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White House Pushes DAME Tax Proposal to Address Alleged Environmental Costs of Crypto Mining
3.5.2023
On May 2, 2023, the Biden administration unveiled a blog post outlining the Digital Asset Mining Energy (DAME) tax, featured in the president’s comprehensive 182-page budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024. The DAME tax targets “making crypto miners pay for the costs they impose...
Breaking the Barriers of Traditional Banking With Digital Assets
3.5.2023
Another one bites the dust! The banking industry in the United States is in trouble, and regional banks are feeling the squeeze. A number of banks have failed recently due to mismanagement, poor risk management, and other factors which are leading to bailouts and buyouts from large players....
Bitcoin Hashrate Reaches All-Time High of 491 EH/s, Close to Half a Zettahash, as Network Preps for Next Difficulty Change
2.5.2023
While the next difficulty change for Bitcoin is just two days away, the network’s hashrate soared to unprecedented heights, reaching 491.15 exahash per second (EH/s) on May 02, 2023, at block height 787,895. This staggering amount of computational power came tantalizingly close to a half...
Paypal Upgrades Crypto Services to 60 Million Venmo Users, Allowing Transfers to External Wallets and Exchanges
30.4.2023
After the American financial technology giant Paypal rolled out crypto payments last year, the company is now introducing cryptocurrency transfer services to Venmo users. The firm detailed that Venmo customers will be able to send funds to an existing Paypal account, an external wallet, or a crypto...
Bitcoin Blockchain Surpasses 2 Million Ordinal Inscriptions Milestone in Just Over 4 Months
28.4.2023
As of April 28, 2023, the number of Ordinal inscriptions on the Bitcoin blockchain has exceeded 2 million, according to current statistics. This milestone has been reached within just over four months since the first Ordinal inscription was minted on December 16, 2022, at block height 767,753....
Coinbase Files Legal Action Against SEC Over Lack of Regulatory Clarity
25.4.2023
On April 24, 2023, Coinbase announced that it had filed an action in federal court requesting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to their petition. The petition, submitted in July 2022, requested the commission to propose and adopt rules governing the regulation of digital...
Ugandan High Court Rules to Uphold Central Bank’s Crypto Prohibition
25.4.2023
A Judge of a High Court in Uganda recently dismissed an application which sought to quash a Bank of Uganda directive that barred licensed entities and individuals from facilitating crypto transactions. In his ruling, Justice Musa Ssekaana insisted that the central bank’s crypto prohibition...
Russia Launching Payment System With ‘No Restrictions’ — Digital Currencies to Be Completely Unrestricted
25.4.2023
Russia is launching a new payment system that is “bound by no restrictions” where digital currencies could be used in cross-border payments, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. “Two parties come to an agreement, make settlement payments, and no other country could step in and freeze such...
Nearly 1,000 Ancient Bitcoins from 2010 and 2011 Moved in 2023, Valued at Over $27 Million
24.4.2023
Based on present data, within the last four months, a mere three block rewards from the year 2010 have been transferred after 13 years of dormancy. This is due to the fact that dormant wallets from that era are becoming a rarity to behold. The latest expenditure of a 2010 block took place on April...
Value Locked in Defi Descends Below $50B Range 9 Days After 2023 High
23.4.2023
The total value locked in decentralized finance (defi) has descended below the $50 billion range after reaching a 2023 high of $53.63 billion on April 14. This shift has been felt across the board with the top 18 defi protocols recording losses during the past seven days, and the largest defi...
Report: Korean Central Bank to Gain Right to Probe Virtual Asset Entities After Financial Regulator Drops Opposition
22.4.2023
The South Korean central bank is set to be granted the right to investigate virtual assets after the Financial Services Commission (FSC) dropped its opposition to the move. According to a report, the FSC dropped its opposition to the central bank’s bid after it was accused of seeking to make...
Societe Generale Subsidiary Launches Euro Stablecoin, but Faces Criticism Over Smart Contract Issues
21.4.2023
According to Societe Generale-Forge (SG-Forge), a regulated subsidiary of Societe Generale Group, the company has launched a stablecoin pegged to the euro and issued on the Ethereum blockchain. During the launch announcement, SG-Forge’s CEO stated that a stablecoin “built under a robust...
Hong Kong Judge Rules Crypto Assets as ‘Property,’ Following Similar Rulings Worldwide
19.4.2023
In a court case linked to the now-defunct crypto exchange Gatecoin, a Hong Kong judge has ruled that cryptocurrencies are “property” which is “capable of being held on trust.” According to the law firm Hogan Lovells, this case should provide greater clarity to insolvency...
Tether Stablecoin Sees 22% Growth in 2023 Despite Dollar-Pegged Token Economy’s Contraction
17.4.2023
Since January 2023, the number of tether stablecoins in circulation has grown from 66 billion to the current 80.9 billion, representing growth of more than 22% this year. Tether’s growth is approaching the high of $83 billion in stablecoins in circulation that the project saw almost a year...
Bittrex Receives Wells Notice From SEC for Alleged Investor-Protection Law Violations
17.4.2023
According to a recent report, the cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March, signaling a potential lawsuit. The SEC’s enforcement division sent the Wells notice prior to Bittrex deciding to wind down its operations...
Latam Insights – Inflation Skyrockets in Argentina, El Salvador Processes Digital Assets Licenses, Venezuelan Crypto Corruption Probe Continues
17.4.2023
Welcome to Latam Insights, a compendium of the most relevant crypto and economic development news from Latin America during the last week. In this issue: Inflation in Argentina goes over 100%, El Salvador issues its first digital assets licenses, and the crypto-linked corruption probe in Venezuela...
With Close to 10 Billion Stablecoins Redeemed, BUSD’s Supply Drops to Lowest Level Since April 2021
16.4.2023
Statistics recorded on April 15, 2023, show that the number of coins in circulation for the stablecoin BUSD dropped below the 7 billion range to 6.68 billion, marking the lowest number of BUSD in circulation since April 2021. Furthermore, data indicates that the supply of BUSD has shrunk by 19.8%...
Silk Road Hacker Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Wire Fraud
16.4.2023
On April 14, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the Southern District of New York revealed that the hacker responsible for the Silk Road marketplace breach had been sentenced to a year in prison for wire fraud charges. James Zhong stole more than 50,000 bitcoin from the darknet marketplace...
Chia Network Files for IPO With the SEC, Eyes Public Listing
15.4.2023
On Friday, Chia Network Inc. announced that it had submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), requesting an initial public offering (IPO). The blockchain network company, founded by Bittorrent creator Bram Cohen, will initiate the...
FTX Finds $7.3 Billion in Liquid Assets; Lawyers Consider Rebooting Shuttered Crypto Exchange
13.4.2023
FTX debtors revealed during a hearing on April 12th that the restructuring team has collected $7.3 billion in liquid assets. The exchange is currently considering a relaunch, according to a lawyer representing the defunct cryptocurrency exchange. Following the announcement, the exchange’s...