Qrafty knows about SEC calling BS on Binance, Celsius CRO talks dirt and the $500k transaction fee was returned.

***Qrafty smiling the biggest smile*** Aloha, crypto curious! I am Qrafty - the crypto lovin’ honey badger 🦡 !

Welcome to Coinqraft – the daily crypto newsletter for busy but curious people who don’t have time for the crypto drama!🌟

🦡   Qrafty has fresh bits from the crypto jungle, so let’s dive in: 📰 🌟

1. Bitcoin Mining Clean Energy More Than 50%

2. Stablecoins are a Big Industry

3. Deutsche Bank is In, Duh!

Bonus: Plan to ban Congress & spouses from trading stocks

Binance stalling. SEC Calls BS.

Binance US chief risk officer & head of legal resigned today. Below are Binance executives that have left the company in the past 3 months 👇️ 

SEC is saying that Binance US and Binance aren’t really two different entities. This leads to a lot of trouble, but the main thing is comingling of funds, sensible US citizens user and financial information handled terribly.

Most likely, that info is hidden in the documents requested from Binance by the SEC on June 17, 2023. Since then, Binance US was supposed to provide the agency with documents and information it had requested during the discovery process.

But it seems Binance has been stalling and basically making fun of the SEC. The scans are unclear, documents are unreadable and overall just a big mess: “unintelligible screenshots and documents without dates or signatures.“

What are the outcomes, Qrafty?

The most important aspect is whether or not Binance can function without USD pairs. This case would mean it’s banned from the US. 

Tether’s position is crucial in this game. If Tether is lucky and regarded as important by US enforcement agencies, it might get a Devil’s deal. Throw Binance under the bus and we’ll cut you some slack. Tether can very quickly help CZ out of the US market.

For Binance itself, it can keep stalling and buy time until ETFs are approved. This will most likely trigger a bull market and might offer opportunity for CZ. But the ETFs will draw a lot of that juicy liquidity away from the exchange and big players are entering the market. The game is changing bigtime.

Or the exchange suddenly finds the documents and everything is well so they become transparent and compliant. 👈️ Nope, highly unlikely this will happen. CZ, BNB and Binance have a LOT of skeletons in their closet and will do everything possible to reveal as less as possible, regardless of the outcome!

Most likely, the SEC and other US enforcement agencies will slowly push Binance out of the country. This cleans the floor for the ETFs to get in the game and TradFi has peace of mind.

🙃 Qrafty hopes that today’s main story brought brave badgery value to you! Now it’s time for a break, you deserve a bit of fun! 😇 👇️

1. Deutsche Bank + Bitcoin =❤️

Well well well... if it ain't another bankie bankie wanting to offer crypto for its customers to play with!

Deutsche Bank, the €1.34 trillion asset manager will start offering crypto custody services and the OG coin for its customer base. The bank has inked a global partnership with Taurus, a fintech firm specializing in digital asset infrastructure.

Through this collaboration, Deutsche Bank will utilize Taurus' custody and tokenization technology to oversee cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, and digital currencies. The bank currently states that it won't be engaging in crypto trading, but it's worth noting that back in 2020, at the World Economic Forum, DB expressed its intention to step into the crypto arena. So, it's highly likely we'll see them trading in the near future.

2. Canada, are you ok?

One in five residential mortgage borrowers in Canada (20%), which translates to $130 billion in loans across three major banks (BMO, TD, and CIBC), facing a situation where their outstanding balances are growing due to their monthly payments no longer covering the full interest owed. BMO has revealed that $32.8 billion worth of its mortgages are in a state of negative amortization.

Negative amortization is when the total amount you owe on your mortgage increases instead of decreasing every month, putting you deeper into debt. So you live in a house rented from the bank and your debt is growing month over month. Your children will pay for it and, if they get lucky, maybe they’ll own it. Wohooo!

Isn’t that credit delinquency, Qrafty?

Nope, but I see where you’re coming from! Here’s the trick: they're still making monthly payments based on the old structure, but the length of the mortgage is extended out to 90 years.

Omfg, what?

Yuuup! Don’t be surprised, that’s already happening in UK and Japan. 🙂 That’s how you pay for your house not in a few years, but in a few generations.

Another trick the banks did was that instead of forcing people to sell when they can't afford the mortgage, they've intentionally delayed it! So now even if they try to sell they lose 30% of the total value. Cool, huh?

Qrafty is wondering… are we close to a credit event?

3. Annual Trading Volume of Stables at VISA levels

These days, when you dive into the crypto world, you can't help but bump into stablecoins. I mean, USDT is like that dependable friend who's been a top player in both bull and bear markets. And let's not forget about the other stablecoin contenders, like Circle’s USDC, BUSD from Binance (even if it was declared a security), and the notorious UST with its Bitcoin backup – they've all had their moments in the crypto spotlight.

Truth is, stablecoins are the backbone of the digital payments realm. In just 6 short years, the stablecoin volume has increased to almost $10 trillion (yes, with a T), which is nearing the VISA network level.

What VISA, Qrafty?

You know… the card company started all the way back in 1958, the year that Bank of America launched the first consumer credit card program in the U.S. Yeah, that VISA! And stablecoins are just 6 years old!

It's safe to say that the stablecoin realm is growing faster than a teenager during a growth spurt, especially thanks to their endless list of trading pairs. They're like the rock-solid anchor in the stormy sea of crypto volatility (although, Qrafty must admit, some stablecoins have had their not-so-stable moments in the past year). Also, nothing is stable in crypto, mkay?

4. The Ugly Truth Behind Some Projects

Roni Cohen-Pavon is the former CRO (chief revenue officer) of Celsius. He has admitted and pled guilty to four charges, while also aiding another investigation the DoJ is making and will continue to cooperate with the DoJ.

Translation: he said everything he knew about Alex Mashinsky, the CEO of Celsius and the crap they did together to pump CEL and make money. All of these should contribute to a reduced sentence in his trial, you see…

Here’s what he admitted doing:

• conspiring to manipulate the price of a security (CEL) to give investors the impression that it was more valuable and liquid than in reality

• participating in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the price of a security

• manipulating the price and volume of CEL

• wire fraud in connection with

The combined number of imprisonment years for these counts is 65 years. Well… at least it’s not lifetime, right?

5. Elon, wen Bitcoin sir?

A Bloomberg crypto markets analyst named Jamie Coutts stated that Bitcoin’s green energy usage exceeds 50%. Elon Musk previously said Tesla would once again accept Bitcoin payments when clean energy usage exceeds 50%.

Coutts highlights China's 2021 mining ban and points out that emissions reached a peak of 60.9 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) during that period. Since the ban, emissions have decreased by 37.5%. Coutts therefore argues that the worries about Bitcoin's environmental impact may be exaggerated.

Coutts also observes a simultaneous decline in emissions alongside a significant increase in the hash rate. This leads him to conclude that Bitcoin mining is incorporating a greater proportion of eco-friendly energy sources into its operations. So… wen Bitcoin, Tesla sir?

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Tomorrow is a mystery, but today was yesterday's tomorrow, so who knows what surprises await!

Qrafty’s thougt of the day

Other stories

BitPay integrates PayPal

As Qrafty mentioned previously multiple times, PayPal is expanding aggressively to become a big player in the digital currencies space. BitPay, the US Bitcoin payment service provider, announced today that it has integrated PayPal’s PYUSD into their system. BitPay users can buy, sell, hold PYCOIN

'There’s Nothing I Can do to Make my Lifetime Impact Net Positive'

… says Sam Bankman Fried. You could own up to your mistakes and stop talking like a corporate drone. Net Positive? Amigo, you couldn’t have made your life a net positive even if you were out of jail! Get over yourself and stop thinking in absolute terms, you damn irresponsible child.

The $500k transaction fee was returned

The people at f2pool mentioned on X today that the transaction fee has been returned. Some might say that this amount was stolen from miners. It’s… complicated. Situations come and go, it’s how we respond that matters. This creates a precedent for the industry, not a very good one.

US Congressman introduces plan to ban Congress & their spouses from trading stocks

Well, look who's stirring the pot in Congress! US Congressman Ro Khanna from California is floating an idea that might raise a few eyebrows. He's suggesting a ban on stock trading within the hallowed halls of Congress, for both members and their better halves. Sounds good in theory, Qrafty is curious if this will pass.

A few days ago, US Congressman Tom Emer proposed a ban on issuing CBDC’s. Remember, elections are coming!

Huobi rebrands to HTX, so all is forgotten, right?!

Huobi refreshed their brand in 2021 but it seems they got bored really fast and completely changed their brand to HTX. Huobi is Justin Sun and Tron coin, that’s it. Keep that in the back of your mind, somewhere. The funny thing? Sounds a lot like FTX, doesn’t it? Hopefully it won’t have the same fate.

Coin Listings/Delistings - September 16, 2023

BitMart lists Pirichain, PAAL AI (@PaalMind) with PAAL/USDT pair, FUNToken (@funtoken_io) with FUN/USDT, TRB (@WeAreTellor) with TRB/USDT

Binance USD (BUSD) will be delisted from Dex-Trade platform. All BUSD trading pairs are closed.

Bitget launches DOT staking with 7.7% APR.

Market Whispers

Qrafty got excited yesterday, hoping that BTC will reclaim the old range above 26600$.

But it didn't manage to do it, yet... Weekend is here now so we don't expect too much volatility. Better wait for Monday to see which way BTC is heading. Until then, party on!  

Qrafty ends channeling his inner trader.

Today is BUTTERSCOTCH CINNAMON PIE DAY!

That’s all from Qrafty 🦡 for today! Qrafty thanks you and wishes you to live each moment as if you are listening to the music you love most!

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