Hey there,

Here are the highlights for this edition of The Faucet:

• SEC Alleges Securities Laws Violations by Binance, Shifts to Crypto-Only Operations: Binance, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has faced intense scrutiny from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly soliciting U.S. investors to unlawfully invest in unregistered securities. This follows a recent clampdown on another crypto exchange, Coinbase, and aligns with the SEC's ongoing regulatory actions against the broader cryptocurrency industry. It's worth noting that Bitcoin, being distinct from other cryptocurrencies, has passed the SEC's scrutiny as a non-security. While the Bitcoin community has evaded this round of attacks, some remain skeptical, questioning whether it's a precursor to more significant regulatory measures against Bitcoin in the future. Additionally, there's a halt on U.S. dollar deposits, with expectations of a future halt on U.S. dollar withdrawals from Binance. Read more about the SEC's crackdown here.

• Prime Trust Bailed Out by Fellow Custodian BitGo: Cryptocurrency custodian Prime Trust dodges bankruptcy by getting acquired by a bigger custodian, BitGo. This is speculated to have been the result of what Citadel's Matt O'Dell calls "a bank run on Prime Trust" as the customers of Prime Trust's biggest customer, Binance, withdraw their funds in droves. Rumors were first sparked after Bitcoin Magazine CEO, David Bailey, tweeted "Major custodian about to declare bankruptcy without last minute bailout. Take your Bitcoin off exchanges, even bitcoin-only platforms" which set Bitcoin Twitter abalze. Swan was even met with scrutiny, with some thinking they would not be able to process all withdrawals due to a recent move to switch from Prime Trust to Fortress. They have since assured customers that funds were not at-risk and continue to offer withdrawals throughout this tumultuous period. Read more about Prime Trust’s bankruptcy scare.

• Temporary Private Status of r/bitcoin Subreddit in Response to Reddit's Policy Changes: The r/bitcoin subreddit has temporarily been made private to support community pushback against Reddit's new policy changes. Previously, Reddit had an openly accessible public API that allowed developers to create custom clients for users and moderators to engage with the Reddit community. However, in a move driven by profit-making goals, Reddit is changing its policy, prompting criticism. Reddit's response, "We'll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive. Unlike some of the 3P apps, we are not profitable," has been perceived as tone-deaf by the community and subreddits are going dark for up to 48 hours in protest. Read more about the Reddit controversy here.

That's it for this edition of The Faucet. Stay tuned for more exciting updates in the world of Bitcoin!