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US banks and trust companies are moving forward with cryptocurrency services
Of: Robert A. Musiala Jr.
This week the Avanti Bank & Trust was granted a banking charter by the Wyoming State Banking Board. According to a press release, the Charter gives Avanti the same powers as domestic banks in its approved lines of business. The press release notes that Avanti’s approved business plan includes “a tokenized US dollar called Avit ™ *; digital asset safekeeping services as a “qualified custodian” under the Investment Advisers Act; API-based online banking, where customer deposits must be 100% reserve-backed; and primary services for digital resources “.
In related news, a Wyoming-based trust company that provides wealth management services to high net worth individuals and family offices at the end of last week received a “letter of non-action on custody of digital assets and custodial status. qualified “by the Wyoming Division of Banking. The no-action letter gives the trust company the authority to provide custody services for digital assets, “including virtual currency and digital (tokenized) securities” under Wyoming law.
According to recent reports, the largest US bank said its digital currency, JPM Coin, “is being used commercially for the first time this week by a large tech customer to send payments around the world.” At the end of last week, the same bank would release a report noting that while bitcoin is more aptly characterized as a “risk” asset than a “safe” asset, the “long-term potential upside for bitcoin is considerable”.
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Launch of cryptocurrency debit cards in the US and Mexico
Of: Robert A. Musiala Jr.
This week a major US cryptocurrency exchange, in partnership with a major US financial services firm, launched the first cryptocurrency debit card made available in the US Cryptocurrency debit card will allow users to spend their cryptocurrency using the debit card to make – in-store and online purchases, as well as withdrawing US dollar funds from ATMs. According to a press release, the encrypted debit card is now available to customers in “nearly 30 countries, including the UK and across Europe”, with the first US customers to be approved this winter.
In similar news from overseas, Paxful, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplace, allegedly teamed up with a Spanish bank to launch the first crypto debit card made available to customers in Mexico. According to another recent report, “nearly half of all bitcoins traded on the P2P Paxful exchange are exchanged for gift cards.” The report found that up to $ 20 million worth of bitcoins are exchanged for gift cards on Paxful every week.
Earlier this month, a leading US blockchain payment company released its annual Blockchain in Payments Report. The report notes that blockchain payment solutions are scaling; digital assets are increasingly being taken into consideration to facilitate payments, especially if combined with blockchain technology; and industry innovators are achieving significant growth, even amidst COVID-19.
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Blockchain developments in protocols, healthcare, copyright, electronic signatures, IoT
Of: Jordan R. Silversmith
Last week, a major US tech firm announced a new partnership with a New York-based blockchain company. Thanks to this collaboration, the tech company, which has mainly focused its blockchain offerings on HyperLedger Fabric, will now be able to offer blockchain solutions that leverage the R3 Corda blockchain. Although the two companies have been competitors in the area of authorized corporate blockchain, the collaboration will now allow each to offer multiple solutions that leverage the blockchain protocols initially developed by the other company.
A recent report on the role of blockchain in the global healthcare market predicts significant growth in the use of blockchain through 2027. The market is expected to reach a valuation of $ 5,798.0 million by 2027, the report says, even taking into account of the effects of the pandemic.
A new plug-in from a major web publishing platform will now allow users to mark content on the Ethereum blockchain. Timestamping, which creates a unique hash for the latest version of the content added to a blockchain, provides proof that the owner of the content created it and that the content has not been tampered with. To that end, the company hopes the new plug-in will help with copyright issues.
A major e-signature firm recently announced its vision on how blockchain-based “smart deals” will work. The company plans to partner with a company focused on smart contracts to create a new way of integrating electronic signatures into the blockchain framework. The goal of the functionality is to enable electronic signatures to become active parts of the IT infrastructure capable of communicating with external resources.
The Sovrin Community last week published a new white paper on the interaction between the “Internet of Things” (IoT) and the concept of self-sovereign identity (SSI). The white paper addresses the current lack of a universal means to distinguish one “thing” from others or to determine what that thing is allowed to do. According to the white paper, this lack of identity and authority in IoT objects hinders the development of multi-party IoT ecosystems and services and makes it more difficult to deliver effective solutions to the growing threat of cyber attacks. The white paper examines several use cases and shows how SSI-enabled devices can use cryptographic methods to validate the identity of IoT objects.
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The application actions target Crypto SIM exchange and Ponzi schemes
Of: Joanna F. Wasick
This week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced allegations relating to a plot to steal cryptocurrency and various electronic accounts, including social media accounts. The scheme would have involved registering fraudulent Internet domains that appeared to come from legitimate wireless providers, sending “phishing” emails, and acquiring wireless phone numbers. The defendants also allegedly used electronic account credentials stolen from employees and affiliates of wireless providers to access those companies’ computer networks without authorization. The indictment states that after gaining access, the defendants took over the victims ‘wireless accounts through “SIM swapping,” whereby the customers’ mobile numbers, which are linked to subscriber identity forms ( SIM) unique, were instead connected to SIMs installed in a device controlled by the defendants or their co-conspirators. The defendants were then able to access the victims’ other accounts, including email accounts, social media and cryptocurrency.
Last week, the Spanish National Police arrested Santiago Fuentes, the operator of the cryptocurrency arbitrage firm Arbistar 2.0, and charged him with financial fraud and money laundering. Arbistar has reportedly served around 120,000 users who together invested around $ 520 million in bitcoin in the Arbistar trading bot. Last month, investors began accusing the platform of being fraudulent after Fuentes claimed that a “computer error” disabled trading bot withdrawals and wiped out more than a quarter of funds. An investigation firm following the case reportedly found that Fuentes was indeed running the platform as a Ponzi scheme.
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