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Ethereum 2.0 nears launch, Blockchain identity solutions announced
Of Jordan R. Silversmith
After launching last week, the deposit agreement for the latest upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain, Ethereum 2.0, now comes in at over 50,000 ETH, equivalent to over $ 22.5 million, which is one-tenth of the way to the necessary threshold. to activate the update. The depository agreement, a cornerstone of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade, is a bridge to major changes in the Ethereum network. Rather than keeping the traditional proof-of-work (PoW) consensus algorithm as a basis, Ethereum 2.0 aims to help the Ethereum network migrate away from PoW and into a new proof of stake (PoS) based technical infrastructure. Once Ethereum 2.0 is up and running, early Ethereum investors on the new network, or “stakers”, will start earning bulk rewards at an estimated rate of 8% to 15% per year.
A collection of Spanish companies, including banking giants and energy companies, recently announced the development of a new “self-managed” digital identity system based on blockchain technology. The group, called “Dalion”, said in an announcement that the mobile-enabled ID platform will allow users to have more control over how their personal data is used. The group mentioned likely use cases including car rental, insurance and loan applications, and sign-ups with service providers. A trial found that the solution works “satisfactorily”, and although a second phase is launched this month, it is not known when the platform will be released to the public.
A Japanese e-commerce giant recently announced that a blockchain platform has been integrated into the company’s online travel booking branch. The integration of the platform means that customers can choose to use the platform’s self-contained identity app and access bookings at more than 600,000 hotels and 200,000 rentals, according to an announcement. The blockchain-based platform will reportedly allow customers to exclusively store and access travel documents in one location and ultimately use cryptocurrencies to pay for bookings. The integration is expected to be published within the next two weeks.
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SEC caters to custody of digital assets, crypto companies obtain licenses / certificates
Of Robert A. Musiala
This week, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff of the Investment Management Division, in consultation with the staff of the SEC’s Strategic Financial Innovation and Technology Hub (FinHub), released a statement addressing the recent letter from the Wyoming Division of Banking that granted a trust company the authority to provide safekeeping services for digital assets, “including virtual currency and (tokenized) digital securities” under Wyoming law. The SEC statement encourages stakeholders “to engage directly with staff on applying the custody rule to digital assets, including regarding the definition of” qualified custodian “under the rule.” The SEC statement also invites interested parties to submit comments to the SEC on the subject “Rule of custody and digital assets” and provides a list of topics the SEC is interested in discussing with industry participants.
According to reports this week, cryptocurrency keeper Anchorage recently received a Type 1 SOC 1 certification from a Big Four professional services firm. SOC 1 Type 1 certification is an independent attestation of Anchorage’s internal systems and controls. Another report this week found that Texture Capital has received licenses for its broker-dealer and alternative trading system from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Licenses are a key step in the company’s plans to launch a market for trading in private securities issued on blockchain networks
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Crypto Fraudster convicted, data on ICO sanctions and crypto crimes published
Of Veronica Reynolds
Last week, a software engineer formerly employed by a major technology company was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison for 18 federal felonies related to an attempt to defraud his former employer of more than $ 10 million. The scheme required the engineer to use his role at the company to steal “stored currency value” (CSV), including digital gift cards, and resell the CSV online. The conviction may have been biased and more severe due to the man fraudulently using email addresses associated with his colleagues in an attempt to cover up his tracks, as well as a bitcoin “mixing” service in the attempt. to hide the source of the funds directed to his bank account.
The SEC recently reported that in 2020 it raised about $ 1.26 billion in penalties from law enforcement actions against unregistered initial coin offerings (ICOs), most of which were raised by Telegram. And overseas, the Canadian Revenue Agency is seeking judicial intervention to force cryptocurrency exchange Coinsquare to give up more than seven years of customer data in an effort to track down the tax gains received by Canadians who have not reported such gains. to the agency.
A recent report by Crystal highlights that fraud and cyber security issues continue to proliferate in the cryptocurrency industry. The report details “security breaches, fraudulent activity, cyber-terrorism and scams” related to cryptocurrencies between 2011 and 2020, detecting 113 security attacks and 23 fraudulent schemes, which resulted in approximately $ 7.6 billion. of stolen cryptographic assets. Of that amount, $ 2.8 billion is attributed to thefts resulting from security breaches and $ 4.8 billion from scams.
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