Tagged: digital currencies

April 13, 2021 @ 4:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) is reportedly preventing its clients from purchasing shares of MicroStrategy (NASD:MSTR), a company that has been actively acquiring Bitcoin (BTC) as part of its efforts to increase the value of its corporate treasury. HSBC stated that it would not be facilitating the… Read More

April 6, 2021 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A federal court in the District of Massachusetts recently entered an order that authorizes the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to serve a John Doe summons on Circle Internet Financial Inc., “or its predecessors, subsidiaries, divisions, and affiliates, including Poloniex LLC.” According to a release,… Read More

April 5, 2021 @ 9:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) revealed on Monday (April 5, 2021) that it has officially started Phase 1 of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilots and related experiments. The initial phase of testing will mainly focus on assessing the basic functions of CBDCs as… Read More

April 1, 2021 @ 9:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Nets Group, a European payment services provider, along with with Salamantex, an Austrian developer of software solutions for cryptocurrency payments, have announced that they’re bringing acceptance of virtual currencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Etherereum (ETH) and XRP to in-store points-of-sale in Austria. The partnership between Nets… Read More

March 29, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Federal Reserve’s Digital Dollar initiative may be of concern to Wall Street, according to a report from Bloomberg. The financial services sector may have to prepare for what might be its most significant disruption during the past few decades, according to the report…. Read More

March 27, 2021 @ 5:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Local sources in India have commented on why the government may want residents to disclose their digital currency holdings. Industry professionals in the country have pointed out that the Indian corporate affairs ministry could be looking for disclosures from firms in order to get a… Read More

March 26, 2021 @ 2:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently caught up with Len Covello, CTO at Engage People, a global loyalty tech company. Covello explained how loyalty points are an often-overlooked alternative payment option. Covello talked about how the demand for having the flexibility to pay with points as easy as credit… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s officials have addressed concerns that the digital yuan may be violating or infringing on user privacy. They’ve looked into questions related to “controllable anonymity” as well. STCN reports that on March 20, 2021, Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell has cautioned that transacting in digital currencies such as Bitcoin can pose significant risks due to the high volatility nature of these new assets. Powell noted that virtual currencies remain highly volatile. He pointed out that Bitcoin may not… Read More

March 21, 2021 @ 11:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace has provided an analysis on the proposed Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance for digital assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). On March 19, 2021, global anti-money laundering watchdog, the FATF, released a public consultation for its latest Draft Guidance… Read More

March 21, 2021 @ 2:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Researchers at Deutsche Bank (XETRA: DBKGn.DB /NYSE: DB) have published an update, titled The Future of Payments in which they look into whether Bitcoin (BTC) may offer any value to the financial system. The bank’s research team points out that Bitcoin or BTC’s market capitalization… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 7:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Notabene has teamed up with blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to bring a “scalable” Travel Rule solution to cryptocurrency-focused businesses. Crypto-related businesses are working consistently to meet updated regulatory guidelines involving counterparty risk. According to a blog post by Chainalysis, the most notable of these requirements… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Peter Van Valkenburgh, the Director of Research at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that his organization will be using the additional time provided by FinCEN to submit another comment in “ongoing surveillance rulemaking.” Coin… Read More

March 17, 2021 @ 10:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has confirmed that it is getting ready to work on a national virtual currency. Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the 138-year-old institution, stated that the BoJ, the nation’s reserve bank, would begin “preparing thoroughly” for a future that may include a… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 5:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Despite a few weeks’ break from their regulatory assessments, the BitOoda team says it has been regularly monitoring the crypto industry and engaging in the ongoing advancement of the US regulatory landscape. BitOoda notes that the recent developments they’ve followed are: New York Attorney General… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 12:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace notes that its Traveler product has been developed to assist virtual asset service providers or VASPs with adhering to the international “Travel Rule” regulations by securely sharing digital currency transaction details with other “vetted” VASPs. CipherTrace explains that its tools are… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 3:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

BitPay is welcoming Dogecoin (DOGE) to its list of supported digital currencies. This new addition is now being supported via the BitPay Wallet app and at all of BitPay’s enabled merchant locations. The Shiba-Inu based crypto-asset Dogecoin has become quite popular, especially with billionaire Elon… Read More

March 2, 2021 @ 7:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On January 27, 2021, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed that there had been a significant disruption of the NetWalker ransomware strain. FBI agents assigned to the case had taken down a website NetWalker attackers had allegedly used to communicate with the unsuspecting victims…. Read More

February 26, 2021 @ 4:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The research team at McGill is reportedly collaborating on the potential design for the new Bank of Canada digital currency. Professors Katrin Tinn and Christophe Dubach have jointly proposed a new design for a “cash-like” central bank digital currency or CBDC which will aim to… Read More

February 17, 2021 @ 1:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase says it’s focused on helping its customers during tax season (in the United States) Lawrence Zlatkin, Vice President, Tax, Coinbase, notes that for the second consecutive year, taxpayers will be asked on their tax return forms questions regarding digital currencies…. Read More