Binance Developing Crypto Exchange in Indonesia

Binance has formed a joint venture with a consortium led by Telkom Indonesia’s $830-million venture capital arm. Binance aims “to expand the blockchain ecosystem in Indonesia with the development of a new Indonesian-based digital asset exchange.”

Binance Building Cryptocurrency Exchange in Indonesia

Blockchain and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider Binance announced Wednesday that it has established a joint venture with a consortium led by Telkom Indonesia’s $830-million venture capital arm, MDI Ventures (MDI). Telkom Indonesia is the country’s largest telecoms company.

The aim of the joint venture is “to expand the blockchain ecosystem in Indonesia with the development of a new Indonesian-based digital asset exchange,” the announcement details, elaborating:

Binance will provide world-class asset management infrastructure and technology to support the development of the new exchange platform.

“Our ambition at Binance is to grow the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem globally, and this initiative in Indonesia is a significant step in that direction,” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) commented.

Zhao revealed last week, “We’re making a number of very substantial changes in organizational structures, product offerings, our internal processes, and the way we work with regulators.” He detailed specifically that his company is “in the process of setting up real offices, legal entities, a proper board, proper governance structures in most places, including the U.K.”

This week, Binance announced that it is shutting down its crypto exchange in Singapore. “Binance made a sizable investment into regulated exchange HGX last week. This investment made our own application somewhat redundant. We will continue to work through our partners to grow the crypto industry in Singapore,” explained Zhao.

The Indonesian government has previously indicated that it will not impose an outright ban on cryptocurrency as China did. Crypto assets are allowed to trade alongside commodity futures in Indonesia but cannot be used as a currency. The government is also pushing to set up a crypto exchange and Bank Indonesia has been exploring a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

What do you think about Binance helping to build a cryptocurrency exchange in Indonesia? Let us know in the comments section below

Binance to Launch New Cryptocurrency Exchange in Thailand After Thai SEC Filed Criminal Complaint

Crypto exchange Binance is launching a new exchange in Thailand after the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against the company for operating without a license. Binance has now signed an agreement with Gulf Energy Development, a Thai public company, to establish a crypto exchange in Thailand.

Binance and Gulf Energy to Establish a Crypto Exchange in Thailand

Gulf Energy Development, a Thai public company, notified the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary Gulf Innova has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Binance Group “to jointly study avenues for the development of digital asset exchange and related business in Thailand.”

The company added that it “foresees rapid growth in digital infrastructure in Thailand as the economy increasingly becomes driven by innovation and technology, with digital assets and related technology playing a prominent role in improving efficiency of financial infrastructure in the country to meet the increasing demand of Thai people.”

Gulf Energy detailed:

As such, the company’s partnership with Binance will help Thailand advance its development of digital assets and blockchain infrastructure.

Binance recently got into trouble with the Thai SEC. The securities watchdog announced in July last year that it “has filed a criminal complaint against Binance” with the Economic Crime Suppression Division of the Royal Thai Police (ECD).

According to the SEC, Binance operated a crypto exchange business without a license, therefore the company is “liable to criminal sanction.”

What do you think about Binance launching a crypto exchange in Thailand with the help of a regulated company? Let us know in the comments section below.

Crypto Exchange Binance Restricts 281 Nigerian Accounts — Some Requested by International Law Enforcement

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has restricted 281 Nigerian user accounts. Citing user security and fraud prevention, CEO Changpeng Zhao explained that “approximately 38% of these cases [are] restricted at the request of international law enforcement.”

281 Nigerian Accounts Restricted by Binance, CEO Says 79 Cases Have Been Resolved

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has sent a letter to its Nigerian users. In the letter, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) apologized for the inconvenience caused by delays in resolving customer support requests.

Noting that “User security” remains his exchange’s top priority, Zhao detailed: “Protection mechanisms such as KYC, anti-money laundering measures, collaboration with law enforcement, and account restrictions are in place to ensure our community remains protected and that fraudulent activity is prevented. This is a global approach applied in every country.” The CEO added:

Some 281 Nigerian accounts have been affected by these personal account restrictions with approximately 38% of these cases restricted at the request of international law enforcement.

Zhao proceeded to highlight what Binance is doing to rebuild trust in the Nigerian community.

Firstly, he said that Binance is “Ensuring speedy resolutions of ongoing user cases tied to account restrictions,” noting:

Currently, we have resolved 79 cases and continue to work through others. All non-law enforcement-related cases will be resolved within two weeks.

Another area that is being addressed is “Devoting more customer service personnel to the region.” Zhao stressed, “We will dedicate more CS and risk agents with a great understanding of the Nigerian market.”

Recently, some Nigerian users of Binance launched a campaign boycotting the platform for freezing their accounts. “At times, we proactively restrict accounts to protect users’ funds. Other times, we have to restrict accounts at the request of law enforcement. But never will we restrict accounts without good reason,” Binance said last week.

The cryptocurrency exchange has been facing scrutiny in a number of jurisdictions worldwide, including Pakistan, Canada, the U.S., U.K., South Africa, Australia, Norway, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey, and Lithuania.

In August, Binance said it is making regulatory compliance a top priority. The company is moving from a decentralized business model to a centralized one, as it pivots from a technology company to a financial services company.

What do you think about Binance restricting 281 Nigerian accounts? Let us know in the comments section below.

Binance Smart Chain Protocol Qubit Finance Hacked for $80M

A bug in Qubit's Ethereum bridge allowed a hacker to siphon 206,809 BNB from its lending pools.

Key Takeaways

• A hacker has stolen 206,809 BNB worth $80 million from Qubit Finance.
• The hacker exploited a vulnerability on the protocol's Ethereum bridge.
• The Qubit team has offered a bounty of $250,000 to the hacker in return for the stolen funds.

Qubit Finance, a DeFi protocol on Binance Smart Chain, was exploited today for $80 million worth of BNB tokens.

Qubit Hit by Hack

Another Binance Smart Chain protocol has been hacked.

An unknown hacker was able to drain $80 million worth of BNB tokens from the Binance Smart Chain lending protocol Qubit Finance.

On Jan. 27, at around 21:36 UTC, a hacker exploited a vulnerability on the Qubit Bridge, a cross-chain bridge connected to Ethereum. This bridge lets users deposit WETH from Ethereum mainnet into Qubit’s Binance Smart Chain-based smart contract to mint xETH, which can be used as lending collateral on the protocol.

Due to a critical vulnerability in the bridge’s smart contracts, the hacker was able to mint xETH without depositing any WETH, thereby giving them the ability to take out unlimited leveraged loans from Qubit’s pools.

In a Twitter post announcing the exploit, the team reported that the hacker “minted unlimited xETH to borrow on BSC.” Using the xETH as collateral, the hacker proceeded to siphon 206,809 BNB from Qubit Finance, worth about $80 million at the time. The loot can be seen sitting in the hacker’s address.

In an on-chain message directed to the hacker, the Qubit team offered a bounty of $250,000 in return for the stolen funds, as per the protocol’s ongoing bug bounty program with the ethical hacking platform Immunefi. In another post, the Qubit team has also tried to contact the hacker to negotiate.

The Qubit Finance exploit appears to be the seventh-largest DeFi protocol hack in terms of the value of stolen funds, as per data from DeFi Yield. Following the hack, the protocol’s Qubit token has dropped 27% over the past 24 hours.

Since the launch of Binance Smart Chain in September 2020, the chain has become infamous for the amount of hacks, exploits and rug pulls that have taken place on it.

In 2021, several DeFi projects on Binance Smart Chain suffered major hacks or exploits. Some of the most severe include Meerkat Finance’s $31 million hack in March 2021, a Uranium Finance exploit that cost protocol users $50 million in April, and the $88 million attack on Venus Finance in May.

Qubit Finance has not yet commented on plans to reimburse or compensate users for funds lost due to the exploit.

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned ETH and other cryptocurrencies

Binance to resume SEPA bank transfers in partnership with Paysafe

Crypto exchange Binance has partnered with London-based payments company Paysafe to resume Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) bank transfers for customers.

Binance temporarily suspended SEPA transfers in July of last year due to “events beyond our control.” Now the exchange has begun rolling out support for SEPA — a system that allows users to make cashless euro payments via bank accounts anywhere in the European Union, as well as several non-EU countries.

"There's a small set of users who will have [SEPA] access today as part of testing before it rolls out to other users across the EEA (European Economic Area)," a Binance spokesperson told The Block.

Paysafe will essentially act as a fiat on-ramps partner for Binance in Europe. The Binance spokesperson said Paysafe has developed a platform for Binance, using both their digital wallet technology and their payment processing capabilities, which will support Binance’s fiat-to-crypto services for users in Europe.