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FATF Grades U.S. Government on Crypto Regulation Enforcement 

The Financial Action Task Force, one of the most prominent Anti-Money Laundering (AML) enforcers in the world, has called out the United States government for being lax on policy enforcement. On March 31, the body published a report in which it explained that the United States is only “largely compliant” with its AML and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) regulations – especially when it comes to the issue of virtual currencies. Higher Awareness is Good, but Loophole Still Exist In the report, the FATF outlined the United States’ degree of compliance with the recommendations it issued last

Sophisticated Mining Botnet Identified After 2 Years

Cybersecurity firm, Guardicore Labs, revealed the identification of a malicious crypto-mining botnet that has been operating for nearly two years on April 1.The threat actor, dubbed ‘Vollgar’ based on its mining of the little-known altcoin, Vollar (VSD), targets Windows machines running MS-SQL servers — of which Guardicore estimates there are just 500,000 in existence worldwide.However, despite their scarcity, MS-SQL servers offer sizable processing power in addition to typically storing valuable information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details.Sophisticated crypto-mining malware network identifiedOnce a server is infected, Vollgar “diligently and

IBM Praises CEO For Playing a Significant Role in Blockchain Development

In a letter to the shareholders, IBM has acknowledged that one of the main achievements of the new CEO is the expansion of its blockchain business.The document notes that its technology portfolio is “built for the future”, with blockchain being one of the technologies underpinning this belief. It denotes IBM as:“...a leader in hybrid cloud, data and AI, security, blockchain, enterprise services”.Discussing the recent appointment of the new CEO, it notes that Arvind Krishna:“Played a significant role in developing IBM key technologies: artificial intelligence, cloud, quantum computing & blockchain”.Blockchain is

Past Halvings in Review: Case for an Immediate Bitcoin Upsurge Is Flawed

The block reward halving of Bitcoin (BTC) has long been touted as an optimistic factor to drive the short-term price trend of BTC in the first half of 2020. Historical data, however, shows that the halving does not necessarily coincide with an immediate upsurge in the price of Bitcoin.On the Bitcoin network, miners create blocks that record Bitcoin transactions to essentially verify and confirm payment data using computing power. Through large-scale mining centers filled with ASIC mining chips and sophisticated equipment, miners use a large amount of electricity and have

Is Blockchain Necessary? An Unbiased Perspective

Yes, that’s the question we are asking today. Is blockchain technology necessary? The answer is tricky. To arrive at the conclusion takes an unbiased perspective. Bankers and people in the stock market will tell you that it’s the epitome of evil. Blockchain engineers and enthusiasts will tell you it’s the future of the world. The government, as usual, will be indecisive.Both are overly eager in their opinions, and both are unfortunately wrong. Blockchain is wonderful and revolutionary, no doubt there. But it has some very serious cons that are underplayed

Spanish Tax Watchdog Puts 66,000 Crypto Traders on Notice

The Spanish tax authority has begun sending out warning notices to 66,000 cryptocurrency holders to remind them of their tax obligations.According to Europa Press, the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT) began the campaign on April 1, and will keep firing off letters until June 30 in the midst of the national COVID-19 crisis.The 66,000 notices represents a sharp increase from 2019, the first year of the campaign, when a reported 14,700 notices were sent out. The tax watchdog is also targeting those who earn income abroad and from real estate

How the Pressures of the Coronavirus May Open the Door for Tokenization

The coronavirus pandemic is the only thing on most people’s minds right now around the world.The pending economic fallout is only surpassed by the anxiety induced by surging cases in both the United States and Europe. People remain firmly in quarantine around the world, and consumer demand has fallen off a cliff as people are holed up with only basic necessities.Paired with the awful Purchasing Managers’ Index numbers published by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, as well asearly U.S. indicators, we’re about

Pandemic Is Changing Bitcoin Usage in ‘Unexpected Ways,’ Says Chainalysis

Leading blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis has found that the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic contraction is affecting Bitcoin (BTC) consumer habits in surprising ways.In a new report published on March 30, Chainalysis details how Bitcoin spending trends in three areas — merchant services, gambling and darknet marketplaces — have changed, or even reversed. Weakening correlation could be a boon for Bitcoin merchant services, says reportChainalysis reported that one such change in trend shows resilience among Bitcoin merchant services in the current economic crisis. For example, the firm’s data for Bitcoin spending using

Evolution of‘Payments’ Will Bolster Next-Generation Businesses

Humans have always been on a developmental journey. When we are born into thousands of years of inventions and improvements, it’s easy to take for granted what’s around us— as if they always existed. We seldom think about the changes it took to get to where we are.Take for example, the creation of language and how that opened up a new course in human history. How it led to communication, collaboration, communities and organizations. From there, people organized a set of doctrines and came up with story-telling, a precursor to

Bitcoin and Visa Transactions Plunge But Pizza Deliveries Are Up

Online purchases using Bitcoin (BTC), Visa, and some retail apps are down for the first quarter of 2020, spanning cryptocurrency and fiat currency transactions.With many around the world self-quarantining or otherwise recommended to stay inside to prevent the spread of COVID-19, one might assume there would be an increase in online purchases and deliveries. Yet with unemployment on the rise and an uncertain economic future, it seems consumers want to save their money rather than spend it.Bitcoin transactions rivaling those during crypto winterThe crypto market is not exempt from this