Something is going on with the USDC while the ex-head of FTX is arrested: top crypto and Web3 news for December 13 in brief

That’s the kind of day I had today! Some of you are probably rubbing your hands together in anticipation of sweet revenge. And others are closely watching what happens to the USDC and USDT, as well as the Binance exchange. In case you missed what occurred during the last day, all the highlights are in our top news digest.

Look who got caught!

Bahamian authorities arrested former FTX crypto exchange CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) at the request of the U.S. government. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) then accused SBF of defrauding investors. Allegedly Bankman-Fried improperly used customer funds to bail out the allegedly separate trading arm of Alameda Research, as well as to fund personal lifestyle and political donations.

USDC on Binance paused

The withdrawal of USDC on Binance is temporarily suspended because the exchange channel from PAX/BUSD to USDC requires passing through a bank in New York in U.S. dollars. The head of the major cryptocurrency exchange, tweeted that the situation will be restored when the banks open in a few hours. USDT and BUSD withdrawals remain untouched. 

On USDC, we have seen an increase in withdrawals. However, the channel to swap from PAX/BUSD to USDC requires going through a bank in NY in USD. The banks are not open for another few hours. We expect the situation will be restored when the banks open. 1/2

— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) December 13, 2022

Digital gold is not that valuable

Goldman Sachs believes gold will outperform Bitcoin in the long term. A published study says tight financial conditions will inhibit Bitcoin adoption by users. Volatility is likely to remain elevated until more uses are developed, according to Reuters.

From IBM to HUT

Canadian bitcoin mining company Hut 8 has hired Shenif Visram as chief financial officer. He will replace Shane Downey, who is leaving the company. Wisram spent nearly 12 years at IBM, including as CFO and chief operating officer (COO).

Is something coming up with USDC and USDT?

According to lookonchain, Justin Sun withdrew 34 million BUSD and 15.4 million USDT from Binance on December 13 and transferred them to Paxos and Circle for alleged cashing out. San himself stated that this was a routine business collaboration. 

However, interestingly, market maker Wintermute also withdrew 153 million USDC from Coinbase and transferred about 150 million to Binance.