OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 20/02–24/02/2023

Each week we bring you a round-up of the most important Bitcoin and virtual asset-related stories making waves in the cryptosphere.­­­­

Major news stories this week;

1. Crypto firm Paxos to face SEC charges, ordered to stop minting Binance stablecoin
2. Coinbase Launches Layer 2 Blockchain Base to Provide On-Ramp for Ethereum, Solana and Others
3. Sam Bankman-Fried Hit With New Criminal Charges Over Political Donations
4. FTX Japan Users Can Resume Withdrawing Funds Tomorrow
5. Hong Kong Mulls Reopening Crypto Trading for Retail Investors

Story Summaries;

1. Cryptocurrency firm Paxos will cease issuing new Binance USD, or BUSD, stablecoins under the direction of New York state’s financial regulator, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said Monday.
   Paxos’ own stablecoin was not impacted, but the company did confirm it had been notified by the Securities and Exchange Commission of potential charges in connection with its BUSD product.
2. Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) launched Base, a layer 2 network built using Optimism’s OP Stack, to attract millions of new crypto users in the coming years. The testnet of Base was started by Coinbase on Thursday.
3. Prosecutors today hit disgraced crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried with new criminal charges relating to political donations he made while running the now collapsed digital asset exchange FTX.
   A superseding indictment Thursday alleges that the ex-FTX boss made more than 300 illegal political donations in the United States to “try to purchase influence over cryptocurrency regulation in Washington, D.C.”
4. Customers of FTX Japan will be able to withdraw deposits of crypto and fiat currency tomorrow, the Japanese subsidiary of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX said Monday.
   The withdrawal process will be facilitated through Liquid Japan, a crypto trading platform purchased by FTX last spring. The company’s announcement comes after FTX Japan paused withdrawals last November as founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fred’s crypto empire came crumbling down.
5. Hong Kong looks ready to invite retail traders back to the crypto casino.
   In a new consultation paper, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) proposed “to allow all types of investors, including retail investors, to access trading services provided by licensed VA [virtual asset] trading platform operators.”

And that’s all for this week’s news! Wishing you a great weekend ahead!