$FTT surges over 100% as FTX prepares for relaunch

The crypto community followed up a positive last week with another favourable one. Earlier in the week, reports came out that the defunct cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, might be able to restart operations. 

What this means is that crypto users and investors that lost money to the catastrophic crash could smile again as they get access to their long-lost funds. And as expected, $FTT, the native currency of FTX and its ecosystem, pumped on the news, recording over 100 per cent increase in the past week.

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Here are major crypto stories from around the world this week.

Binance’s banking partner withdraws support 

Binance’s European banking partner, Paysafe Payment Solutions, said on Thursday it will cease offering its embedded wallet solution to the crypto exchange across the European Economic Area (EEA) from Sept. 25.

Per a Reuters report: “Paysafe and Binance are now working to mutually implement an orderly and fair process to terminate this service over the next few months,” 

Binance also confirmed the news and said it would change the banking provider for euro deposits and withdrawals through the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), but did not reveal any details about the new partner.

MicroStrategy adds to its Bitcoin stash 

Enterprise software solution company MicroStrategy purchased another 12,333 bitcoin this week, bringing its total holdings to 152,333 BTC, worth $4.6 billion at the current market prices.

A Wednesday filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicates that the firm had purchased an additional 12,333 bitcoins for roughly $347 million at an average price of $28,136 per coin. The purchase was made in cash between April 29 and June 27.

The recent purchase brings MicroStrategy’s holdings to around 152,333 Bitcoin, with the firm’s average cost basis sitting at $29,668.

KuCoin announces upgrade to KYC requirements

Leading crypto exchange with a reported over 27 million users, KuCoin, has announced an immediate upgrade to its Know Your Customer (KYC) verification protocols. 

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The move, effective from July 15, 2023, is aimed at aligning with global compliance norms, creating a safer trading environment and enhancing the security of user accounts. The crypto firm’s CEO, Johnny Lyu, explained:

“Crypto has gradually moved from a geek towards mass adoption. However, this process has also brought about certain security issues concerning on-chain assets […] KuCoin has strengthened our KYC system to comply with regulatory requirements worldwide and better protect the asset security of all cryptocurrency users through enhanced KYC rules.”

FTX might be back soon

Going by a report from The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is one step closer to relaunching as an entirely new exchange.

Per the report, FTX restructuring chief John Ray said the company had “begun the process of soliciting interested parties to the reboot of the FTX.com exchange.” 

Sources also say the firm has been holding talks with investors around financing the potential reboot. Blockchain lending company Figure is said to be among the parties who have displayed interest in the process.

Melania Trump launches NFT collection 

Melania Trump, the former first lady of the United States, has launched a new NFT collection to celebrate the country’s upcoming Independence Day.

The collection which went live on Thursday, is called “The 1776 Collection” and it consists of a six-piece range of NFTs consisting of images sourced from across the US.

This launch of a new collection is coming only a couple of months after former president Donald Trump released the second set of his NFT trading cards.