According to Twitter user @0xdev0, on Monday, Web3 development platform Alchemy and Infura.io blocked remote procedure call (RPC) requests to cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash, preventing users from accessing the applications. The day prior, the U.S. Treasury placed 44 smart contract addresses linked to Tornado Cash in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list.
Regulation
The Reserve Bank of Australia weighs in the central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) race to explore use cases for a CBDC in the country. It will collaborate with the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) on a respective research project. As stated in an announcement from Aug. 9, the joint project of the Reserve Bank
The Coinbase drama, which started at the end of July, continues with new developments. Last week, former Coinbase Global product manager Ishan Wahi pleaded not guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy and two counts of wire fraud in a Manhattan federal court. Wahi was arrested during his attempt to board a flight from
Roman Semenov, one of the co-founders of Tornado Cash, has reported his account was suspended at the developer platform, GitHub, following the United States Treasury Department’s sanctioning of the privacy protocol. In a Monday tweet, Semenov said that despite not being individually named as a Specially Designated National, or SDN, of Treasury’s Office of Foreign
According to crypto data aggregator Dune Analytics, on Monday, Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin stablecoin (USDC), froze over 75,000 USDC worth of funds linked to the 44 Tornado Cash addresses sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control’s (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. Tornado Cash is a decentralized
The United States Treasury Department has added more than 40 cryptocurrency addresses allegedly connected to controversial mixer Tornado Cash to the Specially Designated Nationals list of the Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC. In a Monday announcement, OFAC effectively barred U.S. residents from using Tornado Cash and placed 44 USD Coin (USDC) and Ether
When the United States Office of Government Ethics (OGE) released its Legal Advisory 22-04 on July 5, most attention was given to its conclusion that federal employees who own any amount of cryptocurrency or stablecoins whatsoever may not participate in regulation and policymaking that concerns crypto. The legal advisory (LA) raised some eyebrows, as de
The fifth annual Korea Blockchain Week kicked off on Sunday, with more than 7,000 people attending Asia’s largest blockchain event of 2022. The Seoul-based event is set to run its main-stage sessions on Aug. 8 and 9, while side events such as music festivals and nonfungible token (NFT) art galleries will go through until Aug. 12.
Crypto exchange Crypto.com has announced a key regulatory milestone in South Korea after securing two local companies, giving it access to crypto and payments registration. The announcement came during Korea Blockchain Week 2022 after the company announced the acquisition of payment service provider ‘PnLink Co. Ltd.’ and virtual asset service provider ‘OK-BIT Co. Ltd.’ The
The United Kingdom is paving the road for cryptocurrency services, courting startups and established players alike while leading the way in pioneering regulation on stablecoins and nonfungible tokens. But a lot has changed. After two years of deliberations, European Union lawmakers achieved agreement on the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, marking a pivotal moment for
A group of five lawmakers from the United States House of Representatives has requested data on the diversity and inclusion practices of 20 major firms dealing with cryptocurrencies and Web3. In a Thursday notice, House Financial Services Committee chair Maxine Waters along with Representatives Joyce Beatty, Al Green, Bill Foster and Stephen Lynch penned a
Coinbase is now facing increased scrutiny from regulators, with the company now becoming the target of multiple lawsuits. The San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange, which is presently being investigated by the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC), now faces two additional legal claims from two law firms. On Thursday, New York-based legal firm Bragar Eagel
On top of its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects and proof-of-concept Retail CBDC testing with corporates, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) will extend the scope of CBDC development aimed at retail to a pilot phase. A possible real-life application of the “Retail CBDC” will be conducted inside the private sector on a limited
Thailand’s financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has approved four more crypto companies in the Kingdom. On Aug. 4, it was reported in local media that the SEC had granted operating licenses to four more digital asset operators. These include Krungthai XSpring, a crypto broker affiliated with one of the country’s leading banks,
The Tech Transparency Project, or TTP, a research initiative of the United States-based nonprofit watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, has released a report claiming crypto firms “provided little in return” for state governments offering financial incentives. In a report released Thursday, the TTP said that many crypto firms based in certain U.S. states have “reaped
“The cryptocurrency market is the only truly free market that exists in the financial universe,” said Dan Tapiero, CEO of 10T Holdings, during a recent video discussion with Cointelegraph Research. A major concern of venture capital (VC) and investment firms as of late has been centered around regulation from different countries around the globe. While
The United Kingdom Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) announced Thursday its upcoming inquiry on the country’s crypto and digital asset sector. The announcement included details of the group’s plans and how interested parties can participate. According to the statement, the inquiry will highlight various areas of engagement with crypto and digital asset
Several large banks in Portugal have reportedly begun closing the accounts of cryptocurrency exchanges due to “risk management” concerns, suggesting a shift in Portugal’s pro-crypto position. The country’s central bank appears to have given the financial institutions the green light to take action. Several of Portugal’s top banks recently closed the accounts of CriptoLoja, the
The Japan Crypto-Asset Business Association (JCBA) and the Japan Crypto-Asset Exchange Association (JVCEA), the two prominent crypto advocacy groups in Japan, released a tax reform request that calls for lowering taxes for individual investors on crypto earnings. The fiscal 2023 tax reform request addressed key issues that the advocacy groups believe act as a hindrance
The Philippine Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) cautioned the public not to invest in the crypto exchange Binance in their response to policy think tank Infrawatch PH’s attempts to woo the SEC to take action against the exchange. In a letter sent by SEC Director Oliver Leonardo, the public was advised to refrain from investing