Crypto News Source

2023-11-06 16:44:02 Aave pauses V2 on Ethereum, freezes certain assets on V3 due to reported issue

DeFi lending protocol Aave has paused some operations as a temporary protection measure following reports of an issue, the protocol announced in a post on X. No funds are at risk, the protocol added. The protocol has paused Aave V2 operations on Ethereum, along with freezing certain assets on Aave V3 on Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism. The protocol announced service will be restarted following the approval of a forthcoming proposal to restart the paused operations.

The protocol clarified that V3 remains live on Ethereum, Base, and Metis, and V2 operations on Polygon and Avalanche are unaffected. Aave did not respond immediately to a request from comment from The Block. The protocol has paused Aave V2 operations on Ethereum, along with freezing certain assets on Aave V3 on Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism. The protocol announced service will be restarted following the approval of a forthcoming proposal to restart the paused operations, and that a postmortem explaining the issue will be released "once the issue is fully resolved." No user funds are currently at risk, the protocol added.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-11-05 19:05:06 Coinbase 'Ready to Hit the Ground Running' on Bitcoin ETF Approval, Says COO

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is prepared to move quickly if a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved soon, Coinbase COO Emilie Choi said during an earnings call Thursday with investors and analysts. “We are ready to hit the ground running,” Choi said. “They should add credibility to the market, and we should see increased liquidity and market stability, as we've seen with other asset classes, such as a gold ETF.” The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hesitated to approve one thus far.

Crypto moguls, such as the Winklevoss twins, have pursued ETF-like products that let investors gain Bitcoin exposure in a brokerage account for more than a decade. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has hesitated to approve one thus far. However, the hype has hit new levels this year, in light of Grayscale’s courtroom victory and several financial giants, such as BlackRock and Fidelity, that have thrown their weight into the mix of ETF hopefuls. JP Morgan analysts think it’s “most likely” that a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved within the next three months. As a spot Bitcoin ETF makes it easier for institutional investors to trade Bitcoin—without needing to worry about self-custody.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-11-03 17:41:02 Tether extends debt financing to Northern Data capped at $610 million

Northern Data Group, a German data center operator, has secured a debt financing facility of up to €575 million ($610 million) from Tether Group, the stablecoin issuer, to expand its Bitcoin mining, AI, and data center operations. “Northern Data Group entered into a loan agreement with a company of the Tether Group, under which it secured a €575 million debt financing facility,” Northern Data wrote in a statement. “The facility is unsecured, at standard market conditions and has a term until Jan. 1, 2030.”

Northern Data Group to continue capitalizing on the market opportunities within each sector of our three subsidiaries, Taiga Cloud, Ardent Data Centers and Peak Mining," Northern Data CEO Aroosh Thillainathan added. "We’re excited for the further innovation we will achieve through this raise as we drive further progress in the AI, ML and Generative AI industries.”. Peak Mining is the group’s mining business, with the financing being used to scale its Bitcoin mining operations via purpose-built MicroBT liquid-cooling mining technology. Liquid-cooled mining offers more efficient heat management and potentially higher hardware performance compared to traditional air-cooled mining. However, it typically involves higher setup costs and more complex maintenance.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-11-02 18:31:02 Circle Mint Account Closure for Individual Customers, Institutions Only Now Supported

Circle, a well-known company in the cryptocurrency world, particularly for issuing stablecoins, has announced that it is currently in the process of discontinuing support for consumer Circle Mint accounts. This strategic decision, which has been communicated directly to individual consumers, is designed to streamline operations solely for consumer accounts. Importantly, this change will not affect business or institutional accounts, which will continue to operate as usual.

Circle Mint Account Closure for users with zero balances in their accounts because support will soon end. The closure of these consumer accounts is currently scheduled for the end of November. This means that users who wish to mint Circle stablecoins, such as the widely-used USDC and the Euro-based EURC, will need to look for alternative platforms on which to conduct these activities. In addition, Allaire highlighted the strong partnerships that Circle has built with various global retail entities. This includes their strategic partnership with Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange. These partnerships have allowed for comprehensive retail access to USDC at no additional fees while also maintaining a 1:1 exchange rate.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-31 12:46:02 UK confirms plans to regulate crypto industry with formal legislation

The U.K. government on Monday confirmed plans to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, announcing in a consultation paper that it will look to bring in formal legislation for crypto activities by 2024. The government published its response to a consultation paper issued earlier this year, which outlined recommendations on regulating the crypto industry. In the Monday paper, the government said it intends to bring a number of cryptoasset activities under the same regulations that govern banks and other financial services firms.

The government’s proposals include stricter rules for exchanges, custodians that store crypto on behalf of clients, and crypto lending companies. The U.K. also proposes stricter regimes for market abuse and cryptoasset issuance and disclosures. The government aims to introduce laws for the crypto industry before Parliament by 2024, according to the paper. The EU set out a clear framework for digital assets with its MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets) regulation, including a licensing process for crypto firms. The U.K. is further ahead in the process than other tech leading nations. Numerous bills are going through Congress, but the U.S. is far behind others when it comes to bringing about formal federal laws for the crypto industry.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-30 14:21:02 Solana-Based Products Lead with 74% AUM Increase in October: CCData

October witnessed significant advancements in the industry owing to the launch of six ETH Futures ETFs, offering investors a chance to delve into Ether futures. Bitcoin responded positively to the developments. Further gains were fueled by speculations about BlackRock’s application approval of a spot BTC ETF in the United States. As a result, the total assets under management (AUM) for digital asset products surged by 6.74%, reaching $31.7 billion in October. This represented the first upturn since July 2023.

Despite affiliation to FTX and its disgraced founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, as well as its own share of outages, Solana has managed to recover this year. This is evident by the continued inflow streak over the past several weeks. Meanwhile, the assets under management (AUM) for Bitcoin-based products also surged by 11.1%, reaching $23.2 billion and commanding a 73.3% market share. This signifies a rise from 70.5% in September. Ethereum-based products, however, witnessed a decrease despite the introduction of new ETFs. These products collectively experienced a 5,45% decline, lowering their AUM to $6,35 billion, and their market share dropped to 20.1%. This marks a down from 22.6% in September. Basket-based products, on the other hand, saw a 2,10% increase, reaching $1,19 billion and capturing 3,75% of the market.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-29 20:35:08 JPMorgan Settles Transactions for $1 Billion Daily Using JPM Coin

JPMorgan has reported that jpm coin, the cryptocurrency created by the financial giant, is being used to settle $1 billion daily. According to statements from JPMorgan’s Global Head of Payments Takis Georgakopoulos, the bank plans to expand on jpm coin’s usage in the future, widening adoption. Jpm coin allows making transactions denominated in dollars and recently in euros using the Qorum blockchain, a distributed ledger created by the bank in 2016 and sold to the Ethereum software company Consensys in 2020.

Announced in 2019 by JPMorgan and beginning to be used commercially in 2020, jpm coin is one of the few blockchain applications being used by banks to reach this level of adoption, even if the amount pales in comparison to the $10 trillion transacted using JPMorgan’s traditional banking solutions, according to Bloomberg. Georgakopoulos hinted at a possible application of deposit tokens for retail purposes. Deposit tokens, which JPMorgan considers an evolution of stablecoins, represent a claim on a deposit at a regulated financial institution, like a bank. More recently, in September, sources stated the bank was developing a platform that would use deposit token technology to bring quick settlements and payments to its institutional customers.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-28 10:33:47 Taiwan officially proposes crypto bill with first reading passed at parliament

Taiwan officially proposed a draft crypto act for first reading today. "After the first reading of the bill, discussions on the regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry have progressed to the next stage," Yung-Chang Chiang, a member of the Legislative Yuan who jointly proposed the special act, told The Block. A proposal to regulate crypto assets passed the first reading at the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament, according to official records.

Taiwan’s FSC last month released guidelines for the crypto sector to form its own self-supervisory rules through a potential industry association, such measures lack legal enforceability, the lawmaker said. “In this case, under the authority of this special law, regulatory authorities can impose administrative penalties on operators who violate these self-regulation rules. Without such a special law, the regulators would lack the ability to impose penalties,” Chiang told The Block earlier this month at a parliament hearing. The special crypto law, proposed by Chiang and 16 other lawmakers, would require all crypto platforms operating in Taiwan to apply for a permit. If they failed to, regulators could order them to cease operations.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-26 16:10:07 SEC's Gensler stays true to form, uses Wednesday speech to say crypto is full of 'fraud, scams, bankruptcies and money laundering'

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler is standing firm in his long-held view that many cryptocurrencies are subject to existing securities laws, despite pushback from the industry. Gensler, who has also said that crypto firms are subject to the same rules as traditional finance, reinforced his view on Wednesday in prepared remarks at the 2023 Securities Enforcement Forum. His comments came amid a week of rabid speculation about the status of pending applications for spot bitcoin ETFs.

The agency has brought numerous cases against crypto firms over the past year, including ones against U.S.-based Coinbase and the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance. In those lawsuits, the agency often cites the Howey Test, a 1946 U.S. Supreme Court case involving citrus groves to determine whether transactions are investment contracts and thus subject to securities laws. However, that approach has garnered criticism from some, including Coinbase, which has said the SEC stretched its arguments in Howey "beyond recognition." Gensler also spoke in general about charges the SEC has brought against others, including a case involving the former CEO of McDonald's. "And don’t get me started on crypto," Gensler said. "I won’t even name all the individuals we’ve charged in this highly noncompliant field."

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment

2023-10-22 22:56:02 FBI Charges 6 for Allegedly Running $30M Money Transmitting Business Using Crypto

The FBI has charged six people for allegedly operating an illegal $30 million money-transmitting business using cryptocurrencies, according to court documents filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York. The six – Shaileshkumar Goyani, Brijeshkumar Patel, Hirenkumar Patel, Naineshkumar Patel, Nileshkumar Patel and Raju Patel – operated without an appropriate money transmitting license in New York, according to the filing. The details, disclosed in the unsealed affidavit of an FBI agent seeking the individuals' arrest.

The U.S. Magistrate judge has granted the conditional release of at least one of the people named, Naineshkumar Patel, according to a court document. The filing cites an unidentified co-conspirator as saying that at least some clients "made money by selling drugs" and that the wealthiest clients "were hackers." The co-conspirator told an undercover officer that he had made approximately $30 million over three years through the exchange of cash for virtual currency. The arrested individual would later become a confidential source and for the next eight months cooperate with law enforcement in approximately 80 controlled pick-ups of cash totaling approximately $15 million.

Source

https://t.me/CryptoNewsSource Open / Comment