Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Regulation news
- The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced that it’s unlikely it will grant a license to crypto financial services firm Bitcoin Suisse AG. According to the press release, the regulator informed the company that “based on current information it considers its application for a banking licence to be ineligible for approval and that the prognosis is unfavorable.” Among other things, it said that “there are indications of weaknesses in the money laundering defense mechanisms.” Bitcoin Suisse AG submitted an application for a banking license to FINMA in 2019, but is now withdrawing it. FINMA is therefore terminating the licensing procedure, it said.
- The Paris-based European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Europe’s top markets regulator, warned investors that they’re exposed to “significant risks” from the rapid rise in bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptoassets. The regulator’s recent risk report said that “crypto-assets are highly risky and speculative” and that “consumers must be alert to the high risks of buying and/or holding these instruments, including the possibility of losing all their money.”
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said that authorities should take additional measures against illegal cross-border transfers of “digital financial assets.”
Economy news
- The US Federal Reserve said it decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with their assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2% and is on track to moderately exceed 2% for some time.
Tax news
- The US Internal Revenue Service is planning to push back the deadline for the tax filing season about one month to May 15 from April 15, CNBC reported, citing no one. Per the report, the IRS and Treasury didn’t respond to CNBC’s request for comments on the extension.
Investing news
- The Hong Kong-based app maker Meitu said it acquired additional ETH 16,000 for USD 28.4m and BTC 386 for USD 22m via its subsidiary Miracle Vision today.
Legal news
- Graham Ivan Clark, the Florida hacker who at the age of 17 in 2020 targeted some 130 Twitter accounts, urging followers to send BTC, will serve three years in jail, followed by three years probation, after agreeing to plead guilty. The agreement allowed Clark to be sentenced as a “youthful offender,” reported The Tampa Bay Times, avoiding a minimum 10-year sentence that he would’ve received if he’d been convicted as an adult. The mandatory minimum will only apply if Clark violates his probation.
- The US federal judge in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s case against blockchain company Ripple has denied a motion to intervene filed over the weekend on behalf of a group of XRP holders alleging that they were not being adequately represented in the lawsuit against Ripple and its executives. The motion was denied “without prejudice,” meaning that lawyers representing XRP investors can refile it.
Adoption news
- Major crypto company Crypto.com has announced The Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), commonly known as the Habs, as their new partner. Per the emailed press release, the sports franchise will play their next home game Friday night on a newly minted ice surface showcasing Crypto.com at the center ice location of the Bell Centre, which holds more than 22,000 sports fans per night.
- Atlanta-based provider Bitcoin Depot is launching 115 new BTC ATMs across 24 states in the US in the coming weeks, including 14 in Alabama, 13 in Minnesota, 12 in Florida, and 12 in California. The company has more than doubled its bitcoin ATM count in the last six months, surpassing 2,000 kiosks worldwide, the press release said, adding that the company expects to grow by 200% this year.
Exchanges news
- Coinbase is inching ever closer to its proposed initial public offering and has filed amended documentation with the SEC, claiming that it has registered some 115 million shares. The firm is aiming to make a direct listing on the Nasdaq exchange, but crucially did not make mention of a proposed listing date. Also, Coinbase shares have changed hands at USD 200 to USD 375 in private transactions this year. The company also took the opportunity to distance itself from Ripple, with whom the SEC is currently embroiled in a legal wrangle. Coinbase wrote that “going forward” it expected “no trading volume or total revenue related to XRP trading,” as well as “a decrease in assets” on its platform “attributable to XRP.”
- Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a complaint from a reader of the local newspaper the Northamptonshire Telegraph. The reader stated that a Coinfloor-issued advertisement was unfairly targeting retirees by featuring testimony from a pensioner who spoke about bitcoin investment. The London-based exchange was accused of creating a “misleading” marketing campaign by failing to “make clear the risks associated with bitcoin investments or that the bitcoin market was unregulated in the UK,” reported the Press Association (via the Richmond and Twickenham Times). The complainant alleged that the advertisement was “socially irresponsible” as it suggested buying BTC could offer investment security. Coinfloor stated that the views expressed in the advertisement were not its own, but those of a customer.
DeFi news
- WeMade Tree, the blockchain gaming arm of the Legend of Mir series developer WeMade, is set to take the plunge into plunge the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, signing a memorandum of understanding with Ozys. WeMade Tree has already unveiled plans for a digital tokens exchange and has issued its own, exchange-listed cryptoasset. But per Gogam Shinmun, WeMade Tree has now joined forces with Ozys, the South Korean developer of the KlaySwap DeFi protocol. KlaySwap is built on the Kakao-run Klaytn blockchain network. The deal could allow for users of WeMade Tree-issued game-related cryptoassets to interchange their tokens with the network’s native klay tokens.
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