Today in Crypto: Bank of Russia Reveals Official CBDC Logo, Revolut Shuts Down Crypto Platform for its US Customers, US DoJ Asks Sam Bankman-Fried’s ‘Bail be Revoked and Defendant be Detained’

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
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CBDC news

• The Bank of Russia (BoR) revealed the official logo of the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital ruble. The logo is the ruble symbol within a circle. The announcement includes a set of rules that must be followed by anyone who uses the logo. Russia’s central bank also presented the commission fees for operations with the CBDC. All services will be free until the end of 2024. From 2025, business-to-business transactions will cost 15 rubles ($0.16), and individuals will pay 0.3% of the total transaction sum when transacting with commercial accounts and 0.2% for housing and communal services payments.

Exchange news

• UK-based fintech firm Revolut is closing its cryptocurrency platform in the US. From September 2, US customers will be unable able to buy crypto, and from October 3, buying, selling, and holding will be disabled in the US. Revolut said the move impacts less than 1% of its crypto customers globally. “As a result of the evolving regulatory environment and the uncertainties around the crypto market in the US, we’ve taken the difficult decision, together with our US banking partner, to suspend access to cryptocurrencies through Revolut in the US,” Reuters reported, citing a Revolut spokesperson.
• Bitget announced a one-year partnership with American actor and comedian, Adam Devine, for its latest #SetForChange campaign following the company’s recent rebranding initiative. Per the press release, “this collaboration signifies Bitget’s commitment to promoting crypto education and fostering wider adoption through an engaging and lighthearted approach.”

Legal news

• The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said on Thursday that Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the failed crypto exchange FTX, “went beyond benignly exercising a constitutional right to speak to the press.” This was in response to the claims by Bankman-Fried’s lawyers that revoking his bail would violate his right to free speech. In a letter to the judge, the DoJ attorneys said that the disgraced founder “took covert steps intended to improperly discredit a trial witness and taint the jury pool,” and that “the Government seeks the only appropriate relief consistent with the defendant’s escalating evasions of his bail conditions: that bail be revoked and the defendant be detained pending trial.”

DeFi news

• Decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) Trader Joe introduced its stablecoin pools on the Ethereum blockchain. “Introducing Liquidity Book, the innovative and highly efficient concentrated liquidity AMM, to [the] Ethereum ecosystem,” the DEX said in a tweet on Friday. Trader Joe’s automated market maker (AMM) was live on Arbitrum, Avalanche, and BNB Chain.

Regulation news

• Hong Kong Legislative Council member Johnny Ng told local media that he hopes the possibility of connecting digital asset platforms in Hong Kong and mainland China would be explored more. In an interview with The Paper, Ng said: “There are also digital asset exchanges in Shanghai. I wonder if these exchanges that are licensed in Hong Kong for virtual asset trading can be interconnected with Shanghai’s exchanges in the future.” He added that Shanghai is the financial center of the country and home to “many outstanding financial enterprises,” adding that “through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program, the stock markets of Shanghai and Hong Kong are seamlessly connected.”