Ras Al Khaimah’s recently announced free zone for virtual asset firms will explore accepting crypto payments from companies looking into setting up their businesses in the emirate, a lawyer involved in the hub’s development said. Dubai-based crypto lawyer Irina Heaver told Cointelegraph that once the Ras Al Khaimah Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO) secures the
Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer (CLO) of Ripple Labs, has revealed in a new interview that the fintech company will immediately appeal if judge Analisa Torres grants summary judgment in favor of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Until now, it was not clear whether Ripple would take that step and bear the
The establishment of Russia’s first mutual investment fund dedicated to financing cryptocurrency mining operations is underway. According to a report by the Russian press, it will be available to qualified investors and will finance the acquisition of coin minting equipment. Russian Crypto Mining Sector to Attract Shareholders Through Investment Fund Work has begun to set
Two United States lawmakers have criticized crypto accounting guidelines outlined by the securities regulator, arguing it places crypto customers at greater risk of loss. The guidelines came from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which became effective in April last year. The guidelines ask financial companies holding crypto for customers to recognize all
Unity, a gaming engine development company, has announced the introduction of several blockchain-based integration options to its platform. The new options offer opportunities for developers, that will be able to take advantage of digital identity, tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other technologies with direct integration into the Unity engine. Unity Reveals New Decentralization Push in
Binance USD (BUSD) market cap has fallen below $10 billion for the first time in almost two years amid a United States regulatory crackdown on its token issuer and a planned delisting from a major crypto exchange. BUSD’s marketcap has been on a steep downward trajectory since its all-time high (ATH) market cap of $23.49
Some Celsius customers have reported being able to withdraw funds from the bankrupt crypto firm for the first time, some 263 days after the lender froze withdrawals in the lead-up to its bankruptcy filing. According to numerous social media posts, as of Mar. 2, certain customers who held funds in Celsius’ Custody accounts have been
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) has fallen more than 5% from $23,500 to $22,240 in just over 60 minutes, amid a wave of uncertainty concerning crypto-friendly bank Silvergate Capital. The price drop has wiped $22 billion from Bitcoin’s total market capitalization, which is now at $430.9 billion, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro. Ethereum (ETH), XRP
Ethereum developers have pushed back the highly-anticipated Shanghai hard fork by approximately two weeks. Initially estimated for late March, the Shanghai upgrade will now likely be deployed sometime within the first two weeks of April. The delay was announced at an Ethereum developer meeting on Mar. 2. During the meeting, core developers came to the
HSBC and Nationwide have imposed new restrictions on cryptocurrency purchases in the U.K. The two financial institutions cited a warning from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the British regulator overseeing the financial services industry, regarding the risks involved in purchasing cryptocurrencies. Nationwide’s Crypto Purchase Restrictions British financial institution Nationwide Building Society allegedly sent an email
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. OKX airdrop after token trading fiasco On Mar. 1, cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it would airdrop 3,014,381 Tether (USDT) to users who suffered losses as a result of the Celestial (CELT) token trading incident. On Feb. 26, Celestial revealed the
Three U.S. senators have asked crypto exchanges Binance and Binance US for documents and answers pertaining to “potentially illegal business practices.” The lawmakers told Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ): “Your actions have called into question the legitimacy of your business and the safety of your customers’ assets.” U.S. Lawmakers Probe Binance U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren
United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has again backed a proposed rule that would extend asset custody rules to more cryptocurrencies, saying investors need more protection. The commission’s Investor Advisory Committee has proposed expanding 2009 rule designed to reduce the risk of advisers embarking on Ponzi schemes to all asset classes, including
On March 2, Xapo Bank announced its partnership with Lightspark, a company led by David Marcus, former crypto boss at Facebook. The partnership aims to extend the utility of bitcoin and the Lightning Network. Xapo revealed on Thursday that it is the first fully licensed private bank to offer payments through the Lightning Network. Xapo
Two United States senators have penned a letter asking Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to halt a plan to allow young adults to access the firm’s metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds. In a March 1 letter, Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal said that Meta’s reported plan to “invite young users into a digital space rife with
Three United States senators led by Elizabeth Warren have sent a letter to Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance.US CEO Brian Shroder expressing concern over a number of facets of Binance’s activities and requesting information from the companies that includes their balance sheets. Crypto skeptic Warren’s cosigners were fellow Democrat Chris Van Hollen and
United Kingdom babanks HSBC Holdings and Nationwide Building Society are banning cryptocurrency purchases via credit cards for retail customers. They join a growing list of banks in the country to tighten restrictions on digital assets. A Bloomberg report on March 2 claims the step back is a response to warnings by UK regulators and scandals
Crypto traders’ urge to create leverage positions with Bitcoin (BTC) appears irresistible to many people, but it’s impossible to know if these traders are extreme risk-takers or savvy market makers hedging their positions. The need to maintain hedges holds even if traders rely on leverage merely to reduce their counterparty exposure by maintaining a collateral
On March 2, 2023, the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase announced that, in light of recent developments, the company is “no longer accepting or initiating payments to or from Silvergate Bank.” The news follows the crypto bank’s delay of its annual 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and JPMorgan’s downgrade of the company’s
press release PRESS RELEASE. Aurora Cloud is the all-in-one cloud infrastructure solution bridging Web2 and Web3. 03/02/2023 Denver – Web3 infrastructure startup Aurora Labs announced the launch of Aurora Cloud, a platform and suite of products that allows today’s Web2 businesses to capture the value of Web3. Aurora Cloud — Platforms like Amazon AWS and