Singapore is mulling over additional rules in cryptocurrency trading that it says are necessary to safeguard the general public. These may include restrictions on retail trading and the use of leverage in cryptocurrency transactions.

The revelation comes weeks after repeated warnings from the government that cryptocurrencies, due to their "sharp speculative price swings", are unsuitable retail investments for the public.

Recent market events clearly demonstrated the risks with prices of several cryptocurrencies dipping significantly, said Senior Minister and Minister in Charge of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Tharman Shanmugaratnam. In a written response issued Monday to a parliamentary question, he said MAS since 2017 had issued cautionary notes about cryptocurrency investments.

Noting that the industry regulator already had taken steps that went further than most others, Tharman said MAS in January restricted the marketing and advertising of cryptocurrency services in public areas as well as barred the portrayal of cryptocurrency trading as trivial.

He added that digital payment token service providers since had adhered to the rules, which included the removal of both cryptocurrency ATMs and advertisements from public areas and public transport venues.

Under the country's Payment Services Act, MAS was empowered to implement further measures to ensure better consumer protection, maintain financial stability, and safeguard the effectiveness of its monetary policies, the minister said.

Tharman said: "MAS has been carefully considering the introduction of additional consumer protection safeguards. These may include placing limits on retail participation and rules on the use of leverage when transacting in cryptocurrencies. Given the borderless nature of cryptocurrency markets, however, there is a need for regulatory coordination and cooperation globally. These issues are being discussed at various international standard setting bodies where MAS actively participates."

The European Union last week reached a provisional agreement on cryptocurrency regulations that aimed to "protect investors and preserve financial stability". Coined Markets in Crypto Assets (MICA), the regulatory framework would cover issuers of unbacked crypto assets and stablecoins, trading platforms, and wallets in which crypto assets were held.

For instance, under the new rules, cryptocurrency service providers must adopt "strong requirements" to protect consumers wallets and would be held liable when investors' assets were lost.

French Minister for the Economy, Finance, and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, Bruno Le Maire, said: "Recent developments on this quickly evolving sector have confirmed the urgent need for an EU-wide regulation. MICA will better protect Europeans who have invested in these assets and prevent the misuse of crypto-assets, while being innovation-friendly to maintain the EU's attractiveness."

MICA still is subject the approval of the Council and European Parliament, before going through formal adoption procedures.

Singapore, though, had stressed the importance of driving the development of underlying technologies often associated with cryptocurrencies, specifically, blockchain.

Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat, said last month efforts were needed to bring out the best potential of emerging technologies while mitigating the risks.

For instance, he said a consortium was set up to ensure the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the financial sector and this led to the release of whitepapers and toolkits to guide the industry.

The same approach should be applied to drive the upsides and minimise the downsides of Web 3.0 developments, Heng said, pointing to distributed ledgers and tokenisation, which drove transparency and cost savings.

"Crypto assets have more recently been in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. This, however, does not reflect where the greatest value of blockchain and digital assets lies, much of which is away from the retail glare," he said.

He noted that while cryptocurrencies were unsuitable as retail investments due to their volatile prices, the underlying blockchain technology had the potential to streamline andimprove wholesale cross-border transactions.

MAS in May announced plans to pilot use cases of asset tokenisation and assess the feasibility of autonomous trading powered by blockchain technology. Efforts here would include the development of interoperable networks to facilitate digital asset trading as well as an evaluation of regulations needed to safeguard against potential risks.

According to a study released last August, 67% of personal investors in Singapore held cryptocurrencies with 78% owning Ethereum and 69% holding Bitcoin.

Investments in Singapore's fintech sector also grew 47% year-on-year to hit $3.94 billion last year, with blockchain and cryptocurrencies raking in almost half of the funds with $1.48 billion across 82 deals, according to KPMG.

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Singapore may introduce further cryptocurrency restrictions - ZDNet

Cryptocurrency investing app CoinSwitch has appointed Sudheer Tumuluru as its head of cryptocurrency engineering. He was previously serving as the vice president of engineering for fashion e-commerce company Myntra. Tumuluru has over two decades of experience in cloud, big data and infrastructure platforms at technology companies in India and the US.

CoinSwitch is expanding rapidly, building new offerings in crypto and non-crypto space. A crucial part of this journey is a robust crypto tech stack that will reinforce our leadership in the crypto market even as we develop an assortment of asset classes. Sudheers expertise in building technology platforms will drive this effort, Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO, CoinSwitch, said.

Crypto is a technology tool that can reshape finance, business and the internet. As a technologist, I look forward to joining CoinSwitch and diving into building cutting-edge technological platforms in India, Tumuluru said.

According to an official statement by the platform, it has been strengthening its management team with leadership appointments including Ramesh Bafna (chief financial officer), Ashish Chandra (general counsel), Jayaram Krishnan (vice president, product), Jayadevan PK (senior director, communication and content), Nishant Das (global head of talent acquisition), R Venkatesh (senior vice president, public policy), and Zeeshan Ramlan (director and head of human resource).

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CoinSwitch names Sudheer Tumuluru as its head of cryptocurrency engineering - The Financial Express

Over the past 24 hours, Shiba Inu's SHIB/USD price has risen 5.33% to $0.000011. This continues its positive trend over the past week where it has experienced a 13.0% gain, moving from $0.000010 to its current price.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Shiba Inu over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

The trading volume for the coin has risen 42.0% over the past week diverging from the circulating supply of the coin, which has decreased 0.07%. This brings the circulating supply to 589.38 trillion. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for SHIB is #12 at $6.69 billion.

Powered by CoinGecko API

This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

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Cryptocurrency Shiba Inu Up More Than 5% In 24 hours - Benzinga

Lets go Brandon NASCAR class action overview:

NASCAR driver Brandon Brown and his racing company are fighting a class action lawsuit that claims he was involved in a scheme to launch a cryptocurrency that would reach an inflated value and then crash.

On July 5, Brown and his company Brandonbilt Motorsports LLC asked U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron and U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel C. Irick to dismiss the claims they face from buyers of Lets Go Brandon meme tokens or LGBCoin.

Plaintiffs Eric De Ford and Sandra Bader filed the class action lawsuit against the creators of LGBCoin, Brown and his company in April.

They are looking to represent anyone who bought LGBCoin between Nov. 2, 2021, when the coin launched, and March 15, 2022, when the price dropped.

The Lets Go Brandon became a popular chant and meme in October 2021 when NBC Sports reporter Kelli Stavast interviewed Brown following a NASCAR race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama, according to TODAY. The crowd behind them shouted, F Joe Biden, which Stavast mistook as, Lets go, Brandon! The phrase then became a viral way to insult the president.

According to the lawsuit, the creators of LGBCoin met with NASCAR executives days after the coin launched to discuss whether the cryptocurrency could become an official sponsor of Brandonbilt Motorsports.

At the end of December LGBCoin and Brandonbilt Motorsports reportedly announced that the digital currency would be the full-season primary partner for the company in 2022, the Lets go Brandon class action states..

The announcement caused the price of LGBCoin to spike, the plaintiffs allege, leading the coin to cost more than five times as much as it did when it launched.

However, days later, NASCAR announced that LGBCoin was rejected as a sponsor of BMS. The statement caused the rate for LGBCoin to plummet by 63%, the plaintiffs say.

De Ford and Bader are suing for fraud, theft, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy and violation of the Securities Act.

However, Brown argues that the plaintiffs never explained in their suit how he and his company are involved in the alleged scheme.

Rather than focusing on specifically tailoring the issues at hand in order to assert cognizable claims against the racing defendants, the amended complaint instead reads as a fanciful novella, filled with maliciously intended disparaging statements, wide-ranging assumptions, and frankly irrelevant statements solely included to cast the racing defendants in a negative light, he told the judge.

In other NASCAR news, in 2011, NASCAR was hit with a class action lawsuit alleging a text message promoting coverage of the 2011 Daytona 500 sent to Sprint phones violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Qu opinas de las acusaciones de este caso? Hganoslo saber en los comentarios.

De Ford and Bader are represented by Aaron M. Zigler and Robin Horton Silverman of the Zigler Law Group LLC and John T. Jasnoch and Sean T. Masson of Scott + Scott Attorneys at Law LLP.

The Lets go Brandon NASCAR lawsuit is De Ford v. Koutoulas et al., Case No. 6:22-cv-00652, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Lea sobre ms demandas colectivas y acuerdos de demanda colectiva:

Nota: Top Class Actions no es un administrador de acuerdosadministrador o bufete de abogados. Top Class Actions es una fuente de noticias legalesque informa sobre demandas colectivas, acuerdos de demandas colectivas,demandas por lesiones de medicamentos y demandas por responsabilidad de productos. Top ClassActions no procesa reclamaciones y no podemos asesorarle sobre elsobre el estado de una demanda colectiva. Debe ponerse en contacto con elcon el administrador del acuerdo o con su abogado para cualquiersobre el estado de su reclamacin, el formulario de reclamacin o preguntas sobre cundo se espera que se enven los pagos.de los pagos.

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'Let's go Brandon' class action alleges NASCAR driver involved in cryptocurrency fraud scheme - Top Class Actions

Cryptocurrency volatility worked out in a victim's favor as Maastricht University. The school paid a ransom worth 200,000 in 2019 and is set to receive recovered funds from the criminals' account now worth 500,000.

Maastricht said once received, it would deposit the money in a fund for students in need.

The Dutch Public Prosecution Service traced the 40,000 worth of cryptocurrency from the ransom to an account they were able to freeze in February of 2020. In the 17 months since, that cryptocurrency increased in value more than tenfold.

The university noted that even the gain of 300,000 was not enough to offset the total cost of recovering from the attack.

In 2021, the opposite situation impacted Colonial Pipeline when the brunt of its ransom was recovered. U.S. authorities were able to claw back 63.7 out of the 75 bitcoin Colonial Pipeline paid in ransom mere months after the ransom was paid. But bitcoin had plummeted in value, meaning the dollar value of the bitcoin recovered was $2.3 million only about half of the $4.4 million ransom they paid.

Maastricht's ransomware attack was carried out by affiliates of the Cl0p group. The university prominently displays a hanging digital sculpture by artist Richard Vijgen it commissioned to commemorate the event.

The funds are currently being held in an account owned by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service, with the Ministry of Justice instigating proceedings to get the money to the school.

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University recovers 2019 ransom to find value of cryptocurrency skyrocketed - SC Media

LONDON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iProov, the world leader in face biometric authentication technology, announced today that Paxful, a global peer-to-peer fintech platform, will employ its award-winning liveness technology to verify user identity during the onboarding process and when making transactions.

We are thrilled to partner with iProov to offer our users a safe and secure experience while using the Paxful platform. Our mission as an organization is to provide greater access to Bitcoin by building a financial system that serves the global economy, said George Georgiades, Chief Compliance Officer of Paxful. To properly do so, we need to ensure we provide the highest level of security and peace of mind to users. iProovs technology allows us to safeguard against fraud and theft for our community while ensuring continued access and growth of the platform.

When a user onboards with Paxful, they verify their identity using an ID document, such as a driver's license. They then complete a brief face verification to confirm they are the right person and a real person. To carry out a transaction, a returning user then completes a brief face authentication instead of using a password or entering a one-time passcode (OTP).

iProovs Liveness Assurance technology enables organizations to verify that an online user is the right person (not an imposter) and a real person (not a photo or mask being used in a presentation attack). In doing so, it helps businesses and public sector agencies to protect themselves and their users by preventing stolen or faked identities being used for new account fraud and account takeover fraud. Liveness Assurance is device- and platform-agnostic, working across any computer, tablet or cellphone with a user-facing camera.

With the tremendous influx of new users into the crypto space comes an even greater invasion of fraudsters looking to empty or take over accounts or even hold them for ransom, said Andrew Bud, iProov CEO. Paxfuls mission is a critical one that helps connect the underbanked and unbanked around the globe to financial opportunities and stability. We are delighted to support them in offering inclusive and secure remote verification measures to protect their users.

About PaxfulPaxful is a global peer-to-peer fintech platform for people to make payments, transactions, and send money by buying and selling cryptocurrencies as a means of exchange. Founded in 2015 by Ray Youssef and Artur Schaback, Paxful's mission is to help everyone have equal access to finance no matter who or where they are. More than seven million people use Paxful to buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Tether (USDT) with nearly 400 different payment methods.

As part of Paxfuls mission to support emerging markets, Ray Youssef, alongside Yusuf Nessary, set up the Built With Bitcoin Foundation, a U.S.-based registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to creating equitable opportunity by providing clean water, access to quality education, sustainable farming, and humanitarian support all powered by Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. To date, the Foundation has built and repaired 8 schools, 7 solar projects, and over a dozen water and farming systems across the globe.

About iProoviProov is the world leader in online facial biometric authentication, working with governments, banks and other enterprises to securely verify customer identity. Used for effortless onboarding and authentication, customers include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the UK Home Office, the UK National Health Service (NHS), the Australian Taxation Office, GovTech Singapore, Rabobank, ING, and others. iProovs technologies include Liveness Assurance and Genuine Presence Assurance, which ensures that an online customer is the right person, a real person, and is authenticating right now. This protects against spoof attacks from photos, videos, masks and digital injection attacks and the emerging threat of deepfakes. iProov was recognized as a Gartner Cool Vendor 2020 in Identity Access Management & Fraud Detection. For more information, please see http://www.iproov.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

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Paxful Selects iProov to Provide Effortless Security for Cryptocurrency Onboarding and Transactions - Business Wire

Investment: Asset manager, financier, and cryptocurrency teacher Alexander Alexandrovich Ryabinin says the investment attractiveness of digital assets can be determined by analyzing inflationary and deflationary processes.

The expert shared his method with the editors of BeInCrypto. If you arent a math head, this might melt your brain. But try to hang in there.

This study shows how the attractiveness of a cryptocurrency can be calculated, thanks to inflationary and deflationary processes.

For this, a coefficient was developed. It is necessary to substitute all the project data into it in order to get the most valid value.

Coefficient:

A+B/(C+D)*(E*F)

Where

A current supply of tokens

B inflation

C current supply of tokens

D staking

E trading volumes within the platform subject to commission

F commission

Perfectly reflects this Biswap idea:

220.490.000+10%/60.000.000+35%*0.005=242,539,000/405.000=598.9

We took the current capitalization of 220,490,000

Added an estimated 10% additional issue

60,000,000 volume of tokens per day

Under 35% you can stake

0.5% of transactions are burned

In the case of the BSV, there are also deflationary measures that can be taken into account in the formula

Sometimes the staking offer is too small to be considered or not at all. Then we use the formula, removing staking.

An example is LRC:

10% apy

70% fee all trade for srakers

10% burn

0.5% fee trade buy and sell

1,374,513,896 circulation supply

240,000,000 volume trade per day

1,200,000 fee a day

840,000 fee for staker a day, 25,200,000 a mouth, 302,400,000 a year

120,000 burn a day, 3,600,000 a mouth, 72,000,000 a year

1,374,513,896/72,000,000 = 19

1,374,513,896/72,000,000+302,400,000=3.6

You can substitute different data. The main thing that must be observed is that inflationary factors are in the first part of the coefficient, and deflationary factors in the second.

Thus, we get a coefficient that reflects the advantage of deflation over inflation. After analyzing the sector (each asset), we can get the average ratio. And due to this, to understand what assets stand out from the sector.

For example, after analyzing the sector of centralized exchanges from the TOP 100, it became clear that the average value is 20.

Here are the rates for the projects:

BNB 20

OKB-15

FTT-17

KCS-20

HT-25

LEO-105

We can conclude that attractive coins for investment will be OKB and FTT, as their ratios are below average. LEO is not an attractive investment. The rest are neutral.

This does not mean that these projects will benefit in the short term. Rather, on the contrary, these coins will quickly give a small profit. So, the LEO coin is growing faster than the rest in the moment. But if you look after a long period of time, then it will lose to investments with a lower coefficient.

This is due to the fact that this coefficient shows how quickly the supply of coins will decrease. Deflation largely reflects supply constraints. But it is worth noting that you cannot rely solely on this coefficient. Since it reflects only the growth / reduction of supply. The demand factor must also be taken into account.

The previous coefficient reflects the internal economics of the project. How will the supply of coins be reflected in a year, for example.

Now, we need to consider the external demand for the coin itself. After all, by combining these 2 indicators, we can understand how attractive the project is for investors and future profitability (at least through a reduction in supply in a year there are 10% fewer coins, demand is good, which means that at least 10% growth can be predicted fundamentally).

So, how do we calculate the second coefficient:

A/B

Where:

A current market supply

B trading volume

For example, lets analyze BSW volume a day:

220.490.000/60.000.000 = 3.5

We do the same with other coins.

GNO

2.579.588/4.535.631 = 0.5

XLM

25,000,000,000/161,474,917 = 1548

RUNE

330.668.061/92.843.985 = 3.5

LRC

1.374.513.896/70.493.337= 194

Based on the analysis, we can conclude that the most interesting coins for investors are GNO, BSW and RUNE.

Now lets analyze for centralized exchanges.

BNB

163.276.974/1.030.589.981 = 0.6

LEO

953.954.130/7.004.759 = 130

FTT

135.473.350/62.725.740 = 2

KCS

98.379.860/4.197.593 = 22

HB

154.409.022/24.103.685 = 7

OKB

60,000,000/9,630,463 = 6

Here we already have 2 FTT and BNB leaders, 2 good indicators from HB and OKB, the rest are outsiders.

As a result, we got 2 good ideas. FTT is low in both ratios and OKB with excellent deflation and strong demand.

You can add a coefficient for summing up the results:

A*B

Where:

A offer coefficient

B demand factor

Then we get:

BNB 20*0.5 = 10

FTT-17*2=34

OKB 15*6 = 90

Due to the large demand, BNB wins. But it is worth noting that the demand is floating, today there is, but not tomorrow. That is, in the short term, this calculation takes place. But in the long run, things can change.

As an example of historical confirmation, we can take the 2021 cycle and CAKE with its excellent deflationary measures. From February to high.

CAKE has more than quadrupled.

The rest of the decentralized exchange market grew by an average of 150%.

The exceptions are LRC and RUNE, which grew about the same. But if you look, their deflationary measures are just as good. LRC 3.9. RUNE 11. And the demand for these coins (volumes) was excellent.

Got something to say about investment in cryptocurrencies or anything else? Write to usor join the discussion in our Telegram channel. You can also catch us on Tik Tok, Facebook, or Twitter.

DisclaimerAll the information contained on our website is published in good faith and for general information purposes only. Any action the reader takes upon the information found on our website is strictly at their own risk.

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Investment: How To Calculate The Attractiveness of a Cryptocurrency - BeInCrypto

For a generation of alienated techies, crypto'sall-for-one ethos was its biggest draw. Now panic is spreading across this universe and that same ethosis posing what may be the biggest threat yet to its survival.

What started this year in crypto markets as a risk-off bout of selling fueled by a Federal Reserve suddenly determined to rein in excesses has exposed a web of interconnectedness that looks a little like the tangle of derivatives that brought down the global financial system in 2008. As Bitcoin slipped almost 70% from its record high, a panoply of altcoins also plummeted. The collapse of the Terra ecosystem a much-hyped experiment in decentralized finance began with its algorithmic stablecoin losing its peg to the US dollar, and ended with a bank run that made $40 billion of tokens virtually worthless. Crypto collateral that seemed valuable enough to support loans one day became deeply discounted or illiquid, putting the fates of a previously invincible hedge fund and several high-profile lenders in doubt.

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Cryptocurrency Bear Market: This Bitcoin Crash Is Different From the Past - Bloomberg

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Cryptocurrency prices have been on the rise in recent days, but some experts dont expect it to last.

Bitcoin rose 5% and topped nearly $22,000 over the weekend a big leap from when it fell to nearly $17,500 earlier this month. Ethereum saw a big jump too, rising to above $1,200. For investors, a big question still lingers: Is the crypto market truly recovering or is it just another false alarm, also known as a bull trap?

Some experts say signs point to a bull trap and investors should be wary, warning the worst may be yet to come amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and bitcoins price, as well as other cryptocurrencies, could drop even further.

While we have seen bitcoin and ethereum rally recently after creating lows around $17,500 and $880 respectively, we are unconvinced about calling a low in place yet, says Richard Usher, head of over-the-counter trading at BCB Group, a crypto financial firm. The general risk environment remains on a knife edge, and while we think risk assets will rally significantly toward the end of the year, we see risks skewed to one more sell-off first.

Its easy for investors to hope the worst is in the past for the crypto market. Bitcoins price stayed above $20,000 and ethereum held above $1,100 on Tuesday, a significant jump from their 15-month lows just two weeks ago.

But with war raging in Ukraine, rising interest rates, inflation soaring, and talks of an impending recession, the coast is far from clear, experts say. Many are calling what were seeing with crypto prices this week a bull trap.

Thats when a stock or cryptocurrency reverses back down after a convincing rally and breaks below a prior support level. Basically, its a false signal, fooling investors into thinking the market is done falling and that its a good time to buy.

Experts say there will likely be another sell-off in the crypto market over the next few weeks or months. Wendy O, a crypto expert and educator, expects ethereum could fall as low as $750 and bitcoin could fall to $10,000. Kiana Danial, entrepreneur and author of Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies, predicts bitcoin will fall to $11,000, while venture capitalist Kavita Gupta is calling for a bottom of $14,000 for bitcoin and $500 for ethereum.

Martin Hiesboeck, head of blockchain and crypto research at Uphold, says whether bitcoin holds above $20,000 has little to do with crypto itself and more with the overall geopolitical and macroeconomic situation, which he does not believe will improve significantly in the short term. The crypto market, which has been tracking with the stock markets lately, has been a casualty of the broader market sell-off of risky assets.

The war in Ukraine, supply chain gluts, and inflation are by far the biggest worries, Hiesboeck says. So far bitcoin hasnt exactly proven to be the inflation-proof safe haven its biggest fans believed it to be.

The crypto market is volatile and highly unpredictable, so buying cryptocurrencies at any price is risky let alone during a market dip that might not go away anytime soon.

However, if youve assessed your tolerance and can accept the risk, experts say now could be a good time to get in the crypto market since prices are lower than theyve been in years. Theres no such thing as a perfect time to enter the market, so keep in mind that price fluctuations are par for the course and be prepared for crypto prices to fall even more. Dont invest in crypto if you cant stomach sharp market swings, which can sometimes be as much as 15% in a 24-hour period.

Additionally, you should invest only what youre OK with losing and after youve prioritized other aspects of your finances, such as building an emergency fund, paying off high-interest debt, and investing in a traditional retirement account like a 401(k).

Financial advisors recommend investing no more than 5% of your portfolio in crypto, and sticking to the two most well-established cryptocurrencies: bitcoin and ethereum. According to the NextAdvisor Investability Score, bitcoin and ethereum are considered to be better investments thanks to their longer track records and long-term value growth, among other key factors. Heres how our score shakes out for 10 cryptocurrencies that are consistently among the top by market cap, excluding stablecoins, for reference:

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Bitcoin and Ethereum Prices Rallied This Week. It Wont Last, According to These Experts - NextAdvisor

Changpeng Zhao does not like ambiguous words. Which is just as well: the crypto industry, in which he is a leading figure, is in turmoil and crying out for clarity.

The 45-year-old founder and chief executive of Binance, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency exchange, meets the Observer in an upmarket London hotel after one of the most tumultuous weeks in the short history of digital money.

Binance was forced to suspend its bitcoin business on 13 June for a few hours. On the same day, a major crypto lender, Celsius, also paused withdrawals. Then a big crypto hedge fund admitted it was in trouble. Finally, last Saturday, in a symbolic moment, bitcoin fell below $20,000. The cornerstone of crypto has lost more than half its value this year, leaving both professional and amateur investors nursing steep losses.

Often referred to by the nickname CZ (see-zee), Zhao is dressed in the classic tech-tycoon mix of formal dark suit with a company T-shirt and trainers. He says he is travelling from country to country at the moment, meeting with different government officials, regulators.

Despite his softly spoken manner, he is on a mission to convince. The conversation gets hooked on semantics at times perhaps a response to the level of scrutiny he and his business are under. Asked if he still considers the recent crypto market moves to be normal, as he described them this month, Zhao says: Normal depends on how you look at it everybody has a different definition of normal fluctuations in price is normal.

There is a similar focus on meaning when Zhao is asked about money laundering the word is very different in different countries although he says Binance can for sure do a good enough job that the regulators are happy.

Last June, the Financial Conduct Authority ordered Binance to stop all regulated activities in Britain, saying it was not capable of being effectively supervised. Zhao has not given up, however, and says he is seeking a licence to operate.

Last week, Bloomberg ran an interview with him that raised the prospect of a deep regulatory winter for his business. He responded by tweeting to his 6.5 million followers: I will stop doing interviews with news outlets that do clickbait titles.

He clearly has a deep interest in media. Binance has announced plans for a $200m (160m) investment in Forbes, the business publisher, as well as investing $500m in Elon Musks $44bn bid for Twitter.

Born in the coastal province of Jiangsu, north of Shanghai, Zhao followed his academic father to Canada when he was 12. After graduating from Montreals McGill University with a degree in computer science he worked on programming systems for the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Bloomberg. Zhao then moved to Shanghai in 2005, where he founded a high-frequency trading platform.

It was there that he was drawn into a conversation about bitcoin during a poker game in 2013. Binance was founded four years later.

Age 45Family I like to keep that private for security and privacy reasons.Education McGill University, Canada.Last holiday Takes one- or two- day vacations a few times a year, but not long vacations.Best advice hes been given Internally, keep your head down and build. Externally, learn risk management. If everything went to zero, are you still OK?Biggest career mistake Should have started Binance sooner.Words he overuses Who is responsible for this? Who?How he relaxes Books, hanging out with friends.

The impact of recent events on Zhaos fortune has been precipitous, according to one source. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates that his wealth based on a 90% stake in Binance and his control of its related US exchange has fallen by more than $75bn since January to $20.6bn, as the wider market has more than halved over the same period to about $900bn.

Zhao laughs that off. I actually have no idea how they come up with those numbers. You need to understand that net worth are just estimates, he says. When I look at my wallet, I dont have that much. I dont have anywhere close to any of those numbers.

If you are wondering how Zhao could find $20bn in his wallet anyway, he is referring to his crypto wallet the encrypted account on a blockchain where digital money is stored. Although all blockchain activity is technically public, most large investors try to keep their wallets pseudonymous, and Zhaos has not been publicly identified.

Binance makes money by connecting buyers with sellers, for a fee. It provides an exchange for a range of currencies, from bitcoin to dogecoin and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The company also offers to store those assets in a crypto wallet, and there is a range of financial products, including derivatives. It has 120 million customers globally and processes $1tn worth of trades a month, with Italy and France among the countries it is allowed to operate in, although customers can access it through the unregulated, offshore binance.com platform.

Last year, Zhao told the AP news agency that he only held bitcoin and his firms own crypto-asset, BNB.

One issue puzzling regulators is the lack of clarity about Binances structure. The holding company is registered in the Cayman Islands but the company describes itself as having decentralised ownership, with its terms and conditions referring to an ecosystem. For instance, its US exchange is separate from the main binance.com platform, whose operating base is not disclosed.

Some of the other questions over Binance are more serious. Reuters published a report in June that alleged it had served as a conduit for the laundering of at least $2.35bn in illicit funds from hacks, investment frauds and illegal drug sales.

Zhao says he disputes the claims very heavily, adding the public record afforded by blockchains should have enabled Binance to trace the transactions. We ask for a list of transactions, not just a list of names. They provided zero.

Reuters said: We stand by our reporting on Binance, which has been consistent with the Trust Principles [its in-house guidelines] of accuracy and freedom from bias.

The conversation moves on to those who have had savings wiped out by the crypto rout. We absolutely have sympathy for anyone who has lost money in trading in any market, including stock markets, says Zhao. He says financial literacy is key, and mentions his companys own Binance Academy.

He concedes there could be more failures in the crypto market. But he is unambiguous that there will be survivors. There may be other failures. But crypto will stay, bitcoin will stay, ethereum will stay, BNB will stay. That part is quite certain.

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Changpeng Zhao: tech chief in the eye of the cryptocurrency storm - The Guardian