On Friday, Tornado Cash announced that it was using oracle contracts from Chainalysis to block wallet addresses sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. The move comes after the U.S. Department of the Treasury linked North Korean cybercriminal Lazarus Group as an alleged perpetrator for the recent $600 million+ Ronin Bridge
Regulation
Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex, is confident that Tether will preserve its status as the most used stablecoin, despite the rapid growth of competitors such as USD Coin (USDC). “If you see the volumes of Tether compared to the rest of stablecoins, they are insanely higher. They are even 10
The Montenegrin government has begun fulfilling its pledge to become a hub for blockchain innovation by reportedly making Ethereum creator Vitalik Buterin its newest citizen. Montenegrin news outlet RTCB reported that Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić recommended Buterin receive the privilege to help the southeastern European nation promote its efforts to become a blockchain innovation hub.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse is increasingly optimistic that the long-running case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will deliver a positive result for the blockchain-based global payments company. Speaking on the main stage at Paris Blockchain Week on Thursday, Garlinghouse told attendees of the fireside chat that Ripple’s defense in the ongoing case was
An executive at Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the government to conduct cross-border settlements in cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Chamber president Sergei Katyrin sent a letter to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, providing a set of proposals for developing cooperation with African countries, the local state-backed publication TASS
A virtual, Cyprus-registered casino Sand Vegas Casino Club faced an emergency cease and desist order from Texas and Alabama state securities regulators. The company is ordered to “stop a fraudulent investment scheme tied to metaverses”. On April 13, the Texas State Securities Board reported issuing the order, accusing Sand Vegas Casino Club, Martin Schwarzberger and
The China Banking Association, the China Internet Finance Association and the Securities Association of China issued a joint statement warning the public about the “hidden risks” of investing in nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. In a Wednesday notice, the three associations launched initiatives aimed at encouraging innovation in the crypto and blockchain space focused on NFTs
The bill regulating the cryptocurrency market in Brazil is expected to be approved by the National Congress in the first half of this year, according to Cointelegraph Brazil. The legislation, which has been debated in the Chamber of Deputies since 2015, has been approved in the first round of consideration. The Senate has attached it
Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum (ETH) developer has been sentenced to 63 months in prison and will pay a fine of $100,000 for attending a conference and assisting North Korea use blockchain technology in contravention of economic sanctions imposed by the United States. On Tuesday, April 12, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern
The Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, released a paper Tuesday on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and how they can be used to meet policy goals for financial inclusion. The paper drew on interviews conducted in the second half of last year at nine central banks that are currently exploring retail CBDCs. It
Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith took a plea deal after breaking sanctions against North Korea and was formally sentenced earlier today— the final chapter in a two-year journey as bizarre as it is shocking. Journalist Ethan Lou, author of Once a Bitcoin Miner, attended the infamous event in North Korea at which Griffith spoke. He was
Fresh data on Indian crypto exchanges’ trading volume reveals a significant decline in trading practices among Indians just ten days after the tax rule implementation. India’s new 30% crypto tax rule came into effect on April 1, despite many stakeholders and exchange operators warning against its ill effects. A research data report shared by Indian
While the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has yet to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, a recent Nasdaq survey suggested that the offering could lead to greater adoption of crypto among financial advisers. According to the results of a Nasdaq survey released on Monday, 72% of 500 financial advisers would be more
Payments giant Mastercard has filed 15 nonfungible token (NFT) and metaverse trademark applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO. Highlights of the filings include plans for a virtual community for interacting with digital assets, processing of payment cards in the metaverse, an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of downloadable digital
The largest US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has stopped payment services through United Payments Interface (UPI) on its platform for Indian users just three days after its launch in the South Asian subcontinent. The UPI is the payment portal governed by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), which facilitates buy orders on Coinbase’s India services.
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume, received in-principle approval to operate in Abu Dhabi, marking its third regulatory approval in the Middle Eastern region after Bahrain and Dubai. The in-principle approval from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) allows Binance to operate as a broker-dealer in digital assets including cryptocurrencies