It appears that the crackdown on crypto firms by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has severely affected Binance’s business. Over the past few weeks, the cryptocurrency exchange has reportedly laid off more than 1,000 employees and cut some benefits.
According to Binance, the “current market environment and regulatory climate” caused profits to drop, which indicates the possibility of further cuts. A Cointelegraph spokesperson said the company would consider downsizing “certain products, business units, employee benefits and policies” in response to labor and regulatory concerns.
Binance has not yet faced the courts and the 13 charges brought against it by the SEC, as well as the outcome of a US Department of Justice investigation targeting its activities and its executives.
Despite the cloudy outlook ahead, Binance remains the most popular centralized crypto exchange in the world, with over $63 billion in assets. Symbolic Breakdown by DefiLlama Offers The majority of assets held on Binance include Tether (USDT) (27.55%), Bitcoin (BTC) (26.95%), BNB (BNB) (12.82%), and cryptocurrency ether (10.08%).
In remarks marking Binance’s anniversary on July 14, the exchange’s CEO Changpeng Zhao noted that the company’s journey has “never been quite smooth.”
This week, the Crypto Biz looks into Binance’s ongoing efforts to cap a drop in profits, Ripple predicts that US banks may soon embrace XRP (XRP), and the first signs of venture capital returning to crypto.
The Ripple CLO says the court ruling may encourage banks to adopt XRP
Stu Alderoty, Chief Legal Officer at Ripple Labs, believes that US-based banks may turn to XRP for cross-border transactions following the latest court ruling. “Hopefully this quarter will lead to a lot of conversations in the US with customers, and hopefully some of those conversations will turn into real business,” he said during an interview. With the “safety” label no longer attached to XRP, partnerships between Ripple and banks that have been diminished by the SEC lawsuit may find new life. Bank of America has been eyeing the blockchain company in 2019, and American Express partnered with Ripple for the first time in 2017.
#new: presidents @employee And @employee Issuing a statement regarding the court ruling in SEC v. Ripple and the need for legislative clarity in the digital asset ecosystem to prevent further uncertainty in our financial markets.
Read more https://t.co/y1nITVmHvh pic.twitter.com/tn0dn0BDHd
– GOP Financial Services (FinancialCmte) July 14, 2023
Binance Cuts Employee Benefits, Citing ‘Declining Profits’
The global cryptocurrency trading platform is cutting some employee benefits amid revaluation efforts at the company. The company has reportedly stopped reimbursing employees for certain expenses, including cell phone use, fitness, and working from home. Binance cited the “current market environment and regulatory climate” which led to a decline in profits, which indicates that further cost-cutting measures may be needed. The report came on the heels of mass layoffs in June that affected more than 1,000 employees at the exchange. Binance and Zhao have been targeted in lawsuits by the SEC for allegedly offering securities not registered in the United States.
Marathon shareholders filed a lawsuit against the company’s top management
Crypto-mining company Marathon Digital is heading to court over allegations that its CEO Fred Thiel, along with other senior executives, breached his fiduciary duties, enriched themselves unfairly and squandered company assets. According to the complaint, the company’s management was playing down its problems, artificially inflating Marathon’s valuation, taking excessive compensation, making profitable inside sales, and receiving unjustifiably high bonuses based on false and misleading statements.
Polychain Capital, Coinfund raises $350 million for new crypto funds
Web3 investment firms are preparing new investments in crypto projects as Polychain Capital raises $200 million for a new investment fund and Coinfund raises $152 million for a seed fund. Polychain still intends to raise $400 million in total for the new fund. It currently manages three funds with $2.6 billion in assets under management. As for Coinfund, its CEO Jake Brukhman said the company set a goal of raising $125 million but was able to raise an additional $27 million due to renewed interest in the industry. The total amount of venture funding for crypto startups decreased by 76% year-on-year due to the bear market and turmoil in the industry.
July is the CoinFund’s 8th anniversary, as it celebrates a journey @employee @employee And the team from the kitchen table to the cover table. We are excited to further this achievement by announcing that CoinFund has closed a $158 million Seed IV fund to support new Internet leaders.
pic.twitter.com/6kwBFuIHiy– CoinFund (@coinfund_io) July 18, 2023
Before You Go: Bitcoin Rally Will Lead to ‘Speculative Peak’ in 2024, Mark Yusko Predicts
BlackRock’s application for a Bitcoin spot ETF has sparked the start of a new bull market for the cryptocurrency, which will at some point go closer to the halving scheduled for April 2024, according to Mark Yusko, chief investment officer and founder of Morgan Creek Capital.
Crypto Biz is your weekly pulse for the business behind blockchain and crypto, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday.