Crypto Wire By Elizabeth Howcroft, Crypto Correspondent Bitcoin’s seen something of a recovery in recent days, hovering just under $29,000 at the time of writing, and crypto enthusiasts took confidence from BlackRock filing for a bitcoin ETF. But institutional investors are still concerned that other crypto companies could collapse. This Week's Most Read IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform Crypto investors step up risk management after last year’s meltdowns Hong Kong reiterates banks should support licensed crypto exchanges Exchanges, banks and counterparty risk Here are the latest Binance developments: Binance and the SEC struck a deal to keep U.S. customer assets in the country until the lawsuit is resolved. Binance.US carried out a round of layoffs. Prosecutors in France said they are investigating Binance for illegal canvassing of clients and money-laundering. Binance’s Cyprus unit has applied to removed from the register of crypto asset service providers there, and the company is leaving the Netherlands too after failing to meet the registration requirements there. A Binance spokesperson said it was going to focus on a smaller number of EU entities including France, Italy and Spain. Elsewhere, Hong Kong has been urging its banks to take on crypto exchanges as clients. The Financial Times reported that lenders including HSBC and Standard Chartered were facing pressure from the Hong Kong’s banking regulator, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which said in a letter in April that banks’ due diligence on potential customers should not “create undue burden”, especially “for those setting up an office in Hong Kong.” This is in line with Hong Kong’s aim to become a crypto hub (more on that here). But top banks are wary of taking on crypto firms as clients, given the recent turmoil in the industry and the specific financial risks raised by regulators. Banks aren’t the only institutions worried about their exposure to exchanges. Crypto hedge funds and asset managers said they were taking steps to avoid the risk of another exchange collapsing or freezing withdrawals, as happened at FTX. These steps include doing transactions in several, smaller chunks, avoiding leaving money on exchanges overnight and prioritising exchanges that allow them to settle outside of the platform with a third-party custodian. As one director of trading and operations put it: “Everyone’s just so scared in the market right now.” Crypto Essentials IMF CBDC platform: The IMF said it’s working on a platform to allow transactions between different countries’ central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The idea is that they could make remittances cheaper. Reminder: CBDCs aren’t cryptocurrencies. BlackRock bitcoin ETF: The world’s biggest asset manager filed a U.S. application for a bitcoin ETF, which would give investors exposure to the cryptocurrency. U.S. regulators haven’t approved any applications for spot bitcoin ETFs yet. Do Kwon: Montenegro sentenced Do Kwon and his ally to four months in prison for using forged passports. This isn’t the end of it: Do Kwon is charged in the U.S. with a multibillion-dollar fraud. Central to the case is the question of whether the two cryptocurrencies Do Kwon created count as securities. FTX latest: There’s now going to be a second trial in March next year, as well as the one scheduled for Oct. 2 this year. SEC rejects criticism: A top SEC official pushed back against the idea that it is overreaching, saying that its crackdown on crypto firms is a result of the sector’s lack of compliance with securities laws. “You have an entire industry where the ethos is built around noncompliance,” SEC enforcement director Gurbir Grewal said. 3AC’s NFTs: A set of NFTs previously owned by bankrupt hedge fund Three Arrows Capital sold for $10.9 million at Sotheby’s. Three Arrows Capital had spent $15.5 million on buying the collection, according to DappRadar estimates. What I'm Reading Google is cautioning its own employees about how they use chatbots, even as it markets the program around the world. Here’s what Google’s worried about. Breakingviews opinion columnist Felix Martin says cryptocurrencies were the most extreme beneficiaries of the “everything bubble”. And it’s not over yet, he says. There’s been a race to cut ties with Odey Asset Management after its founder, Crispin Odey, was accused of sexual misconduct in the press. Now industry sources say Wall Street firms will reassess how they vet hedge funds. Here’s how.