June 12, 2019 @ 10:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

US based cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has announced that it’s Coinbase (Visa) Card will become available in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, and the Netherlands this week following a successful launch of the card in the UK in April. According to CNBC, the card will… Read More

June 12, 2019 @ 5:06 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Last weekend in Japan, G20 Finance Ministers “…reaffirm(ed)” their support of incoming “amended” FATF Standards requiring strict KYC/AML compliance in the cryptocurrency sector. The rules are expected to impact cryptocurrency exchanges, crypto wallet providers, custodians, hedge funds and brokers. G20 ministers also stated that they… Read More

June 12, 2019 @ 2:33 am By Cali Haan  |  

A former Senior Software Engineer at Zerocoin Electric Coin Company, the company behind “privacy coin” cryptocurrency ZCash, is suing his former employer for $2 million USD plus costs. Plaintiff Simon Liu alleges in court documents that Zerocoin failed to ever turn over 15 000 Zerocoin… Read More

June 12, 2019 @ 1:27 am By Cali Haan  |  

A user of the Reddit forum r/Bitcoin posted a video last week showing British pounds shooting out of a Bitcoin ATM located near London’s Bond Street train station. The video shows a security guard trying to keep nervous spectators away from a cash-filled duffle placed… Read More

June 11, 2019 @ 10:11 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The boutique in the church basement and the collection basket will soon get their own private crypto network to compete for the hearts and minds of faithful millennial where apps like Venmo have failed them. Rick Santorum, two-time Republican presidential candidate, “Grateful husband, blessed dad… Read More

June 11, 2019 @ 5:43 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Philippine Central Bank (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP) personnel urged caution regarding the use of cryptocurrencies this week and promised to continue to address the risks posed by them, The Philippine Star reports. Governor Benjamin Diokno said he is wary of cryptocurrencies given that they… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 11:15 pm By Cali Haan  |  

160 Bitcoins stolen in a massive hack on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange in 2016 started moving across the blockchain late last week after being dormant for more than 2 years, Hard Fork reports. The cryptocurrency is part of a stash of 744 408 Bitcoins taken… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 9:40 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Iran Deputy Energy Minister Homayoun Haeri told an audience in Tehran over the weekend that cryptocurrency miners in his country should have to pay the same rates for power as firms purchasing electricity exports, Iranian news site Financial Tribune reports. So far, Iran has had a… Read More

June 10, 2019 @ 2:57 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Finance Ministers from the world’s 20 most powerful economies have “…reaffirm(ed) (their) commitment to applying the recently amended FATF Standards to virtual assets and related providers for AML (anti-money laundering) and CFT (anti-terrorist finance),” in a communique issued from a meeting they held this weekend… Read More

June 8, 2019 @ 8:45 am By Cali Haan  |  

Details emerging about a proposed bill to ban cryptocurrencies indicate that things have gone from bad to worse for the cryptocurrency sector in India. According to Bloomberg Quint, if passed, new proposed legislation to cover the crypto sector will impose 10-year sentences on individuals possessing,… Read More

June 8, 2019 @ 8:38 am By Cali Haan  |  

Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft, Russia’s state oil company and reported second-in-command to Russian President Vladimir Putin, told colleagues in St Petersburg this week that the creation of a “Facebook  Global Coin” cryptocurrency could signal American tech companies’ ominous intention to start moving into oil… Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 3:41 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Lawyers for Dutch billionaire and media tycoon John De Mol filed a lawsuit against Facebook this week claiming the platform allowed his image to be used without permission to promote cryptocurrencies, Reuters reports. De Mol’s lawyers also claimed that, even after Facebook was informed of the… Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 6:54 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police in Vancouver have reportedly called Bitcoin ATMs “an ideal money-laundering vehicle” and have asked for federal legislation, and the mayor of Vancouver, the first city in the world to host a Bitcoin ATM, has now floated the idea of a ban, The Star reports…. Read More

June 7, 2019 @ 1:46 am By Cali Haan  |  

Leaders from the 20 most powerful economies in the world may discuss creating a global regulatory framework for “crypto assets” at their forthcoming meeting in Osaka in June (G20 2019 Japan), and “Virtual Asset Service Providers” (VASPSs) are holding their own concurrent meeting (V20), “…to deliver… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 11:36 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Tax officials from Australia, the US, Britain, the Netherlands, and Canada have formed a “J5” collaborative group now investigating 60 “lines of inquiry” regarding international tax evasion using cryptocurrencies, The Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reports. “The J5 was formed a year ago because of growing concern… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 10:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Following the forced closure last week of Bestmixer.io, another cryptocurrency mixing service, Bitcoin Blender, has voluntarily left the fray, Bleeping Computer reports. The service reportedly shut down quickly this week after posting a short announcement on its Tor-hosted website ordering customers to withdraw their funds…. Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 7:21 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The SEC has voted to implement a new rule compelling securities broker-dealers to act in clients’ best interests. SEC Chairperson Jay Clayton spoke about the new rule, as well as the SEC’s treatment of cryptocurrencies, in a televised interview for CNBC’s Squawk Box program June 6th. … Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 4:18 pm By Cali Haan  |  

In its latest “country-specific recommendations,” the EU has advised officials in Malta to enhance oversight of the country’s booming cryptocurrency and gaming sectors, to boost rules and address understaffing in the country’s Economic Crimes Unit, and to act against “aggressive tax planning” (evasion) executed by individuals… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 10:37 am By Cali Haan  |  

Jihan Wu, departed CEO and co-founder of the world’s largest crypto-mining hardware producer, Bitmain, will launch an OTC cryptocurrency custody and trading desk called Matrix within a month, sources to  The Block report. The unnamed commenters also believe the exchange will have a tremendous advantage in… Read More

June 6, 2019 @ 1:24 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered Bank Leumi to restore services to cryptocurrency exchange platform Bits of Gold, according to a blog post. Bank Leumi had been previously ordered to restore banking to Bits of Gold last February, but that order was only temporary and Bank… Read More