Tagged: virtual currencies

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 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

February 13, 2021 @ 7:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The World Wide Public Sector (at Amazon) team is reportedly looking to recruit an experienced Principal Technical Program Manager (TPM) – Digital Currency to serve as the technology “enabler” for “innovating” their customer solutions in support of their goal of promoting economic development and inclusion,… Read More

February 3, 2021 @ 7:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Existing virtual currencies are unlikely to last, according to Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey. Decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) or Bitcoin Cash (BCH) don’t have the appropriate structure to work as a viable long-term payments method, according to Bank of England (BoE) governor Andrew… Read More

January 29, 2021 @ 9:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reportedly reviewed and approved the applicable guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP) and other entities that facilitate financial services by using VASPs (also referred to as cryptocurrencies). The new guidelines have updated the… Read More

January 28, 2021 @ 11:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has reportedly registered many new trademarks with the Swiss Federal Patent Office. This, according to a report from Handelszeitung, which mentioned that  these include the “e-franc” and the “digital Swiss franc.” The SNB has also confirmed this particular report. The… Read More

January 28, 2021 @ 8:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Although not very many technical details of China’s plans for its central bank digital currency (CBDC) have been shared publicly, the virtual yuan is raising privacy concerns and may lead to potential national security issues and problems related to political power. The Digital Currency/Electronic Payment… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 8:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Institutional investors have been gaining more exposure to alternative assets such as Bitcoin — particularly large hedge funds. These clients are now willing to aggressively promote or defend Bitcoin’s (BTC) unpredictable and wild price fluctuations. Large publicly listed firms such as MicroStrategy believe or claim… Read More

January 26, 2021 @ 9:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace notes that during her confirmation hearing on January 19, Dr. Janet Yellen, US President Joe Biden’s pick for Secretary of the Treasury, had said that “many” virtual currencies remain “a particular concern” when it comes to terrorism and criminal financing (and… Read More

January 22, 2021 @ 3:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tal Elyashiv, Founder and Managing Partner at SPiCE VC, which claims to be the first fully compliant (regulation wise) tokenized venture capital fund, notes that today, we’re at the beginning of what might be the greatest transformational period in modern history. Elyashiv writes in an… Read More

January 20, 2021 @ 6:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis notes that 2020 was an “incredible” year for Bitcoin (BTC) and the larger cryptocurrency market. Despite the devastation and socioeconomic problems resulting from the global Covid-19 pandemic, Bitcoin, the flagship digital currency, managed to shatter its previous all-time highs. The Bitcoin… Read More

January 9, 2021 @ 12:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace recently explained and discussed the differences between virtual asset service providers (VASPs), money service businesses (MSB), money transmitters, digital asset customers, and how they impact crypto-related compliance measures. CipherTrace noted that cryptocurrency, digital assets, convertible virtual currency, and other terms seem… Read More

January 7, 2021 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Payments company Square‘s (NYSE:SQ) Jack Dorsey has expressed concerns regarding recently proposed Bitcoin (BTC) related regulations. The bitcoin regulations proposed by FinCEN give few useful powers to regulators, greatly roll back economic freedoms while pointlessly surveilling law-abiding people, and create databases of info about who… Read More

January 4, 2021 @ 7:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital currency exchange Bittrex has announced that Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), and Dash (DASH) cryptocurrency markets will be “removed on Friday, January 15th at 23:00 UTC.” The Bittrex team confirmed that the following markets will be removed on January 15, 2021: BTC-XMR, ETH-XMR, USDT-XMR BTC-ZEC,… Read More

December 24, 2020 @ 4:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This past Friday, the US Department of the Treasury published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to the Federal Register that may require financial institutions and cryptocurrency-related firms to submit updated reports, maintain records, and accurately verify the identity of customers in relation to transfers… Read More

December 23, 2020 @ 6:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Samuel Westrich, Head of Mobile Team at Dash Core Group, an organization focused on the development of Dash (DASH), a widely-adopted digital currency platform and ecosystem, reveals that he’s been active in Dash’s ongoing development since 2015. Westrich notes that his team is getting closer… Read More

December 22, 2020 @ 8:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On December 19, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a 72-page notice of proposed or suggested rulemaking, titled “Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets,” which could impose new and “onerous” reporting and recordkeeping requirements for virtual currency transactions,… Read More

December 21, 2020 @ 10:10 pm 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 during the past few years we’ve seen countries like Switzerland, Singapore, and the Netherlands adopt a technology-focused approach to regulating… Read More

December 19, 2020 @ 12:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On December 18, 2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published a proposed rule change for digital currency transactions with “unhosted” wallets. Under the newly proposed change, banking institutions, and money services businesses (MSBs) may be required to verify customers’ identities and turn in reports… Read More

December 13, 2020 @ 8:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued “Three Wise Warnings” for the nation’s consumers. The financial regulator has cautioned that customers should look out for loan fee fraud this Christmas or holiday season. The FCA notes that if you’ve been asked to pay some… Read More