Day: March 30, 2023

OCC’s new Office of Financial Technology has a director and an opening date

boss

The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) officially announced the establishment of its Office of Financial Technology on March 30. The new office will broaden the OCC’s technology focus and help it stay abreast of the rapid developments in the banking industry, it said. The Office of Financial Technology will open on April 10 under the leadership of Prashant Bhardwaj, who will have the titles of OCC deputy comptroller and chief financial technology officer. Bhardwaj is a new hire at the agency. According to the announcement:…

Most Crypto Sent From Wallets Sponsoring Russia in Ukraine War Reaches CEXs, Binance, Research Shows – Exchanges Bitcoin News

boss

Millions of U.S. dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency has been sent to centralized exchanges (CEXs), most notably Binance, from wallets providing funds in support of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, transaction data suggests. According to Ukrainian analysts, the money was transferred to the crypto trading platforms in order to be laundered. Over 90% of Pro-Russian Crypto Transfers Identified in a Study Sent to Largest Exchange More than $40 million was sent last year from wallets that were used to sponsor the Russian invasion of Ukraine to cryptocurrency exchanges, according to an…

Bitcoin Miner TeraWulf Reports 146% Increase in Revenue as It Ramps Up Operations

boss

In March, TeraWulf started bringing machines online in its Nautilus facility in Pennsylvania, which is fully powered by nuclear energy. At the site, the miner has secured power agreement for 2 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity for five years, which will bring its energy costs down to 3.5 cents across its two facilities. The Nautilus mine is a joint venture, of which TeraWulf owns 25% after downsizing its stake from a 50-50 split with a subsidiary of power producer Talen Energy. Original

UK government announces ‘robust’ crypto regulation as part of economic crime plan

boss

The government of the United Kingdom has laid out plans to step up regulation of crypto assets in its efforts to respond to economic crime in the country. In a policy paper released on March 30, the U.K. Treasury and Home Office said it planned to “robustly” regulate crypto to fight illicit use of digital assets. The focus on regulation was part of the government’s economic crime plan from 2023 to 2026, which also included pooling “the knowledge and abilities of law enforcement agencies” to review and strengthen how crypto…

Argentinian Airline Flybondi Issues Every Ticket as an NFT

“With this launch, we seek to generate a positive impact in the aviation industry through innovation and an application of blockchain technology,” said Flybondi CEO Mauricio Sana in a press release. “Changing the rules of the game is never easy, but we know that it is our objective to evolve and offer our passengers a new stage of the freedom to fly.” Source

The Modern Investor thinks bitcoin prices will fly amid banking crisis

boss

Recent market analysis by financial news YouTube channel, The Modern Investor, paints a bright picture of the direction in which bitcoin (BTC) is headed. In a recent video, The Modern Investor host cites that billionaire Mike Novogratz predicts that the ongoing banking crisis will cause a significant increase in bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices within the next three months. Bitcoin to blastoff as banks collapse As governments potentially inject more money into the financial sector and failing banks, Novogratz anticipates a subsequent rise in the value of cryptocurrencies. This prediction comes…

Boerse Stuttgart Digital subsidiary receives final approval for crypto custody

boss

Boerse Stuttgart Digital, the digital asset brand of the Boerse Stuttgart exchange group, announced March 30 that its blocknox service has received final licensing from the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) to operate as a crypto custodian. Boerse Stuttgart Group now offers fully regulated brokerage, trading, and custody of digital assets, it said. Its final licensing makes Boerse Stuttgart Digital the first “established market participant […] Licensed to hold cryptocurrencies in custody without any acquisitions,” Boerse Stuttgart Group CEO Matthias Voelkel said. Boerse Stuttgart Digital said European banks, brokers,…

Analysts debate the ETH price outcomes of Ethereum’s upcoming Shapella upgrade

boss

The Ethereum Foundation has announced April 12 as the date of deployment of the much-anticipated Shanghai and Capella upgrade, together dubbed as Shapella. The upgrades will enable withdrawals from Ethereum 2.0 staking contracts. The staking contract was first launched in December 2020. It only accepted one-way deposits of ETH, which will change after the upgrade. To date, users have deposited over 18 million ETH, worth around $32.5 billion, into the Ethereum staking contract at varying times since December 2020. Analysts vary on the estimates of ETH sell pressure Most users…

Former FTX CEO Seeks $10M Insurance Fund for Legal Defense, Request Opposed by FTX Debtors and Unsecured Creditors – Bitcoin News

boss

Court filings reveal that the FTX co-founder is seeking access to a $10 million insurance plan to cover his attorney fees. FTX debtors and unsecured creditors have opposed Sam Bankman-Fried’s request, arguing that every dollar spent on his defense is “one less dollar” available to cover the losses of the debtors. FTX Debtors and Unsecured Creditors Oppose Sam Bankman-Fried’s Request for D&O Funds Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the former CEO of FTX, is seeking access to a $10 million legal insurance fund to cover his defense expenses. The filing notes that…