Why Do Bankers Behave So Badly? They Make Too Much Money To Ask Questions

Mark Crosby, Associate Professor, Director of Bachelor of International Business Program at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Over the past 16 months journalists have been scouring through more than 2,000 Suspicious Activity Reports originally sent by banks to the United States Treasury, before being leaked to Buzzfeed and then passed along to the

Bitcoin Outperforming Gold, Nasdaq, 10-Year Treasury, and S&P 500 in 2020

Almost 10 months into 2020, Bitcoin is up about 48.7% year-to-date, outperforming gold, the NASDAQ Composite Index, the S&P 500 Index, the US 10 Year Treasury Note, the US Dollar Index and the Crude Oil WTI. BTC

Can Bitcoin benefit from a currency feud? The answer isn't simple, here's why

Back in 1971, Richard Nixon’s treasury secretary said, “It's our currency, but it’s your problem,” and four decades later, the dollar’s weakness threatens to incite a large scale currency wa The post Can Bitcoin benefit from a currency feud? The answer isn't simple, here's why appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Fed Reserve Governor Brainard Said to Be Biden’s Choice for Treasury Secretary

Lael Brainard, who has been involved with the Fed's efforts to research a digital dollar, is seen as an ideal choice, Bloomberg sources said.

US Treasury Stance on Stablecoins a ‘Vote of Confidence in Crypto’

The crypto exchange, which has its fingers in the USD Coin and Facebook’s Libra, welcomes regulatory input on stablecoins.

MicroStrategy CEO: Company’s Investors Pleased with Decision to Buy Bitcoin

MicroStrategy has been making headlines throughout the past couple of months, with the Virginia-based company announcing in August their plans to convert their treasury reserves from USD to Bitcoin.

RockX launches $20 million investment program for the Polkadot ecosystem

The Polkadot ecosystem is set to get a $20m boost from RockX Digital asset development company RockX has launched a $20 million investment program to support the Polkadot (DOT) ecosystem over the next five years.

Stablecoin Reserves May Be Held in National Banks, US Treasury Office Provides Insight

The OCC announced that national banks and federal savings associations could hold reserves for customers with stablecoin assets.

US Banks Can Hold Reserves for Stablecoins: Treasury Office

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given the green light for national banks and federal savings associations to hold reserves for stablecoin issuers.

2020's Big Bitcoin Long - A winning formula?

MicroStrategy made a huge splash when it chose Bitcoin as its Primary Treasury Reserve Asset, a move, the implications of which, are yet to sink in among many in the crypto-community.

Polkadot’s Treasury Built as a Significant Step Towards the Vision of a Decentralized Internet

Polkadot has recently established a new decentralized platform—Polkadot Treasury, to fund projects.

Polkadot treasury established to fund projects 'that give traction to the network'

Polkadot has launched the Polkadot Treasury to fund proposals from developers within the community and multiple proposals have already been submitted. Blockchain platform Polkadot (DOT) is the latest to invest back into its developer community with the launch of the Polkadot treasury.

Crypto P2P Exchange LocalBitcoins: We Have No Plans to Exit Venezuela

Peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto marketplace LocalBitcoins said it has “no plans” to leave Venezuela – despite the United States Treasury-endorsed sanctions that have already forced one of its rivals to close down its operations in the South American nation. As previously reported, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the Treasury’s financial intelligence and

Polkadot treasury to take on improving network: first proposals are in!

Since its launch in May, Polkadot (DOT) announced the establishment of its ‘Treasury’ which is a new decentralized platform to fund projects according to a press release shared with AMBCrypto toda The post Polkadot treasury to take on improving network: first proposals are in! appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Polkadot’s Treasury Sets Out to Improve DeFi Ecosystem: First Proposals Submitted

Polkadot has established The Polkadot Treasury to work as a decentralized organization led by a community-elected Council to fund other projects.

US sanctions Russian cybercriminals for stealing millions from crypto exchanges

US Treasury Department sanctioned two Russian nationals, Danil Potekhin and Dmitrii Karasavidi for their alleged involvement in a phishing campaign that resulted in losses of around $16 million wort The post US sanctions Russian cybercriminals for stealing millions from crypto exchanges appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Charles Hoskinson’s treasury concept is about to get its first real-world test drive with ‘Project Catalyst’

This little project is expected to manage $70 million worth of ADA annually. IOHK has distributed $250,000 worth of ADA to Project Catalyst.

New US Treasury sanctions on Russian hackers hit Monero address

The US government is charging ahead in its pursuit of privacy tokens, according to the latest sanctions.

Breaking: SUSHI Lead Developer Returns $14 Million Worth of ETH

The former lead developer of Sushiswap, Chef Nomi, has returned $14 million worth of ETH to the protocol's treasury.

US Treasury blacklisted a non-existent ETH address in connection with alleged Russian election interference

Either the treasury made a typo, or Russian hackers are so good, their wallets don't even have to exist. Earlier today, the US Department of the Treasury updated its Specially Designated Nationals List, adding several individuals and a number of cryptocurrency addresses.

US Treasury Sanctions Russians Using Crypto for Election Interference

The US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control has added three Russian nationals and a host of cryptocurrency addresses to its sanctions list.

New US sanctions target crypto addresses of Russian hackers accused of election interference

As new US election nears, the Treasury adds new names and crypto addresses to its specially designated nationals list Sept.

Federal agencies turning to blockchain for its benefits

Even the FDA uses blockchain Federal agencies have turned to blockchain for its transparency, efficiency, security and flexibility. According to FedTech magazine, several federal agencies like the US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and the Department of Treasury began using blockchain. Officials in the US Food and Drug Administration needed an effective way to help them track data on the H1N1 swine flu virus that had begun to spread again in 2017.

Charles Hoskinson's IOHK submitted a decentralized treasury proposal to the Ethereum Classic Community

Would a 20% block reward reduction matter in the long run? Charles Hoskinson's IOHK recently published two Ethereum Classic Improvement Proposals, or ECIPs, meant to help the struggling chain recover after a slew of recent 51% attacks.

US warns of resurgence of North Korea’s BeagleBoyz hacking gang

It’s not a group of 1980s rappers, it’s North Korea’s second most notorious hacking gang. A group of North Korean hackers is engaged in a massive campaign targeting US financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges around the world — with US authorities warning of the high level of threat it poses to the country. According to an alert issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), agencies including the FBI, the US Cyber Command, and the Department of the Treasury are moinotiring the resurgence of the North Korea-sponsored hacking group, BeagleBoyz. The hackers have not been as active in the last few years as the notorious Lazarus Group – another hacking group from the hermit regime.

FBI on alert for North Korean hackers with ties to crypto exchange hacks 

US officials like the FBI, US Treasury, US Cyber Command, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a warning against North Korean hacker group 'BeagleBoyz,' which have resumed The post FBI on alert for North Korean hackers with ties to crypto exchange hacks  appeared first on AMBCrypto.

Yam Finance: Yield Farmers Show They’re Not Just Degen Gamblers

Yam Finance will direct 1% of its future treasury to Gitcoin Grants’s public goods funding upon its forthcoming V3 migration.

Libra replaces general counsel Robert Werner after 3 months

Former US Homeland Security Department general counsel, Stevan Bunnel, has been appointed as Libra's top lawyer. Stevan Bunnel, former general counsel for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been revealed as the Libra Association’s new leading lawyer. Since leaving the Homeland Security Department in 2017, Bunnell co-chaired the data privacy-focused legal practice O’Melveny & Myers until joining the Libra Association this month. The association’s former general counsel, Robert Werner told Bloomberg Law that he chose to depart from the position after it became clear it meant he would have to relinquish an existing position on the boards of directors for Deutsche Bank Trust Co. “Steve is an outstanding lawyer and a great guy,” Werner told Bloomberg. Werner, a former director for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and former senior counsel to The Under Secretary of The Treasury, was appointed by the Libra Association in May. His

A five-member board to control $36 million treasury for Zcash

The new member board will be the largest controller of funds governing Zcash activities and development.

Ethereum Classic Community Divided Over Charles Hoskinson’s Proposed Treasury Protocol

It’s a clash of the crypto titans. Charles Hoskinson presented his idea for a decentralized treasury protocol to the Ethereum Classic (ETC) community during a Discord call on August 13.

Ethereum Classic Not Keen on Hoskinson’s Treasury Proposal

Ethereum Classic Labs are exploring ways to protect the network and move forward following the 51% attack two weeks ago.

Price Analysis 8/12: BTC, ETH, XRP, LINK, BCH, BSV, LTC, ADA, XTZ, BNB

As Bitcoin price slowly regains momentum, many altcoins have been rewarding traders by rallying to new all-time highs. On August 11 MicroStrategy, the world’s largest publicly traded business intelligence company, announced that it had ditched fiat currency and built its primary treasury reserve with Bitcoin (BTC).  The company’s CEO Michael J.

World’s Biggest Business Intelligence Firm Buys 21K Bitcoin for $250M

MicroStrategy confirms it has made Bitcoin its primary treasury reserve asset as institutional uptake takes a dramatic bullish step forward. The world’s largest publicly traded business intelligence company MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) has formally adopted Bitcoin (BTC) as its primary reserve asset. In a press release issued on Aug.

MicroStrategy Buys $250M in Bitcoin, Calling the Crypto ‘Superior to Cash’

Digital gold is now the "principal holding" of MicroStrategy's revamped treasury reserve strategy.

Rival Bitcoin Cash Camps Look Set to Compromise

Bitcoin Cash’s ABC and BCHN camps look set to compromise on the protocol’s coming upgrades in November. Amaury Sechet, the lead developer of Bitcoin Cash (BCH), has announced new plans for the network's coming November upgrade designed to find a compromise between proponents of the ‘Bitcoin ABC’ and ‘BCHN’ proposals. Sechet posted on August 6 that the November upgrade will implement two main changes to the protocol — the implementation of the ‘Aserti3-2d’ difficulty adjustment proposed by Jonathan Toomin and Mark Lundeberg, and the implementation of an infrastructure funding plan (IFP) in the form of the ‘Coinbase Rule.’ Meeting in the middle The Aserti3-2d adjustment was proposed by lead BCHN maintainer, Jonathan Toomim, and will be implemented in place of the controversial Grasberg algorithm that was recently advanced by Sechet. Meanwhile, an infrastructure funding plan recently opposed by BCHN supporters will see 8% of all newly mined BCH designated to a treasury address for grant dispersal. Sechet’s post comes after tensions over proposed difficulty algorithm adjustments for the protocol saw multiple individuals storm out of a developer meeting — initiating rumors that the November upgrade may result in yet another chain split for BCH. Infrastructure funding remains voluntary Speaking to Cointelegraph, outspoken BCH proponent Hayden Otto said that the new plan for November’s upgrade resolves “the issue which was causing contention” between Bitcoin Cash’s ABC and BCHN camps. Despite his optimism that tensions within the community will ease with the upgrade, Otto said that contributions to the IFP will remain voluntary until November, creating a “free-riding problem” where “a select few of the miners are funding everything.” “It gives [miners] who don’t fund anything a competitive advantage against those who do.”

Cardano’s Project Catalyst: Building a Decentralized Financial System to Remove "Top-Down" Governance

In order to fulfill the final components for Cardano’s Voltaire, including its evolution into a self-sustainable blockchain, IOHK introduced a new experimental treasury system combining proposal and voting procedures — Project Catalyst.

Twitter Hack Shows That Crypto Is Easier to Investigate Than Fiat, Say Industry Law Experts

A panel of compliance experts from the crypto industry agreed that law enforcement and institutional finance have been hearing more positive narratives about crypto. During an Aug.

Industry Calls on US Regulator to Open Floodgates on Banks’ Crypto Capabilities

A number of crypto businesses and non-profits have written to the main banking regulator in the US asking for banks to have more authorization to deal with crypto. In response to a request for comment on potential rules from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), many major players in crypto have written in, asking the regulator to expand the authorizations it gives banks to handle cryptocurrencies and use blockchain technology.  Blockchain-backed transfers and new stablecoins as dollar competitors One of the leaders in blockchain-backed financial services, Silvergate Bank wrote to the OCC to promote blockchain as a more efficient way for banks to send money to each other and between client accounts.

US Banks Get Crypto Custody Nod, but Instant Demand Surge Is Unlikely

Announcement by US OCC to fuel business opportunities for crypto exchanges, custodians and traditionals banks. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a division of the United States Treasury that supervises banking in the country, on July 22, issued an interpretive letter clarifying that nationally chartered banks are allowed to provide cryptocurrency custody services to their customers extended to storing cryptographic keys associated with the currencies.  In its letter, the OCC recognizes the current need for banks and other financial service providers to leverage blockchain technology and provide related services to their customers.

Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Close to Zero, Continues Buying Treasurys

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would hold benchmark US interest rates close to zero and continue buying Treasury bonds to support the coronavirus-devastated economy.

New South Wales Treasury Proposes Flexible Regulatory Reform For Blockchain

Australia’s New South Wales is proposing a flexible regulatory reform to accommodate the thriving blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem (Read More)

Australian State Treasury Proposes ‘Flexible’ Regulatory Reform for Blockchain

The New South Wales Treasury is exploring regulatory reform for blockchain technology citing the need to promote innovation.

Second Stimulus Check Coming, But Will Americans Use it on Crypto?

Americans who invested the entirety of their first $1,200 stimulus checks in Bitcoin have seen more than a 40% return as BTC passes $10,200. US residents who invested their first stimulus checks in Bitcoin have seen a 45.5% return, from $1,200 in April to roughly $1,746 at the time of writing, when the cryptocurrency is surging past $10,200. In a July 26 interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow confirmed Americans will be receiving another $1,200 check as part of a roughly $1 trillion stimulus package first announced on July 23.  However, according to Newsweek, many Americans have reported not receiving the first checks, which the US Treasury started issuing in late March.

Investors Now Lose Money by Holding Bonds, Pushing Them Into Riskier Assets

Inflation-adjusted yields on all US treasury bonds are now negative as the Fed is widely believed to be propping up markets. United States government bonds, considered perhaps as the safest assets in the world, are now losing money to the investors holding them. According to statistics published by the US Treasury, real yields on even the longest-term bonds fell below zero since June 2020. A “real” yield calculates the yearly return on holding a bond and collecting interest payments, adjusted for inflation. Bonds are traditionally considered the safest way of storing wealth without it being eaten by inflation.

US Banking Regulator Greenlights Crypto Custody at Federally Chartered Banks

The office of the US Treasury that handles banks has issued a determination on the long-debated subject of custodying crypto assets Per a July 22 announcement shared with Cointelegraph, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is granting permission to federally chartered banks to custody cryptocurrency. The future of banking with crypto on board This issue has seen much skepticism, given that crypto wallets do not resemble the custody requirements of other sorts of assets.

Philippines Becomes the First to Leverage Blockchain to Issue Retail Treasury Bonds in Asia

The Filipino government has launched a blockchain-based app that will be utilized in the distribution of government-issued bonds.

UK Treasury Unveils Plan to Clamp Down on Crypto Promotions

The UK government has unveiled a plan to clamp down on crypto promotions in an effort to protect retail investors.

UK Treasury Wants to Bring Crypto Ads Under Direct Gov’t Oversight

British consumers need stronger rules to protect them from deceptive crypto ads, says UK minister. The government of the United Kingdom believes that current rules do not go far enough to protect consumers from misleading crypto ads and is advocating change. New proposals published on July 20 would, if approved, bring the promotion of certain types of crypto assets under direct regulation from the Financial Conduct Authority — or FCA — for the first time. The UK’s Economic Secretary to the Treasury and City Minister, John Glen, said: “It’s important that people can understand the financial products they see promoted.

Philippines Launches Blockchain App to Distribute Government Bonds

The Philippines has launched a blockchain-enabled mobile application for the distribution of government-issued bonds. On July 19, the Philippine Bureau of the Treasury along with the UnionBank and Philippine Digital Asset Exchange launched a blockchain-enabled mobile application for distributing government-issued treasury bonds. According to local news outlet Inquirer.Net, the president and CEO of UnionBank, Edwin R.

Bitcoin ads must be regulated by UK government, Treasury proposes

Her Majesty’s Treasury proposed a plan to regulate how cryptocurrency companies can advertise their services.

South Korean Local Stablecoin Operator Posts Record Profits

Business appears to be booming for a company operating an increasingly large number of South Korean local stablecoins. Per Fn News, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) – the company that has printed banknotes and minted coins for the nation’s treasury for the past 70 or so years – has posted record-high sales and profits, coinciding with a slew

Legal Implications of Secondary SAFT Sales, Part 2

Part 2 of this series continues to cover the legal implications associated with the sale of SAFTs and focuses on taxes related to tokens. The United States Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department have published minimal guidance on the tax treatment of virtual currency and no guidance on Simple Agreement for Future Tokens or secondary forward contracts on SAFTs.

Arca Digital Asset Investment Firm Gets Approval from SEC to Tokenize US Treasury Bonds

Los Angeles-based digital asset investment firm Arca has launched trading for its new digitized security investment product that runs on the Ethereum blockchain.

Cardano's ADA is Either #6 or 7 By Market Capitalization — Depending on Who Counts

Cardano’s ADA may have passed Bitcoin Satoshi Vision in market capitalization, the caveat is how should treasury coins be qualified. Cardano’s ADA recently overtook Litecoin (LTC) in market capitalization.

Former top Treasury official joins Bitcoin tracing firm Chainalysis

Sigal Mandelker was previously Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence under President Trump.

Trump’s Former Sanctions Chief Joins Major Crypto Firm Chainalysis

US Treasury’s former key undersecretary, Sigal Mandelker, has joined the board of advisors of major crypto analytics firm, Chainalysis. A former key executive at the United States Department of the Treasury has joined a major cryptocurrency investigation firm, Chainalysis. Sigal Mandelker, a former Treasury Under Secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, has reportedly joined Chainalysis’ board of advisors.

Crypto Tracer Chainalysis Raises $13M as It ‘Doubles Down’ on Government Ties

Chainalysis is also adding former Treasury Department official Sigal Mandelker on as an advisor.

Trading Begins for New Treasury-Based, SEC-Registered Digital Security

Arca launches Ethereum-based trading for new fund based on shares in US Treasury securities. Per a July 6 announcement from the firm, Arca has begun trading for its new digitized security, the ArCoin. The ArCoin runs on the Ethereum blockchain and represents shares in Arca’s US Treasury Fund, which is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is 80% made up of US Treasury securities. Arca initially filed to launch the fund in April. This story will be updated shortly.

Former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers Expects ‘A Ton of Innovation’ Around Stablecoins

Former US Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers praised stablecoins last week, saying he sees use cases in cross-border transactions as one example.

IRS Wants to Track ‘Nefarious’ Privacy Coin and Lightning Transactions

The IRS is looking to expand its investigative capabilities around privacy coins, layer-two solutions, and sidechains. The United States’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking information and tools to help it trace transactions using privacy coins, layer two protocols such as Lightning Network and side chains like Plasma and OmiseGo (OMG). A June 30 request for information published by the US Department Of The Treasury reveals the IRS’ Criminal Investigation Division is seeking submissions for “an interactive prototype” with a graphic user interface for analyzing distributed ledger-based transactions involving privacy coins and other privacy-enhancing blockchain technologies. IRS peeks into privacy The document explicitly names Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC), Dash (DASH), Grin (GRIN), Komodo (KMD), Verge (XVG), and Horizon (ZEN) among the privacy coins that the IRS hopes to target, in addition to the layer-two solutions Raiden Network, Celer Network, and Lightning. The IRS requests that prototypes detail systems for “clustering transactions” from a single user who is using “privacy coins and obfuscation technologies”; compile a library of wallet addresses associated with “suspected or known to be involved in nefarious activities”; and identify other addresses associated with said nefarious wallets. The agency also requests that the system include “a mechanism for sharing investigative research between investigators”, secure data export and import functionality, and estimates on proposed systems’ cost and return on investment.  Hard to track privacy coins Despite the bold ambitions of the IRS’ cryptocurrency tracing initiative, the agency acknowledges that few resources currently exist for tracking the movements and addresses of privacy coins: “Currently, there are few investigative resources for tracing transactions involving privacy cryptocurrency coins, layer-two network protocol transactions, side-chain ledger tr

US Banking Regulator Invites Innovators to Talk Tech Virtually

The office of the US Treasury responsible for regulating banks wants to open up dialogue on fintech. Per a July 2 announcement, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) are opening up virtual hours for industry players looking to discuss innovation and new technologies in banking.  More venues for crypto to meet with regulators The new meetings will be capped at one hour in length and are currently slated for just two days, July 29-30.

Former US Head of Treasury Lawrence Summers Backs Cryptocurrency

In an interview with CEO of the digital currency company Circle —Jeremy Allaire, Former US head of Treasury Lawrence Summers advocates for cryptocurrency’s benefits.

Former US Treasury Head Calls Payment ‘Friction’ the Best Argument for Crypto

Clinton-era Treasury Secretary Summers doesn’t buy some of the crypto community’s anarchic sentiments but agrees that they are solving a major problem. In a June 25 interview with Circle’s Jeremy Allaire, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H.