Binance US Exit, FINRA Citigroup Fine, NJ Crypto Act, FMVS: Editor’s Pick

As the dust settles on the US election, here are the top stories from the world’s of forex, fintech and , in the latest best of the week segment.
Binance Blocking Users from the United States
As Finance Magnates reported on Tuesday, major crypto exchange,  is blocking the United States-based clients from accessing its primary platform and requesting them to withdraw all funds within the next 90 days.
Binance’s move is not a surprise as the crypto exchange leader already announced its intentions to impose such a restriction in the US in July 2019 but did not enforce them harshly.
Until now, any US-based crypto trader can open an account with Binance by clicking the ‘I’m not [American]’ option during registration. But now, the exchange will start to block the users based on their IPs.
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Crypto Lender Celsius Surpasses $2.2 Billion in Cryptocurrency AUM
Celsius, a cryptocurrency lending and borrowing platform, this week said it has surpassed over $2.2 billion in total cryptocurrency deposits less than three years after launching its mobile app.
The announcement comes on the heels of Celsius saying earlier this year it has acquired more than 200,000 active users worldwide and became the first crypto platform to surpass .
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FINRA Slaps $475,000 Fine on CitiGroup Global Markets
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced this week that it has fined CitiGroup Global Markets Inc. (CGMI) $475,000 for failing to disclose the potential conflict of interest in approximately 16,850 equity research reports over the period of five years.
In an  document released by FINRA, the authority mentioned that from November 2012 to November 2017, CGMI excluded around 24,800 disclosures required in more than 16,850 equity research reports as the global markets arm of  failed to indicate that it was either a manager or a co-manager of a public offering of equity securities for the companies covered in the reports.
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New Jersey Introduces Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act
New Jersey has moved closer to the implementation of a state-level regulatory framework for firms involved in cryptocurrency services. The new  was introduced on Thursday and has been sponsored by Nellie Pou, a Democratic Party senator serving New Jersey’s 35th Legislative District.
Named as the ‘Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act’, the new bill requires licensing of all the businesses involved in digital asset services. Unlicensed operations of businesses in New Jersey would be liable to pay a $500 per day penalty until an application for a license is filed.
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Lebanon to Launch Digital Currency in 2021
Lebanon’s central bank has become the latest monetary regulator to move towards the launch of a central bank digital currency () and is planning for a launch next year.
According to reports on Tuesday, the initiative of the central bank was confirmed by its governor, Riad Salameh. He believes that this move will reinstate public confidence in the Lebanese banking industry and transition into a cashless system.
Lebanon’s economy is currently in crisis, and the ties of private banks with its government also created chaos as the country defaulted on its debts in March. The governor pointed out that the Lebanese citizens now store around $10 billion in cash in their homes.
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Will Bitcoin Reach $20,000 Before the End of 2020?
In a Finance Magnates analysis, we took the opportunity to look at whether the Bitcoin trajectory, which saw BTC pass $16,000 for the first time in two years, could pass $20,000 by the end of the year.
With expert insights from Simon Peters, an analyst at eToro, Kadan Stadelmann, CTO at Komodo and Dr. Garrick Hileman, head of research at Blockchain.com, we tackled the difficult subject of what’s next for Bitcoin?
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FMVS – Finance Magnates Virtual Summit – Registration Open
Bringing together leading brands and thought leaders in the online trading, fintech, digital assets and payments sphere, the Virtual Summit is the essential B2B networking event to attend as the year draws to an end.
See the amazing line up of speakers, content and workshops and register .