Month: December 2020

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a warning that alerts financial institutions in the United States about increasing ransomware attacks against coronavirus vaccine research organizations. US Treasury Warns of Ransomware Attacks, Phishing Schemes Targeting Covid-19 Vaccine Research Institutions According to the alert, FinCEN says that fraud, ransomware attacks, and “similar types of criminal activity” target the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, which could affect their supply chains if proper actions are not taken on time. The alert Read more …

Ether (ETH) price has gained 88% since November, astonishing even the most bullish investors as the top altcoin secured a 2020 high at $750. Aside from the upcoming CME ETH futures launch scheduled for Feb. 8, the phenomenal growth of the total value locked (TVL) in Decentralized Finance protocols also played a major part. Total Value Locked, USD. Source: DeFi Pulse As the above data indicates, investors are even more confident that Eth2 has been a success, despite the real Read more …

A number of players are encouraging individuals to speak out against FinCEN’s new crypto rules before comments close next week. Crypto exchange Coinbase and the foundation behind Monero are the latest firms to join in calling for crypto users to share their thoughts on the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s new rules. In a blog post today, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the proposal would represent “too big of an intrusion” on users’ privacy, stating that crypto exchanges would Read more …

2020 was unforgettable, especially for Bitcoin. To help memorialize this year for our readers, we asked our network of contributors to reflect on Bitcoin’s price action, technological development, community growth and more in 2020, and to reflect on what all of this might mean for 2021. These writers responded with a collection of thoughtful and thought-provoking articles. Click here to read all of the stories from our End Of Year 2020 Series. It is likely that 2020 will be remembered Read more …

Within the last hour, Bitcoin (BTC) price rallied to set a new all-time high at $29,000.  On Dec. 29 Bitcoin price attempted to push through a stiff resistance cluster at $28,500 but after rallying to $28,600 the price rejected with a sharp correction to $27,300. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 Today’s move to $29,000 came after a high volume surge pushed through the $28,500 resistance but the battle for $30,000 is far from over. Data from Material Indicators shows Read more …

National Football League player Russell Okung is a strong proponent of Bitcoin (BTC). And while he may be converting a portion of his salary into BTC, his employer, the Carolina Panthers, isn’t paying him in virtual currency — although a few excitable crypto-focused publications were foxed by the story. A spokesperson from the Carolina Panthers confirmed to Cointelegraph that Okung, like the rest of his teammates, is paid in dollars only. What he chooses to do with the money is Read more …

Chainlink has been severely underperforming Bitcoin as of late, despite its enormous and devoutly loyal community and continued fundamental growth. This isn’t uncommon for the crypto, as it often trends independent from the rest of the market, seeing some of its largest rallies during the depths of the bear market seen over the past few years. Its growth from a small ICO to a multi-billion-dollar project has been incredible, and many still believe that its future is brighter than ever. Read more …

On December 30, the decentralized finance (defi) platform Detoken and the firm General Protocols announced the launch of Anyhedge, the first public defi product built on the Bitcoin Cash network. Detoken users will be able to hedge or long their bitcoin cash and earn a funding premium while holding their keys in a noncustodial fashion. This week, bitcoin cash (BCH) users will get a chance to leverage the first public defi product built on the BCH blockchain. The team from Read more …

Bitcoin (BTC) has had a stellar 2020, but how are other top crypto assets faring? Let’s take a look at how some of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization performed this .  Bitcoin First, Bitcoin has seen a massive gain since Jan. 1, as its price soared from $7,195 to as high as $28,422. Within 12 months, the price of Bitcoin rose by 290%, outperforming all major stock indices and most stocks, apart from a select few including Tesla (TSLA). Read more …

The U.S. Treasury has settled with BitGo over charges that it facilitated users in sanctioned areas to transact using its crypto wallet services between 2015 and 2019. BitGo, an institutional crypto custodian service and wallet operator, did not do due diligence in blocking wallet users based in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, said the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls in a Dec. 30 announcement. OFAC said of BitGo: “BitGo failed to exercise due caution or care for its Read more …

Policy Division Financial Crimes Enforcement Network  P.O. Box 39 Vienna, VA 22183  FinCEN Docket No. FINCEN-2020-0020, RIN 1506-AB47  December 30, 2020 To Whom it May Concern: I am Ben Davenport, an entrepreneur and investor. I previously co-founded BitGo, the first non-custodial multi-sig wallet provider, and now leading provider of custodial services for cryptocurrencies. I am also an investor in companies like Kraken, Xapo and Paxos. Today, I am a Venture Partner at Blockchain Capital, the oldest venture fund in the Read more …

XRP is suffering currently, even while Bitcoin trades well above its former all-time high. The reason for the altcoin’s struggles is due to the SEC slapping the coin’s parent company and its top executives with a lawsuit. The crypto community has been quick to point the finger to laugh, despite its dangerous implications for the greater industry. Others call for the token to collapse to near zero, but one trader says that XRP will soar again someday regardless of the Read more …