Binance seeks CFTC suit dismissal, FTX judge considers gag order

Tremendous Tuesday tidings!

Legal woes abound, as crypto exchange giant Binance seeks a dismissal in a lawsuit slammed against it by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission. A judge in the FTX case considers a gag order for participants, after a key executive’s diary was leaked to the public. Also, Bitcoin is down, Linea users are upset over stuck funds, and decentralised exchange Uniswap had its name used in an elaborate hoax.

Let’s dive in.

Binance seeks dismissal in CTFC case

Crypto exchange Binance filed its intentions on Monday for a US court to drop the CFTC lawsuit against it.

The regulator sued the exchange in March, accusing it of operating a derivatives trading operation in the US.

Binance also faces lawsuits from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

FTX judge weighs gag order

The US Department of Justice pushed for the federal judge in charge of the FTX case to place a gag order on witnesses and involved persons in the case, according to a Monday court filing.

The DoJ alleges that former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried shared the diary of Caroline Ellison — previous CEO of sister firm Alameda and Bankman’s former lover — as a way to influence public opinion ahead of his forthcoming trial.

Bitcoin drops below $29,000

Bitcoin’s price briefly plummeted to below $29,000 on Monday as investors brace for US and European central banks potentially announcing new rate hikes this week, The Block reported.

The news comes after the world’s biggest cryptocurrency has consistently traded above $30,000 over the last month, spurred on by a number of big financial firms like Fidelity and BlackRock muscling into the industry, as well as Ripple’s recent lawsuit win against the SEC.

Linea users rage over stuck funds

Linea has faced criticism over issues that prevented users from using the bridge to withdraw Ether and for being slow to communicate what the issues are.

Some users said they’d had their funds locked up for almost a week.

Uniswap Asia scam disappears after hack claims

A bold scam that saw grifters pretend to set up the Asian arm of Uniswap threw lavish galas to sell the hoax before claiming that they were hacked before disappearing.

Uniswap’s real CEO Hayden Adams said he’d had nothing to do with the grifters.

What we’re reading around the web

Chainalysis Investigations Lead Is ‘unaware’ of scientific evidence the surveillance software works — CoinDesk

Arkham Intel Exchange goes after Do Kwon crypto wallets with first bounty — The Block

Ripple Europe chief Sendi Young on beating the SEC, expansion plans, and upending SWIFT — DL News.