Binance cuts costs, Ripple is ready for US banks and crypto VCs to make a comeback

The crackdown on crypto companies by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) appears to have seriously affected Binance’s business. Over the last few weeks, the crypto exchange reportedly laid off more than 1,000 employees and slashed several benefits.

According to Binance, “the current market environment and regulatory climate” have led to a decline in profits, suggesting more cuts may be in the works. A spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company will consider reducing “certain products, business units, staff benefits, and policies” in response to business and regulatory concerns.

Binance has yet to face trial and the 13 indictments filed by the SEC, as well as the results of investigations by the US Department of Justice targeting its activities and executives.

Despite the cloudy prospects for the future, Binance is still comfortably the most popular centralized crypto exchange in the world, holding over $63 billion worth of assets. Token breakdown by DefiLlama show that the most assets held on Binance include Tether (USDT) (27.55%), Bitcoin (BTC) (26.95%), BNB (BNB) (12.82%), and encapsulated Ether (10.08%).

In his remarks on Binance’s birthday on July 14, exchange CEO Changpeng Zhao recalled that the company’s journey “never ran smoothly.”

Crypto Biz this week saw Binance’s continued efforts to curb declining profits, Ripple’s hopes that US banks will soon adopt XRP (XRP) and the first signs of venture capital returning to crypto.

Ripple CLO says court decision may encourage banks to adopt XRP

Stu Alderoty, chief legal officer of Ripple Labs, believes that US-based banks may switch to XRP for cross-border transactions following the recent court ruling. “Hopefully, this quarter will generate a lot of conversations in the United States with customers, and hopefully some of those conversations actually turn into real businesses,” he said during the interview. With the “safety” label apparently hanging over XRP no longer, a partnership between Ripple and a bank muted by an SEC lawsuit could find new life. Bank of America has been eyeing blockchain companies in 2019, and American Express first partnered with Ripple in 2017.

#NEW: Chairman @PatrickMcHenry And @CongressGT issued a statement regarding the court decision in SEC v. Ripple and the need for legislative clarity in the digital asset ecosystem to prevent further uncertainty in our financial markets.

Read more https://t.co/y1nITVmHvh pic.twitter.com/tn0dn0BDHd

— GOP Financial Services (@FinancialCmte) July 14, 2023

Binance reduces employee benefits, citing ‘decreased profits’

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance reduced certain employee benefits amid reevaluation efforts at the company. The company has reportedly stopped offering reimbursement to employees for certain expenses, including cell phone use, fitness and working from home. Binance cited the “current market environment and regulatory climate,” which led to a drop in profits, suggesting more cost-cutting measures may be needed. The report follows massive layoffs in June that affected more than 1,000 employees at the exchange. Binance and Zhao were both the targets of lawsuits by the SEC for allegedly offering securities that were not registered in the United States.

Marathon’s shareholders filed a lawsuit against the company’s top management

Crypto mining company Marathon Digital is heading to court over allegations that its CEO Fred Thiel, along with other top executives, breached fiduciary duty, enriched themselves unfairly and squandered company assets. According to the complaint, the company’s management had downplayed the problem, artificially inflated Marathon’s rating, received excessive compensation, conducted lucrative insider sales, and received unjustifiably high bonuses based on false and misleading statements.

Polychain Capital, Coinfund raises $350 million for new crypto fund

Web3 venture firm is gearing up for new investments in crypto projects as Polychain Capital raises $200 million for new investment fund and Coinfund raises $152 million for seed funding. Polychain still intends to raise a total of $400 million for the new fund. It currently operates three funds with approximately $2.6 billion in assets under management. As for Coinfund, its CEO Jake Brukhman said the company set a goal of raising $125 million but managed to raise an additional $27 million due to a resurgence of interest in the industry. The total volume of venture funding for crypto startups has decreased by 76% year over year due to the bear market and turbulence in the industry.

July is CoinFund’s 8th birthday, celebrating the journey @jbruk @flexthink and the team from the kitchen table to the hat table. We are excited to support this achievement with the announcement that CoinFund has closed its $158 million Seed IV Fund to support emerging internet leaders.
pic.twitter.com/6kwBFuIHiy

— CoinFund (@coinfund_io) July 18, 2023

Before you go: Bitcoin’s rally will lead to a “peak speculative boom” in 2024, predicts Mark Yusko

BlackRock’s plea for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund spot has fueled the start of a new crypto bull market, which will parabolic at some point closer to the halving scheduled for April 2024, according to Mark Yusko, chief investment officer and founder of Morgan Creek Capital.

Crypto Biz is your weekly top-up from the businesses behind the blockchain and crypto, delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday.