Bittrex Global and Binance, two prominent players in the cryptocurrency exchange industry, are making headlines with significant developments. Bittrex Global has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community by announcing its decision to wind down its operations, starting with the suspension of trading activities on Dec. 4. Meanwhile, Binance, another major exchange, is facing the possibility of a hefty $4 billion settlement to resolve accusations of multiple criminal violations, with its founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), potentially facing U.S. criminal charges. Despite these challenges, Binance still recently introduced a trading rewards program for specific AI tokens, offering traders the chance to share in a reward pool of 10,000 USDT worth of token vouchers.
Trading Disabled as Bittrex Global Winds Down Operations
Liechtenstein-based cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Global has turned a few heads after it made a big announcement, revealing its intention to wind down its operations. This process will start with the suspension of trading activities on Dec. 4.
In a recent update on the exchange’s website on Nov. 20, Bittrex Global issued a viral directive to all its users who have U.S. dollar holdings on the platform. It urged them to convert their holdings into euros of cryptocurrency before the fast approaching deadline of Dec. 4. If users fail to do so, the exchange warned that it could result in users being unable to withdraw their assets.
The exchange emphasized the gravity of this decision, acknowledging the inconvenience it may pose to its valued customers. Bittrex Global further clarified that, on Dec. 4, trading activities on its platform would come to a halt, allowing only specific withdrawal options.
Additionally, Bittrex Global also cautioned users against making deposits onto the platform during the transition period. The exchange warned that there could be no guarantees of the safety of deposited funds. In fact, if users do decide to proceed with deposits, there is a risk of their funds becoming permanently lost.
This announcement for Bittrex Global came about nine months after its U.S.-based counterpart, Bittrex, shared their intention to discontinue operations within the United States starting on Apr. 30. The decision was attributed to the ongoing regulatory issues faced by the exchange.
At the start of the year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took legal action against Bittrex, claiming that it has been operating without proper registration as an exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The exchange ended up filing for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. bankruptcy court in May this year, and settled its case with the SEC for $24 million in penalties.
Binance, Another Exchange in the Hot Seat
Binance Holding Ltd. may be required to pay a settlement of $4 billion to resolve accusations of multiple criminal violations. It is also very possible that Binance’s founder, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), might potentially face criminal charges in the United States. Binance has been the subject of a lengthy investigation by the U.S. authorities, mainly focusing on allegations of money laundering, bank fraud, and violations of U.S. sanctions laws.
Earlier this year, CZ and Binance also faced enforcement actions from the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). If Binance agrees to a fine exceeding $4 billion imposed by the U.S., it would be one of the largest settlements in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. If U.S. authorities were to actually charge CZ, who currently resides in the United Arab Emirates, he would need to either be extradited from a country that has an extradition treaty with the United States or physically enter U.S. territory to be prosecuted for those charges.
AI Tokens Rewards Announced by Binance
Despite its troubles in the U.S., Binance has announced a trading rewards program for certain AI tokens. In this newly launched promotion, both new and lod traders can trade these AI tokens on Binance Spot, and have the opportunity to share in a reward pool of 10,000 USDT worth of token vouchers.
The promotion applies to spot trading pairs of AI tokens like Worldcoin (WLD), SingularityNET (AGIX), Cortex (CTXC), Fetch.ai (FET), Measurable Data Token (MDT), iExec RLC (RLC), Numeraire (NMR), Phoenix (PHB), and OCEAN. This is after AI tokens surpassed $2 billion in trading volume for the first time since March of this year in the past week.
BNB Price Up Despite Looming Criminal Charges
BNB was able to break above the major resistance level at $255 over the past 24 hours, and continued to trade above this significant mark at press time. Should the altcoin close today’s daily candle above this level, then it may have the foundation needed to rise to the subsequent resistance at $267.40 in the following couple of days. This bullish thesis may be invalidated if BNB fails to close today’s daily candle above $255.
In this more bearish scenario, BNB could fall to as low as $242.20. Thereafter, continued sell pressure at this point could force the cryptocurrency’s price down to as low as $230 in the short term.
Daily chart for BNB/USDT (Source: TradingView)
Technical indicators on BNB’s daily chart, however, suggested that its price may continue to rise in the next 24-48 hours. Both the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and the Relative Strength Index (RSI) indicators were flagging bullish.
The MACD line was looking to cross above the MACD Signal line. Meanwhile, the RSI line has crossed above the RSI Simple Moving Average (SMA) line over the past few days. These technical flags suggest that BNB’s positive trend may continue in the next few days and that bulls have gained the upper hand against sellers.
