Top 5 Stories of The Week
Binance under scrutiny for seizing Palestinian crypto funds
Major global cryptocurrency exchange Binance seized cryptocurrency from Palestinians as per request from Israel, according to sources from a prominent industry executive.
Ray Youssef, co-founder of the peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto platform Paxful and P2P crypto platform NoOnes, took to X on Aug. 26 to report that Binance confiscated funds from Palestinians at the request of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“Binance has seized all funds from all Palestinians as per the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied,” Youssef wrote, citing several sources, including a letter from Israel authorities passed on by Binance.
He argued that the measure affected all Palestinians, predicting that other countries like Lebanon and Syria are likely to come next.
“All Palestinians are affected and judging by the way things are going all Lebanese and Syrians will get the same treatment. Not your keys, not your coins,” Youssef stated.
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov charged and released, barred from leaving France
Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of messaging app Telegram, has been released from custody after being charged by French authorities and placed under judicial supervision following a court appearance.
According to an Aug. 28 Bloomberg report, French prosecutors said they had charged Durov with criminal offenses related to his role at Telegram. He was barred from leaving France and required to post bail of 5 million euros ($5.5 million) before being released from custody.
A widely-shared video from Russian state-owned news outlet RIA Novosti shows Durov walking free from a Paris courthouse on Aug. 28.
Police delivered Durov to court after detaining him at an airport north of Paris on Aug. 24. Authorities initially extended the Telegram CEO’s custody to Aug. 28, when he was expected to either…
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