MAWANI launches Smart Ports initiative, signs deals with tech firms

RIYADH: Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, traded higher on Sunday, rising 0.29 percent to $41,896.77 at 01:06 a.m. Riyadh time.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $2,929.85, down 0.20 percent, according to data from CoinDesk.

Binance Ontario update

As reported on Thursday by the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, crypto exchange Binance has published a consent order. It admitted that the company’s services are not available to Ontario residents until further notice.

After a crackdown on crypto exchanges in Ontario for allegedly failing to comply with securities laws, the company announced its decision to leave the province in June last year.

The exchange later notified investors in December that it could continue working in Ontario while still unregistered, according to the OSC.

Russia-Ukraine conflict 

In connection with sanctions on Russia, the cryptocurrency industry has been communicating in a counterproductive way that did not reflect what it is really doing, FTX’s head Sam Bankman-Fried said.

While FTX, the Bahamas-based exchange, halted support to all sanctioned parties and cut off access to all Russian banks, most of the crypto exchanges have rejected calls to block all Russian users, sparking concerns among US lawmakers about Moscow’s use of digital assets to evade Western sanctions.

Exchanges such as Binance and Kraken have said that shutting out all Russians would be contrary to their libertarian values.