Hi guys, welcome back. The crypto industry experienced a significant upheaval yesterday. From boardroom battles to high-stakes investigations, the crypto landscape has been hit with sanctions and security accusations. Let’s understand why these stories could shake the industry.
Binance CEO Richard Teng Challenges Fake Iran Reports
Binance CEO Richard Teng is threatening to sue major outlets like the Wall Street Journal over what he calls grossly inaccurate stories. The drama started when reports surfaced claiming Binance’s own team found $1.7 billion in trades linked to sanctioned Iranian groups and the IRGC. The reports also show that Binance later fired or suspended the investigators who flagged these transactions.
Teng and his lawyers are demanding a full retraction. They insist there’s zero evidence of these violations. Moreover, he highlights that the exchange has slashed its Iranian exposure by 97% since 2024.
Vitalik Dumps 17K ETH Following Multi-Million Dollar Privacy Pledge
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has been busy offloading ~17,000 ETH in February so far. The haul is worth roughly $22 million. This liquidation follows his January announcement to earmark 16,384 ETH, ~ $45 million, for the development of privacy-preserving technologies and open-source hardware. These sales have come in small tranches and swaps in order to minimize market impact, however, it comes at a time when the broader Ethereum prices have seen a 37% decline in the past 30 days.
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Vitalik says that these funds are part of a personal commitment to build a “secure and verifiable full stack”, ensuring digital self-sovereignty. With the Ethereum Foundation currently tightening its belt, Vitalik is looking to fund such projects out of his own pocket. But even after the current ETH sale, his ETH stash is ~224,000 ETH.
Telegram’s Pavel Durov Under Investigation by Russian Authorities
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has launched a criminal investigation into Telegram CEO Pavel Durov for facilitating terrorism. Authorities allege that Telegram has ignored over 150,000 takedown requests, with 33,000 specifically related to sabotage and extremist activities.
Durov has dismissed the investigation, calling it a move to suppress free speech. The probe coincides with Russia’s push for its state-run messaging app “MAX” and its efforts to pull citizens away from encrypted foreign platforms.
The actions taken yesterday will likely define the boundaries of digital sovereignty for years to come. Until then, keep coming back to Coin Medium to get your crypto fix.
