CZ tackles Paxos, BUSD issues; Circle denies getting Wells notice from SEC

The biggest news in the cryptoverse for Feb. 14 saw Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao address various issues related to Paxos and the BUSD stablecoin. Meanwhile, Circle denied that the U.S. SEC has served it a Wells notice after rumors to that effect emerged. Plus, news on Polygon-based bonds, AI tokens, Sam Bankman-Fried’s VPN use, Binance’s endorsement of ChatGPT, Peter Schiff’s anti-crypto sentiments, and more.

CryptoSlate Top Stories

CZ addresses rumors about Circle telling regulators to look into Paxos/BUSD

In a wide-ranging Twitter Spaces AMA on Feb. 14, the co-founder and CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, addressed ongoing FUD around the BUSD stablecoin, rumors that Circle had snitched to New York regulators, and thoughts about shifting his attention from USD-backed stablecoins to alternatives like algorithmic, Euro and Yen-denominated ones.

Addressing some of the recent news surrounding Paxos’ halting of the minting of Binance stablecoin (BUSD), CZ said welcomed more stablecoin alternatives and that he ultimately supported more diffusion and competition in the marketplace.

He also said he believed there is no substance to recent reports that Jeremy Allaire, founder of Circle, secretly told New York regulators to look into Paxos and BUSD.

Circle denies that SEC sent any Wells notice

Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, has denied that it has received a Wells notice. That denial was recorded in a tweet by CSO Dante Disparte on Feb. 14.

Disparte wrote:

“Circle has not received a Wells notice.”

Unsubstantiated rumors emerged earlier today suggesting that U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had sent a Wells notice to Circle. The serving of such a notice would mean that the regulator plans to begin enforcement against the company.

Siemens announces issuance of 1st digital bond on Polygon

Siemens, Germany’s third-largest publicly traded company by market cap, has issued its first digital bond worth €60 million ($64 million) on the Polygon blockchain.

The bond was issued in accordance with Germany’s Electronic Securities Act, which came into force in June 2021 and allows the sale of blockchain-based debt to take place.

AI sector surpasses Yield farming again to outperform market by 12%

As Bitcoin attempts to hold onto the $22,000 psychological support, the crypto AI sector surpassed yield farming to outperform Bitcoin with gains of over 12% in the past 24 hours.

The AI sector’s total market cap is currently at $4.08B, with $838 million in volume in the last 24 hours.

Rep. Tom Emmer roasts Gary Gensler in fiery speech on the House floor

HSBC to launch custody service for tokenized securities

Data stream aggregator The Graph leads the sector with a market cap of $1.42 billion, while SingularityNET saw the most substantial gains, up 16.2% in 24 hours.

US prosecutors raise concerns over SBF’s use of VPN

The U.S. prosecutors said FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried used Virtual Private Network (VPN) to access the internet on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12, according to a Feb. 13 letter to Judge Lewis Kaplan.

The prosecutors said SBF’s VPN use raises concern because the mechanism could hide online activities, make data transfers, and access the dark web. They added that some individuals use VPNs to access foreign crypto exchanges that block U.S. users.

Binance backs ChatGPT to improve crypto education, adoption

Binance sees huge potential for using AI within the crypto industry as it shared its views on the current flavor of the month, ChatGPT.

In a recent blog post, Binance outlined AI technology’s importance in optimizing crypto over the coming years.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has confirmed previously that it leverages AI within its risk management and customer services departments. However, the crypto behemoth is now advocating for the importance of integrating AI into other areas of the crypto industry, including trading bots, terminals, smart contracts, analyzing market trends, and improving security.

Peter Schiff deems Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban crypto sell-outs

Gold bug Peter Schiff said Kevin O’Leary and Mark Cuban had sold out to crypto companies over the lure of sh*tcoins.

Speaking to Anthony Pompilano in a recent interview, the pair discussed several topics, including the macro, assets for protection, and the debt ceiling. However, of particular interest was Schiff’s take on crypto marketing.

When asked about “nefarious actions” that hurt investors, Schiff quickly pointed out that the easy money, casino-like environment of cryptocurrency encouraged fraud and get-rich-quick schemes.

Research Highlight

Research: Self-custody continues to grow as Bitcoin withdrawals outpace deposits

Exchange-related deposits and withdrawals of Bitcoin are often good indicators of market sentiment.

When the number of exchange deposits grows, the liquid supply of Bitcoin grows and shows the market’s readiness to trade. Conversely, when the number of exchange withdrawals increases, investors seem less interested in trading and are looking to hold their BTC off exchanges.

Looking at these exchange-related transactions against the total number of Bitcoin transactions can show whether the market is gearing up for a bull run.

In February 2023, the total number of Bitcoin transactions surpassed 307,000, reaching a two-year high, data analyzed by CryptoSlate shows,

Previous transaction number peaks correlated with Bitcoin’s price rallies. The 400,000 transactions recorded in late 2017 helped fuel the bull run that pushed Bitcoin to its all-time high of $20,000. Around 80% of all Bitcoin transactions at the time were exchange-related, with the majority being exchange deposits.