US regulators are preparing to make a decision about the 2 largest Bitcoin exchanges in the market. Notably, Coinbase will pay a $50 million penalty after the agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services.
Critical decision came about two Bitcoin exchanges in the new year
New York regulators announced on January 4 that cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will pay a $50 million penalty and invest an additional $50 million in its compliance program following the agreement with the New York State Department of Financial Services.
The fine was issued after regulators found that the company allowed customers to open accounts without adequate background checks, potentially violating Anti-Money Laundering laws. The company’s failure to accurately identify customers and monitor their activities for suspicious activity was first detected during a routine review in 2020, but regulators determined that the company’s problems continued and launched a formal investigation in 2021.
Coinbase has faced more than 100,000 warnings about potentially suspicious customer transactions that go unchecked, and it was found to only run basic “Know Your Customer” checks before allowing people to open accounts.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase Chief Legal Officer, said, “Today, Coinbase and NYDFS have agreed to include an NYDFS investigation disclosed in our 2021 annual 10K filing into our historical compliance program. “Coinbase has taken significant action to address these historical shortcomings and remains committed to being a leader and role model in the crypto space, including partnering with regulators when it comes to compliance.”
Huobi forces its employees to accept crypto payments
In another development, Huobi came to the fore with the news that it was forcing its employees to accept wages in USDT/USDC instead of fiat currency. It is also alleged that they will be fired if they refuse the payment method. This decision sparked protests by employees against the firm.
At the end of last month, there were reports from various sources that Huobi was preparing for a mass layoff. They were planning to reduce the number of employees from 1200 to 600-800 people. Later, year-end bonuses were denied and senior officials’ salaries were reduced.
Meanwhile, Huobi is trying to stay away from the scrutiny of local regulators. Exchange employees will now sign deals with overseas entities. Despite such news rounds, Justin Sun, who is also a Huobi consultant, tweeted on December 29 that he was hiring more employees. In her tweet, she pointed out the importance of diversity in a workplace and announced that she would be hiring female employees for this reason. However, the latest news we conveyed as Kriptokoin.com reveals another picture.
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