The U.S.-based crypto exchange Gemini and the bankrupt crypto lender Genesis have requested the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Gemini's lending service, Earn. In a lawsuit filed in January, the SEC claimed that the product offered unregistered securities, suing both companies.  

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• Gemini's Earn service, which was halted in January, allowed users to lend their coins to generate a yield in collaboration with Genesis. 
• In the recent legal request, Genesis said the transactions on Earn were, in effect, loans and did not run the customer-facing operations in the service. 
• On the other hand, Gemini defined the SEC's lawsuit as ill-conceived, adding that it was just a transfer agent for Earn. 
• Gemini also submitted a master claim to reimburse 232,000 Earn customers more than $1.1B in assets.

Zoom-Out:

• The conflict with the SEC and the U.S. regulators' increased scrutiny over the crypto industry forced Gemini, like many other crypto-related companies, to intensify its expansion plans to consolidate its roots outside its native. 
• The company's recent global expansion efforts include a European base in Ireland, a new engineering hub in India, the extension of the business team in Singapore, the launch of a crypto derivatives platform that only caters to users outside the U.S., and a meeting with the U.K. authorities to discuss a potential move to London.

Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, has appointed Richard Teng as the head of regional markets to oversee the operations outside the U.S. The move came nearly two years after Teng joined Binance.

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• The promotion will expand Teng's previous role, which saw the executive leading the operations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa to include all the regional markets worldwide. 
• Binance first hired Teng in Aug. 2021 as the CEO of its Singaporean arm. 
• The executive also previously held senior positions in other institutions within the traditional financial industry, including Abu Dhabi Global Market, Singapore Exchange Ltd., and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
• Blockchain Association Singapore's board chairman Chia Hock Lai praised Teng for his international experience, regulatory background, and global relationships to be useful for Binance in its efforts to deal with the challenging global regulatory environment.

Zoom-Out:

• Over the last several years, Binance came under increased scrutiny by many U.S. regulators, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), mainly due to compliance issues.
• The heightened crackdown also forced the company to consolidate its roots in different parts of the world, including Europe and Asia.

Speaking at a recent tourism development press conference, the Indonesian island Bali's governor, Wayan Koster, said they would crack down on tourists violating the law by paying for goods and services with crypto. The conference also saw participation from Bali's chief police inspector and Trisno Nugroho, the head of the region's central bank. 

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• During his speech, Koster reminded visitors that the only instrument of payment, which can be legally used in Bali, is Indonesia's legal currency, the rupiah.
• Bali Governor added that the violators could face legal sanctions, including deportation, closure of business premises, written reprimands, obligations to pay fines, and prohibitions from payment transactions.
• Indonesian law mandates all payments in the country to be settled in the rupiah.
• Using other forms of currency for payments could result in one year in prison or a fine of up to 200 million rupiah ($13,300).
• The related rule mainly aims to protect the rupiah from the potential mass adoption of the U.S. dollar (USD) in Indonesia. 
• On the other hand, crypto transactions are allowed under Indonesian law, though virtual assets cannot be used for payments. 

Hong Kong Police Force's Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) has launched a new metaverse platform, CyberDefender Metaverse, to inform the public about the potential risks and dangers linked with Web3. At the launch event dubbed Exploring the Metaverse, the chief inspector of the CSTCB, Ip Cheuk-yu, gave a speech on the unit's crime prevention strategies within the metaverse.

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• During the speech, Ip Cheuk-yu advised attendees to adopt the same level of caution while also using the Internet.
• The chief inspector also said decentralization could potentially increase the risk of asset theft.
• Besides, Ip Cheuk-yu reiterated the Hong Kong Police Force's plans to accelerate its educational initiatives regarding technology crime through the CyberDefender Metaverse platform, especially for the younger generation. 
• The move followed the increase in virtual asset crime in Hong Kong reported in Q1. 
• The data showed that 663 criminal cases reported in Hong Kong during the last quarter involved virtual assets and caused a $570M loss, with a 75% rise from the same period of last year. 

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• China's capital city, Beijing, has published a white paper to support the innovation and development of the Web3 industry in the country.
• Dubai-headquartered crypto exchange Bybit has obtained in-principle approval from Kazakhstan's Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA) to operate as a digital asset trading platform and crypto custody services provider in the country.
• Seychelles-based crypto exchange Huobi has started offering crypto spot trading services to retail and institutional investors in Hong Kong through its Huobi HK arm.
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