In an interesting turn of events, Dogecoin investors have accused Elon Musk of insider trading and manipulating memecoin DOGE. The investors accused the ‘Chief Twit’ of costing them billions of dollars by using his influence to manipulate the price of the world’s largest meme token and profiting himself in the process.
Also, the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance will lay off some of its staff later this year.
Here are major crypto stories from around the world this week.
European Union signs new regulation on crypto
After months of discussions and negotiations, the European Union (EU) formally signed new legislation on crypto licensing and money laundering rules into law on Wednesday.
The landmark Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) legislation introduces a comprehensive framework for licensing and regulating cryptocurrency businesses operating within the EU member states. The goal is to establish clear guidelines for crypto-related activities and strengthen the integrity of the digital asset ecosystem.
The European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, and Swedish Rural Affairs Minister, Peter Kullgren, signed the MiCA law into action.
Elon Musk accused of insider trading
In a Wednesday filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Dogecoin investors claimed Elon Musk used his social media following on Twitter as well as media appearances to profit off trades of DOGE through an “undisguised course of cryptocurrency market manipulation.”
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Elon Musk’s newest dance is replacing the Twitter logo with Dogecoin
According to the complaint, Musk profited off DOGE trading at the expense of other investors by causing the token’s price to spike through actions including changing Twitter’s logo to the Dogecoin logo.
Recall that the investors filed their initial complaint in June 2022, before Musk’s takeover of Twitter but have now amended the lawsuit at least two times based on his actions.
Per the amended lawsuit:
“This is a securities fraud class action arising from a deliberate course of carnival barking market manipulation and insider trading by the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who hijacked an emergent pop-culture phenomenon to cross-promote himself and his companies, and to pad his obscene fortune, preying on the earnest hopes of vulnerable Americans, including war veterans, blue collar workers, and the elderly,”
At press time, Musk has not tweeted about the amended complaint.
Binance will layoff staff soon
According to reports, Binance is reportedly planning to lay off 20% of its workforce in June. The decision is not a downsizing but rather a resource reallocation. Binance’s chief strategy officer Patrick Hillmann hinted on Twitter that the reorganisation is meant to address growing regulatory pressures targeting the crypto space:
“Regulators in almost every major market are also working overtime to provide greater clarity for their expectations of the industry and the asset class more broadly, which is putting even more pressure on orgs to adapt or fall by the wayside.”
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According to Hillman, the precise number of layoffs has yet to be determined.
Russia cancels national crypto exchange plans
Russia has decided to cancel a planned national crypto exchange but will now focus on regulating the industry and supporting existing exchanges with a view to cross-border transactions.
Recall that the country had planned to launch the exchange to counter some of the effects of the sanctions posed by international entities as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, but according to local media outlets on Monday, the idea had been scrapped altogether, and the government will first focus on creating rules and regulations for the crypto industry.
Charges against SBF might be dropped
Reports have emerged that prosecutors handling the case against Sam Bankman-Fried have stated that they may drop some of the criminal charges filed against him.
In the recent filing with the Manhattan Federal Court, the prosecutors said they would not pursue some criminal counts if they violated the terms of Bankman-Fried’s extradition from the Bahamas.
That’s all from us this week. See you same time next week.
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