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John Deaton Calls for Transparency On Hinman Case

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Pro-crypto lawyer John Deaton has called for transparency regarding the ongoing controversy surrounding former S US SEC Director William Hinman. Deaton has emphasized the need for the public release of the SEC Inspector General’s (IG) report into Hinman’s potential conflicts of interest.

The issue has drawn significant attention as it raises questions about the SEC’s handling of cryptocurrency regulation, particularly concerning Ethereum and Ripple’s XRP.

John Deaton Presses For Release of Report

In a series of X post, John E. Deaton has highlighted the need for the release of the IG’s findings by outgoing US SEC chair Gary Gensler or incoming Chair Paul Atkins. In a recent post, John Deaton confirmed that any credible investigation would establish that violation of U.S. financial conflict of interest laws had taken place.

In his X post, John Deaton noted that even if there is no intentional misconduct, the facts of the matter are clear.

‘With those facts you can prove a violation of 18 USC 208,’ Deaton said, referencing the federal law that forbids conflict of interest in positions within the government. He also pointed out that although the SEC Inspector General’s (IG) report may find no evidence of procedural misconduct on the part of the officials, the general public is entitled to know the findings of the investigation.

US SEC IG Report on William Hinman Completed

This dispute started when William Hinman, the former Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, stated in a speech on June 2018 that Ether, the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum, was not a security. This statement affected the crypto market and is often known as Ether’s “free pass”. However, Empower Oversight, a non-profit government accountability organization, later disclosed some potential conflicts of interest associated with Hinman’s business relationship with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, his former law firm.

According to Empower Oversight, Simpson Thacher is an affiliate of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, which supports Ethereum. According to the documents received through the Freedom of Information Act, the SEC Ethics Office had previously reached out to Hinman about his financial interest in the firm. The Ethics Office told him to stay away from any US SEC issues that might concern Simpson Thacher. Nevertheless, the nonprofit claimed that Hinman dismissed these warnings and, therefore, it questioned whether Hinman violated the federal ethics laws.

Under immense pressure by the public, the SEC’s Inspector General finally concluded the inquiry into Hinman. However, the report has not been publicly released to date, with more demands for disclosure made afterwards.

Empower Oversight also underscored accountability saying that the failure by the Ethics Office to enforce Hinman’s recusal gives rise to broader concerns about the SEC’s internal mechanisms. Tristan Leavitt, the President of Empower Oversight, pointed out that “the people who were supposed to prevent Mr. Hinman from violating his ethical duties failed.”

Crypto Community Stance On SEC Regulation

At the same time, the case also raises concerns about the former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. In his last day at office in the year 2020, Clayton approved the SEC’s decision to drag Ripple Labs to court for selling XRP as a security. Some people have asked as to why Ethereum was let off the hook while XRP was penalized by regulators.

Clayton has been under immense pressure especially because of the Ripple lawsuit and his further engagement in the crypto space. For the record, Donald Trump has recently nominated Clayton for the position of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Considering the actions taken by Clayton at the SEC, Deaton and other crypto enthusiasts think that it would be appropriate to have the results of the Hinman investigation before moving forward with the appointment especially with recent cancellation of commisioner Caroline Crenshaw renomination.

Subsequently, the unresolved allegations against Hinman and Clayton have fueled skepticism about the SEC’s approach to cryptocurrency regulation. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Tesla CEO Elon Musk have both criticized the SEC’s recent actions, amplifying calls for a pro-crypto regulatory environment in the United States.

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Kelvin Munene Murithi

Kelvin is a distinguished writer with expertise in crypto and finance, holding a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science. Known for his incisive analysis and insightful content, he possesses a strong command of English and excels in conducting thorough research and delivering timely cryptocurrency market updates.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Tron’s Justin Sun Offloads 50% ETH Holdings, Ethereum Price Crash Imminent?

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Tron founder Justin Sun has been heavily offloading his ETH holdings with Ethereum price crashing 17% following the rejection at $4,000. Over the past 7 days, Sun has offloaded another 50% of his holdings worth $143 million. Market analysts predict that ETH price could further take a dip below $3,000 once again before resuming upside momentum.

Tron’s Justin Sun on ETH Selling Spree

Justin Sun is on a massive Ethereum selling spree since the coin resumed its upward journey after Donald Trump’s election win. This continued even until last week, when Tron founder offloaded $143 million worth of ETH causing Ethereum price to tank over 15% amid the crypto market crash.

Blockchain analytics firm Spot On Chain reported that Justin Sun redeemed 39,999 ETH (valued at $143 million) from liquid staking platforms Lido Finance and EtherFi. He subsequently deposited the entire amount into HTX.

Since November 10, as Ethereum price has trended upward, Sun has deposited a total of 108,919 ETH (worth $400 million) to HTX at an average price of $3,674. Notably, many of these deposits occurred near local price peaks.

Courtesy: Spot On Chain

Spot On Chain also revealed that Justin Sun currently has 42,904 ETH (valued at $139 million) in the process of unstaking from Lido Finance. The Tron founder might potentially send this funds to HTX later.

Ethereum Price Drop Below $3,000 Coming?

With Ethereum price losing its crucial support of $3,500, the market sentiment for the world’s largest altcoin has turned bearish. Last week, crypto market analysts turned bearish on Ethereum expecting the ETH price to drop $2,800 on selloff by whales.

Popular market analyst IncomeSharks stated that it was a “low-volume weekend,” for Ethereum following a volatile week for stocks. The analysts added that it won’t be the right time to sell.

The On-Balance Volume (OBV) indicator, a tool used to gauge buying and selling pressure, remains steady, oscillating within a channel. Recent Ethereum buyers are still in profit, providing some support for the market. However, the below chart shows that there’s still scope for Ethereum to take a dip to $3,000.

Source: IncomeSharks

Prominent crypto analyst “I am Crypto Wolf” also highlighted a bullish outlook with a potential inverse head-and-shoulders (iHS) pattern. According to the analyst, Ethereum price chart is currently forming the “right shoulder” of the iHS continuation pattern.

Source: I Am Crypto Wolf

This setup could provide the momentum needed to surpass the $4,000 resistance and aim for a $10,000 target by May. A breakout is anticipated by the end of January, though a retest of the $3,000 level remains a possibility before the rally takes off, he noted.

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Bhushan Akolkar

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast with a keen understanding of financial markets. His interest in economics and finance has led him to focus on emerging Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency markets. He is committed to continuous learning and stays motivated by sharing the knowledge he acquires. In his free time, Bhushan enjoys reading thriller fiction novels and occasionally explores his culinary skills.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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CryptoQuant Hails Binance Reserve Amid High Leverage Trading

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Crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant has conducted a deep dive research into Binance and other centralized exchanges to uncover how susceptible they are to liquidity risks. With the crypto ecosystem trading at a very high premium, exchanges require high liquidity to meet growing demands. Of its findings, CryptoQuant singles out Binance and OKX as platforms to watch out for.

What Makes Binance Stand Out from Centralized Exchanges?

According to CryptoQuant, it analyzed the leverage levels of top centralized exchanges. It conducted this exercise to evaluate their liquidity, default risk and how crypto reserves backs trading activity. The analysis also employs leverage ratio calculation to estimate trader’s exposures.

Based on this, the analytics firm singled out Binance as an exchange with robust reserves. The trading platform maintains this reserve despite the significant growth in open interest this year. This is signficant, considering how Binance Futures list new tokens to fuel this expansion including Solana’s Fartcoin.

“Its reserves in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT comfortably exceed its open interest. Binance also reported the lowest and most stable leverage ratio among major exchanges, with a ratio of 12.8 in December 2023, rising slightly to 13.5 in December 2024,” the CryptoQaunt report reads.

As pointed out, this stability and the 2.6x expansion in Bitcoin open interest on the platform from $4.45 billion to $11.64 billion implies that the exchange can handle unexpected liquidations.

As the report hinted, smaller exchanges like OKX also maintain low leverage ratios.

Centralized Exchanges and Avoiding the FTX Saga

In addition to the Binance spotlight, CryptoQuant also mentioned Gate io, Bybit, and Deribit. However, the report noted that these trading platforms have the highest leverage ratios in the market pegged at 106, 86, and 32, respectively. Notably, this figures show open interests for Bitcoin and Ethereum is higher than the existing reserves available on these centralized exchanges.

The analysis concluded by flagging the impact of high leverage trading, one of the major causes of the FTX Derivatives Exchange collapse. This report serves as an eye opener that can help traders manage risk per platforms they trade on.

Meanwhile, FTX is at the tail end of its bankruptcy proceedings. As Coingape reported earlier, FTX has set January 3 as the date to commence creditor repayment.

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Godfrey Benjamin

Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.

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Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Ripple Transfers 90M Coins, What’s Happening?

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XRP has regained its footing above the $2 support level, fueled by significant whale activity. In only 30 minutes, 90 tokens, worth approximately $202,5 million, were transferred to unknown wallets.

Ripple has emerged as one of the top post-election performers, quadrupling in value since November 5. This impressive rally, alongside gains in other cryptocurrencies, has spotlighted digital assets and fueled speculation about their potential trajectory heading into 2025.

XRP Whales Make Massive Moves, Sparking Price Speculation

XRP has regained its footing above the $2 support level, fueled by significant whale activity. In only 30 minutes, 90 tokens, worth approximately $202,5 million, were transferred to unknown wallets.

The unusually large withdrawals, flagged by Whale Alert, have sparked heightened interest among investors and increased speculation about the token’s future price movement.

Whale Alert reveals that the recent XRP transfers consisted of two significant transactions. The largest involved 50 million tokens, valued at approximately $112.5 million, moved to a newly created wallet. The second transaction saw 40 million tokens worth $90 million sent to a recently activated address.

The destination wallets are not linked to any known cryptocurrency exchanges, leading investors to speculate that high-net-worth individuals or institutional investors may be accumulating Ripple. This has fueled expectations of further price movement. Also, recently, renowned hedge fund manager Scott Melker has revealed that former President Donald Trump is actively accumulating XRP and HBAR tokens.

Crypto analysts think that large transfers to exchanges from unknown wallets are often a bullish indicator. This is a signal that the whales-the major holders-are moving their holdings to cold storage, which typically reflects a long strategy, rather than short-term selling. This can set up a positive outlook for the cryptocurrency’s price. However, the reversal situation results usually with reversal outcome so it’s interesting the price is still on the rise.

This development comes as a US appeals court announces the filing deadlines for the opening and reply briefs by Ripple and its CEO, Brad Garlinghouse.

Holding Steady at Key Support, Awaiting Next Move

XRP and the broader cryptocurrency market have remained relatively flat in recent days, with the token holding critical support levels that could spark a renewed uptrend. At the time of writing, XRP was trading at $2.25, reflecting a slight 0.35% rise over the past 24 hours.

If the bulls stay in control, Ripple may continue its upside, having key resistances between $3.62 and $4.30. A break above such a range could send prices towards $5.73. At 46, though, the RSI rests, showing that sellers have still managed to be at the helm and cap upside momentum. Increased buying pressure will, thus, be critical for resuming the uptrend.

The Awesome Oscillator supports a bullish divergence with the histogram bars turning positive, yet still remaining in negative territory. This indeed would hint at a possible reversal, though additional buying pressure needs to be generated to confirm the uptrend.

The critical support level that traders should watch is at $2.20. A drop below this might set off panic and send prices lower.

In spite of this uncertainty and the possible bearishness of it all, this token is still attracting a great deal of interest from institutional investors-a fact that points to its long-term potential.

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Teuta Franjkovic

Teuta is a seasoned writer and editor with over 15 years of expertise in macroeconomics, technology, and the crypto and blockchain sectors.

She began her career in 2005 as a lifestyle writer for *Cosmopolitan* before transitioning to business and economic reporting for renowned outlets like *Forbes* and *Bloomberg*.

Inspired by thought leaders like Don and Alex Tapscott and Laura Shin, Teuta embraced blockchain’s potential, viewing cryptocurrency as one of humanity’s most transformative innovations.

Since 2014, she has specialized in fintech, focusing on crypto, blockchain, NFTs, and Web3. Known for her strong collaboration and communication skills, Teuta also holds dual MAs in Political Science and Law.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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