Binance
Binance Transferred $1.8B in Stablecoin Collateral to Hedge Funds Last Year: Forbes
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance moved $1.8 billion of collateral meant to back its customers' stablecoins to hedge funds last year, according to Forbes. In a statement sent to CoinDesk, a Binance spokesperson said in part that the transactions identified by Forbes relate to internal wallet management and did not affect the collateralization of user assets. Forbes Director of Data and Analytics Javier Paz discusses the key takeaways from the article.

Fed’s Preferred Inflation Gauge Runs Hot; Outlook for Bitcoin Futures on CME
The January PCE Price Index – the Fed's favored inflation indicator – unexpectedly rose to 5.4%. Separately, three-month bitcoin futures listed on the CME, which is widely considered a proxy for institutional activity, are trading at an annualized premium of around 8.7% to the underlying reference index. The equivalent premium on offshore exchanges, mainly Binance, has jumped to 6.3%, the highest since January 2022.

Binance Reportedly Moved Funds From US Affiliate’s Silvergate Bank Account in 2021; CleanSpark Update
Crypto exchange Binance moved around $400 million in funds from Binance US's Silvergate Bank account to a trading firm called Merit Peak, according to a Reuters report. Plus, CleanSpark took advantage of the distressed state of the crypto mining industry to buy 20,000 new rigs at below-market rates, according to a Thursday press release.

Binance Prepared to Pay Fines From US Regulators To Settle ‘Past Conduct’: WSJ
As U.S. regulators continue to sniff around Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange is prepared to pay monetary penalties to “make amends” for past regulatory violations, according to The Wall Street Journal. The world’s largest crypto exchange has been under extra scrutiny since the collapse of rival exchange FTX. CoinDesk Global Policy & Regulation Managing Editor Nikhilesh De discusses what this means for Binance and crypto regulation at large.

Binance CEO: BUSD Is Not Issued by Binance
Binance’s Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao distanced himself from the Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, after regulatory action caused minting to cease. “BUSD is not issued by Binance,” CZ said at a Twitter Spaces on Tuesday. “We have an agreement to let them [Paxos] use our brand, but that's not something that we created.” "The Hash" panel discusses the latest developments and industry implications amid mounting U.S. crypto regulatory pressure.

Binance стверджує, що кошти BUSD є безпечними, але над США формується регуляторна хмара
Лютий був чудовим місяцем для розповіді про те, що природним домом криптовалюти є Азія.

Crypto-Focused Custodia Bank Denied Federal Reserve System Membership
Two weeks ago, Caitlin Long-founded Custodia Bank (formerly Avanti Bank), which is not yet in operation, learned the U.S. Federal Reserve Board had denied its application for membership, which would have formalized an association with the general reputation of the U.S. central bank. This comes amid continued Binance woes. "The Hash" hosts discuss why this is potentially alarming for crypto banking and the larger industry.
