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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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2023-10-21 18:38:21 Binance onboards fiat partners for Euro withdrawals and deposits following Paysafe separation

Binance penned new partnerships with fiat providers to enable Euro transactions, a month after Binance's original Euro banking partner Paysafe stopped working with the firm. "We have signed agreements with a number of new regulated and authorized fiat partners to provide a variety of fiat services to our community. Users have already started being migrated to the new services," Binance wrote in a Thursday release. Services stemming from the partnership includes EUR transactions via Open Banking.

"Being able to easily convert fiat to crypto, and back to fiat again, is a crucial part of advancing the adoption of digital assets globally. Without an easy way to buy or sell crypto, users who are new to the space can find the process of buying or selling crypto unintuitive and intimidating. Offering fiat services provides essential ease of use to all participants in the crypto ecosystem," Binance added. Binance's new partnerships come after the firm experienced another major setback in the summer, when the German financial regulator BaFin rejected Binance's custody license application. "SEPA," or Single Euro Payments Area, includes 36 countries that enable cashless Euro payments in the European Union.

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2023-10-20 09:36:34 FTX customer refund plan outlines settlement to return 90% of funds

According CoinDesk, FTX customer refund plan could return up to 90% of creditor holdings that were held at the exchange before it went bust. The debtors’ group, overseeing the bankruptcy process, plans to file the proposal with a U.S. Bankruptcy Court by December 16, 2023. FTX collapsed after CoinDesk published revelations about its balance sheet. The new CEO, John J. Ray III, criticized the company’s financial controls, and founder Sam Bankman-Fried is facing criminal charges.

The proposal suggests dividing the missing customer assets into three pools based on the circumstances at the start of the Chapter 11 cases: assets for FTX.com customers, assets for FTX.US customers, and a general pool of other assets. Customers with a preference settlement amount below $250,000 can accept the settlement without any reduction in claim or payment. Creditors would also receive a “Shortfall Claim” against the general pool, corresponding to the estimated value of the missing assets at the exchange. However, there may be obstacles to the recoveries, such as taxes, government claims, and token price fluctuations.

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2023-10-19 09:17:20 Vitalik Buterin Sold ETH: No Personal Gain from ETH Sales Since 2018!

Vitalik Buterin sold ETH recently clarified ongoing speculation surrounding his alleged ETH sales, emphasizing that any transfers to exchanges should not be misconstrued as personal divestment. In a statement addressing the public, Vitalik Buterin sold ETH emphasized that these transactions were essentially acts of philanthropy or support for various charitable causes or projects, rather than indicative of any personal financial motives. Vitalik Buterin sold ETH’s declaration comes as a response to growing speculation surrounding the motive behind his recent ETH transfers.

Buterin’s commitment to utilizing his cryptocurrency holdings to support philanthropic and developmental projects aligns with his longstanding advocacy for leveraging blockchain technology for social good. His previous contributions and involvement in various charitable initiatives have earned him widespread acclaim within the crypto community and beyond. He made it clear that the transfers were made to aid various charitable or developmental initiatives, where the recipients were compelled to convert the donated ETH into fiat currency to meet necessary operational costs. With Ethereum’s significant impact in the world of decentralized finance and the broader blockchain ecosystem, Buterin’s statement serves to dispel any doubts regarding his commitment to the principles of altruism and the transformative potential of blockchain technology for social welfare.

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