Cyptocurrency

Republicans’ Leadership Squabbles Delayed U.S. Crypto Bills Until 2024, Key Lawmakers Say

Republicans had hoped to get U.S. crypto legislation through the House this year, but key lawmakers are now targeting 2024. A Democrat who has negotiated on the legislation said success in the House may move the Democrat-controlled Senate. After months of…

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Brazil to Impose 15% Tax on Crypto Earnings Held on Offshore Exchanges: Report

The Brazilian Senate approved new income-tax regulations that could mean citizens will face paying up to 15% on earnings from cryptocurrencies held on international exchanges, Yahoo Finance reported Thursday. The regulation, if sanctioned by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, could…

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UK Won’t Excuse Ignorance in the Hunt for Unpaid Crypto Taxes, Experts Say

The U.K. on Wednesday published notices encouraging crypto users to voluntarily report unpaid taxes to avoid penalties. A 2022 government survey showed 72% of crypto owners in the U.K. had not read its crypto tax guidance, but ignorance won't count as…

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A Suspicious ‘Munger’ Coin Soars Then Crashes After Billionaire Charlie Munger’s Death

A memecoin that was minted 15 minutes after Charlie Munger's death soared by more than 31,000% on Wednesday as speculators flocked to decentralized exchanges with millions of dollars worth of ether (ETH) and stablecoins. The MUNGER token subsequently lost more than…

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There Are Tentative Signs of Revival in DeFi and NFT Markets, JPMorgan Says

Decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) activity has revived in recent months as expectation of the approval of a U.S.-listed spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) improved sentiment in crypto markets, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report Thursday. The…

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MicroStrategy Bought $600M of BTC in November, Increased Holdings by 10%

Microstrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin (BTC), boosted its holdings in November, buying some 16,130 BTC, worth around $608 million at current prices. The Michael Saylor-founded software developer bought the bitcoin for around $593.3 million in cash at an…

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Decentralized Infrastructure Provider Grove Raises $7.9M

Decentralized physical infrastructure (DePIN) provider Grove, previously named Pocket Network Inc., has raised $7.9 million from Fidelity-affiliated Avon Ventures, Placeholder Capital and Druid Ventures. Grove will use the funding to form new partnerships that advance DePIN toward mainstream adoption, according to…

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Institutional Crypto Trading Platform Talos Taps Into Uniswap’s Liquidity

Crypto trading platform Talos usually serves up liquidity from centralized exchanges. But its institutional clientele will soon also have access to trading through Uniswap, the market leader in decentralized finance (DeFi). It's the first time Talos is sourcing liquidity from a…

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Central Banks Aren’t Sufficiently Ready for CBDC Risks: BIS Report

Central banks lack the expertise and skills needed to mitigate central bank digital currency (CBDC) risk and must prepare to implement stronger measures, a consultative group set up by the Bank for International Settlements said in a Wednesday report. Countries around…

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Polygon’s Secret Deal: Sending DraftKings Millions to Run Failed Validator

Sports-betting company DraftKings publicly agreed in early 2022 to be a network validator that helped run the Polygon blockchain. On-chain data shows Polygon gave DraftKings millions of MATIC to help its validator turn a massive profit with little precedent. Even though…

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World’s Largest Bitcoin Futures ETF Breaks 2021 Record Highs for Assets Under Management

ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – a bitcoin futures fund offered in the U.S. – hit a high of $1.47 billion in assets under management (AUM) this week, surging past a record set in December 2021. The surge indicates renewed institutional…

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Hong Kong Securities Trade Group Proposes Initial Coin Offering Portal

The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association, an industry trade group, has suggested the city's authorities should consider creating an initial coin offering (ICO) portal. ICOs are a method of fundraising, similar to initial public offerings (IPOs) that became popular…

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Digital Asset Investment Platform Fasset Wins Operational Licence in Dubai

Fasset, a digital asset investment platform, has won a license to operate in Dubai as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), allowing it to serve institutional, qualified, and retail investors, Dubai's public register shows. Receiving a full license involves three stages:…

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Celo Developer Proposes Mid-January Timeline for Evaluating Closely Watched Layer-2 Move

The Celo blockchain's primary developer laid out a "framework" for choosing a technology provider for its new layer-2 network atop Ethereum, proposing to wrap up the evaluation by mid-January in what has become a surprisingly intense competition between some of the…

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FTX Gets Court Approval to Sell $873M Worth of Grayscale, Bitwise Trust Assets

The FTX estate was granted approval to sell its trust assets, including shares of Grayscale and Bitwise investment funds worth roughly $873 million, according to a New York bankruptcy court document filed on Friday and CoinDesk analysis. "The debtors are authorized,…

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Grayscale Gears Up for Spot Bitcoin ETF, Updating Trust Agreement for Sake of ‘Operational Efficiencies’

Grayscale, the manager of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is updating the trust’s agreement for the first time since 2018, according to a filing on Wednesday. The aim is to optimize GBTC’s structure for an anticipated uplisting to a spot bitcoin…

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U.S. Treasury Campaigning for Amplified Powers to Chase Crypto Overseas

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has been pushing for lawmakers to grant it extended powers to battle illicit finance using crypto. One of the government's requests is for special jurisdiction over non-U.S. stablecoin issuers, such as Tether. The U.S. Department…

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‘A Politician Masquerading as a Regulator’ – 3 Takeaways From Fortune’s Gary Gensler Profile

It’s strange to think now how crypto received Gary Gensler as he became Securities and Exchange Commission chair in 2021. At the time, he was a breath of fresh air for an industry that badly needed change. His SEC predecessor, Jay…

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The Protocol: It’s Crypto Spring, as Smart Contract Platform Index Jumps Most in 10 Months

Digital-asset markets are heating up, especially for blockchain tokens. In this week's issue, we highlight November's 19% jump in the CoinDesk Smart Contract Platforms Index (SMT), the biggest gain in 10 months. Hype is creeping back in too. Our Sam Kessler…

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Stablecoins Such as Tether May Be in U.S. Sights, Top U.S. Treasury Official Warns

Without explicitly naming Tether (USDT) as the sector's leader, a top official from the U.S. Department of the Treasury took a shot Wednesday at the dangers of non-U.S. stablecoin issuers that use dollar backing, arguing they need to address their use…

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Terra’s USTC Gains 300% as Bitcoin-Focused Comeback Plan, Binance Perpetuals Listing Fuel Speculative Frenzy

TerraClassicUSD (USTC) gained 300% in a week as plans of a bitcoin-backed revamp plan and a Binance perpetual contract listing unleashed a speculative frenzy. USTC and LUNC underpin the Terra ecosystem, which collapsed last May. TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and its sister token…

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Crypto Mixer Sanctioned by U.S. Treasury for North Korea Allegations, as FBI, Dutch and Finnish Police Seize Website

The U.S. Treasury Department has blocked a crypto mixing service from the global dollar financial system on allegations it supported transactions tied to North Korea's infamous hacking group. Sinbad's website was also seized by the FBI, Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation…

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