More than half of all crypto exchanges have weak or no ID verification

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Average VASP KYC by country in 2020

The highest number of exchanges defying regulatory norms are in Europe. More than half of all exchanges worldwide have weak KYC identification protocols — with exchanges in Europe, the U.S. and U.K. among the worst offenders, according to a new study by blockchain analysis firm CipherTrace CipherTrace analyzed more than 800 decentralized, centralized, and automated market maker exchanges and found 56% of them did not follow KYC guidelines at all despite anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The highest number of such exchanges are in Europe — a region renowned for stricter…

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More than $1B in Bitcoin has been tokenized for DeFi

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BTC locked in DeFi

Almost 100,000 Bitcoin are now tokenized on Ethereum, more than half of which have migrated over the past 30 days. More than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) has now been tokenized to access decentralized finance protocols on the Ethereum network. That’s equivalent to the entire total value locked, or TVL, in DeFi less than four months ago. According to DeFi Pulse, roughly 98,300 BTC (worth $1.05 billion) has been tokenized using protocols other than Blockstream’s Lightning Network — equating to more than 12% of the DeFi’s sector’s $8.57 billion…

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The seventh annual Hackers Congress Paralelní Polis

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HCPP20

The well-loved cypherpunk event is back – this time warning of the impending Digital Totality The annual Hackers Congress (HCPP) will take place on October 2nd-4th in the stunning venue of Paralelní Polis, Prague. Traditionally, it gathers freedom activists, technology geeks, artists, and scientists. Every HCPP has a current topic – a provocative idea behind it. As it usually explores the binding constraints of global political and economic systems, this year’s manifesto states, “2020: a year of Digital Totality.” The event will feature opinions by experts on how society can…

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Etherum Fees Double In a Week As DeFi Heats Up

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ethereum fees

The average fee for transactions on Ethereum has reached its second-highest level ever, after setting the record earlier this month. Ethereum fees remain at historically elevated levels, as miners scramble to add capacity and profit from record-breaking network activity levels. Average transaction fees on the Ethereum network have more than doubled since last week, rising to $11.61 on September 17 and maintaining a streak of prices above $2 that’s now lasted for more than a month, far longer than any previous stretch at those levels. The Ethereum blockchain hash rate—the amount…

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The Bahamas will launch a digital Central Bank ‘Sand Dollar’ in October

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Bahamas

The Bahamas is gunning to become the first country in the world to roll-out a state-backed virtual currency nationwide, and has announced it will launch a central bank-issued cryptocurrency during October. The assistant manager of eSolutions at the Central Bank of The Bahamas, Chaozhen Chen, told Bloomberg that the digital currency, dubbed ‘Sand Dollars’, is intended to drive greater financial inclusion among the remote islands within the archipelago nation. “A lot of residents in those more remote islands don’t have access to digital payment infrastructure or banking infrastructure. We really…

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DoJ Aims to Seize 280 Cryptocurrency Accounts Used by Hackers

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FBI DoJ

Complaint details collaboration with China to funnel $250m in stolen funds as part of state-sponsored attacks. The U.S. government aims to seize control of 280 illegal cryptocurrency accounts it claims were used by North Korean state-sponsored attackers in their efforts to hack cryptocurrency exchanges and funnel hundreds of millions in stolen funds through a Chinese money-laundering network. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a civil forfeiture complaint against North Korea Thursday as part of a broader effort to shut down that it said were state-sponsored cyberattacks on currency exchanges…

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China’s Blockchain Service Network to launch stablecoin support in 2021

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China’s Blockchain Service Network

China’s national blockchain project BSN could be the best fit for the digital yuan. China’s nationwide blockchain project, the Blockchain Service Network, or BSN, will be integrating stablecoin support in 2021. Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, a major tech company involved in the BSN development, told Cointelegraph that the project will soon start integrating stablecoins. Piloted in late 2019, China’s BSN is a state-backed initiative that intends to support medium-sized businesses in building and deploying blockchain applications. The exec explained that stablecoins will be used as payment for…

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Russia’s New Crypto Analytics System to Track Dash and Monero

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Crypto Analytics System

Dubbed “Transparent Blockchain,” Russia’s new crypto analytics system is designed to fight illicit activity related to crypto. A major financial watchdog in Russia is developing a new cryptocurrency analytics tool to trace major cryptos like Bitcoin (BTC) and privacy coins. Russia’s Federal Financial Monitoring Service, a federal service combating money laundering and terrorist financing, is reportedly planning to build a new analytics platform for tracking cryptocurrency transactions via artificial intelligence. Dubbed “Transparent Blockchain,” the new system is designed to track the movement of digital financial assets and identify crypto service…

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MicroStrategy bought Bitcoin for $250 million

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MicroStrategy

MicroStrategy, a Virginia-based business intelligence software company that trades on the NASDAQ, announced on Tuesday it has acquired 21,454 Bitcoin in what describes as a “capital allocation strategy.” The move is a novel one for a publicly traded firm. While many companies put surplus capital into bonds and other investments as part of their treasury management strategies, a bet of this size on Bitcoin is all but unheard of. “[I]nvesting in the cryptocurrency would provide not only a reasonable hedge against inflation, but also the prospect of earning a higher…

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Philippines Central Bank Governor Confirms Interest in Launching A Digital Currency

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Filipínská vlajka

The central bank of the Philippines, otherwise known as Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), expresses its interest in launching its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). In a story first covered on Bloomberg, the governor of BSP, Benjamin Diokno, stated the country had formed a research committee on the possible launch of digital currency. The article further states that the research team is set to release its findings in the coming month. The committee, which was formed earlier this year, started its research on the policy implications and potential feasibility…

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Crypto Wallet Maker Ledger Loses 1M Email Addresses in Data Theft

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Ledger

Ledger said customer details have been stolen in a data breach that may well have been exploited for over two months. In a note to clients Wednesday, CEO Pascal Gauthier said the French hardware wallet provider fell victim to a large-scale data breach from an unauthorized third party. The hacker, whose identity remains unknown, gained access to Ledger’s e-commerce and marketing database. Customers affected include those who signed up for Ledger’s newsletter or to receive promotional material. Information stolen included email addresses, with a smaller “subset” of 9,500 customers also…

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Twitter hacked in Bitcoin scam

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Twitter Bitcoin scam

Twitter was hacked yesterday when Bitcoin scammers sent a series of tweets from the official accounts of Apple, Uber, Joe Biden, Elon Musk and hundreds of others, reaping more than $100,000 (£79,500, €87,750). The platform said that some of its employees had been targeted by a social engineering campaign, allowing hackers to gain access to its internal systems. The severity of the incident is still being investigated. Appearing across multiple high-profile accounts in a matter of minutes, various tweets promised users that the account holders would double donations from anyone…

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Alibaba leads blockchain patent race

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blockchain patents

Data shows that China’s e-commerce giant leads the way in awarded blockchain patents, with Chinese and US firms aggressively filing to stake out protection for their IP. A new report from the China Patent Protection Association shows that Chinese multinational Alibaba leads the world in patents awarded for blockchain-related technology. According to the 2020 Blockchain Global Patent Au­tho­ri­sa­tion Re­port, there are 3924 awarded patents for blockchain tech to date. US firms account for the lion’s share of awarded patents, at 39%, Korea has 21%, while China comes in at 19%. Alibaba leads…

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FC Barcelona’s BAR Token Price Jumps Over 150% on First Trading Day

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FC Barcelona

Premier soccer club FC Barcelona has launched a token earlier this week in a token sale that ended in the space of two hours. In it, 600,000 tokens were sold at €2 ($2.25) each, and these tokens are now already trading above €5.6 (around $6.35). The tokens, known as Barça Fan Tokens, were bought by the club’s supporters either through the club’s own “Socios” voting platform or through Chillz, a sports-specific token platform and exchange. The team is, in part, managed by its socios. Total trading volumes for Barcelona’s BAR…

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Chinese Mining Company Ebang to Reportedly List on Nasdaq This Week

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EBANG

Chinese Bitcoin (BTC) miner manufacturer Ebang will reportedly be listed on Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker EBON later this week, becoming the second crypto mining company to go public in the United States. According to a report from Chinese crypto news outlet Blockbeats, Ebang will be officially listed on Friday, June 26. Additionally, Blockstream chief strategy officer Samson Mow tweeted a screenshot of an invitation to a Ebang event held at a hotel in Hangzhou, where the company is headquartered, which also starts on Friday. Ebang aims to raise…

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