The $4.5M fine!

Coinbase's UK subsidiary is in for some serious trouble this time.

Author

Daniel Akpobare
July 26, 2024

GM Explorer,

Coinbase's UK subsidiary just received a $4.5 million fine, and it's all because it failed to implement anti-money laundering controls.

Here’s what we got for you today:

  • 💰 Coinbase’s UK Arm Fined $4.5M – Find out why!

  • 📈 Bitcoin miner MARA ups its BTC holdings!

  • 🧱 Around The Block: When is Binance founder CZ coming out of prison?

💰 Coinbase’s UK Arm Fined $4.5M – Find out why!

Someone’s in trouble, everyone!

Coinbase's UK subsidiary, CB Payments Limited (CBPL), has been fined a hefty $4.5 million by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)!

Why? It turns out they weren't quite up to scratch with their anti-money laundering controls.

Back in late 2020, CBPL promised to tighten up its security and steer clear of high-risk customers after the FCA issued a warning.

But guess what? They didn't quite follow through on their promise!

In fact, they allegedly ended up letting about 13,000 high-risk customers slip through the cracks, raking in a massive $24.9 million from almost a third of them in over two years. Yikes!

And what was Coinbase's defense?

They claim it was all just an honest mistake and that only a tiny fraction of high-risk customers slipped through unintentionally.

But hey, the FCA isn't buying it — They accuse CBPL of "repeatedly breaching" the rules, which makes that 'unintentional' excuse seem pretty weak.

And in case you're wondering why this matters, well, this is the first time a crypto-related business has been fined under the 2011 Electronic Money Regulations.

So yeah, it's kind of a big deal, mainly because it could mean more scrutiny for other cryptocurrency exchanges in the region and maybe even lead to platforms seeking more crypto-friendly regulatory jurisdictions.

But the good news for CBPL is that by agreeing to sort out the issue, they managed to snag a 30% discount on the fine.

Interested in the whole details? Click here!

📈 Bitcoin Miner MARA Ups its BTC Holdings!

Cryptocurrency mining giant MARA, formerly known as Marathon Digital, now has just spent $100 million on Bitcoin!

This purchase brings its total holdings to over 20,000 BTC (valued at $1.3 billion) and accounts for nearly 0.1% of Bitcoin's total supply.

The Bitcoin Miner has been pretty hush-hush about when and at what price they made these purchases.

But based on their balance sheet holdings of 18,536 BTC as of the end of June, it's likely that they snapped up around 1,500 BTC in the $54,000 to $68,000 range this month.

So, what do they plan to do with all these Bitcoins?

The company is adopting a full "HODL" strategy, which means that it will retain all Bitcoin mined in its operations and will “periodically make strategic purchases.”

According to MARA chairman and CEO Fred Thiel, the full HODL strategy reflects their confidence in Bitcoin's long-term value!

He even went further to encourage governments and corporations to hold Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

Could that be a subtle dig at the recent German government's massive Bitcoin sell-off? 🤔

To fund their operations, MARA will leverage existing cash on their balance sheet and capital markets.

And let’s not forget that they’re now branching into altcoin mining to diversify their revenue streams post-Bitcoin halving.

If you want to dig deeper into MARA's exciting new strategy, check it out here!

🧱 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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