Due to their anonymity or pseudonymity, digital assets are perceived as entailing the risks of money laundering and financing terrorism. In October 2018, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) adopted changes to its recommendations on financial activities involving digital assets, adding the definitions “virtual asset” (VA) and “virtual asset service provider” (VASP). Since then, the
Regulation
The United States Treasury Department is reportedly seeking to clarify the definition of brokers in the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the Senate last week, offering cautious reassurance that the new legislation won’t impact innovation and growth in the blockchain industry. As reported by Bloomberg, the Treasury Department is preparing guidance on what types of
Crypto criminals are getting more adaptive and smarter than ever before. But how can industry service providers keep up with them? If I say that the crypto industry is highly targeted by cybercriminals and, in particular, organized criminals, I’m sure that no one who has spent a few months within the space would be surprised.
As the United States continues to weigh out the best ways to include crypto businesses through an infrastructure bill, the state of Wyoming has taken proactive measures to attract Bitcoin (BTC) miners and other crypto businesses to its local jurisdiction. Wyoming’s crypto-friendly notion comes into light as the state has passed more than 24 bills
It was a topsy turvy week — “staggering,” a crypto veteran called it. One that saw United States Senator Ted Cruz and Senator Ron Wyden collaborate on behalf of the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry — albeit, in a lost cause. These events could eventually pave the way for future regulatory success, though it may not
Binance has halted Korean won (KRW) trading pairs as part of a raft of changes to its operations in South Korea. In a notice issued on Friday, the crypto exchange giant announced the discontinuation of KRW trading pairs as well as KRW payment options on its service. Other features discontinued include Korean language support on
Artificial intelligence research lab Fetch.ai has been granted a request to have major cryptocurrency exchange Binance identify individuals behind a $2.6 million hack. According to a Friday Reuters report, the Royal Courts of Justice in London has ordered Binance to identify the hackers and seize the stolen assets. Fetch.ai reportedly claimed that hackers stole $2.6
Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has shut down several crypto exchanges reportedly involved in illegal financial transactions since the start of 2021. According to a statement by the SBU on Wednesday, the network of “clandestine cryptocurrency exchanges” were based in the country’s capital Kyiv and collectively processed a monthly turnover of $1.1 million in funds
This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. After ThorCHAIN and Chainswap were exploited, it’s safe to say that hacking cross-chain bridges seems to be the style of the season. This
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s chairperson Gary Genslerannounced this month that the crypto industry should not escape the purview of the regulator. He highlighted that decentralized finance (DeFi) trading and lending protocols need particular attention when it comes to investor protections. Regulation can extend into a menu of options that covers custody, reporting,
The Russian central bank has once again reiterated its negative stance on Bitcoin (BTC), with one of the bank’s top executives comparing the cryptocurrency with a pyramid scheme. Sergei Shvetsov, the first deputy governor at the Bank of Russia, expressed the authority’s concerns over cryptocurrency investment in a Wednesday interview, warning about the perceived risk
United States lawmakers will soon destroy a massive opportunity for job creation and a diverse workforce in blockchain technology if they do not amend infrastructure bill HR 3684, which would require blockchain developers to attain broker status on U.S. soil. HR 3684 does not recognize the taxonomy of the asset class. Not every crypto asset
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin is on a mission to make humans immortal. Buterin, 27, proposes the idea that “aging is an engineering problem.” He is not alone in his combined interest in Bitcoin and biohacking. Famous biomedical aging researcher Aubrey de Grey, Xanadu architect and Agoric chief scientist Mark Miller, Bitcoin Cash billionaire Roger Ver
India’s regulatory uncertainties have not affected the investor’s sentiment towards crypto as the latest data from crypto exchanges suggests a rising influx of users. Binance-owned Indian crypto exchange WazirX reported a 2,648% growth to date in user signups from smaller cities across India, also known as tier-II and tier-III cities, that can host up to
Asset manager VanEck is filing for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund after it unsuccessfully attempted to launch a similar fund four years ago. According to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC records, VanEck filed a prospectus for a Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund, or ETF, on Aug. 9. Unlike its Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH)
It probably came as little surprise last year when crypto intelligence firm Chainalysis declared East Asia “the world’s largest cryptocurrency market,” accounting for 31% of all cryptocurrency transacted during the previous 12 months. The region has a broad base of retail users along with a solid foundation of crypto traders and institutions, and China alone