Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was granted a license to conduct some operations in Dubai RIYADH: Following the US Fed rate hike, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency internationally, on Thursday bounced back by 2.91 percent to $40,763 at 11.00 a.m. Riyadh time. Ethereum, the second most traded cryptocurrency, was priced at $2,756, up by 4.11 percent, according to data from Coindesk. Ukraine legalizes cryptocurrencies Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky legalized cryptos in the country. Zelensky made the move after the country received at least $100 million in crypto donations over the past three weeks, following Russia’s invasion. Crypto exchanges face ‘fork in the road’ over Russia: LSE Group Cryptocurrency exchanges are risking long-term damage to their industry for remaining in Russia as Western governments seek to isolate Moscow, the head of the London Stock Exchange Group said on Wednesday, calling it a “watershed moment.” Crypto exchanges face a “fork in the road” in terms of either embracing an ideology of independence from regulation or aligning more closely with the global financial system, which stresses the need for regulation and transparent frameworks, said David Schwimmer, LSEG’s chief executive officer. Dubai grants Binance a virtual license asset Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was granted a license to conduct some operations in Dubai, the company said, from where it plans to carry out regional business. The awarding of the Virtual Asset Licence from Dubai’s recently formed Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority comes just a day after Bahrain awarded Binance a crypto-asset service provider license. EU regulators issue warning on crypto use Consumers could lose all their money invested in crypto assets, the EU’s securities, banking, and insurance watchdogs said, in a joint statement on Thursday. “Consumers face the very real possibility of losing all their invested money if they buy these assets,” the three EU authorities said in a statement. It marks a ratcheting up of direct warnings to consumers about crypto assets by EU authorities. These spell out that consumers have no protections or recourse to compensation under existing EU financial services law. Regulators are increasingly worried that more consumers are buying 17,000 different crypto assets, including bitcoin and ether. These account for 60 percent of the market, without being fully aware of the risks, the regulators said. “Consumers should be alert to the risks of misleading advertisements, including via social media and influencers. They should be particularly wary of promised fast or high returns, especially those that look too good to be true,” the statement said. Consumers should also be aware that energy consumption for producing some crypto assets is high and its potential environmental impacts, the statement added. (With Reuters)