Some of the main reasons for Bitcoin going down these past few days, and the entire crypto market following it.
It's all usual crypto stuff: news, government related stuff and exchange hacks. We've been through it many times in the last years, we're used to it - nothing new.
News from Japan
Japan announced it would take action against cryptocurrency exchanges that currently do not comply with the Financial Service Agency’s customer protection and anti-money laundering measures. There is a chance that the FSA will indefinitely shut several exchanges; this potential punitive action is likely to ensure exchanges are granted time to create the proper procedures to protect consumers. The exchanges that are to be targeted remains unknown; however, it is ostensible this news has shaken investors, contributing to the market’s sharp decline.
You can read more about this particular subject here:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-japan/japan-to-punish-several-cryptocurrency-exchanges-sources-idUSKCN1GJ1AESEC Press Release
The SEC just released a statement regarding potentially unlawful online digital currency trading platforms. Since exchanges have become a common place to trade and sell ICO tokens, and other coins that are considered securities under the federal securities laws, then the exchange must comply with the SEC as a national securities exchange to be exempt from registration. This statement falls in line with the remarks the SEC made at the Virtual Currencies Hearing in February. The statement reaffirms that if investors want protection from the asset trading they are partaking in, they must use exchanges that are registered with the SEC. The SEC worries that many consumers believe the exchanges they use are SEC compliant, but, the truth of the matter is, few, if any, virtual currency trading platforms are SEC compliant, thereby subjecting users to potentially unlawful acts. This clarification is necessary for investors. We believe this is just an edifying reminder from the SEC that aims to create more vigilant, cognizant consumers. The SEC is doing their due diligence by alerting participators in these markets that they may be interacting with entities that are not SEC regulated. They are not saying that these companies have to be regulated to continue operations.
Read more here:
https://www.sec.gov/news/public-statement/enforcement-tm-statement-potentially-unlawful-online-platforms-tradingMt. Gox selling half a billion $ worth of BTC
Mt. Gox (the exchange that was hacked years ago) sold around $405 million worth of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash over the course of the past two months. The details of the sale were published yesterday, March 7th, by trustee Nobuaki Kobayshi. This didn't just happen; it's been ongoing.
Read more about the details of the sale here:
https://www.coindesk.com/mt-gox-trustee-sells-400-million-bitcoin-bitcoin-cash
Binance Hacked?
No. However, there were users that had their account compromised and it looks to be due to faulty API integrations that had security volunerabilities. Binance wasn't hacked, but some users were. An important reminder to be very cautious using ANY tools that use API to connect to your exchange accounts, and not to keep the majority of your assets on an exchange at all. The official statement from the Binance telegram is below.
"We are investigating reports of some users having issues with their funds. Our team is aware and investigating the issue as we speak.
"As of this moment, the only confirmed victims have registered API keys (to use with trading bots or otherwise). There is no evidence of the Binance platform being compromised."
