Crypto
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Iran court orders the release of seized crypto mining equipment
Iranian authorities seized numerous crypto mining equipment over the past two years, citing stress on energy grids during winter. Now, a court ordered the release of crypto-mining equipment that was previously seized as a measure to conserve energy. Since 2021, Iran’s Organization for Collection and Sale of State-Owned Property (OCSSOP) has seized mining equipment — both authorized and unauthorized — due to looming power shortage concerns. However, the authorities had a change of heart amid winter as they ordered the release of the seizure. As explained by Abdolmajid Eshtehadi, the head of Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance: “Currently some 150,000 crypto mining equipment are held by the OCSSOP, a large part of which will be released following judicial rulings. Mach...
Indonesia to launch national crypto exchange in 2023: Report
As a part of its reform of crypto regulation, Indonesia will create a crypto exchange in 2023, according to reports. The platform is planned to be launched prior to a shift of regulatory power from commodities to securities authority. On Jan. 4, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency of Indonesia (Bappebti), Didid Noordiatmoko, stated that a crypto exchange should be set up this year. The move comes as a part of broader financial reform launched in December 2022. In accordance with the reform, in the next two years, the crypto oversight will be taken from Bappebti, a commodities-focused agency, by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The Financial Sector Development and Reinforcement bill (P2SK) was ratified by the House of Representatives of Indonesia on Dec....
US federal agencies release joint statement on crypto asset risks and safe practices
United States federal bank regulatory agencies started off the new year with a statement on crypto assets looking back at the troubles of the crypto sector in 2022. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) released a joint statement on Jan. 3 on past problems and their efforts to maintain sound banking practices in spite of those challenges. “It is important that risks related to the crypto-asset sector that cannot be mitigated or controlled do not migrate to the banking system,” the agencies stated. They identified eight specific risks, including fraud, volatility, contagion and similar familiar issues. Related: Approach with caution: US banking regulator’s crypto warning The agencies also noted that, “B...
Users need to go under the engine in Web3 — HashEx CEO
Hacking in Web3 is easy because it uses the same pattern that’s been used since the inception of the internet — pretending to be someone else. Due to the complexity and the “cool factor” of Web3 projects, one can easily — and mistakenly — assume that it takes Mr. Robot level of advanced hacking techniques to pull off a successful attack. In truth, however, it only takes a sinister ad placed on Google search results, an impostor Telegram group or a deviously-crafted email to break the security barriers of the Web3 ecosystem. Blockchain projects can use top-notch smart contracts, securely integrate crypto wallets and use best practices in each digital step across the board. But they still need help with the social aspect of user protection. Web3 takes the “ownership” from central entit...
Crypto adoption in 2022: What events moved the industry forward?
It’s no secret that the crypto market was gripped by bearish pressure for the entirety of 2022. However, amid all the volatility and chaos, many positive news stories appeared as well — especially regarding the global adoption of digital assets and crypto-related technologies in general. Looking back at 2022, here are some key adoption-related events that helped drive the industry last year. Polygon accrues 200 million addresses despite challenging 2022 Even though an air of financial uncertainty has shrouded the crypto market since the end of 2021, Polygon — a layer-2 scaling solution running alongside the Ethereum blockchain, allowing for speedy transactions and low fees — continued to witness a lot of growth in 2022. To this point, the network’s unique address count recently surpassed t...
Ripple CEO optimistic about US ‘regulatory clarity for crypto’
Ripple’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, shared in a Jan. 3 Twitter thread he’s “cautiously optimistic” about the United States gaining “breakthrough” regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency industry in 2023. To mark the first day of the 118th Congress, Garlinghouse shared his hopes of 2023 being the year the U.S. gained regulatory clarity for crypto and added support for regulation is “bipartisan & bicameral.” Today is the first day of the 118th Congress. While prior efforts at regulatory clarity for crypto in the US have stalled, I am cautiously optimistic that 2023 is the year we will (finally!) see a breakthrough. A thread on why… — Brad Garlinghouse (@bgarlinghouse) January 3, 2023 Garlinghouse said the U.S. was not starting with a “blank slate” for regulation, r...
Bitcoin teases weekly highs as traders eye BTC price leg up to $17.3K
Bitcoin (BTC) inched closer to $17,000 on Jan. 3 as the first Wall Street open of the year loomed. BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingView Consensus builds for fresh attack on $17,000 Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD reaching highs of $16,766 on Bitstamp — its best performance since Dec. 27. Analysts and traders were keenly awaiting the start of Wall Street trading after European stocks posted gains the day prior and United States futures followed suit. As Cointelegraph reported, both equities and gold had looked considerably more appetizing than Bitcoin since the FTX meltdown in November. “If BTC is finally ready to join the party, I could see it run to 17.3K~ as drawn below,” popular trader Crypto Chase wrote in part of an analysis on...
The best (and worst) stories from 3 years of Cointelegraph Magazine
On Oct. 1, 2019, Cointelegraph Magazine’s founding editor, Jon Rice, pressed publish on the first-ever feature story for the publication — a story by Swedish fintech writer Jinia Shawdagor about the country’s embrace of a cashless economy. The brainchild of former Cointelegraph CEO Jay Cassano — who was managing editor at the time — Magazine was designed to fill a major gap in crypto media with in-depth features exploring all angles of the issues in a thoughtful, considered way. While it’s easier to get traffic writing breathless stories about Bitcoin price predictions, Magazine is an attempt to give readers and the industry a more intelligent approach. I came on board after meeting the team at Cointelegraph’s conference in Singapore. Due to an amusing mix-up between “Austria” (where a sto...
Community celebrates Bitcoin Genesis Day by sending BTC to the genesis block
As Bitcoin (BTC) has its 14th birthday, Bitcoiners from around the world are celebrating in various ways, with some opting to send BTC to the address containing the rewards for mining its genesis block. On Jan. 3, 2009, pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block, which led to the minting of the first 50 BTC. This instance paved the way for an entire industry to be developed, with millions of people working toward a similar vision for the future of money. 14 years later, many are showing their respect by posting various greetings to the cryptocurrency that started it all. Essen, Germany Celebrating #Bitcoin Genesis Day & sound money#gesundesgeld pic.twitter.com/3Ol5E2QdSZ — El Bitcoin ambassador (@elbitcoinamb) January 3, 2023 Some are tipping their ...
Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal team warns of ‘harassment and threats’ to parents in latest court filing
The legal team behind former FTX chief executive officer Sam Bankman-Fried has petitioned a court to redact certain information on individuals acting as sureties for his $250-million bond, citing threats made against his family. In a letter dated Jan. 3 filed to Judge Lewis Kaplan for the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York, Bankman-Fried’s legal team requested the court order “names and other identifying information” of two bail sureties not be disclosed to the public and redacted from bonds once they were signed on Jan. 5. Mark Cohen of the law firm Cohen & Gresser said that if the individuals’ personal information were to be available, they could be subject to similar harassment as the former FTX CEO’s parents, Barbara Fried and Joseph Bankman. “In...
Erik Voorhees tips $40K BTC by June, but little consensus among pundits
There is little agreement among Bitcoin’s commentators over the last few weeks, with crypto execs, research analysts and billionaire investors offering wildly different takes on what’s in store for Bitcoin for the year ahead. One crypto exchange founder expects Bitcoin (BTC) to spike to $40,000 by the summer, while a Bitcoin billionaire has renewed his bullish $250,000 BTC price prediction for the year. Erik Voorhees — $40,000 by the “summer” Erik Voorhees, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange ShapeShift, was optimistic about a potential recovery of Bitcoin’s price during an interview with Bankless on Jan. 2, stating he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Bitcoin (BTC) hit “like $40K” by the “summer.” Voorhees noted that if his prediction were to come true that would be “2.5X” fro...
Bahamas regulator denies asking crypto exchange FTX to mint new tokens
The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) has denied FTX debtors’ claims and expresses concern that the investigation has been ‘impeded.’ According to a statement released on Jan.3, The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) has had to correct material misstatements made by John J. Ray III, the representative of the United States-based FTX debtors, in press and court filings. The document stated that the Chapter 11 Debtors had “publicly challenged” the Commissions calculations of digital assets transferred to digital wallets under the Commission’s control in Nov. 2022. It argued that these statements were based on “incomplete” information and the debtors did not do due diligence by requesting information from the Joint Provisional Liquidators. The statement added that the FT...
