Crypto Weekly: Midterms brew uncertainty, Binance normalizes post hack

From a midterm blue wave bringing uncertainty to more details on the Binance crypto heist, This is Crypto Weekly. Cryptocurrencies briefly dipped on Wednesday as Democrats won majorities in both the Senate and the House in the US midterm elections. It's a potential blow to an industry that has pushed for faster deregulation for digital assets. Bitcoin briefly touched a A six-week low before recovering to trade roughly flat, with Ether up just 1%. The sector has spent more than $300 million backing crypto-friendly Democrats and Republicans in roughly equal measure during the current and previous election cycles, with a hope to pass legislation U.S. crypto companies say will put them on a solid legal footing and allow them to thrive. The sector has seen sweeping reforms in the almost two years since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to office, including lighter enforcement and the creation of Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Washington has allowed for easier access to banking and exchange-traded products, and passed a federal stablecoin law that could help these assets move into the mainstream. Asset outflows from Binance have normalized, its co-CEO said, as North Korea dismissed U.S. allegations it was behind a $6.3 billion cryptocurrency heist on its platform. Customers of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange had withdrawn a net $4.72 billion as of Monday, after it was hit with what could be the largest ever financial heist last week. Richard Teng told a Hong Kong fintech week event the company was in very strong financial health. He said the crypto exchange was seeing hourly deposits exceed withdrawals. The company revealed the hackers used a bogus job interview and software hidden in an advertisement to compromise the computers of two Binance software engineers, before using a third's computer to drain the billions worth of crypto. And cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global returned to profitability on Thursday after three consecutive quarters of losses. It's been helped by lower operating expenses and investment gains on crypto assets that cushioned weaker trading activity. Prediction markets emerged as another area of growth for Coinbase during the reported quarter, with revenue exceeding $200 million.