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Ripple Obtains Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) License from Central Bank of Ireland
20.12.2023
Source: AdobeStock / Michal Šteflovič Blockchain payments firm Ripple has successfully obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI). The news comes over a year after Ripple established an office in Dublin and applied for the license, aiming...
SEC’s Dialogue With Wall Street Behemoth BlackRock Regarding Spot Bitcoin ETF Application Continues – Approvals Coming in January?
15.12.2023
BlackRock Office Officials from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) met with three employees of BlackRock on Thursday to discuss the asset manager’s application to set up a spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), as per a memorandum released by the SEC on Friday. Blackrock met with...
Salvadoran Bitcoin Volcano Bonds Target Q1 2024 Launch After Getting Regulatory Approval
14.12.2023
Discussion on the Volcano Bonds, a series of digital debt instruments that would be used to finance the creation of Bitcoin City, has resurfaced after their regulatory approval in El Salvador. The Bitcoin Office in the country revealed that it anticipated a launch date of Q1 2024 for these bonds....
FCA Has Dealt With 1,400 Cases Related to Unregulated Crypto Activity, UK Regulator Reveals
13.12.2023
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that it has dealt with over 1,400 crypto cases between January 2020 and June 2023. The regulator noted that “a shortage of crypto skills meant the FCA took longer than planned to register crypto-asset firms under money laundering...
KuCoin to Shutter Services in New York After $22 Million Settlement Package – Here’s the Latest
12.12.2023
Source: Pexels The KuCoin crypto exchange is set to shutter its operations in the ‘Big Apple’ following an agreement with the Supreme Court of the State of New York County. Besides restricting access to its platform for New York residents, KuCoin has agreed to pay a $5.3 million fine...
Jailed Mastermind of South African Bitcoin Scam Reportedly Getting Preferential Treatment in Brazilian Prison
12.12.2023
Johann Steynberg, the imprisoned CEO of Mirror Trading International, a South African Bitcoin scam entity, is allegedly receiving preferential treatment in a Brazilian prison. The General Directorate of Penitentiary Administration (DGAP) has confirmed receiving a complaint about Steynberg’s access...
Tether Freezes Tokens of Sanctioned Individuals Listed by OFAC
11.12.2023
Source: Pixabay Tether (USDT), the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin, has frozen the wallets of individuals sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Controls (OFAC). In a recent announcement, the company said it aims to prevent potential misuse of its tokens and enhance...
Tether Implements New Stablecoin-Freezing Policy After Seizing Funds Tied to OFAC Sanctioned Entities
10.12.2023
Tether, a leading stablecoin company in the crypto industry, has announced a significant new initiative aimed at strengthening the security of the crypto asset ecosystem. The company announced this weekend that its recent move to voluntarily freeze tether-holding wallets linked to the Office...
Binance and CZ Settle With the DOJ and Other Federal Agencies
6.12.2023
On November 21, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the Department of Treasury’s Finance Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and the Department of Justice (DOJ) all settled charges against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency...
South Korean Customs Service Swoops on Int’l ‘USDT-Gambling Ring’
6.12.2023
Source: Tatyana Maksimova/Adobe South Korean law enforcers are continuing to crack down on crypto-powered crime, with customs officials shutting down a suspected international gambling ring that used USDT. According to the broadcaster KBS, officers arrested seven people in raids, with one remanded...
Crypto Mixer Sinbad Sanctioned by OFAC Over Alleged Ties to North Korean Hackers
1.12.2023
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on yet another cryptocurrency mixing platform, labeling Sinbad.io as a “key money-laundering tool” used by the North Korean Lazarus Group crime syndicate. Sinbad.io, in addition...
Turkish Crypto Exchange Associated with Hull City Sponsorship at Center of Fraud Scandal
30.11.2023
Source: Adobe / Husamex The owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Tomya, which sponsors the sports team of the famous television producer Acun Ilıcalı, Hull City, Yavuz Usta, and economist Ece Pulaş, have been arrested as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Büyükçekmece Public...
BlackRock Revises Bitcoin ETF Model To Appease SEC Concerns
29.11.2023
BlackRock Office BlackRock executives held another meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday to discuss the firm’s application to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF in the United States. Based on publicly released notes from the meeting, the asset manager has modified...
Throughout one of the toughest crypto bear markets yet, a Web3 hub is born in New York
26.11.2023
As the world dives deeper into an age of digital transformation, and with the open promise and threat of AI, the need for in-person and collaborative workspace has only become more important. That is the mission of the latest exciting initiative within the Web3 World. Station 3, a 25,000 sq...
DeFi Users Seek Clarity as Australia’s Tax Office Fails to Explain New Capital Gains Tax Rules
24.11.2023
The ATO’s opaque DeFi tax guidance perplexes Australian crypto investors. Image by Vadym, Adobe Stock. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released new guidance on November 9, stating that capital gains tax (CGT) applies to certain decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions. The tax agency...
Bitcoin Mining Pool F2pool Acknowledges OFAC Transaction Censorship; Backpedals After Community Backlash
24.11.2023
F2Pool, a Bitcoin mining pool, has admitted to filtering transactions coming from Bitcoin addresses flagged by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). After the situation was discovered by 0xB10C, a Bitcoin developer, F2pool co-founder Chun Wang acknowledged that his pool was indeed applying...
Social Media Speculates if F2Pool is Censoring Transactions, Founder Responds
22.11.2023
0x10BC, a Bitcoin development blogger, has unveiled data potentially suggesting that F2Pool has censored a number of recent transactions. What 0x10BC’s data says 0x10BC, who runs a mining pool observation project with the aim of detecting potential unrecognized potential Bitcoin transactions...
Analyst: BlackRock is Holding Meetings With the SEC About its Bitcoin ETF – Here’s What We Know
22.11.2023
BlackRock Office Blackrock held a meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday to discuss the structure of its upcoming Bitcoin ETF, according to a memo from the regulator. The meeting’s attendees included 8 members from the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets,...
Blockchain Association Sues OFAC Over Sanctions on Tornado Cash
21.11.2023
Source: US Department of Treasury Blockchain Association, the crypto advocacy group, has filed an amicus brief with the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The Association has criticized the agency’s decision to sanction crypto mixer Tornado Cash, pointing out the regulatory repercussions....
Canadian Regulators Call for Feedback on Crypto Reporting Guidelines
20.11.2023
Canadian regulators launched a consultation today asking for feedback in regards to public disclosure of crypto assets from federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs). Digital innovation internationally “Digital innovation is transforming how we transact, manage money, and view value...