Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao says Binance doesn’t need a “backseat driver,” even though he says his pardon from Donald Trump could allow him to. Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao has ruled out returning to the crypto exchange, despite a pardon from US President Donald Trump opening the door for it to be possible. Zhao told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Sunday that it’s his understanding that the pardon means the former restrictions “are completely lifted,” but shot down any suggestions of going back to Binance. “I haven't really needed to go back. I didn't really want to. I thought it was a pretty good way for me to step down, away from Binance after seven years,” he said. Read more
The crypto exchange briefly offered tokenized versions of cryptocurrency and technology company stocks in 2021 before halting trading amid regulatory scrutiny. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has confirmed plans to bring tokenized equities back to its platform, returning to stock-linked digital assets for the first time since 2021. In a statement to Cointelegraph on Friday, a spokesperson for Binance said “exploring the potential to offer tokenized equities is a natural next step” for bridging traditional finance and crypto. Should the exchange reintroduce digital versions of stocks for companies, it would represent a significant change in Binance’s offerings since it announced “ceasing support for stock tokens” in July 2021. "Binance is committed to bridging traditional finance and crypto, expanding user choices while maintaining the highest regulatory standards,” said the spokesperson. “Since last year, we started supporting tokenized real-world assets and we recently launched the first regulated TradFi per...
Binance applied for a MiCA license in Greece shortly after France flagged the exchange as still unlicensed under MiCA ahead of June compliance deadlines. Binance submitted an application for authorization under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) in Greece as regulators warn of looming compliance deadlines. A Binance spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph on Friday that the exchange had filed for a MiCA license in Greece and was working with the country’s financial regulator, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC). “We welcome the opportunity to work closely with the HCMC as this new regulation takes shape in the EU and look forward to contributing to the long-term growth of the EU’s digital financial ecosystem,” the exchange’s representative said. Read more
Binance launched gold and silver perpetual futures settled in USDT, expanding crypto-denominated access to precious metals markets. Binance launched new perpetual futures contracts tied to gold and silver, expanding the crypto exchange’s derivatives offering beyond digital assets as demand grows for exposure to traditional safe-haven markets. Binance said Thursday it had introduced gold and silver perpetual futures that allow investors to trade the metals around the clock without an expiration date. The contracts are settled in Tether’s USDt (USDT) stablecoin, giving traders onchain access to price movements in precious metals rather than direct ownership of the underlying assets. Read more
The amount of crypto sent to Binance rose in the past week, but CryptoOnchain says the other side of the trade, the buyers, are yet to show up. Large crypto holders have been moving tokens onto Binance, a pattern analysts associate with potential selling, but buying demand remains muted. So-called crypto whales deposited $2.4 billion near-evenly split between Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to Binance in the past week, the exchange’s largest net inflow in a month, but the “buying power is missing,” CryptoOnchain said in a note to CryptoQuant on Sunday. “Crucially, this surge in risk-asset deposits was not accompanied by new buying power,” it added, noting that stablecoin net flows were “essentially flat” at an inflow of $42 million for the week, which was mostly tokens moving between the Ethereum and Tron blockchains. Read more
The largest crypto exchange by trading volume announced two moves related to the FLOW token following the project's foundation updating users on a $3.9 million exploit. Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced a change in its policies related to trading and monitoring following a $3.9 million exploit of the Flow blockchain last week. In a Friday announcement, Binance said it would remove nine spot trading pairs from the exchange beginning on Saturday, including one for Flow (FLOW)/Bitcoin (BTC). In a separate notice, the company included FLOW and three other tokens on its monitoring tag list. The tag is featured in tokens exhibiting “notably higher volatility and risks compared to other listed tokens,” the exchange said, noting that tokens with the monitoring tag are at a high risk of no longer meeting listing standards. Read more
A trader claimed to have made $1 million by timing a long-short trade after spotting abnormal activity by a market maker account on Binance, while the exchange denied any security breach. A trader claimed to have profited about $1 million on New Year’s Day by capitalizing on “abnormal” trading behavior of a suspected market maker account on Binance. Investor Vida said on X that the abnormal trading activity was tied to BROCCOLI714, a low-liquidity token on the BNB Chain. The memecoin had an abrupt price surge followed by a sharp reversal early Thursday morning in Asia, which Vida said was driven by unusually large spot buy orders on Binance’s order book. Read more
Binance has halted Visa and Mastercard withdrawals for Ukrainian users who relied on Bifinity services, citing changes linked to regulatory shifts. Binance has suspended card-based withdrawals for users in Ukraine, according to a notice sent to customers this week. The changes took effect on Monday and include the temporary halt of direct withdrawals to bank cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, several local Ukrainian news outlets reported. A Binance spokesperson confirmed the news to Cointelegraph, adding that the “announcement regarding changes to payment methods applies exclusively to users from Ukraine who previously used Bifinity services.” Read more
The listing follows Kyrgyzstan’s passage of crypto legislation, the launch of a new US dollar–pegged stablecoin backed by physical gold, and plans to build a national crypto reserve. Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov said a recently launched stablecoin pegged to the country’s fiat currency has been listed on cryptocurrency exchange Binance. In a Wednesday X post, Japarov said Kyrgyzstan's KGST stablecoin, pegged to the som, would contribute to the development of cross-border payments and deepen the country’s ties to the crypto ecosystem. Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao wrote on social media that “many more” nation-backed stablecoins would be coming to the exchange. Zhao began advising the central Asian nation in April as part of an agreement to provide technical expertise and consulting services. Read more