BlockchainReporter Weekly Crypto News Review: Regulations, Education, and Tokenization

This week has seen notable developments surrounding the crypto market, including the education, regulation, and global financial sectors. The key crypto events of the week included Binance’s collaboration with CEPOL to strengthen global security and Kraken’s launch of xStocks in collaboration with BackedFi to offer tokenized stocks. Additionally, Ripple’s remarkable settlement with the SEC and Binance Academy’s rollout in Saudi Arabia are also significant developments in enhancing regulation and education. 

Moreover, Binance CEO’s response to the allegedly negative narrative presented by a Wall Street Journal article is another big development of this week. These notable developments highlight a continuous advancement across the crypto landscape on diverse frontiers amid growing mainstream adoption.

Binance and CEPOL Collaborate to Expand Crime Investigation in Crypto Sector

In a notable development this week, Binance commenced its partnership with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement (CEPOL). This joint effort attempts to conduct comprehensive training sessions in the jurisdiction of Moldova. This comes as a part of the EU4Security initiative. It endeavors to strengthen regional law enforcement by including latest skills concerning blockchain analysis along with crypto-focused investigations.

The partnership follows a practical approach to deal with cybercrime in the world of digital assets. Hence, this will improve law enforcement with thorough training sessions. Apart from that, the engagement between Binance and EU4Security denotes an attention-grasping move to boost cybersecurity with the help of public-private collaborations.

Kraken Releases xStocks in Collaboration with BackedFi

Another important news of the week is the launch of “xStocks” by Kraken in collaboration with BackedFi to offer tokenized U.S. stocks to the worldwide user base. This strategic development takes into account the provision of tokenized U.S. equities to the consumers in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. The project will include fifty stocks and exchange-traded funds like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia for non-U.S. users.

xStocks is planned to be developed on the blockchain of Solana, and assets within BackedFi’s ecosystem will work as a collateral for this service. Additionally, the launch of the project will take place on Kraken to deliver efficient performance, comprehensive accessibility, and rapid transfer speeds. Moreover, to guarantee the regulatory compliance, Kraken is also set to collaborate with regulatory agencies worldwide. Overall, the non-U.S. consumers will be able to leverage xStocks to seamlessly utilize tokenized U.S. stocks.

Binance Academy Goes Live in Saudi Arabia

Binance Academy’s launch in Saudi Arabia serves as another key development of the week. This official debut permits the prominent crypto exchange Binance to impart education concerning the cutting-edge crypto and blockchain technologies in Saudi Arabia. This move took place in a grand event of the collaboration between Binance and the Saudi government. It included Binance’s Chief Market Officer, Rachel Conlan, and the team members of the Binance Academy.

The collaboration agreement took place between the Riyadh Chamber and Gulf Colleges. This endeavor denotes a new era of learning and awareness regarding the crypto and blockchain sectors. The ultimate purpose of this initiative is to enhance the adoption of the digital asset landscape to help people meet their financial objectives. As a part of this, Binance Academy will be an active contributor to the development of education plans, blockchain certification projects, and the provision of educational materials.

Ripple Wins Legal War with SEC as Lawsuit Concludes in Settlement

The U.S. SEC’s lawsuit against the well-known crypto exchange Ripple, which was prolonged for more than 4 years, has finally come to a close. The regulatory agency has ultimately dropped the allegations against Ripple as the crypto exchange has promised to forfeit $50M of the $125M fine.

However, the remaining amount will be returned to Ripple as per the court’s decision. Hence, with the conclusion of this lawsuit, Ripple’s native $XRP token is not labeled as a security according to the present law. This will potentially set a precedent for such lawsuits in the future, triggering a wider regulatory shift.

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, also expressed his thoughts on this crucial victory after a years-long struggle. He asserted that the conclusion of the lawsuit signifies the end of the SEC’s attempts to intimidate the crypto sector. Thus, this development is dissimilar to the former settlements between the SEC and crypto entities, as they resulted in the imposition of huge restrictions. This settlement reportedly makes clear endpoints. Moreover, by the year 2029, assuming complete compliance with the settlement conditions, the SEC will release Ripple from its additional oversight.

Binance Founder Hits Back at WSJ Allegations Concerning Potential Engagement with WLF

In another critical development of this week, Binance Founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has fired back at a recent article published by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). CZ asserted that there were several inaccuracies as well as negative assumptions concerning him in that article. As per Zhao, the article showed WSJ’s potential retreat from following the principles of responsible journalism.

Particularly, the article makes claims about CZ’s role as a noteworthy “fixer” dealing with World Liberty Financial. In this respect, the article referred to the WLF team’s foreign visits, including that to Pakistan. Hence, as the article claims, CZ allegedly helped arrange the meeting between the WLF and a Pakistani government officer, Mr. Saqib. Nonetheless, CZ has clearly denied the respective allegations, saying that both the parties already knew each other without his mediation. To back his argument, CZ added that this was his first meeting with Mr. Saqib. Keeping this in view, CZ mentioned that the WSJ is deliberately abandoning ethical journalism to establish false narratives.

Thus, this week’s developments signify a multifaceted and vibrant picture while raising optimism as the growth continues. Specifically, the Ripple-SEC settlement will likely fuel the revolution in the regulatory framework for the crypto market. Along with that, the Binance-CEPOL partnership will reportedly boost cybersecurity and compliance. Moreover, the launch of xStocks by Kraken is another major move to expand the accessibility of U.S. tokenized equities among non-U.S. consumers. Furthermore, Binance Academy’s rollout in Saudi Arabia will enhance crypto awareness. Simultaneously, CZ’s response to WSJ presents the problems faced by crypto leaders due to false media narratives.