A report from analytics firm Chainalysis claims that ransomware payments in 2020 totaled USD 406 million, up from USD 92 million in 2019.

A selloff of BNB that’s largely in line with other exchange tokens, which aren’t facing the same challenges, suggests that BNB investors have ignored the widespread risk posed by DeFi hacks and U.S. investigations into Binance.

Since achieving an all-time high of roughly USD 2.5 trillion in mid-May, the aggregate crypto market cap has declined by about USD 800 billion to date. BTC dominance remains at about 45%, above record lows from 2017.

Yesterday, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) revealed an enforcement action against Seychelles-based crypto-to-crypto exchange Poloniex for “operating an unregistered crypto asset trading platform.”

During a Friday meeting of China’s State Council, discussions were held about “[cracking] down on [BTC] mining and trading behavior.” The same day, Hong Kong regulators revealed plans to bar retail investors from trading crypto.

Crypto has undergone its most significant correction since this bull market began. At one point yesterday, the estimated aggregate crypto market cap had lost as much as about USD 1 trillion WoW. Today, we review some notable metrics.

3 Chinese self-regulatory organizations have issued a statement reiterating that financial institutions in the country are barred from engaging with crypto businesses. The note, which only confirms long-standing policy towards crypto in China, has been mischaracterized as a new crackdown on crypto by the media.

Earlier this month, SEC Chairman Garry Gensler said the U.S. lacks a “regulatory framework” for crypto exchanges which currently don’t have “protection against fraud or manipulation.” The remarks preceded an SEC staff statement that described BTC markets as unregulated and having the potential for “fraud or manipulation.”

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Binance is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and IRS. The legal uncertainty faced by Binance is most concerning for alt-coins, for which Binance has emerged as an essential marketplace.

Binance is under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and IRS, according to Bloomberg. The outlet previously reported in March that Binance was being investigated by the CFTC over allegations that it allowed U.S. residents to trade derivatives that violated local rules.