Binance CEO CZ warned Justin Sun about the crypto transaction; SEC fines Coinme $4 million; Man who stole 712 Bitcoins from his brother jailed
Justin Sun transferred 59 million and 56.1 million TUSD, worth approximately $116 million, to Binance. Binance CEO CZ warned Justin Sun on Twitter.
Binance CEO CZ revealed in a tweet on May 1 that the Binance team warned Justin Sun of a potential sanction against him if he used TUSD transferred to Binance for the Launchpool SUI token airdrop.
Binance LaunchPool is designed as an airdrop section not only for a few whales but also for our retail users.
The Binance CEO also added that the Binance Launchpool airdrops are for retail customers and not for himself or any whale. He concluded the tweet with the statement, “On the bright side, blockchains are transparent.” This meant that if Justin Sun tried to buy SUI tokens from this TUSD sale, the situation would be learned through blockchain data.
Binance and Justin Sun
Justin Sun said that the main reason behind investing TUSD is to facilitate market-making among leading TUSD exchanges that provide liquidity and trading volume, such as Binance. Justin Sun has announced that he will not participate in stock market promotions.
As a co-market maker for TUSD, TRON DAO Venture’s primary purpose in depositing TUSD is to facilitate market making among leading TUSD exchanges, thereby increasing liquidity and trading volume, rather than participating in any exchange promotions.
In addition, Justin Sun argued that the transfers provide stability to the TUSD price and sufficient liquidity to the exchanges. However, he stated that some members unknowingly participated in trade campaigns and plans to initiate refunds.
The wallet affiliated with Justin Sun transferred 59 million and 56.1 million TUSD, worth approximately $116 million, to Binance in two transactions on May 1.
SEC fines Coinme $4 million
The United States securities regulator has fined crypto exchange Coinme nearly $4 million for allegedly offering unregistered securities and making “misleading statements” about the crypto token UpToken (UP).
On April 28, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it had resolved charges against Coinme, its subsidiary Up Global SEZC, and Neil Bergquist, the CEO of both firms.
Up Global agreed to pay a penalty of $3.52 million, for which Coinme is also responsible. Separate penalties of $250,000 and $150,000, respectively, were also imposed against Coinme and Bergquist, and both agreed to pay.
In the SEC ruling, Coinme claimed that Up Global and Bergquist were an investment contract under the Howey test of UP’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) from October to December 2017, and subsequently became unregistered securities.
Up Global said that Coinme’s purchase of UP to fund its ATM rewards program will create continued demand for the token, but the SEC said:
“Bergquist and Up Global took steps before and throughout the ICO to achieve an UpToken supply that would significantly reduce the need to purchase UpToken post-ICO for Coinme’s ATM rewards program.”
Man who stole 712 Bitcoins from his brother jailed
The US Department of Justice sentenced an Ohio man named Gary James Harmon to four years and three months in prison for stealing Bitcoin from his brother.
Harmon, who admitted to the charges last January, faced other charges besides theft. Also convicted of charges such as phone fraud and obstruction of justice, Harmon could face up to 40 years in prison.
712 Bitcoins are worth around $21 million today. Harmon seized 712 Bitcoins after his brother went to jail. According to the Justice Department’s statement, at the time Harmon stole the assets (February 2020), the assets were valued at around $4.8 million.
According to the Justice Department, Harmon’s brother, Larry Dean Harmon, was arrested in February 2020 for operating a crypto mixer called Helix that partnered with a darknet marketplace between 2014 and 2017.
Larry Dean Harmon pleaded guilty to charges brought against him for money laundering and improper money transfer.
The Justice Department announced that it has seized several assets, including a cryptocurrency storage device, as part of its investigation.
