Bitcoin Halving Leads to 7% Gain, Binance Troubles Continue, Terraform Faces Mega Fine, Venezuela Embraces Crypto: Latest Updates
The much-anticipated Bitcoin halving event has come and gone, with BTC seeing a steady 7% gain over the past five sessions. Now hovering around $66,600, Bitcoin has surged nearly 51% year-to-date. This marks the fourth halving event for Bitcoin, reducing the reward for miners and slowing down the creation of new tokens.
However, amidst the excitement of the halving, troubles continue for cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking a three-year prison sentence for former CEO Changpeng Zhao, who previously pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering norms and sanctions. Binance was hit with a $4.3 billion penalty last year.
In another regulatory crackdown, Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon are facing a potential $5.3 billion fine from the U.S. SEC for fraud related to the collapse of Terraform’s Stablecoin, UST, in 2022.
On a more positive note, Venezuela is embracing cryptocurrencies as a way to navigate U.S. oil sanctions. The state-run oil company, PDVSA, is now requiring new oil customers to hold cryptocurrencies in a digital wallet, with half of payments for some spot oil deals being demanded in USDT.
Despite these challenges, the TipRanks Bitcoin Technical Analysis tool is showing a Strong Buy signal for Bitcoin, suggesting that the recent bull run may still have room to grow. As the cryptocurrency market continues to evolve, investors are keeping a close eye on the shifting landscape.
