Binance seizes Palestinian crypto funds

Here's what really happened

Author

Daniel Akpobare
August 28, 2024

GM Explorer,

A significant storm has hit the crypto world, with allegations from an industry executive that Binance has seized funds from all Palestinian accounts.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • 🚫 Binance seizes Palestinian crypto funds!

  • 📉 Crypto traders took big hits yesterday!

  • 🧱 Around The Block: Massive $1.88 Billion Bitcoin transfer to Binance sparks market reaction.

🚫 Binance Seizes Palestinian Crypto Funds!

Ray Youssef, the co-founder of Paxful and CEO of Noones P2P platform, has made shocking claims about Binance.

In a post on X, Youssef claims that Binance seized funds from ALL Palestinian accounts at the request of the Israel Defense Forces and has denied all appeals to return the funds.

And what backing does Binance have to make such a move, you ask?

According to Youssef’s sources, Binance’s move to block these accounts was based on a letter from Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing.

The letter mentions anti-terrorism laws permitting the temporary seizure of property linked to declared terrorist organizations, including cryptocurrency funds.

Oh, and he doesn't stop there—he further suggested that similar treatment could extend to Lebanon and Syria.

Binance, however, has a different story.

They state that only a small number of accounts linked to illicit activities were affected, and the action was in line with international sanctions laws.

But they didn't provide further details on the number of affected users or when the restrictions were enforced.

And get this—Palestine is a minor market for Binance, with its traffic share amounting to roughly 0.05% of Binance’s visits over the past year.

Interest is rising, though, as traffic from Palestine to Binance has surged more than 80% since August 2023.

📉 Crypto Traders Took Big Hits Yesterday!

The crypto market had a rough day yesterday— Bitcoin's price plummeted below $60,000, triggering a massive wave of liquidations—and we're talking over $313 million!

So, what happened?

Well, long story short, it seems like traders got a bit too confident after the Federal Reserve hinted at a potential interest rate cut in September.

They started opening long positions on both Bitcoin and Ethereum, thinking the prices would keep going up!

But, as we all know, the crypto market can be a cruel mistress. When Bitcoin's price dropped, it was like a domino effect.

Those optimistic traders were caught off guard, and their positions were liquidated faster than you can say "crypto chaos."

And let me tell you, it was a bloodbath!

Ethereum led the liquidations, with over $100 million, of which $93.52 million were liquidated long positions.

Oh, and to top it off, Ethereum's price also nosedived by nearly 9%!

Bitcoin wasn't far behind; it accounted for over $94 million in liquidations. Long positions took the biggest hit, losing $85.97 million, while short positions lost $8.87 million.

It was a real blood bath, right?

As the analysts at Santiment said, "When funding rates get extreme, they're always prone to get liquidated and shoot markets in the opposite direction."

And get this—it wasn't just Bitcoin and Ethereum that got hit.

Solana also took a beating, going down over 7% in the past 24 hours and liquidating over $11 million.

So, what's the takeaway from all this?

It's a good reminder that the crypto market can be super volatile, and even the best traders can get blindsided. But hey, that's all part of the game, right?

If you want the full scoop, you've got to read the full report. Trust me; there's a lot of juicy details in there!

🧱 Around The Block

That's all we've got for you today.

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Catch you soon.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions.

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