Crypto

Current director of the Central Intelligence Agency William Burns said his predecessor at the government agency initiated projects focused on gathering intelligence on cryptocurrency. Fielding a question on crypto at the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit on Monday, Burns said the CIA was looking to add expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain to its team of intelligence analysts in addition to communicating with industry experts. He said the challenges from the crypto space “could have enormous impact” on the United States given what he has already seen in ransomware attacks. “My predecessor had started this,” said Burns, likely referring to the actions of former acting CIA director David Cohen. “[They] had set in motion a number of different projects focused on cryptocurrency and...

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the USA will operate with only an acting Comptroller for a little longer after President Biden’s nominee, Saule Omarova, withdrew her candidacy from the confirmation process. In response to Omarova’s withdrawal, President Biden said on Dec. 7, “Saule was subjected to inappropriate personal attacks that were far beyond the pale.” The Comptroller of the Currency oversees the regulation of chartered banks across the country. Cryptocurrency stakeholders saw Omarova as a poor choice for the Comptroller due to her anti-crypto sentiments. Omarova fielded heated lines of questioning from Republican and some Democratic senators on The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in hearings about her views on private banking and cryptocurrency re...

Democratic lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that she avoids any and all investments which could potentially represent a conflict of interest, including crypto — and believes her fellow lawmakers should do the same. She explained that as a member of the House of Representatives’ Financial Services Committee, she felt it was inappropriate for her to hold Bitcoin (BTC) or other digital assets because lawmakers have access to “sensitive information and upcoming policy.” “I do not believe members of Congress should hold/trade individual stock and I choose not to hold any so I can remain impartial about policy making,” said AOC. “I also extend that to digital assets/currencies […] I want to do my job as ethically and impartially as I can.” Screenshot fr...

This “Crypto City” guide looks at Austin’s crypto culture, the city’s most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure, which retailers accept crypto and where you can find blockchain education courses — and there are even the juicy details of a famous controversy. Everything is bigger in Texas, including its enthusiasm for crypto. Fast facts City: Austin Country: United States Population: 974,000 Founded: 1839 Language: English The capital of the largest state in the contiguous United States, Austin is known as a live music mecca, with festivals drawing in thousands of people from around the world each year, including Austin City Limits and South by Southwest. The Texas city is a unique blend of liberal and conservative values, yet in many ways, it still operates under the o...

On Tuesday, BloombergQuint (Bloomberg India) reported that the penalty for non-compliance with the Indian government’s crypto policies could range from a maximum fine of 20 crore rupees ($2.7 million dollars) or 1.5 years in jail. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely give cryptocurrency investors a deadline to comply with new rules and declare their assets. While the regulatory environment in the country holds a high degree of uncertainty, reports have indicated that investors’ crypto must soon be held in exchanges operating under the oversight of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or SEBI. This would mean that private wallets would not be legal under the proposed legislation, and investors who use them could be subjected to the aforementioned judicial penalties. I...

The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, in collaboration with sports betting operator DraftKings Inc., announced the launch of a gamified nonfungible token, or NFT, collection to drop on DraftKings Marketplace during the 2022–2023 NFL season. Starting next year, fans will be able to play NFT-based games featuring their favorite NFL Players, according to the company. OneTeam, the official media business partner of the NFLPA, helped facilitate the deal with DraftKings, giving them the necessary licensing rights to use the name, image and likeness for active NFL players. In a statement shared on the DraftKings website, Beth Beiriger, senior vice president of product operations for DraftKings Marketplace said, “The future of fandom is unfolding in front of us, and few organ...

A Bitcoin (BTC) price metric, which made BTC “look seriously cheap” at $56,000, is now in rare oversold territory. In a tweet on Dec. 6, Philip Swift, creator of analytics platform LookIntoBitcoin, returned to potentially bullish signals coming from Bitcoin’s Advanced NVT Signal. Advanced NVT deflates in Bitcoin price rout Advanced NVT calculates whether Bitcoin is overbought or oversold at a certain price point, using market capitalization and network volume. In late November, when BTC/USD had already fallen to $56,000, Swift suggested that a bounce was due. The metric subsequently continued to fall in line with spot price thanks to last Friday’s liquidation cascade. A possible plus, however, lies in the return of “oversold” cues from NVT — something which has only occurred six times sinc...

The Biden administration has introduced a five-pillar strategy to counter corruption as a part of the core United States national security interest. The strategy involves establishing a new task force to address potential illicit activities on crypto exchanges and other services that can serve as avenues for money laundering. With the motive to enhance enforcement of Anti-Money Laundering regulations, as well as criminal and civil laws, the Federal government plans to implement new tools for investigating and prosecuting money laundering offenses. Specifically for cryptocurrencies, “PILLAR THREE: Holding Corrupt Actors Accountable” highlights: “DOJ [Deparment of Justice] will utilize a newly established task force, the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, to focus specifically on comp...

The government of Gibraltar, a British territory at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, has started a pilot program aimed at utilizing blockchain technology to store official credentials on its systems. In a Tuesday announcement, Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar said it had partnered with Mexico-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitso and IOVlabs, a startup that develops financial solutions based on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain, to integrate blockchain technology into its eGov system. The initial phase of the integration will allow users to store state-issued and certified credentials on its servers in an effort for residents and location organizations to have better access to public services. According to Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s Minister for Digital and Financial Services,...

Nasdaq Stockholm has announced that 21Shares has listed its first two physically backed exchange-traded notes (ETN) on the Swedish trading platform.  The two instruments listed, with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) as underlying assets, represent a new segment for ETNs — a type of unsecured debt security that tracks an underlying index of equities and trades on a major exchange.  According to the announcement, the new ETNs will provide investors access to investment opportunities in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ether.  Helena Wedin, European head of exchange-traded products at Nasdaq, said that exchange-traded notes allow one to invest in non-traditional assets while maintaining the transparency of a regulated market. She added, “We are happy to launch this new se...