Today in Crypto: CoinFLEX Stops Investor Withdrawals; Brussels Hosts Blockchain Week

Peter Kerstens, a European Union policy advisor, has said the crypto market troubles could be seen as dissuading, or evidence of a giant Ponzi scheme, CoinDesk reported Thursday (June 23).

However, speaking at Brussels Blockchain Week, Kerstens said he sees it differently, feeling “very, very bullish about blockchain, crypto and Web3” and optimistic overall about the new technology.

Meanwhile, multi-asset digital trading platform Uphold will be taking its business out of Venezuela, citing “the increasing complexity of complying with U.S. sanctions.”

“Venezuela was one of the first countries to embrace Uphold and we love serving our customers there,” the company recently wrote in a support update. “We are taking this step very reluctantly.”

Uphold also advised affected users to get their funds out “as soon as possible,” saying the ability to trade will be halted on July 31 and all accounts will be fully restricted by September 30.

Furthermore, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards has signed a bill allowing financial institutions in the state to custody digital assets for customers.

The bill, Act No. 509, reads that a financial institution can give customers virtual currency custody services if the institution has the protocols in place to manage risks and comply with the laws they need to.

In other news, CoinDesk reported that Brussels’ crypto community is looking at amplifying the voice of its new ecosystem, particularly with the coming licensing laws from EU negotiators.

Brussels has a small Web3 community currently trying to get its voice more heard, as other capitals like Paris have done before. This comes as Brussels Blockchain Week began last Monday and saw numerous vows not to let the current bear market dampen optimism for the sector.

Additionally, Solana Mobile announced Thursday that is has debuted Solana Mobile Stack, an open source software toolkit for making Android Apps.

This will allow for native Android Web3 apps to be made on the Seed Vault secure custody protocol, helping to keep private keys separate from wallets, apps and the Android operating system.

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, said this would help developers who have not been able to make truly decentralized apps. He said the existing model for gatekeepers “doesn’t work,” as there hasn’t been a mobile-centric approach for private keys.

Finally, CoinFLEX said in a company blog post that it is pausing withdrawals due to the “extreme market conditions,” much as other platforms have done lately.

The company said it’s also stopping all FLEX Coin trading in perps and spot in the short term.

With many crypto platforms pausing withdrawals, PYMNTS wrote that there are other moves happening – such as Binance.US announcing zero-fee trades on bitcoin.

See also: Well-Funded Crypto Survivors Smell Blood in the Water

CEO Brian Shroder said this was “something we want to do because we can.”

As that was going on, Coinbase, the biggest competitor to Binance, saw its lagging shares fall another 10%.

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