Binance CEO says ‘news’ got exec exits wrong as Ark says institutions holding more Bitcoin

Happy Friday!

In today’s snapshot, we find Binance chief Changpeng Zhao expressing little worry that some of the company’s top executives have jumped ship amid legal heat from the US SEC, Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest reporting that institutional investors are holding on to more Bitcoin and Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell’s home was searched by the FBI. That and more…

Read on!

Binance departures addressed by Zhao

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao seemed unworried about the recent departures of some key staff members that he addressed Friday morning in a tweet. “The reasons dreamed up by the ‘news’ are completely wrong,” he tweeted.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against the company and Zhao involving securities laws and several countries have restricted Binance in their locales.

ARK: Institutional investors stockpiling Bitcoin

Bitcoin held on institutional investors’ over-the-counter desks has reached an all-time high, according to a June monthly report from ARK Invest.

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, using OTC desks as a proxy for institutional activity, shows a 60% sequential increase in the recent quarter with holdings of about 8,000 Bitcoin.

FBI searches Kraken co-founder’s home

Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell’s home was searched by the FBI, the New York Times reported, in connection with an investigation into claims that he hacked a nonprofit arts group.

Three people with knowledge of the matter told the Times that the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California have been looking into the case since last September and had searched Powell’s house in March, though Powell has not been accused of any crimes.

Two penalised in Bitcoin scheme

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered two Florida men to compensate investors about $5.4 million after defrauding them in a Bitcoin scheme, and banned the two from any future trading or CFTC registration.

Randy Craig Levine and Philip Reichenthal were charged with digital asset fraud and subsequently settled with the CFTC, Decrypt reported.

Sega retreats from blockchain gaming

Sega is pulling back from blockchain gaming amid the global crypto winter, Bloomberg reported.

The company said it will withhold its most popular games from third-party blockchain projects and is also suspending its own plans to develop such games. Sega created Sonic the Hedgehog games, among many others.

What we’re reading around the web

He Got Arrested in Russia for a Bitcoin Bribe. Now the Coins Are Moving to Exchanges — CoinDesk

Bitfinex Recovers $314K of the $3.6 Billion Stolen in 2016 Bitcoin Hack — Decrypt

The ‘CryptoQueen’ is said to be dead but $4bn OneCoin fraud case springs back to life — DL News