The judge stated that BiT Global did not provide sufficient evidence of harm. In Australia, ASIC started legal action against Binance for misclassifying retail clients, while South Korean lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk faces prison for allegedly concealing his crypto holdings. Meanwhile, SEC hacker Eric Council Jr. was granted holiday travel permission after being accused of a SIM swap attack on the SEC's X account back in January.
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BiT Global Fails to Prevent Coinbase From Delisting wBTC
BiT Global wanted the TRO to prevent the delisting before its effective date, and claimed that Coinbase’s decision was baseless and will only damage the token’s ecosystem. However, Coinbase held firm that its decision was a response to an “unacceptable risk” associated with Sun’s involvement, and pointed out that wBTC’s circulation already started to decline after BiT Global announced its partnership with Sun in August.
BiT Global’s attorney, Cyclone Covey, accused Coinbase of using Sun as a pretext for the delisting and questioned the exchange’s timeline of due diligence. Meanwhile, Coinbase’s attorney, Sonal Mehta, defended the decision as necessary when it comes to mitigating risks to the platform and its users. Judge Martínez-Olguín ultimately allowed room for BiT Global to present more arguments in the future.
ASIC Takes Legal Action Against Binance Australia
ASIC alleges that Binance misclassified more than 500 retail clients as wholesale investors between July of 2022 and April of 2023, which deprived them of the legal protections guaranteed under Australian financial laws. Retail clients are entitled to stronger safeguards, including a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), a Target Market Determination (TMD), and access to internal dispute resolution processes.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court criticized Binance’s compliance systems, and also labeled them as “woefully inadequate.” She shared that many clients actually suffered large financial losses because of the lack of proper protections. The lawsuit outlines regulatory violations, including Binance’s failure to issue a PDS or TMD, inadequate dispute resolution mechanisms, and insufficient employee training. ASIC also accused Binance of failing to deliver its services “efficiently, honestly, and fairly.” After a review of Binance’s operations in April of 2023, ASIC canceled the exchange’s Australian financial services license.
South Korean Lawmaker Faces Prison Over Crypto Scandal
Martial law was lifted after the vote, but Yoon refused to resign. This led to his impeachment on Dec. 14 in a National Assembly vote of 204 out of 300 members. The Constitutional Court now has 180 days to decide whether to remove Yoon from office. Not long after the impeachment, Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, announced his resignation on Dec. 16.
SEC Hacker Granted Holiday Travel Permission
Eric Council Jr., who is accused of hacking the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X account in January and posting a fake message about Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has been given permission to travel for the holidays. According to a Dec. 13 court filing, Judge Amy Berman Jackson allowed Council to travel to North Carolina between Dec. 23 and 29 under the supervision of a third-party custodian. The judge required Council to provide his travel itinerary and accommodation details to Pre-Trial Services at least two business days before departure.
Council pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. The hack happened on Jan. 9, when a message posted from the SEC’s account falsely claimed that spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved. The announcement temporarily caused Bitcoin’s price to surge by more than $1,000 before being debunked. The SEC officially approved spot Bitcoin ETFs roughly 24 hours later.
The fake Bitcoin ETF approval post from the SEC’s hacked account
Authorities allege that Council was part of a group that executed a SIM swap attack to get access to the SEC’s X account. The incident took place during a time of anticipation in the crypto industry with regards to the SEC’s decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs.