Bitcoin
(BTC) is loosing 1.1% to $36,600 per coin this week. This week’s decline was
even bigger at 3.5% to $35,611, but the major cryptocurrency has stabilized despite
very nervous news and high volatility.
The decline
started on November 21 after Founder and CEO of Binance, the world’s largest
crypto exchange, stepped down and pleaded himself guilty in violating U.S. anti-money
laundering laws. He has to pay $50 million in fines to CFTC, and he is also
prohibited from operating or managing business for three years. Binance has to
pay one the largest penalty in corporate history. The $3.4 billion to FinCEN ,
the financial crimes bureau within the U.S. Treasury department, and a
$968 million fine to OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control. However,
this settlement doesn’t involve U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) that
has its own claims to the exchange.
This is
rather positive news for the crypto exchange, as it can now recover its
positions in the industry. Binance had controlled 38% of the global cryptocurrency
spot trading in Q3 2023 compared to 55% in the Q1. It is a bad news for the
industry in a short run as the U.S. SEC could increase its pressure on crypto
exchanges. The watchdog has recently filed a suit against Kraken crypto
exchange alleging it in operating an unregistered securities business in the
U.S. and mixing its own funds with its customers’ to pay its own
operational expenses.
Binance Coin
(BNB) has lost 7.0% on the news, XRP – 3.7%. Investors didn’t like the story.
Whales have decreased their exposure to cryptocurrencies. ProShares Bitcoin
Strategy ETF (BITO) saw first capital outflows in the last four weeks. The EFT
has lost $18.6 million during the last week, the largest since mid-September,
after inflows of $15.1 million, $140.7 million and $75.9 million in the
previous three weeks.
The overall
negative agenda could be slightly offset by the comedy with Sam Altman, ousted
and reappointed CEO of OpenAI. He was fired last Friday. Worldcoin, which is one
of the Altman’s projects, lost 22% to $1.85. Altman was offered a position of the
team lead of Microsoft’s new advanced AI research division, while 700 of 770
employees of OpenAI promised to quit if Altman will not return to the company. Finally,
he was reappointed as CEO on Wednesday. Worldcoin prices immediately recovered
with Nasdaq 100 futures rising by 0.1% today after a 0.6% slump on Tuesday. This
may improve investor’s sentiment ahead of the Thanksgiving celebrations in the
U.S.