Ripple to Settle With SEC for $102.6M Instead of $2Bn

Ripple Labs' CLO Stuart Alderoty commented on the latest SEC filing following the regulator's $4.47 billion settlement with bankrupt Terraform Labs. Ripple filed a notice demanding the court reject the SEC's proposed $2 billion fine, arguing it was disproportionate compared to Terra, which was convicted of fraud. He also recalled that XRP was ruled not to be a security.

The SEC responded, justifying the Terraform settlement due to its bankruptcy and insisting Ripple should pay at least $102.6 million (95% less than $2 billion). Alderoty noted the agency's inconsistency, stating that Ripple, unlike Terraform, is a thriving business. He commented that the SEC appeared to have abandoned its $2 billion claim, at least.

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Gemini to Pay $50 Million in Settlement With NYAG's Office

Crypto exchange Gemini has agreed to pay $50 million in digital assets to investors of its Earn program in a settlement with the New York Attorney General's office, which accused the crypto exchange of misleading investors about the program's risks. The settlement also bars Gemini from offering crypto lending programs in New York State moving forward.

The Earn program, which promised up to 7.4% APY, collapsed after Genesis, the partner firm holding the deposits, went bankrupt. This agreement ensures that investors will recover their original crypto investments. Gemini confirmed that final distributions, amounting to a 232% recovery since the November 2022 halt, will be available to customers within seven days.

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LayerZero Labs Releases Calculations for ZRO Token Airdrop

LayerZero Labs CEO Bryan Pellegrino detailed the upcoming ZRO token airdrop, stating that out of the total 1 billion ZRO supply, 23.8% will be allocated to the community and builders, with 8.5% of this distributed on the first day and the remainder over three years. Although LayerZero announced June 20 as a key date, it is unclear if this marks the airdrop date.

LayerZero plans annual allocations and future RFPs for ecosystem builders. The ZRO token is prelisted on the Bitget exchange, with a last traded price of 6.66 USDT on the OTC desk. Over the weekend, Pellegrino released several images of Sybil farming clusters, stating that they are in the final stages of determining the final airdrop allocation for real users.

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Binance ex-CEO CZ Reportedly Owns 64% of BNB Supply

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) reportedly owns 64% of Binance Coin's (BNB) circulating supply, equating to about 94 million BNB tokens, as revealed by a Forbes report based on forensic analysis by Gray Wolf Analytics. The analysis showed that Binance and CZ together hold 71% of the 147 million BNB in circulation, with CZ's 90% equity stake.

CZ's net worth is estimated to be $61 billion, making him the 24th richest person globally. In 2023, the US Department of Justice indicted Zhao and Binance for sanctions violations and money laundering, leading to Zhao's guilty plea, a $50 million fine, and his resignation as CEO. Zhao was sentenced to four months in prison, with Richard Teng succeeding him as CEO.

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Data of the day

According to data from DefiLlama, the total funding for the crypto industry is $101.36 billion. The first month of cryptocurrency startup funding on record was $17.14 million in June 2014, just five years after Bitcoin was founded (and a year before Ethereum's launch).

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More breaking news

• Deutsche Telekom, Europe's largest telecommunications provider, will soon mine Bitcoin, according to the Web3 infrastructure head of T-Systems MMS.
• Three different parties have recently submitted claims regarding the assets taken from Sam Bankman-Fried FTX's bankruptcy proceedings.
• Nigerian authorities dropped tax evasion charges it brought against Binance executives, leaving the crypto exchange as the only defendant in the case.
• Australia’s largest stock exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has greenlighted its first spot Bitcoin ETF, to start trading on June 20.
• Saylor's MicroStrategy has increased the pricing of its new $700-million debt offering due in 2032, which it will use to purchase more Bitcoin.

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