Here are some of the major developments in the world of crypto over the past few days.
Crypto exchange OKX is moving its Australian-focused services under a locally regulated entity as part of its expansion efforts through the Asia-Pacific region.I think Australia is a very underrated market. Fang says Australia offers a “dynamic customer base” for the firm, including both sophisticated traders and others who are interested in crypto but haven’t taken the first step yet.
The exchange’s Australian-focused services since March 20 moved from a Seychelles-based firm to the on-shore entities OKX Australia Pty Ltd which handles the crypto exchange and fiat services side, and OKX Australia Financial Pty Ltd which handles its derivatives and margin products.
Fang refrained from speaking in detail about OKX’s payment and banking partners that it doesn't foresee issues with their partners in a similar way that competitor crypto exchange Binance experienced in Australia. The exchange is the third-largest in the world by volume behind Bybit, seeing $2.8 billion in volume over the past day, according to CoinTelegraph.
CFTC settles with brokerage firm Falcon The CFTC said in a May 13 statement that Falcon Labs, a company owned by FalconX, did not claim to be a registered futures commission trader and that the company improperly facilitated access exchange.
The settlement alleged that FalconX facilitated orders for digital asset derivatives for U.S. users from October 2021 to March 2023 through its ‘Edge’ product. According to the CFTC, the brokerage firm voluntarily improved its practices after its lawsuit with Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao.
The regulator said FalconX provided "substantial cooperation and corrective action" which resulted in the company receiving a reduced fine. The CFTC order included that the company would neither admit nor deny the regulator's findings or conclusions. On May 6, CFTC Chairman Rostin Behram said that crypto companies operating in the United States could face "a new cycle of enforcement actions" within two years.
Stablecoin issuer Tether has frozen $5.2 million worth of its $1.00 stablecoin Tether USDT in connection with a phishing scam. The action was taken on May 14th and involved freezing funds stored in 12 Ethereum wallets marked as blocked addresses in USDT. Tether, known as the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has previously frozen billions of dollars in assets related to hacks, exploits and fraud.
In January 2022, Tether added three Ethereum addresses holding more than $150 million worth of USDT to its blacklist. In October 2022, Tether froze $8.2 million in USDT on Ethereum and added 215 Ethereum-based USDT addresses to its blacklist. The stablecoin issuer has also worked across more than 40 countries. The firm collaborated on 198 requests from law enforcement agencies to block wallets in the last 12 months and 339 in the last three years.
Tether also introduced secondary market regulations that freeze transactions with individuals and entities on the U.S. Navy's list of Specially Designated Nationals. Office of Foreign Assets Control. The use of distributed ledger technology allows cryptocurrency companies to monitor on-chain funds, but the centralized nature of stablecoins makes it easy for issuers to engage in illegal activity at the request of law enforcement. It will also be possible. Assets may be frozen.