Category Security

Cryptocurrency-exchange operator Coinbase Inc. agreed Friday to pay $6.5 million to settle regulatory claims that it reported misleading information about its trading volumes.

Coinbase, which last year filed plans to go public, resolved the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s investigation without admitting or denying the regulator’s claims. The outcome clears one cloud hanging over Coinbase as it prepares to become a public company through a direct listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Coinbase issued a statement saying the investigation didn’t allege any harm to customers. “We proactively engaged with the CFTC throughout their investigation, and we believe that our conversations were constructive and contributed to an outcome that is satisfactory for both parties,” the company said.

The enforcement action shows how Wall Street regulators such as the CFTC, which oversees derivatives markets, have moved to police conduct in the new world of cryptocurrencies and digital assets.

Continue reading at wsj.com

Crypto regulation in Spain remains on the political talks amid the current bull-run seen in the bitcoin prices. Now, the country’s Ministry of the Economy is about to create a new Financial Customer Ombudsman for crypto-related matters.

Independent Financial Customer Body Will Abide by the MiCA Ruling

Per La Información, Minister Nadia Calviño seeks to extend its guardianship to the financial body to cover topics such as protecting consumers in cryptocurrency services. To make it a reality, the minister will submit the initial proposal to a public consultancy “as soon as possible.”

Overall, Calviño also wants to canalize all conflicts between banks and their customers through the Financial Customer Ombudsman, including all businesses in the fintech sector.

Continue reading at news.bitcoin.com

With the cryptocurrency market capitalization hitting $1.75 trillion, Wall Street investment banking giant Goldman Sachs states that the cryptocurrency adoption has just begun.

“The pandemic has been a significant accelerant. There is no question in our mind there will be more digital commerce … and (use of) digital money.”

John Waldron, President and COO of Goldman Sachs, in a Reuter’s report on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, has stated that the growth of e-commerce against the backdrop of Covid-19 pandemic will pave way for an “explosion” in the use of cryptocurrencies.

Continue reading at cointrust.com

It’s one thing when your worst fears remain in your mind, but when they manifest in your markets, then it’s time to gear up for action.

A growing number of high profile investors and institutions are cottoning on to cryptocurrencies and central bankers are running concerned.

Itwas easy for Samantha Reid to ignore the signs at first — a tracking cookie on her computer (who didn’t have those?) and the sense that someone was following her after she knocked off work.

But she dismissed those fears, convinced that they were always bigger in her mind than they were in her reality.

Continue reading at bbntimes.com

The Bank of England should steal a march on the rest of the world and develop a crypto-currency, a fintech entrepreneur has urged.

Ron Kalifa, former boss of payment processing company Worldpay, urged governors at the Bank to embrace the currencies rather than dismiss them as a dangerous fad. He said: 'Britain should get ahead on this. Why leave it to China?'

In a report on how to improve the UK's burgeoning fintech sector, he added: 'Individuals would be able to access central bank money.

Continue reading at thisismoney.co.uk

The board of Al-Moammar Information Systems Co. (MIS) is to become a founding shareholder with a consortium of commercial entities to establish a digital bank in Saudi Arabia in compliance with Islamic law, according to Al Arabiya.

The company would contribute SR25 million ($6.66 million) to the bank’s capital, according to its statement on Tadawul, and its establishment would be subject to the approval of authorities.

“The Kingdom is one of the world’s most digitally advanced countries, and banks are leading their transformation with real-time digital solutions to meet their customers’ banking needs,” said Khaled Al-Saleh, managing director of SAP Saudi Arabia, in 2018.

Continue reading at arabnews.com

Mastercard’s recent move to enable crypto on its network is a significant update that will help further Bitcoin’s adoption and make it mainstream. However, following the purchase of Bitcoin by Tesla and MicroStrategy the obvious next step was to consider Bitcoin payments, however, a critical question is, are retail traders willing to spend their Bitcoin holdings?

Based on recent research by Dealaid.org on consumer Sentiment on Bitcoin as a payment method that surveyed one thousand American consumers, the report’s key findings included the following:

• 60.2% of consumers would like more companies to accept Bitcoin as a payment method
• Amazon, Apple, and Walmart are the top 3 companies that consumers want to see accept Bitcoin
• 50.5% of consumers are willing to pay for products and services with Bitcoin
• Ethereum and Doge are the most popular alternatives to Bitcoin as a payment method

Continue reading at ambcrypto.com

Some fear stimulus spending to offset the worst of the economic shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Federal Reserve's injection of billions into the economy threaten the U.S. dollar's standing as the world's reserve currency.

Some investors have moved out of dollars and into gold. While it's hardly a stampede, it could be seen as further evidence of the dollar's increasing weakness. Others see Bitcoin as an inflation hedge, and last month investors drove the price of the cryptocurrency to $41,973, an all-time high.

Relax, a Cornell University economics professor said, because the dollar's place in the world economy is secure.

Continue reading at newsweek.com

If we are to understand bitcoin’s meteoric rise, we must return to 2008. After all, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is a child of the global financial crisis (GFC). 

Once Lehman Brothers went into bankruptcy, many banks and financial institutions across the globe followed. Governments all over the world soon stepped in, bailing them out. Three days after Lehman went bust, Hank Paulson, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and Ben Bernanke, head of the Federal Reserve, went to President George W. Bush and him, “We need a trillion dollars in cash, and we need it by five o’clock,” as Steve Bannon, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker and advisor to President Donald Trump, recalled in 2018.

After Bush shrugged them away, Paulson and Bernanke went to Congress, where they repeated their plea: “If we don’t have a trillion dollars by today, the American financial system will melt down in 72 hours. The world financial system will melt down in two weeks, and there will be global anarchy,” Bannon recounted.

Continue reading at bitcoinmagazine.com

Janet Yellen clarified her position on cryptocurrency regulation in a written testimony published Thursday after the Senate hearing on her appointment as Treasury secretary. During the hearing, Yellen made some statements about cryptocurrencies that were strongly criticized as being inaccurate.

The finance committee began by briefly describing the benefits and risks of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. "Bitcoin and other digital cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrencies are providing financial transactions worldwide, as with many technological developments, this offers potential benefits for the U.S. and our allies," says the written testimony. "At the same time, it also presents opportunities for states and non-state actors that seek to bypass the current financial system and undermine American interests. For example, the Central Bank of China has just issued its first digital currency."

"Dr. Yellen, what do you see as the potential threats and benefits that these innovations and technologies will have on U.S. national security? Do you think more needs to be done to ensure that we have adequate safeguards and regulations for digital and cryptocurrencies in place?" asked the finance committee to the Treasury secretary.

Continue reading at bitcoin.com