Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has published a new report detailing the dynamics of darknet markets and fraud shops after the former giant Hydra Market collapsed due to joint actions from authorities in Germany and the United States. After the U.S. Department of Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Hydra in April and German agencies ordered its closure, average daily revenue for all dark web markets fell from $4.2 million to $447,000. Total...
Read More »Coinbase Claims its Staking Products Are Not Securities as COIN Slumps 22% Weekly
All eyes in the crypto community have been on the SEC and its decision to pursue certain crypto staking offerings in the States. After Kraken, many believe Coinbase will be next to have to settle with the regulator, which is why the largest US-based exchange decided to address the matter. Our Products Are Not Securities: Coinbase The exchange’s Chief Legal Officer, Paul Grewal, asserted in the blog post that the company’s staking services do not meet the Howey test criteria,...
Read More »Crypto Market Cap Maintains $1T as Lido (LDO) Recovers 10%: Weekend Watch
Bitcoin’s recent freefall seems to have stopped for now, as the asset has calmed at just under $22,000. Most altcoins have even registered minor daily increases. Some, such as HBAR and Lido Dao, have even soared by double-digits. Bitcoin Calms Below $22K The situation around bitcoin was significantly more positive last week when it jumped above $24,000 for the first time since August 2022. However, it failed to remain there and retraced by over a grand to $23,000 in the...
Read More »Nexo Reveals Date When it Will Halt Earn Program for US Customers
Nexo will stop providing its Earn Interest Product to US customers as of April 1, 2023. This is a direct consequence of the company’s recent settlement with US regulators, in which it had to pay $45 million in fines. Recall the agreement reached between Nexo and the US SEC as well as NASAA, which “concluded on a no-admit-no-deny basis and closed all multi-year-long inquiries” into the crypto lender. The company now announced that it will stop the Earn Interest Product for all...
Read More »Dubai’s University CUD to Embrace Crypto Payments
The Canadian University of Dubai (CUD) partnered with Binance to enable students to pay their fees in digital currencies. With the recent collaboration, the exchange dived deeper into the local ecosystem. It received a cryptocurrency license from Dubai’s regulators in September last year. Settling the Semesters in Crypto The world’s leading crypto platform disclosed the partnership on its Twitter account, saying current and future students of the CUD are allowed to settle...
Read More »Two Thirds of Millennials View Bitcoin as Safe Haven (Survey)
A study by BanklessTimes revealed that 67% of respondents aged 27-42 consider bitcoin a safe haven. Previous polls have shown that millennials are among the most active demographic groups in the cryptocurrency space and have a friendlier outlook than older generations. BTC Emerges as an Important Asset for Millennials According to Jonathan Merry – CEO of BanklessTimes – the primary cryptocurrency is a vital investment instrument for millennials as it offers financial freedom...
Read More »PayPal Owned $604 Million in Crypto Last Year
By the end of 2022, PayPal held over $600 million in digital assets in crypto on behalf of its users. That included $291 million in Bitcoin (BTC) and $250 million in ETH. According to PayPal’s annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the remainder of its $63 million in crypto was spread between Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Litecoin (LTC). In total, the firm held $604 million in digital assets. In dollar terms, that’s less than what the firm held in Q3 – when...
Read More »India’s Retail CBDC Pilot Onboards 50K Users, RBI to Continue with ‘Go Slow’ Approach
India’s retail CBDC pilot, launched on December 1, has onboarded 50,000 users and 5,000 merchants. In the two-month period, 0.77 million e-rupee transactions were carried out, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. Right now, digital rupee (e-rupee) transactions are available in a closed group of banks, cities, and merchants. India CBDC Plan will Go Slow “We want the process to happen, but we want the process to happen gradually and slowly. We are in no hurry to make something...
Read More »Bitcoin Dumps to 3-Week Low, LDO Plummets 14% (Weekend Watch)
The past 24 hours brought some more pain for the bulls as BTC slipped to another three-week low at under $21,500. Most altcoins are in no better shape, including the ETH liquid staking coins, many of which have seen double-digit price drops. BTC Drops Again The start of the month was highly positive for the primary cryptocurrency, which pumped to $24,200 after the latest interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve on February 2. However, the landscape changed in the...
Read More »China Establishes National Blockchain Organization (Report)
The Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology reportedly approved the launch of the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center. It will be based in the capital Beijing and will focus on use cases that could boost the local economy. Unlike BTC, China is Supportive of Blockchain According to recent coverage, the newly-formed entity will try to advance the financial network of the most populous country by implementing the use cases of blockchain technology. The center,...
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