Michael Barr, the vice chair for supervision for the United States Federal Reserve, warned banks of the potential risks of crypto-related activities, suggesting crypto service providers be subject to similar regulations as traditional financial institutions. In written remarks prepared for an Oct. 12 speech at D.C. Fintech Week, Barr seemed to encourage banks to explore
United States acting comptroller of the currency Michael Hsu acknowledged his skepticism about cryptocurrency and clarified his position on regulation in two thematically linked lectures on Oct. 11. “While I am skeptical of crypto’s real world utility today and hyper-aware of the risks it poses to consumers and the financial system, I cannot say with
The city of Rio de Janeiro is seeking crypto firms to operate its tax property seasoning in 2023, according to a decree published on Oct. 11, allowing taxpayers to use crypto alongside fiat currency to pay tributes. The move makes Rio the first Brazilian city to accept digital assets as payment for taxes. It is
Crypto exchange Blockchain.com has become the latest crypto company to secure preliminary approval from Singapore’s central bank to provide Digital Payment Token services in the city-state. Blockchain.com’s regulatory approval follows hot on the heels of Coinbase, which revealed it had received the same “in-principle” approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Oct. 11. If
French authorities have reportedly utilized research from pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT to charge five people on suspicion of stealing $2.5 million worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) via phishing scams. According to an Oct. 12 report from the Agence France Presse (AFP) shared by Barron’s, the alleged fraudsters built a website that masqueraded as a service
A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has shown a surge in stablecoin usage in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has since seen sanctions and inflation impacting the country. Released on Oct. 12, the report revealed that the share of stablecoin’s transaction volume on primarily Russian services increased from 42% in
Ethereum completed one of its historic upgrades in mid-September. The Merge created the transition from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). Unfortunately, the post-Merge events brought deflationary situations for the blockchain. As predicted by some crypto experts, the price of Ethereum has dropped drastically following its transition to PoS. Also, the dynamics of ETH supply have
Cryptocurrency miners in Kazakhstan are to be required to convert up to three quarters of their income on locally registered exchanges, according to a new bill that’s advancing in the nation’s legislature. Lawmakers also want to make sure crypto companies pay their taxes and fees. Parliament of Kazakhstan Votes on Bill Regulating Activities of Crypto
Samsung, the consumer electronics giant, has announced the introduction of a blockchain-like security system for its smart devices. Named Knox Matrix, the objective of the system is to increase the security of a multi-device environment, with each smart device monitoring others and sharing access data to simplify login tasks. Samsung Blockchain-Powered Security System Blockchain technology
According to a report, some Egyptian banks recently informed clients who plan to travel abroad that they can now only withdraw $2,000 or less. The banks have also lowered the amount of foreign exchange that clients can withdraw when abroad. Egypt’s ongoing shortage of foreign exchange has forced some merchants to start demanding payment in
A list of crypto exchanges, including global platforms, have not introduced new restrictions on Russian users after the EU’s most recent sanctions round, Russian crypto media reported. The latest European penalties target an array of crypto-related services to increase pressure on Russia amid an escalating conflict in Ukraine. Major Exchanges Continue to Work in Russia
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse says he thinks “we’ll have an answer in the first half of next year” in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit over xrp. Maintaining that xrp is not a security, the executive stressed that the case “is about the whole industry” and “Everyone acknowledges how important this is.” Ripple’s
The CEO of Devere Group, a financial advisory and asset management firm, anticipates further volatility in the crypto market before year-end. However, he stressed that “for serious investors, this will not necessarily be seen as a bad thing,” noting that “Savvy, long-term crypto investors will be looking to benefit from panic sellers by buying their
The Denver-based gas-to-bitcoin infrastructure company Crusoe Energy announced on Wednesday that it acquired the operating assets of Great American Mining (GAM). The acquisition gives Crusoe over 10 megawatts (MW) of mining capacity and 4,000 ASIC mining rigs. Digital Flare Mitigation Firm Crusoe Energy Acquires Great American Mining’s Assets, Acquisition Adds Approximately 9% to Company’s Capacity
The two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have seen a significant rise in their open interest in the last couple of weeks. This comes even when the market is seeing struggling prices and investors have begun to take more conservative positions in the market. The drastic increase in the open interest across
The non-profit that focuses on policy issues facing cryptocurrencies, Coin Center, has filed a lawsuit against the Treasury department, the secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) director Andrea Gacki. Coin Center’s court filing says that the government’s sanctioning of Tornado Cash exceeds the Treasury’s statutory authority. The
The Bnb Smart Chain commenced the blockchain’s hard fork on October 12, at block height 22,107,423, in order to add a security patch to “mitigate the cross-chain infrastructure between [the] Beacon Chain and Smart Chain.” Binance and the Bnb Smart Chain suspended withdrawals and deposits on Wednesday in order to execute the upgrade. Not too
Payment company Ripple announced a partnership with a payment provider for the online marketplace Lemonway. This is the first France-based customer that will leverage RippleNet’s On Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution, supported by XRP. The payment provider will use ODL to improve its treasury payment process. As Bitcoinist reported, Ripple has been trying to expand the
According to various reports, the Solana-based trading and lending platform Mango Markets was hacked as a malicious actor was able to siphon $117 million from the protocol. An analysis of the hack published by Certik explains that the attacker manipulated the price of the project’s native token mango (MNGO) which allowed them to borrow $117
SushiSwap, a decentralized exchange (DEX), recently appointed Jared Grey as its Head Chef. But shortly after his election, Grey is faced with heaps of accusations. Unfortunately, the level of allegations has been raging another storm for the DEX ecosystem and community. The new action from SushiSwap in its executive position was to create a more