Crypto Market Recovers as Bitcoin Bounces Back to $40K

BTC (bitcoin) bounces back on Wednesday after it surpassed the $40K mark with its price at $41,638. ETH (ethereum), the second-largest cryptocurrency is also on a bullish trend after breaching the $2,700 mark. The whole crypto market is now in a bullish trend following the BTC (bitcoin) price rally. 

The recent uptrend has been contributed to a report that the new South Korean president announced its support for crypto. Yoon Suk-yeol, South Korean newly elected president is a pro-crypto. The country is known for its rigid regulations on cryptocurrencies that have even caused leading exchanges to ceased operations in the region. In March 2021, trading platform OKEx announced that it’s closing down its operation in the country amid the implementation of the revised  Financial Transaction Reports Act. The revised regulation requires strict compliance from VASPs to inspect and verify their customer identities. They are also obliged to file a report for a suspicious transaction to the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit and are also liable to the Financial Services Commission (FCS).

But with a pro-crypto president, everything will now change as Yoon plans to turn South Korea into an industrial powerhouse according to a report by Yahoo. The report added that the plans to deregulate the crypto industry and create taxation laws favorable to crypto investors. He stated:

“To realise the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market, we must overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable.”

Another factor that pushed BTC (bitcoin) to a price rally is the rejection of the de facto cryptocurrency mining ban contained in the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) with 32-23 votes from members of The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). On the same day, MiCA which is expected to serve as a vehicle for cryptocurrencies entry into the mainstream global finance was approved with 31 to 21 votes. 

But there are other factors that have fueled the present price rally. If everything will continue to fall in place, are we expecting another all-time high from Bitcoin? It remains to be seen as the impending death cross about to succumb the crypto market once again.

In recent data by Crypto.co, BTC (bitcoin) is now at $41,596.02 down by 0.42% in a 24-hr chart. ETH (ethereum) on the other hand has declined by 2.50% with its price at $2,882.80. Not really bad as it almost reclaimed the $3K mark with its current price and remains to be bullish as investors anticipate a price surge.

Scammers Solicit Donations Amid Russia-Ukraine War

Scammers are now using the Russia-Ukraine invasion to solicit donations taking advantage of people’s generosity. As the geopolitical tension intensified, phishing scammers are also on the rise impersonating humanitarian aid organizations. This was revealed by cybersecurity firm Expel in a report by Decrypt. 

“Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, threat actors have specifically begun to impersonate legitimate aid organizations to exploit people’s desire to support refugees and victims with donations.” 

The attack was launched using malicious emails sent to victims that usually come with subject lines which include “Help save children in Ukraine,” “Ukraine Donations” and “Help – Bitcoin.” Aronov Maxim, a doctor at Smile Children’s Hospital in Ukraine was one of the individuals the bad actors have impersonated. The phishing emails contain fictitious stories to appeal to recipients and move them to donate money or cryptocurrency like BTC (bitcoin) to aid the victims. Expel added:

“Given threat actors’ horrible appropriation of this conflict for malicious means and personal gain, those looking to provide financial support to victims of the invasion of Ukraine should confirm the legitimacy of any donation-related communications before providing financial information.” 

According to recent reports, the Ukrainian government has already received a total of $54 million in donations. As the war continues, there will also be a continuous inflow of money as donations whether in fiat or cryptocurrencies. But bad actors will always be on the lookout how to take advantage of the ongoing crisis for their own benefit. 

Director of global operations at Expel Jon Hencinski stated:

“It’s horrible that bad actors are trying to take advantage of the crisis in Ukraine for personal gain.”

He further added :

“We want people to be aware of these scams at play so those thinking of donating can verify their donations are going to a legitimate place to help those in need.”

For this matter, Hencinski revealed measures how to avoid sending your donations into the wrong hands. He stated that for crypto donations, one should double-check the public wallet address and transaction history before sending. Review the transaction history by using blockchain explorer sites like blockchain.com and Polkascan. He also warned donors to be cautious of addresses with minimal transactions. What could be other tell-tale signs that it’s a phishing scam? He went on to say:

“If the public address isn’t linked to Ukraine crypto donation efforts, that’s likely another warning sign.” 

Leading Exchange Binance Ceases Operations in Canada

Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange by trading volume has now ceased its operations in Canada. In December 2021, in a press release, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced that Binance is not registered in Ontario. The regulatory body was just one of the numerous financial watchdogs that have issued a ban against the trading platform. Despite announcing that it will stop its operations in the region by December 31, 2021, Binance continued to operate after reported cooperation with OSC. 

But due to continued clashing with OSC, Binance finally confirmed to the regulatory body that it has restricted Ontario residents from creating new accounts in its platform. Also, it will no longer support trading for existing Ontario users but will provide reimbursement to affected users. Binance has also admitted that users from Ontario were able to trade from its platform where “restrictions should be in place”. The undertaking made by the crypto exchange to the OSC represents a “legally enforceable” commitment.

“This undertaking represents a legally enforceable commitment by Binance to the OSC. The OSC reserves the right to take enforcement action against Binance for any past, present or future breaches of Ontario securities law not arising from the events described in the undertaking.”

Since last year, the leading crypto exchange has come under scrutiny by regulatory bodies worldwide.

Coinbase Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Unlicensed Digital Assets Sale

Major exchange Coinbase was hit by a lawsuit by three of its users for allegedly selling 79 crypto assets classified as securities which include DOT (Polkadot), DOGE (Dogecoin), LINK (Chainlink ), SOL (Solana), and XRP (Ripple). 

The plaintiffs demanded reimbursement for their losses including an injunction against Coinbase for operating without a securities license. The lawsuit was filed with the district court in the southern district of New York by Christopher Underwood, Louis Oberlander, and Henry Rodriguez. They demanded that they should receive $5M as compensation along with other users who have bought the crypto assets in question.

But with Ripple winning the lawsuit filed by the US SEC, the case dismissal could already be imminent.