting bearish trend line with resistance near $26,000 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair was able to clear the $27,000 resistance to move into a positive zone. However, the bears were again active near the $27,400 and $27,500 levels.

A high is formed near $27,368 and the price is now consolidating gains. It is trading above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent increase from the $25,369 swing low to the $27,368 high.

Bitcoin price is trading above $26,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. Immediate resistance is near the $27,400 level. The next major resistance is near the $27,500 level. A close above $27,500 might send the price further higher.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The next key resistance is near the $28,000 level. An upside break and close above $28,000 could start a decent increase toward $28,500. Any more gains above the $28,500 resistance zone might send the price toward the $29,500 resistance zone.

Fresh Decline in BTC?

If Bitcoins...

Brian Armstrong and CZ have seen respective net worth losses of 11.8% and 5.1% since the SEC sued Coinbase and Binance.

Total daily trading volumes on decentralized exchanges have surged by nearly $800 million over the past two days.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. (CoinDesk)

(boonchai wedmakawand/Getty Images)

In a scathing critique of the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) recent actions against the cryptocurrency industry, Ripple Chair Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse has accused the SEC Chair Gary Gensler of hypocrisy and desperation.

In a statement released on Twitter, Garlinghouse called Genslers claims to be pro-innovation laughable, arguing that the agencys recent lawsuits against Ripple and other companies are simply a distraction from their internal struggles.

Ripple CEO Claps Back At SEC Chair

Garlinghouse went on to criticize Gensler as an unelected bureaucrat who is flailing to mask the fact that he and his agency lack the power they so desperately crave. He suggested that the SECs crackdown on the crypto industry is misguided and ultimately harmful to innovation.

Furthermore, Ripple CEO Garlinghouse criticizes Gensler for trying to exert power that he doesnt possess and suggests that the agencys actions are ultimately futile. 

On the same note, according to Yassin Mobarak, founder of venture capital firm Dizer Capital, the SECs aggressive approach may be an attempt to prevent a precedent-setting ruling against them in the Ripple case.

Mobarak suggests that the SEC may be expediting their attack plans to isolate any potential losses in the Ripple case and claim that they are specific to the facts and circumstances of that case, rather than applicable to the entire cryptocurrency industry. This would enable the SEC to avoid setting a precedent that could have negative implications for the industry as a whole.

These comments reflect the growing tension between the SEC and the cryptocurrency industry, with many companies feeling unfairly targeted by the agencys regulatory actions. The recent lawsuits against Ripple, Coinbase, and Binance have raised questions about the legitimacy of the SECs claims and the impact of their actions on the wider industry.

XRP has had a tumultuous few weeks as increased regulatory scrutiny has put pressure on the entire crypto industry. After reaching a key level of $0.500 on May 30, XRP lost some of its momentum amid uncertainty about the future of the industry. However, the market has shown resilience, and XRP has managed to breach the $0.500 level once again.

As of the time of writing, XRP is trading at $0.5285, up 3% in the last 24 hours. This suggests that investors remain optimistic about the long-term prospects of the cryptocurrency, despite the challenges posed by regulatory uncertainty.

The U.S.-based exchange said it is fully operational and called the Securities and Exchange Commissions motion unwarranted.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler (CoinDesk screen grab from video)

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, on Capitol Hill, September 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The upgrade is part of a series of reforms meant to increase modularity in the OP Stack, allowing developers to spin up their own networks using the software.

U.S. SEC (Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock)

Coinbase met with the SEC 30 times in 2022 seeking regulatory guidance and now it will vigorously defend itself, it says.

The Lightning Network Rate (Liner) is pitched as a way of monitoring market demand for liquidity on the Bitcoin layer 2 network. (Jonathan Kitchen / Getty Images)

Optimism's Bedrock Upgrade has completed. (David Mark/Pixabay)

The SEC has accused Binance of mishandling funds and operating an unregistered securities exchange.

(Pabitra Kaity/Pixabay)

In a social media post, Brian Armstrong said he thinks the SECs rules are unclear and that the courts need to make rulings to clarify them.

Sergey Nazarov (left) and Jonathan Ehrenfeld Sol (Chainlink Labs)

On-chain data from Glassnode shows market participants averting risk and seeking shelter in stablecoins and BTC as the crypto market nears a decisive move.

The new corpus includes nine courses and a set of labs that students can complete to earn a Google Cloud skills badge.

Disclaimer: Zion is a portfolio company of UTXO, a fund controlled by BTC Inc., the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine.

Zion, the Web5-based social network, has unveiled an update that enables users to make bitcoin payments using the Lightning Network within their private, encrypted direct messages (DMs). With this integration, Zion empowers its users to send and receive bitcoin instantly, while ensuring privacy and freedom from censorship.

By leveraging the Lightning Network, transactions are near-instantaneous and bypass the need for traditional payment processors. Zion ensures that conversations within DMs remain secure and confidential by incorporating encryption, so that users can communicate with one another without fear of their messages being accessed or monitored.

The introduction of bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network aligns with Zion's core mission of liberating social media from the control of large tech companies. By leveraging bitcoin's decentralized nature and the Lightning Network's capabilities, Zion enables users to transact and communicate freely without compromising their privacy or facing restrictions imposed by traditional social media platforms.

This integration within Zion's ecosystem eliminates the need for platform fees, ensuring that the value users send or receive remains intact. Every satoshi (sats) matters, with 1,000 sats being equal to 1,000 sats, providing a seamless experience for users engaging in financial transactions.

The introduction of Bitcoin payments via the Lightning Network represents a significant step for Zion in its quest to redefine the social media landscape. By embracing Lightning, Zion can provide a platform where users can freely express themselves while supporting content creators directly.

Exchange flows over 24 hours (Nansen)

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler (Bill Clark-Pool/Getty Images)

COIN slid Tuesday following a suit by the SEC against Coinbase. (TradingView)

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (CoinDesk archives)

Sky Mavis co-founder Jeffrey Zirlin discusses the future of metaverse gaming with CoinDesk's Rosie Perper at CoinDesk's Consensus 2023 event. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

A Consensus 2023 panel discussion. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

(Shutterstock)

(Vlad Deep/Unsplash)

(Devrimb/Getty Images)

Apple Vision Pro headset (Apple)

SEC Chief Gary Gensler (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Louis Vuitton "Via Treasure Trunk" (Louis Vuitton)

Coinbase, one of the leading cryptocurrency exchanges, has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for operating as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency. The SEC also accused Coinbase of failing to register its crypto asset staking-as-a-service program. The complaint alleges that since 2019, Coinbase has facilitated the buying and selling of billions of dollars' worth of crypto asset securities without proper registration, combining the functions of an exchange, broker, and clearing agency.

The SEC claims that Coinbase's failure to register has deprived investors of essential protections such as SEC inspection, recordkeeping requirements, and safeguards against conflicts of interest. The charges also extend to Coinbase's holding company, Coinbase Global Inc., as it is considered a control person and thus liable for some of Coinbase's violations.

Additionally, the SEC alleges that Coinbase conducted an unregistered securities offering through its staking-as-a-service program. This program allows customers to earn profits through blockchain transaction validation services. Coinbase allegedly pooled customers' stakeable crypto assets, performed the necessary validations, and rewarded customers with a portion of the generated rewards. The SEC states that Coinbase failed to register these offers and sales as required by law.

Just yesterday, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance and its CEO CZ, alleging that the exchange violated securities laws, brazenly dodged regulation by the SEC and did not properly inform their consumers. The combination of lawsuits within two days indicate a major effort by U.S. regulators to set a new tone for regulation and application of securities law to digital assets.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler criticized Coinbase's alleged deprivation of critical protections for investors. Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, accused Coinbase of deliberately refusing to follow the federal securities laws, noting that the consequences for the investing public are significant.

Like the SEC's complaint against Binance, the regulator seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, penalties and other equitable relief. The investigation was conducted by the SEC's Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, with the assistance of the San Francisco Regional Office and the multi-state task force of ten state securities regulators.

Coinbase has not yet responded publicly to the charges. The outcome of this case will have significant implications for the regulation of cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States and could be a major shift for t...

Amboss, a data analytics provider for the Bitcoin Lightning Network (LN), has introduced LINER (Lightning Network Rate), an innovative index designed to measure bitcoin returns on the Lightning Network and showcase its potential for low-risk enterprise yield. According to a press release shared with Bitcoin Magazine, LINER serves as a benchmark interest rate for bitcoin without credit risk, similar to the traditional finance's LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate). The index aims to provide an alternative to enterprises seeking exposure to bitcoin while avoiding the credit risk associated with CeFi yield platforms.

"By communicating real yield rates from bitcoin held on the LN, enterprises will recognize the strategic error in trusting CeFi yield platforms while capturing the benefits of payment network disruption that is decades overdue, said Jesse Shrader, co-founder and CEO of Amboss. Nik Bhatia, creator of The Bitcoin Layer, praised LINER as a first-of-its-kind reference rate derived from the Lightning Network, contributing to the establishment of unmanipulated money markets independent of a central authority.

Allen Farrington, a Bitcoin writer and investor, acknowledged the value of a reference rate like LINER for assessing the true cost of capital, highlighting the Lightning Network's growth as a self-sustaining financial ecosystem for both retail and enterprise needs. 

Amboss also operates Magma, a marketplace facilitating the buying and selling of Lightning channels, enabling bitcoin holders to earn BTC from opening Lightning channels to various destinations. Since Lightning channels are self-custodial ways to hold bitcoin, Magma enables novel bitcoin yield without custodial risk, avoiding the pitfalls of failed CeFi yield platforms like Celsius and BlockFi, the press release stated.

LINER comprises two insightful metrics: LINER Cost and LINER Yield, which provide enterprises with valuable insights into the lightning market. These metrics allow for comparisons between LINER Cost and traditional payment card fees, empowering large bitcoin holders to make informed decisions regarding their bitcoin holdings.

Jonathan Bier, an author and investor, noted the potential future significance of the LINER index as a reference rate for Bitcoin-based investment decisions. The introduction of LINER opens up possibilities for portfolio managers, investors and businesses to leverage the index in their decision-making processes.

With LINER, Amboss aims to encourage enterprise adoption of the Lightning Network by demonstrating the cost savings and low-risk yield potential offered by Lightning-enabled payment infrastructure. The index provides a clear incentive for large bitcoin holders to utilize self-custodial strategies and earn higher returns while minimiz...

Video game controller (Jose Gil/Unsplash)

Bitcoin daily chart (CoinDesk)

(Danny Nelson/CoinDesk)

Crypto tokens deemed as securities by the SEC (Lyllah Ledesma/Messari)

Luxembourg will probe competition in Web3. (djedj/Pixabay)