Riccardo Spagni, the former Monero lead maintainer who was recently arrested for charges unrelated to the privacy token, has reported that US officials have released him from custody. CryptoPotato reported in early August when Spagni was arrested for alleged fraud committed between 2009 and 2011. The reports indicated that his crimes had nothing to do...Read More
As regulatory pressure mounts in the U.S., policymakers are putting stablecoins at the top of their agendas. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg has reported that officials are crafting a policy framework set to be released in the coming weeks. Their primary concern is ensuring that investors can reliably move money in and out...Read More
Several US state regulators have gone after the popular cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network for failing to comply with local securities laws. The project’s CEO was quick to refute the allegations, promising that all protocol services will remain unaffected for now. US State Regulators After Celsius United States watchdogs have intensified their actions against the cryptocurrency...Read More
Coinbase and the U.S. Homeland Security have struck a million-dollar deal to allow the U.S. government to use the exchange’s services to analyze American citizens’ data. According to official documents, The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – a branch of the U.S. Homeland Security Dept. dedicated to cross-border crime and illegal immigration – paid Coinbase...Read More
With his approval ratings battered by several failures in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, Joe Biden is turning his attention to massive infrastructure spending and expanding the government’s programs to provide a social safety net for Americans who are struggling. Biden Proposes Tax Hikes to Boost Washington’s Budget If passed, Biden’s tax plan would raise the...Read More
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues with its efforts to clamp down on illegal initial coin offerings. This trend started a couple of years back when ICOs were at their prime but has steadily escalated in 2020 and 2021. SEC Charges Rivetz Corp CEO for $18 Million According to an official litigation...Read More
This week saw Bitcoin’s price surging past $50,000 on a few occasions, while altcoins have been charting double-digit gains all along. Let’s start with BTC. The primary cryptocurrency is up about 7% over the past seven days, and it’s currently sitting above the coveted $50K mark. However, it took it a few attempts to go...Read More
The authorities in Texas sentenced the CEO of AriseBank – Jared Rice, Sr. – to spend the next five years in federal prison. Apart from the jail time, the criminal would have to restore approximately $4,250,000, which he embezzled from investors throughout his cryptocurrency-related schemes. Justice at Last According to a recent press release from...Read More
With the gargantuan $1 trillion U.S. infrastructure bill in parliamentary limbo, the fate of the crypto tax proposal tacked onto it remains in question. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency industry is getting organized with a new sense of urgency to lobby and campaign. The Senate has passed the trillion-dollar bipartisan infrastructure package without an amendment hoped for...Read More
According to a recent research, US cryptocurrency investors have allocated on average $1,707 in such assets. 37% of them admitted they would not touch these funds even if they must cover a necessary bill or an important payment. Somewhat expectedly, the celebrity who influences most of the respondents’ crypto-related decisions is Elon Musk. Many Americans...Read More
The owner of Bitcoin mixer Helix and resident of Ohio, Larry Dean Harmon, pleaded guilty to a one-count conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Previously, US prosecutors alleged that the Bitcoin mixer laundered over $300 million. Bitcoin Mixer Operator Pleads Guilty Harmon pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of Colombia on...Read More
The Mayor of Cool Valley, a city in Missouri, is planning to distribute bitcoin worth up to $1,000 to the inhabitants. However, there is a condition attached to such a plan. Five-Year HODL Condition According to a report by local news outlet KSDK on Thursday (August 19, 2021), Jayson Stewart has revealed intentions to give...Read More
In his second crypto-focused endeavor in the private sector, Former SEC chairman Jay Clayton will be joining a $2 billion crypto-custodian based in Israel, known as “Fireblocks.” Why Clayton Joined Fireblocks Fireblocks was launched in 2019 and has seen impressive growth since, having already acted as custodian for over $1 trillion in assets and scaled...Read More
A few months after dabbling with the idea of getting on the cryptocurrency bandwagon, Wells Fargo has filed documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a designated Bitcoin fund. According to the filing with the Commission, the US financial institution has partnered with FS Investments and New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG)...Read More
Columbia Investment Management Company’s (IMC) co. president and CEO Kim Lew sees crypto as more than just a fad, saying that the industry is “clearly here to stay.” What Role Will Crypto Play? In an interview with Bloomberg Wealth, Lew gives her take on the investment potential of cryptocurrency and the many possible directions in...Read More
The use of cryptocurrencies as means of payment that circumvent the traditional financial system is proving increasingly popular among minority groups in the United States. According to data from Harris Poll shared by USA Today, 1 in 4 people who identify as LGBTQ have invested in cryptocurrencies. This is almost twice the proportion compared to...Read More
The US State Department (DOS) is trying to halt cybercrime in the country with a new initiative for the Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program. Consequently, it will offer up to $10 million in cryptocurrencies to anyone who can provide information leading to the identification of state-backed hackers. DOS Targeting Black Hat Attendants Last week, hackers...Read More
The battle to determine which will be the position of regulators towards the crypto industry is heating up in the United States. While some big-name politicians claim that the state has a duty to protect its citizens from the risks of an under-regulated industry, others equally influential claim that excessive regulation is driving investors away....Read More
After a 10-month long regulatory battle with United States financial watchdogs, leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX has agreed to settle and will pay a fine worth millions of dollars. As confirmed by the exchange today, BitMEX has reached a $100 million resolution with the two U.S. regulators – the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and...Read More
Charles Hoskinson, Cardano’s founder and CEO of blockchain research company Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK), has urged the U.S. crypto community to rally against the recently proposed taxation policy. Hoskinson first took it to Twitter earlier this week, calling on digital asset proponents in the U.S. to rally in Washington DC to vent their grievances...Read More
Key senators have reached an agreement on IRS reporting rules for cryptocurrencies, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) announced in a tweet Monday. The industry and regulators await further details, but it looks like lawmakers have found clarification on who is and isn’t a broker in the blockchain business. Sen. Portman said in a tweet early...Read More
The controversy surrounding the cryptocurrency taxation bill that might be passed in the United States has evoked a mixed reaction from crypto proponents. While the debate is still ongoing, Jack Dorsey, a popular Bitcoin advocate and CEO of the popular microblogging platform, Twitter, has recently shared his views on the matter. In a series of...Read More
The crypto community continues to rally the troops just hours ahead of the crucial vote on digital asset taxation from US Congress. This time, they have received support from one of the most influential people today – Elon Musk. CryptoPotato reported yesterday the controversy that arose from US authorities in regards to the country’s attempt...Read More
With new regulation and taxation on the cryptocurrency industry coming from the U.S., the situation just took another turn as President Joe Biden openly supported the highly unfavorable amendment proposed earlier by Senators Mark Warner and Rob Portman. Biden’s backing seems to target proof-of-stake assets, while mining appears untouched. Sitrep: Taxation and Regulation on Crypto...Read More
During an interview with Bloomberg, Gensler admitted that he is intrigued by the cryptocurrency space, but that wouldn’t deter him from protecting US investors via enhanced regulations on the market. Being deeply familiar with the blockchain space, as he taught DLT classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gensler was expected to have a...Read More
Though the Justice Department declined to comment for the article, Bloomberg was able to report last week that the DOJ is investigating U.S. banks and the backers of popular stablecoin USDT. There is some ongoing speculation about how this might affect bitcoin’s price. What’s Supposedly Going on With Tether and the DOJ? The Justice Department...Read More
After weeks of prolonged consolidation and choppy sideways action in a very squeezed and narrow range, Bitcoin finally broke out. Fortunately, it was to the upside. Over the past week, BTC is up by a considerable 20%. At the time of this writing, it’s trading at around $39K, having pulled back slightly from the psychological...Read More
In an effort to drive crypto adoption in the United States, Dash, an open source cryptocurrency forked from the Bitcoin protocol, has recently launched a retail savings app dubbed DashDirect. Dash Launches DashDirect Savings App In its official announcement today, Dash revealed that the new app will allow DASH holders to spend their coins at...Read More
Tesla, Elon Musk’s electric car manufacturer, released its quarterly earnings results, reporting more than $1 billion in profits for the first time since its launch. It’s not all fun and games, though. To the delight of Elon’s crypto Twitter fans-turned-haters, Tesla’s investment in Bitcoin made it $23 million in losses after the markets crashed during...Read More
Tether executives are reportedly facing a probe from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), as prosecutors are looking into the company’s past activities with its banking partners. According to Bloomberg on Monday (July 26, 2021), the information came from three anonymous sources familiar with the matter. The DOJ is investigating whether banks were aware of...Read More
