crypto blog
Democrats to reportedly return over $1M of SBF’s funding to FTX victims
Following the arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), three prominent Democratic groups have reportedly decided to return over $1 million to investors that lost their funds due to misappropriation. On Dec. 16, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) pledged to return SBF’s political donations after the entrepreneur was charged with eight counts of financial crimes. A DNC spokesperson reportedly confirmed this decision when speaking to a media outlet, the Verge: “Given the allegations around potential campaign finance violations by Bankman-Fried, we are setting aside funds in order to return the $815,000 in contributions since 2020. We will return as soon as we receive p...
Metaverse experience to sway real-world travel choices in 2023: Survey
As borders open up following prolonged COVID-induced travel restrictions, the Metaverse, one of the latest sub-crypto ecosystems, is set to help travelers decide on the destinations they want to experience in person, reveals a new survey conducted by Booking.com personally. Popular online travel agency Booking.com surveyed 24,179 respondents across 32 countries, which revealed travelers’ strong interest in virtually exploring destinations as they decide on their itinerary. Out of the lot, people most likely to try out travel experiences in the metaverse were Gen Z (45%) and Millennials (43%). Nearly half, or 43% of the respondents, confirmed their will to use virtual reality to inspire their choices. Among this group, around 4574 participants believe in traveling to new places only after e...
Crypto Stories: Dr. Adam Back shares his life of hacks
It’s been a life of hacks for Dr. Adam Back, the CEO and co-founder of Blockstream. One of the few people quoted on the Bitcoin Whitepaper, hacking highlights of Back’s life are brought to life in the latest animated Crypto Story from Cointelegraph’s video team. [embedded content] Over a game of Jenga in a park, Back told Cointelegraph that he’s always had a “kind of security mindset.” From his days as a student, he tinkered with door codes, pin pads and locks, testing out code and gaining access to places he “wasn’t supposed to have access to.” Back talks through the creation of Hash Cash, one of the early attempts at digital money. He uses the “Birthday collision” as an allegory for hash functions, demonstrating his aptitude to breaking down complex functions into intelligible lang...
Argentina’s province to issue US dollar-pegged stablecoin
The province of San Luis in Argentina approved a legislation allowing the issuance of its own stablecoin pegged to the United States dollar. The token, dubbed the “Activo Digital San Luis de Ahorro”, will be available to all citizens of the province over the age of 18 and 100% collateralized in liquid financial assets of the province. The bill authorizes the province to issue the stablecoin up to 2% of its annual budget. It also stipulates that assets can be transferred between parties, but it does not specify which chain will be used for the transactions. The province of San Luis is home to over 430,000 people. The stablecoin issuance is only one of the initiatives described in the bill called “Financial Innovation for Investment and Social Economic Development”, which a...
Hal Finney’s wife resumes activity on Bitcoin pioneer’s Twitter account to avoid potential purge
Fran Finney, the wife of computer scientist Hal Finney — the recipient of the first transaction on the Bitcoin blockchain from Satoshi Nakamoto — reactivated her late husband’s Twitter account amid concerns Twitter CEO Elon Musk might purge the content from the social media platform due to inactivity. Many Crypto Twitter users reported on Dec. 16 that Finney’s account registered activity for the first time in more than 12 years. Some speculated that a hacker might have taken control of the Bitcoin (BTC) pioneer’s account and it’s more than 71,000 followers, but Fran quickly stepped in to dispel rumors. “I am tweeting for Hal […] to avoid his account being purged by Elon,” said Fran. I want to keep Hal’s account active, and occasionally will be posting from his account. When I d...
The outcome of SBF’s prosecution could determine how the IRS treats your FTX losses
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has received official criminal charges after the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange, which is more than just a moral victory for the exchange’s roughly 1 million individual investors. While not locked in yet, things appear to be on track for these investors to take a more favorable tax position as SBF’s fate continues to unravel. What kinds of losses can FTX investors claim on their taxes? Earlier this fall, it appeared that assets lost in the FTX collapse would be considered a capital loss under the United States tax code for the tax year 2022. This capital loss can be used to offset capital gains. But in a year in which the crypto market took a beating as a whole, most investors will not have capital gains to offset in 2022. A capital loss can also be u...
No more proof-of-reserve checks? Auditors quietly drop crypto projects from portfolios
As the FTX collapse highlighted the need for more transparency from centralized crypto exchanges, working with auditors has been the move by top crypto trading platforms to assure users that their assets are fine. However, two of the most prominent auditors have suddenly dropped their crypto auditing services, leaving exchanges hanging at a very crucial time. At the moment, the official website of the French auditing firm Mazars Group shows that its section, called Mazars Veritas, which is dedicated to crypto audits is now offline. The firm worked with several of the most prominent crypto exchanges including Binance, KuCoin and Crypto.com. While there’s been no official announcement from Mazars at the time of writing, Binance confirmed that the auditing firm has indicated that it’s t...
Web3 community shares tips for a successful GameFi project
As the GameFi space continues its journey to attract gamers to a new gaming paradigm, community members shared their takes on what they think a mature GameFi project needs to succeed. From creating e-sports competitions with huge prize pools to making the game tokens more relevant for the token holders, GameFi community members shared their takes on what the space needs. One Reddit user suggested that GameFi projects need to appeal to several target audiences. This includes whales who will provide funding, earners who are mostly kids and people from developing countries and those who play for fun that will leave good reviews for the game. Another community member pointed out the need to improve the reputation of the space. According to the Redditor, there are some that consider GameF...
Only for foreign trade: Bank of Russia stands against free crypto investment
Russia’s central bank is ready to consider allowing cryptocurrency use within the country, but only as part of a legal experiment, said governor Elvira Nabiullina. “It’s possible to consider transactions through an authorized organization in the country as part of an experimental legal regime, but that would require a relevant law,” Nabiullina stated during a Bank of Russia press conference on Dec. 16. The Bank of Russia’s primary objection to crypto has always been that it cannot be used as a payment instrument, Nabiullina emphasized. She added that the central bank is also concerned about investor protection because the crypto market is highly volatile. While Russia formally does not prohibit its people from investing in crypto, the Bank of Russia believes that the mass adoption of crypt...
Raydium is attacked, loses $2M
Solana-based decentralized finance protocol Raydium has suffered an exploit, according to a statement from the developer. An initial investigation by the team revealed that the attacker took over the exchange’s owner account. The team said that “authority” over the automated market maker and farm programs has been paused “for now.” Twitter user and researcher ZachXBT reported that the attacker has bridged $2 million to Ethereum “so far.” An exploit on Raydium is being investigated that affected liquidity pools. Details to follow as more is known ⁰Initial understanding is owner authority was overtaken by attacker, but authority has been halted on AMM & farm programs for nowAttacker accnthttps://t.co/ZnEgL1KSwz — Raydium (@RaydiumProtocol) December 16, 2022 This is a breaking story and w...
New House Financial Services Committee chair wants to delay crypto tax changes
The incoming United States House Financial Services Committee chair, Patrick McHenry, wants the Treasury to delay implementing a section of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that deals with digital assets and tax collection. McHenry sent a letter on Dec. 14 to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen with questions and concerns about the scope of Section 80603 of the act. In the letter, he requested clarification over the “poorly drafted” and potentially privacy-compromising section that deals with the taxation of digital assets, scheduled to go into effect next yea. He said the section requires the government to treat digital assets as the equivalent of cash for tax purposes, which could “jeopardize” the privacy of Americans and hamp innovation. The section, called “Information...
Japan set to ease 30% crypto tax on paper profits for token issuers
The Japanese government is set to ease tax requirements for local crypto firms, as it pushes to stimulate growth in the domestic finance and tech sectors. At present, Japanese firms that issue crypto are required to pay a set 30% corporate tax rate on their holdings, even if they haven’t realized a profit through a sale. As such, a number of domestically founded crypto/blockchain firms and talent have reportedly chosen to set up shop elsewhere over the past few years. Japan’s ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) tax committee held a meeting on Dec. 15 and approved a proposal — initially tabled in August — which removes the requirement for crypto companies to pay taxes on paper gains from tokens that they have issued and held. The softer crypto tax rules are expected to be sub...
