hodler

8 Mar 2026, 09:00

Binance And Founder CZ Cleared As Judge Tosses Terror Financing Case – Details

A federal judge in Manhattan has thrown out a civil lawsuit accusing Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder Changpeng Zhao, popularly known as CZ, of facilitating financing for multiple terrorist attacks globally. This development represents a significant win for the Seychelles-based exchanges, whose commitment to AML/CFT principles has recently come under serious scrutiny. Binance Not Accomplice To Terror Attack Despite Illicit Transactions, Court Rules According to a Reuters report on March 7, around 535 plaintiffs, consisting of victims and relatives of certain terrorist attacks between 2017 and 2024, had filed a lawsuit against Binance alleging the crypto exchange enabled foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) to utilize its trading platform in funding their operations. The complainants sued for compensation and damages, claiming that CZ and Binance allowed these FTOs, including Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS, Al-Qaeda, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, to move hundreds of millions of dollars in digital assets, thereby funding 64 terrorist attacks in the world. Meanwhile, they also accused Binance of allowing Iranian citizens to send billions of dollars on the exchange despite an existing US sanction that prohibits services to all residents of the Middle Eastern country. However, Judge Jeannette Vargas found the plaintiff’s claims lacking. In the court ruling on March 6, Judge Vargas stated that Binance and Zhao’s relationship with the mentioned FTOs was simply at “arms length” in that these entities merely executed transactions on the exchange. Furthermore, while the crypto exchange might have plausibly been aware of these transactions, the judge emphasized that the allegations failed to show direct cause between the exchange’s conduct and the specific attacks listed. Nevertheless, the plaintiffs have been granted 60 days to file an amended complaint, which could be presented with more concrete data centered around transaction timing, wallet owners, and possible relationships with the listed attacks. Binance Drowning In AML/CFT Compliance Checks Notably, the recent case dismissal comes amid a period of high scrutiny for the Binance exchange. Most recently, Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Investigative panel of the Senate Homeland Security, has opened a preliminary inquiry into the exchange following reports of $1.7 billion Iran-linked transactions on the exchange. Binance has strongly denied the claims, calling the inquiry false, unsubstantiated, and defamatory. Meanwhile, Senator Chris Van Hollen, alongside nine other lawmakers, has urged the US Department of Justice and Treasury to launch a broader probe into Binance’s sanctions and AML compliance practices. This flurry of attacks comes two years after the exchange secured an initial plea deal of $4.3 billion from both agencies after failing to implement a required anti-money laundering control system on its platform.

8 Mar 2026, 07:30

Tether Invests in Axiym to Expand Global USDT Payment Infrastructure

Tether announces a strategic investment in fintech innovator Axiym to integrate USDT into regulated treasury and settlement infrastructures. Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer in the world, announced a strategic investment in Axiym on 5 March 2026. This partnership focuses on embedding USDT directly into Axiym’s distributed treasury and settlement infrastructure to enhance global financial access.

8 Mar 2026, 04:30

Seattle Court Sentences Former CFO for Unauthorized $35M Cryptocurrency Gamble

Nevin Shetty, the former senior executive of startup Fabric, has been sentenced to two years in prison for a $35 million wire fraud scheme involving a high-risk cryptocurrency gamble. A Secret Side-Business A former chief financial officer’s (CFO) attempt to turn his employer’s treasury into a personal cryptocurrency “ yield farm” has ended in a

8 Mar 2026, 03:30

Florida Passes First State-Level Stablecoin Bill — Crypto CLARITY Act Next?

In a positive development for the crypto industry, the Florida State Senate has passed a bill to create a regulatory framework for stablecoins at the state level. This move comes amid the struggles to enact a broader crypto market structure bill in the United States. Florida Creates Stablecoin Framework With New Bill In a Friday, March 7 post on X, Samuel Armes, founder of the Florida Blockchain Business Association web3 advocacy group, announced that a bill establishing a regulatory framework for stablecoins has passed the state legislature. According to the vocal crypto advocate, this bill, named the “Senate Bill 314 (SB314),” will be signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis over the coming weeks. Senate Bill 314, along with Florida House Bill 175, aims to establish a regulatory framework for payment stablecoin issuers in the state. According to Republican Florida State Senator Colleen Burton, this regulatory framework, which aligns with the federal-level GENIUS Act, will include consumer protections and financial stability guidelines. BITCOIN HISTORY WAS JUST MADE IN FLORIDA We are now the FIRST STATE to Pass a Stablecoin framework in the nation! It has now passed the Senate and the House, and will be signed by DeSantis within the next 30 days! How was this able to happen? Well, because we are literally… pic.twitter.com/KA3odWMPzA — Samuel Armes (@samuelarmes) March 6, 2026 Specifically, the SB314 bill revises the Florida Control of Money Laundering in Money Services Business Act to include stablecoin, while requiring issuers to comply with existing rules and prohibiting unlicensed issuance in the state. The bill also clarified that specific payment stablecoins are not securities and, hence, are not subject to certain provisions. The Senate Bill 314’s overview read: [This bill] specifies that office remains solely responsible for supervising qualified payment stablecoin issuers or is jointly responsible with Office of Comptroller of Currency for such supervision; prohibits trust company from engaging in activity of qualified payment stablecoin issuer unless trust company obtains certificate of approval or is exempted from such certificate. The GENIUS Act, which was signed into law in July 2025, provides a framework for stablecoin issuance in the US, while providing a foundation for states like Florida to set up their own crypto-based regulatory structure. Banks Need To Make A ‘Good Deal’ With The Crypto Industry: Trump Interestingly, the first state-level stablecoin bill has passed at a time when the conversations around the broader crypto market structure legislation, the CLARITY Act, are at an all-time high. Despite an approved US House draft, the legislation has yet to pass the Senate, partly due to the banking industry’s concerns over yield-bearing stablecoins.On Tuesday, March 3, United States President Donald Trump said that the banking industry is trying to undermine the GENIUS Act and hold the CLARITY Act hostage. In his admonition, Trump stated that the banks need to make a good deal with the crypto industry.According to the President, the Market Structure bill is another step in the direction of making the US the crypto capital of the world.

8 Mar 2026, 03:30

US Judge Throws out Lawsuit Against Binance and CZ Over Claims of Funding Linked to Violent Attacks

A federal judge dismissed claims tying Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) to terrorist attacks, delivering a significant legal victory for the crypto exchange while leaving the door open for plaintiffs to refile with revised allegations. Federal Judge Tosses Claims Linking Binance to Terror Financing Legal disputes over cryptocurrency platforms continue to test the

8 Mar 2026, 00:30

Pundit Says XRP Price Could Reach $1,000 By End Of 2026 If This Happens

The possibility of a massive surge in the XRP price has been raised again following comments made by financial commentator Jake Claver during an interview on the Paul Barron podcast. During the discussion, Claver suggested that XRP could eventually move into three or four digits, suggesting that the cryptocurrency might reach as high as $1,000 under the right conditions. Notably, the ‘right conditions’ are based on institutional adoption of Ripple’s financial infrastructure and the continued expansion of the company’s acquisitions. Related Reading: SEC Vs. Justin Sun Case Ends In $10M Settlement, Traders Eye TRX Price Reaction XRP Could Hit $1K By End Of The Year Claver’s comments came as part of discussions among crypto analysts about how blockchain infrastructure is increasingly being adopted by major financial institutions. In the Paul Barron YouTube podcast interview, he stated that XRP could eventually trade in three or four digits in 2026, with an emphasis on the potential role of the asset in global financial settlement. XRP is currently trading below $1.40, which is far below the double-digit threshold, let alone three digits yet. However, according to Claver, the single biggest factor behind a price move to three or four digits would be a full-scale adoption of XRP by major banks and institutional players. He cited Monica Long, President of Ripple Labs, as pointing to institutional adoption as the defining growth story for XRP in 2026. Claver named specific institutions he believes are positioned to lead the charge, including BNY Mellon, Fidelity, Citi, Franklin Templeton, and JPMorgan. In his view, XRP needs to reach a high and stable market cap before institutions will feel comfortable moving significant capital into it. “If you have a huge market cap for XRP, something much higher than people can comprehend, it will be very difficult to move that price with the inflows or outflows,” Claver said. He added that spot Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs) will contribute massively to the adoption of XRP by financial institutions. Recent market dynamics have already seen steady inflows into US-based Spot XRP ETFs, although not currently at a scale that would lead to a surge to $1,000 by the end of the year. Ripple’s Unique Position To Capitalize Claver also pointed to Ripple’s recent strategic moves as evidence that the company is positioning itself for institutional growth. These strategic moves are related to Ripple’s acquisitions that are now placing the company outside of simple payment processing. During the interview, he noted that Ripple is now involved in treasury management solutions and updates on RLUSD that could increase the use of its ecosystem. “They’re doing treasury management at this point, so if they did want people to hold RLUSD and be able to generate a return on, that’d be great,” Claver said. Related Reading: Solana Stablecoins Hit $650 Billion In Monthly Transactions He added that Ripple’s acquisitions, like the purchase of Hidden Road, which has been integrated into Ripple Prime, along with the acquisition of GTreasury and launch of Ripple Treasury, have expanded Ripple’s institutional offerings. According to Claver, these developments form part of the broader Ripple One product stack. “They’re in a very unique position to capitalize on this,” he said. Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView