The Nigerian government filed an $81.5 billion lawsuit against crypto exchange Binance, claiming back taxes and economic damages caused by crashing Nigeria’s fiat currency. Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said Binance has unpaid taxes from 2022 and 2023. The agency also claimed Binance owes a 26.75% interest payment on back taxes.
The country previously detained and charged Binance executives Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjarwalla with tax fraud and money laundering. The government agency later dropped the lawsuits against the executives.
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Coinbase execs hit with stockholder suit claiming they downplayed bankruptcy risks
Coinbase and several executives were hit with a lawsuit alleging the company misled investors about bankruptcy risks and violated securities laws. Coinbase shareholder Wenduo Guo filed a complaint on Feb. 18, alleging that Coinbase and its leadership failed to disclose that customer funds could be considered part of the exchange’s bankruptcy estate. This makes retail customers unsecured creditors.
The complaint claimed that Coinbase engaged in trading to compensate for declining crypto prices and failed to disclose it. The suit said trading assets using the company’s funds was risky.
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SEC approves first yield-bearing stablecoin security
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved an application for a yield-bearing stablecoin to let users earn interest on their holdings. This signals the regulator’s intent to support the growing stablecoin market in the US.
On Feb. 18, a filing showed that exchange operator Figure Markets was approved to launch its stablecoin, which offers a 3.85% yield and is registered with the regulator as a security.
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Brazil approves first spot XRP ETF as local bank eyes stablecoin on XRPL
Brazil’s securities regulator, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários, on Feb. 19 approved the country’s first spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF), called the Hashdex Nasdaq XRP Index Fund. The approval comes as the US SEC acknowledged several spot XRP ETF filings.
Fund manager Hashdex has not yet announced the date for trading but said it would provide further details. The fund manager offers several crypto ETFs in the country, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana funds.
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Coinbase asks Congress to grant CFTC spot market authority
Coinbase urged the US Congress to grant the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) full authority over spot crypto markets. This could significantly diminish the SEC's role in the crypto sector. In a proposal, Coinbase's chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad, said Congress must act swiftly to provide regulatory clarity and consumer protections for digital asset users.
Shirzad laid out six legislative priorities, including granting full spot market authority to the CFTC. The lawyer argued that digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether are commodities, not securities.
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