Tagged: virtual currencies

April 18, 2021 @ 12:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The craze around virtual tokens recently led to DogeCoin or DOGE (had started off as a joke coin and still to a great extent) putting Robinhood Markets‘ trading system under great pressure due to excessive activity. Robinhood‘s management confirmed: “On Friday morning, we saw a… Read More

April 17, 2021 @ 11:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On April 15, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 16 individuals and 16 entities for “attempting to undermine and influence the 2020 US presidential election,” blockchain security firm CipherTrace noted in a blog post. CipherTrace also mentioned… Read More

April 15, 2021 @ 10:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently caught up with Kris Vaivods, CEO at Vorto Gaming, a blockchain startup planning to carry out an initial public offering (IPO) on the Swedish stock exchange later this year. Kris is the Founder of the Vorto Games subsidiary vz games and is part… Read More

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 7, 2021 @ 3:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gurvais Grigg recently revealed why he joined blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis as its Global Public Sector CTO after working for over two decades at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), most recently as Assistant Director of the FBI Laboratory. In his new role, Grigg will… 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 @ 11:53 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, a provider of tools for Crypto AML, Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Cybersecurity, has revealed they’ve entered into a contract to create a ‘Virtual Asset AML’ solution for the Coin&Coin exchange that “complies with the amendment of the Special Money Act in South… 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 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 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 9, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Indian government may not completely ban (or attempt to) the use of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). During a recent interview (conducted on March 5, 2021), India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that she intends to support innovative crypto initiatives. #CNBCTV18IBLA… Read More