The United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion received an education in the uses of blockchain technology in a hearing titled “Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets.” The meeting began with a discussion of Hamas’s use of crypto for fundraising. However, the committee’s…
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Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) has opened a consultation period on crypto-asset disclosure requirements for federally regulated financial institutions. The consultation was foreseen in the 2023 federal budget, but its timing is tied to a similar inquiry initiated by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). The Canadian government stated in March…
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The US Justice Department is negotiating with Binance in an attempt to resolve its investigation into the company, according to a November 20 report from Bloomberg citing people familiar with the discussions. The agreement would require Binance to pay $4 billion in fines. In return, the company would be allowed to keep operating while complying…
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ARK Investment Management, a major cryptocurrency investment firm founded by Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Cathie Wood, isn’t giving up on its efforts to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. ARK Invest, on Nov. 20, filed another amended prospectus for its spot Bitcoin ETF product developed in collaboration with the European digital asset…
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Stablecoin issuer Tether froze roughly $225 million worth of USDT tokens as part of an investigation into a Southeast Asia human trafficking syndicate launched by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In a Nov. 20 announcement, Tether said it had worked with the DOJ and crypto exchange OKX to freeze $225 million USDT in…
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Proprietary trading system operator Osaka Digital Exchange (ODX) is set to kickstart the trading of digital securities in Japan through security tokens issued by two real-estate firms to fill the demand for alternative assets. In an announcement, ODX said that its trading system for security tokens commences on Dec. 25. Ichigo Inc., a Tokyo-based company,…
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The crypto community and many of its most high-profile players have started to shift their focus toward the Bitcoin halving, a 4-year cyclic event that cuts the Bitcoin market supply in half. With the next halving event scheduled for April 2024, the Bitcoin mining reward will reduce from the current 6.25 BTC per block to…
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The international arm of Spanish lender Banco Santander has reportedly rolled out a new service, allowing clients with Swiss accounts to invest in and trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). According to a report from Coindesk claiming access to a leaked internal communication, high-net-worth individuals of Santander Private Banking International will have access to trade…
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Global cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETP) have seen a significant uptick in 2023, reportedly outpacing the growth of underlying assets, according to a report by digital asset platform Fineqia. Crypto-based ETPs issued by companies like 21Shares, Grayscale and CoinShares recorded a 91% increase in total assets under management (AUM) from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31, 2023,…
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Bitcoin (BTC) starts Thanksgiving week in the United States with a return to $37,000 as bulls stubbornly refuse to loosen their grip. BTC price action remains tantalizingly near 18-month highs as another weekly close provides a fresh taste of bull market momentum. The largest cryptocurrency continues to hold onto reclaimed ground, and while upside now…
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