Blockchain

Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology found no mention in India’s union budget for the year 2023, bringing down the hopes of millions of crypto holders in the country. Many in the Indian crypto community were hoping for some reduction to the high crypto tax, implemented in March 2022. Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the union

Crypto companies tightened their purse strings in the first month of 2023, with at least 2,900 crypto staff cut loose across 14 crypto firms in January. The latest firm to reportedly initiate a layoff is the crypto infrastructure provider Prime Trust, which has reportedly reduced its employee count by a third. The reduction would equate to

USD Coin (USDC) issuer Circle has released an accountant-verified report of its treasury reserve holdings backing more than $44.5 billion worth of tokens currently in circulation. Circle’s December 2022 reserve report, which was reviewed by GrantThornton accountancy group, breaks down the current make-up of the stablecoin issuer’s reserve vault. According to Circle, 44,553,543,212 USDC is

The Ministry of Justice in South Korea announced plans to introduce a crypto tracking system to counter money laundering initiatives and recover funds linked to criminal activities. The ‘Virtual Currency Tracking System’ will be used to monitor transaction history, extract information related to transactions and check the source of funds before and after remittance, according

The White House released a statement on Jan. 27 that provided the United States President Joe Biden administration a roadmap for mitigating risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Much of the document was addressed to the U.S. Congress with the administration’s legislative guidance. The authors of the statement outlined a two-pronged path forward. They wrote: “We have

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been probing traditional Wall Street investment advisors that may be offering digital asset custody to its clients without the proper qualifications. A Jan. 26 Reuters report citing “three sources with knowledge of the inquiry” said the SEC’s investigation has been going on for several months already

Mango Labs, the company behind the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Mango Markets has come out with its own lawsuit against exploiter Avraham Eisenberg. The Jan. 25 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleges Einseberg of exploiting its platform for millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies in October

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) is ramping up its research into Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) but is yet to announce a deployment. In a Jan. 23 bulletin, the bank stated it was working on a phase of a project that “focuses on domestic wholesale CBDC use cases in collaboration with local banks and fintechs.”

The chief executive from crypto and tech investment firm Ark Invest believes crypto assets will see a huge turnaround this year as inflation falls and the Fed pivots.  In a company video blog on Jan. 23, Ark Invest CEO and CIO, Cathie Wood, started with a glance at the macroeconomic outlook. She said there was

A former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official has slammed “cryptocurrency lobbyists” for labeling SEC enforcement actions as “regulation by enforcement” — calling the term a “Bogus Big Crypto Catch Phrase.” John Reed Stark, a former chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement and a crypto skeptic, opined in a Jan. 22 post that

The philanthropic arm of Binance — Binance Charity — is set to fund 30,65 scholarships to students keen on forging out a career in Web3 in 2023. The Binance Charity Scholar Program (BCSP) will provide free Web3 education and training courses which will enable tech-savvy students to upskill without having to leap-frog any unnecessary financial

Crypto will play a “major role” in the United Arab Emirates’ global trade moving forward, says the UAE’s minister of state for foreign trade Thani Al-Zeyoudi. Speaking with Bloomberg on Jan. 20 in Davos Switzerland — where world leaders are currently gathered for the 2023 World Economic Forum — Al-Zeyoudi provided a host of updates

China’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) — the digital yuan, or eCNY — has received upgrades giving it smart contract functionality alongside a series of newly unveiled use cases. The smart contract function was launched on the Meituan app, a Chinese app offering retail and food delivery services, according to a Jan. 17 report by

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expects the firm’s long-running dispute with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will be finalized within “single-digit months” and remains confident in securing a favorable outcome. Speaking to CNBC on Jan. 18 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Garlinghouse said the verdict could come as soon as June this year

The share price of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has surged by 69% since its all time lows and other crypto-related stocks including business intelligence firm MicroStrategy have recorded similar jumps with green candles all around since the start of 2023. The share price of Coinbase fell as low as $31.95 on Jan. 6, before shooting up

The liquidators of Alameda Research have reportedly incurred at least $11.5 million in losses since taking control of Alameda’s trading accounts. On Jan. 16, a Twitter thread from Arkham Intelligence reported that one wallet under the control of liquidators has seen a string of “significant losses” due to liquidations, some of which were “preventable losses.”

Bank of Thailand has disclosed plans to allow virtual banks to operate in the country for the first time. Financial firms will be able to provide services by 2025, a Bloomberg report shows.  The “Consultation Paper on Virtual Bank Licensing Framework” published by the central bank says that applications will be available later in 2023

Solana Foundation, the non-profit organization of the Solana Network, disclosed on Jan. 14 a security incident involving its email service provider Mailchimp.  According to an email sent to users and seen by Cointelegraph, the Foundation was informed by Mailchimp on Jan. 12 that “an unauthorized actor accessed and exported certain user data from the Solana