Coin Bureau Insider

2022-09-25 17:20:51 Hey Guys,

As you know, the SEC is cryptocurrency's most feared regulator. This is primarily because of SEC chairman Gary Gensler who is ruthlessly anti-crypto and has been cracking down on crypto projects and companies since he secured his throne last spring.

Well, Gary recently testified in front of US politicians for the second time, and it doesn't look like they were very happy with him. Besides the SEC's attitude to crypto, climate disclosures have many lawmakers concerned about the effects the SEC could have on the economy.

It's safe to say that the next few years are going to be tense. Until Gary is out I expect to see lots more crypto crackdowns, and it really looks like the SEC is just getting started. The question is how much they can get away with given the pushback from politicians.

I suppose you'll have to watch until the end to find out! Open / Comment

2022-09-25 13:30:45 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (25/09/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

California Gov. Newsom Vetoes Crypto Oversight Bill

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a crypto oversight bill that would require crypto financial-service businesses to get a special license to operate. He called the bill premature and costly.

The bill was called the ‘Digital Financial Assets Law’ and was sponsored by Democrat Assemblyman Tim Grayson. Before reaching Newsom, the bill had passed in the state senate and assembly late last month.

Newsom stated,

“It is premature to lock a licensing structure in statute without considering both this work and forthcoming federal actions. A more flexible approach is needed to ensure regulatory oversight can keep up with rapidly evolving technology and use cases and is tailored with the proper tools to address trends and mitigate consumer harm.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-24/newsom-vetoes-premature-crypto-oversight-bill-for-california

Tether's USDT Stablecoin Goes Live on Polkadot

According to an announcement by stablecoin issuer Tether on Friday, the firm’s USDT stablecoin is now natively available on Polkadot.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Tether, stated

“We’re delighted to launch USDT on Polkadot, offering its community access to the most liquid, stable, and trusted stablecoin in the digital token space. Polkadot is on a trajectory of growth and evolution this year and we believe Tether's addition will be essential in helping it continue to thrive.

https://www.theblock.co/post/172633/tethers-usdt-stablecoin-goes-live-on-polkadot

MEVbots Backdoor Drains Users’ Ethereum Funds Via Arbitrage Trading Bot

An investigation by blockchain security firm Peckshield into Ethereum arbitrage trading bot MEV gain reveals that the trading bot has been actively draining its users’ funds via a fund-stealing backdoor. The investigation further revealed that at least six users have fallen victim to the attack. The trading bot’s primary promoter ‘chemzyeth’ has also deleted all traces of themselves from the internet.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/mevbots-backdoor-drains-users-ethereum-funds-via-arbitrage-trading-bot

Disney Hiring Transaction Lawyer For 'Aggressive' NFT And Defi Plans

According to a job posting by The Walt Disney Company on LinkedIn, the media conglomerate is looking to hire a transaction lawyer to explore emerging technology opportunities such as NFTs and is reportedly working at an "accelerated and aggressive timeline.” Just recently at the D23 Expo fan convention, Disney CEO Bob Chapek announced that the company was exploring and developing plans for the metaverse. The company had also recently chosen layer 2 scaling solution Polygon for its accelerator program this year.

https://www.theblock.co/post/172654/disney-hiring-transaction-lawyer-for-aggressive-nft-and-defi-plans-linkedin-post Open / Comment

2022-09-24 16:48:48

Open / Comment

2022-09-24 16:48:40 Hey Guys,

I'm sure you've all heard about the White House's crypto framework by now, but I bet only a few of you have read it!

Luckily you have me to break it down for you and explain exactly what it means for the crypto market. In short, it's not good.

Not to play politics, but it seems that the current administration is extremely anti-crypto. This was evident in the part of the framework where they basically say all cryptocurrencies should be banned because they're pseudonymous and allow peer to peer transactions.

There was also no shortage of loaded terms such as 'responsible innovation' and 'common sense efficiency' in the context of crypto mining. Obviously the adjectives in these terms are up for interpretation, and I reckon that's the entire purpose of them.

This just scratches the the surface of all the crazy stuff in this fact sheet. Be sure to watch until the end so that you're informed! Open / Comment

2022-09-24 13:43:06 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (24/09/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Tezos Activates Kathmandu Protocol Upgrade on Its Mainnet

Yesterday, Layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain Tezos successfully activated an upgrade called Kathmandu at 4:30 p.m. ET. This is the 11th upgrade to the blockchain and has added potential supporting capabilities for off-chain computation via Layer 2 solutions like optimistic roll-ups and a streamlined block validation process. The upgrade also introduced a permanent testnet for experimenting with new features.

https://www.theblock.co/post/172590/tezos-activates-kathmandu-protocol-upgrade-on-its-mainnet

Crypto Exchange Coinbase Sued Over Patent Infringement

Crypto exchange Coinbase has been sued by Veritaseum Capital on claims that Coinbase has infringed on a patent it holds in its blockchain infrastructure services. The lawsuit filed in the Delaware federal court demands that an order prohibiting Coinbase from further infringing on the patent be issued along with providing "at least" $350 million in damages.

https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/09/23/crypto-exchange-coinbase-sued-over-patent-infringement/

Coinsquare Acquires Publicly Traded Crypto Exchange Coinsmart

On Thursday, Canadian crypto exchange Coinsquare signed a deal to purchase fellow Canadian exchange CoinSmart for a combination of cash and stock at an undisclosed amount. Once the deal becomes final, CoinSmart will hold a roughly 12% ownership stake in Coinsquare on a pro-forma basis.

CoinSmart CEO Justin Hartzman stated,

“With a diversified product suite, exceptional crypto talent, and one of the largest user bases in Canada, the combined company will be well-positioned to pursue its aggressive expansion plans. While the crypto market is in the building phase of its life cycle, this transaction will provide the torque needed to be in a favourable position entering the next bull run."

https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinsquare-acquires-publicly-traded-crypto-exchange-coinsmart

Binance Hires Compliance Chief from Crypto Rival Kraken

Crypto exchange giant Binance has reportedly hired Kraken’s former chief of compliance Steven Christie as the senior vice president of compliance to lead its global compliance team. Christie has been a part of the crypto industry since 2015 and has previously served as the compliance chief at bitcoin custodian Xapo Bank before working with Kraken.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/binance-hires-compliance-chief-from-crypto-rival-kraken-11663925403 Open / Comment

2022-09-23 13:49:23 UK Govt Introduces Law to Seize, Freeze and Recover Crypto

As part of a broader crackdown on money laundering, the UK govt has introduced a new anti-money laundering bill that will make it easier for law enforcement agencies to seize, freeze and recover crypto assets when used for criminal activities. The bill is titled ‘Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency bill.’

Graeme Biggar, director general of the National Crime Agency, stated,

"Domestic and international criminals have for years laundered the proceeds of their crime and corruption by abusing U.K. company structures, and are increasingly using cryptocurrencies. These reforms – long-awaited and much welcomed – will help us crack down on both."

The bill has already had its first reading in the House of Commons on Thursday and is scheduled for a second reading on Oct. 13.

https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2022/09/22/uk-introduces-law-to-seize-freeze-and-recover-crypto/ Open / Comment

2022-09-23 13:49:22 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (23/09/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Cardano Blockchain’s Vasil Upgrade Goes Live

After a three-month delay, Cardano’s Vasil hard fork has finally gone live as of Thursday at 9:44 pm UTC. The upgrade process will last five days and will enable increased network capacity, higher throughput, and lower transaction costs on the peer-reviewed, proof-of-stake blockchain platform.

According to Frederik Gregaard, CEO of the Cardano Foundation,

"Vasil will enhance Cardano's smart contract capabilities through Plutus V2, which adds greater efficiency to an already powerful smart contract platform. Ultimately, it will reduce script execution costs and transaction size, plus improve throughput."

https://decrypt.co/110356/cardano-blockchain-moves-forward-with-vasil-upgrade

IRS Wins Order for SFOX Customer Data in Crypto Tax Push

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been given the authority to summon M.Y. Safra Bank via a so-called "John Doe" summons, which enables the tax authority to gather information on customers of the bank's partner SFOX, a crypto prime dealer. This is the latest in a series of such summons issued to crypto companies like Kraken, Circle and Coinbase.

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig stated,

“The government’s ability to obtain third-party information on those failing to report their gains from digital assets remains a critical tool in catching tax cheats.”

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-22/irs-wins-order-for-sfox-customer-data-in-cryptocurrency-tax-push

Coinbase Counters WSJ Claim Its Risk Solutions Group Engaged In $100M Proprietary Trade

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that claims Coinbase hired traders to engage in proprietary trading (i.e., trading with the company’s own funds) and staking of crypto with the goal of making a profit. According to the report, Coinbase recently conducted a $100 million test trade for its proprietary trading operation.

Coinbase published a blog post responding to these claims on Thursday. It states,

“Unlike many of our competitors, Coinbase does not operate a proprietary trading business or act as a market maker. In fact, one of the competitive strengths of our Institutional Prime platform is our agency only trading model, where we act only on behalf of our clients. As a result, our incentives and our clients’ incentives are aligned by design.”

https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-counters-wsj-claim-its-risk-solutions-group-engaged-in-100m-proprietary-trade

CFTC Files the First Lawsuit Against a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation

For the first time ever, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a lawsuit against a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), including the holders of governance tokens. The DAO in question is the ‘Ooki DAO’ by decentralised trading platform bZeroX and its members have been charged with digital asset trading violations.

The case against the DAO is a result of a prior lawsuit against the founders of bZeroX- Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner, for their role in “illegally offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets.” While that lawsuit has been settled, the CFTC filed a complaint against the DAO stating,

"A key bZeroX objective in transferring control of the bZx Protocol (now the Ooki Protocol) to the bZx DAO (now the Ooki DAO) was to attempt to render the bZx DAO, by its decentralised nature, enforcement-proof. Put simply, the bZx founders believed they had identified a way to violate the Act and Regulations, as well as other laws, without consequence."

The complaint goes on to state that the founders were wrong in their assumption and claim that during the relevant period multiple Ooki DAO members have “resided in the United States and have conducted Ooki DAO business from within the United States."

https://www.theblock.co/post/172274/cftc-files-lawsuit-against-decentralized-autonomous-organization Open / Comment

2022-09-07 20:06:07 Hey Guys,

If all goes according to plan, Ethereum should complete the merge next week!

There is a lot of nervous excitement in the air. But, what's super important right now is to make sure that you are fully prepared.

I have a short clips video for you that gives you a the ultimate checklist - are you ready!?



Open / Comment

2022-09-07 12:57:15 https://cointelegraph.com/news/circle-co-founder-says-converged-dollar-books-on-binance-would-be-good-for-usdc

Coinbase’s Governance Proposal Could Increase MakerDAO’s Revenue By $24M

On the MakerDAO governance forum today, Coinbase posted a proposal that seeks to move 33% of Maker's $1.6 billion Peg Stability Module (PSM) into a Coinbase Prime custody account. If passed, the proposal would boost Maker’s revenue by almost $24 million, due to the 1.5% annual percentage yield on the $528 million USDC in the Coinbase Prime custody account.

Additionally, the proposal will enable Maker to enjoy zero custody fees on its PSM allocation to Coinbase. Maker will also be able to freely mint, burn, withdraw and settle its allocated USDC almost instantaneously through Coinbase Prime.

https://www.theblock.co/post/168197/coinbase-releases-governance-proposal-that-could-increase-makerdaos-revenue-by-24-million Open / Comment

2022-09-07 12:57:14 COIN BUREAU NEWSFLASH! – (07/09/22)
Here are some of today’s most important headlines:

Ethereum Devs Dismiss Early Hiccups as Bellatrix Upgrade Kicks Off the Merge

On Tuesday, Ethereum developers successfully completed the Bellatrix Upgrade at epoch 144896 on the Beacon Chain. The Bellatrix upgrade initiates the merge on the beacon chain’s backend, the consensus layer.

However, soon after the upgrade, the network began seeing a significant increase in the number of ‘missed blocks’. To be precise, the network saw a 1700% increase in the frequency of missed blocks, from a 0.5% rate of ‘missed blocks’ pre-upgrade to more than 9% of all blocks experiencing the issue post-upgrade.

According to Per Van Der Wijden, this is most likely due to validators dropping offline during the hard fork. He estimates that around 5% of the nodes lacked updated software and 4% of nodes were partially updated but not connected to an execution layer.

However, developers have dismissed these hiccups as the numbers were not enough to impact the timeline of the merge next week, they state the issue will be resolved as more validators update their client software.

https://decrypt.co/109109/ethereum-devs-early-hiccups-bellatrix-merge

Swiss Crypto ETP Giant 21.co Raises $25M in Funding, Pushing Valuation to $2B

21.co, the newly-formed Switzerland-based parent company of crypto investing firm 21Shares, has raised $25 million in a funding round at a valuation of $2 billion. The funding round was led by Marshall Wace and saw participation from Collab+Currency, Quiet Ventures, ETFS Capital and Valor Equity Partners.

According to 21.co founder Hany Rashwan, the parent company is designed to unite 21Shares with third-party token provider Amun and other upcoming crypto projects aiming to build bridges into the crypto world. The proceeds from the funding round will reportedly be used to expand its product line and move into new regions like the Middle East.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rosemariemiller/2022/09/07/21co-swiss-crypto-etp-giant-with-cathie-wood-links-claims-2-billion-value-after-funding/

Three Arrows Capital Withdraws $45M from Curve and Convex Finance

On-chain data shows that a wallet belonging to Three Arrows Capital (3AC) has reclaimed $45 million in deposits that were previously staked on the Curve and Convex Finance decentralised exchanges.

The data shows that the wallet withdrew 20,945 staked ether (stETH) from Curve Finance and 2,421 wrapped ether (wETH), 202.7 wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) and 4,051,367 USDT stablecoins from Convex Finance. While the intention behind the withdrawals remain unclear, many speculate that the firm may be looking to liquidate its holdings to pay off creditors.

https://www.theblock.co/post/168029/3ac-withdraws-45-million-in-staked-ether-from-curve-and-convex

Hive Blockchain Explores Other GPU Mineable Coins Ahead of The Merge

With the ‘Merge’ scheduled for next week, crypto miner Hive blockchain is looking into other coins that can be mined with graphics processing units (GPU) that are used to mine Ethereum.

Hive has reportedly begun beta-testing the various GPU-mineable coins this week and is specifically implementing a strategy to optimise its Ethereum mining capacity, which amounts to 6.5 terahashes per second.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/hive-blockchain-explores-new-mineable-coins-ahead-of-ethereum-merge

Circle CEO Says Binance Conversions Will Lead to More USDC Flowing into The Exchange

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire states that Binance’s decision to merge stablecoin dollar books is a good thing for the USDC stablecoin. He believes that the move is “good for liquidity and market depth” and will “lead to a gradual net share shift from USDT to BUSD and USDC.”

The move has also been met positively by users of the exchange as it allows them to use their USDC deposits seamlessly on the exchange. This is especially true considering that before the change, users had to first convert USDC to BUSD or USDT and then use it to trade leveraged products. Open / Comment