On Feb. 9, 2023, the cryptocurrency community learned of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on staking services. The SEC fined Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, $30 million for offering an “unregistered offering” related to its U.S. staking service. Digital currency advocates are now debating what constitutes a yield product versus a noncustodial solution
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The CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, Jesse Powell, has called on Congress to pass a law to protect the U.S. crypto industry after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took action against his trading platform over its crypto staking service. Kraken’s CEO Responds to SEC Action Kraken CEO Jesse Powell urged Congress to pass a
February has been a rollercoaster ride for cryptocurrency traders, with market volatility leading to high levels of price uncertainty. Following a strong start to the month, bitcoin prices have since plunged, resulting in a current bear run. However, with just over two weeks left of this short month, what else could be in store for
Following the recent court filing from liquidators for Three Arrows Capital (3AC) claiming frustration with the 3AC co-founders for allegedly failing to respond to subpoenas sent via Twitter. Su Zhu, one of the co-founders, recently tweeted about his new crypto venture, Open Exchange. The exchange aims to provide users with the ability to trade or
Global payment giant PayPal holds a significant part of its financial liabilities in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) offered to its customers. As of Dec. 31, PayPal held a total of $604 million in various cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), according to the annual report filed with the United
Solana slipped to a three-week low on Feb.10, as momentum in cryptocurrency markets remained firmly bearish. At the time of writing this, the global market cap is trading 4.23% lower, with bears recapturing sentiment. Cardano was also on the decline, falling by as much as 8% today. Solana (SOL) Solana (SOL) prices plunged during today’s
The coinbase transaction’s value is based on factors such as each individual transaction’s value, block height, and halving. Miners can add any customizable text to the blocks they have created. The value of a coinbase transaction is determined by several factors. These include the value of every transaction validated by the block, the height of
It appears that the circulation of the stablecoin usd coin has decreased while tether’s has grown, as the latest statistics paint a contrasting picture. Tether saw a 3% increase in coins in circulation over the last month, while the U.S. dollar-pegged crypto asset usd coin recorded a decrease of approximately 4.9% in the same time
Mining is the process of extracting valuable minerals, metals and other resources from the earth. This may entail extracting minerals from underground deposits or from the earth’s surface. The minerals and resources extracted through mining are used for a wide range of purposes, including energy production, construction and manufacturing. Mining can take many forms, including
Bitcoin moved below $22,000 on Friday’s session, as sentiment in cryptocurrency markets remained bearish. Volatility in markets has risen in recent days, following comments from U.S. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who hinted at ongoing rate hikes. Ethereum also dropped, falling under $1,600. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) extended recent declines on Friday, with prices falling below the
A Russian national accused of processing cryptocurrency payments from ransomware attacks has pleaded guilty to money laundering in the United States. The man who was extradited from the Netherlands in mid-August, last year, will be sentenced in April. Russian Crypto Launderer Pleads Guilty in US Court, May Get Up to 20 Years in Prison An
Regulators in Argentina are mulling the inclusion of stringent requirements in their next cryptocurrency regulatory framework. According to reports, institutions like the national securities regulator, the CNV, will be studying the inclusion of proof-of-solvency requirements for exchanges and custody institutions in Argentina, in the wake of the demise of leading cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Cryptocurrency Exchanges
The Central Bank of Brazil will focus its first digital real tests on determining the levels of privacy and security that can be achieved with the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) infrastructure. The tests will be conducted later this year and will set up a simplified operation to transact with a still-to-be-determined tokenized asset.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently revealed that some 25,188 of its value-preserving gold coins were sold between July 2022 and Jan. 13. According to the central bank governor, John Mangudya, the gold coins “have proved to be an effective open market instrument for mopping up excess liquidity in the economy.” Gold Coins as Alternative
On Thursday, the fiat-to-crypto onramp business Moonpay announced a multi-year partnership with the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Looksrare. According to the deal, Looksrare will allow marketplace users to buy and sell crypto assets through Moonpay’s services. Moonpay and Looksrare Join Forces to Streamline NFT Transactions Moonpay, the fiat-to-crypto service founded in 2019, revealed that it
The collapse of FTX and related developments did more to pull up or push down the price of Bitcoin (BTC) throughout Q4, compared to macroeconomic events such as rate hikes, according to research. In a “State of Bitcoin Q4 2022” report published on Feb. 10, Messari research analysts Sami Kassab and Chris Collar found that
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, expressed concern about rumors that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may eliminate cryptocurrency staking for retail customers in the United States. Armstrong insisted that “staking is not a security” and that the trend allows users to “participate directly in running open crypto networks.” Coinbase CEO Vocalizes Worry Over
Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm CleanSpark is planning to continue its strategy of scooping up distressed mining company assets this year. The Bitcoin miner released its fiscal Q1 earnings presentation on Feb. 9, where the company said it remained optimistic about the coming year and continued growth. Chief Financial Officer, Gary Vecchiarelli, said CleanSpark has seen
French luxury brand Hermes has won a lawsuit against an artist who depicted its famous Birkin bags in a non-fungible token (NFT) collection. The artist argued that NFTs should be covered under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment but the jury disagreed. Hermes Wins Lawsuit Against ‘Metabirkins’ NFT Creator French luxury design house Hermes has won
Several Federal Reserve governors and presidents say that more interest rate hikes are needed to curb inflation. “We are not done yet with raising interest rates,” Fed Governor Lisa Cook said. “We need to raise rates aggressively to put a ceiling on inflation,” Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari stressed. Fed Officials on Raising Interest