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In this problem:
The leading US payment company launches the cryptocurrency service as adoption grows
• Launch of blockchain supply chain solutions, copyright and satellite communications
• CFTC Guide Addresses Crypto Deposits, Travel Rules White Paper published
• Stop Target Criminal Network using Crypto, FinCEN Fines Tumbler Operator
The leading US payment company launches the cryptocurrency service as adoption grows
This week a leading US internet payment company announced the launch of “a new service that allows its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their … account”. According to a press release, the company plans to make cryptocurrencies “available as a source of funding” through its online payment platform “for purchases at its 26 million merchants worldwide” and will initially support bitcoin, ether, bitcoin. cash and litecoin directly within customers. digital wallets. The new service will reportedly be available to US customers in the coming weeks. As part of the new offering, the company became the first entity approved to receive a “conditional BitLicense” from the New York State Department of Financial Services. According to various press releases, the company will partner with a New York-based trust company that will provide cryptocurrency and custody services for customers using the new service.
In overseas markets, the Bahamas officially launched the central bank’s digital currency (CBDC), the sand dollar, this week. The Sand Dollar is a digital version of the Bahamian Dollar issued by the Central Bank of the Bahamas. In Japan, the company that runs the country’s most popular messaging app is planning to launch a blockchain-based platform intended to assist central banks in launching CBDC. And in the UK, a publicly traded fintech company would become “the first publicly traded company in the UK to announce a significant purchase of Bitcoin as part of its treasury investment strategy.” According to a press release, the company “has allocated up to ten percent (10%) of its liquidity reserves to purchase Bitcoin and adopt it as a reserve asset for treasury.”
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Launch of Blockchain Supply Chain, Copyright and Satellite Comms solutions
Two global container couriers recently announced that they are now fully integrated into TradeLens’ blockchain-enabled shipping platform. According to the announcement, global container carriers will help expand the ecosystem and run validation nodes on the blockchain network.
A global retailer and developer of enterprise-level blockchain platforms have released a case study that details the creation and adoption of DL Freight, a blockchain solution for freight invoice management that tracks deliveries, verifies transactions and automates invoices in real time through the application of smart contracts. According to a press release, the solution has become “the national standard for handling freight invoices” for the Canadian division of the global retailer.
This week, a Mumbai, India-based tech firm announced an initiative to leverage the R3 Corda blockchain to develop “a suite of next-generation payments, working capital and foreign exchange services that can be seamlessly deployed on Corda. “. The solution is aimed at medium and small businesses.
A major Chinese blockchain business announced the implementation of a new digital copyright service platform that combines blockchain technology with artificial intelligence to allow creators to securely authenticate and verify various forms of original content, including videos and written and image-based material. The platform reportedly generates a unique, tamper-proof digital copyright certification and notary stamp for each work uploaded to its database.
In a latest notable development, a US university’s engineering school and a non-profit organization secured a flight to the university’s blockchain solution on an aerospace rocket set to launch on November 20. The rocket is expected to carry a satellite that will include the university’s private. blockchain mounted on a Raspberry Pi, which is a single board computer the size of a credit card. The pilot project seeks to reduce maintenance costs of ground stations by allowing satellites to “talk” to each other in space.
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CFTC Guide Tackles Crypto Deposits, White Paper on Travel Rules Published
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued a notice to futures commission traders (FCMs) to provide guidance on “how to hold and report certain virtual currencies deposited by clients in connection with physically delivered futures or swaps contracts” and on “designing and maintaining risk management programs related to accepting virtual currencies as client funds.” The advisory sets out 12 requirements that MMFs must comply with when holding virtual currency as client funds. Among other things, the 12 requirements concern approved depository institutions for virtual currencies, identification and documentation of deposits, availability and timing of withdrawals, fair market value reporting, calculation of segregation requirements daily and end-of-month procedures, segregation procedures, investments and restrictions on the value of the margin, procedures for the return of client funds and required communications. The advisory notes that the CFTC “may decide to examine any FCM that accepts and holds clients’ virtual currency assets to determine how it is choosing to fulfill its obligations.”
The United States Travel Rule Working Group (USTRWG), whose members include 25 leading U.S. virtual asset service providers (VASPs), has released a new white paper addressing the application to VASPs of the Travel Rule, which imposes certain customer identification and data transmission of cryptocurrency transactions based on the US Bank Secrecy Act, the regulations issued by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the guidelines of the Financial Action Task Force. The white paper focuses on Phase 1 of a solution that is intended to serve as a proof of concept to facilitate compliance with travel rules among VASPs.
This week, a major US cryptocurrency exchange released a report detailing the requests the exchange received from law enforcement during the period January 1 to June 30, 2020. Among other things, the report found that the 58% of all inquiries came from the United States. agencies, 16% came from state or local authorities, and 90% of all requests came from just three jurisdictions: the US, UK and Germany.
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Stop Target Criminal Network using Crypto, FinCEN Fines Tumbler Operator
Twenty suspected members of the QQAAZZ crime network were recently arrested for attempting to launder tens of millions of euros on behalf of the world’s most notorious cybercriminals. According to press releases, the money laundering network QQAAZZ used bank accounts and sometimes converted the funds into cryptocurrency using “tumbling” services to obscure the source of the funds. After taking a commission of up to 50%, QQAAZZ members returned the balance of stolen funds to their cybercriminal clients. The arrests were the result of an unprecedented international law enforcement effort involving law enforcement from 16 countries, including the United States Department of Justice, which last week announced the related charges out of the his office.
Earlier this week, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced its assessment of a $ 60 million civil penalty against Larry Dean Harmon, the founder and operator of Helix and Coin Ninja, “mixer” or ” cryptocurrency tumblers “designed to obscure the source of the cryptocurrency. According to FinCEN, Harmon operated its companies as an unregistered money services business (MSB) and violated the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations by not registering as an MSB, failing to implement and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (AML) program, and failure to report certain suspicious financial assets. FinCEN has identified over 1.2 million illegal transactions, including 356,000 bitcoin transactions, through Harmon’s venture, including transactions involving drug traffickers, counterfeiters and other criminals.
The trial against Alexander Vinnik, who allegedly laundered billions of dollars through his alleged operation of the now defunct cryptocurrency exchange BTC-e, will begin this Monday in Paris. Vinnik, also wanted in the United States and Russia, was arrested in 2017 while on vacation in northern Greece. After two years of litigation, the Greek authorities ruled that Vinnik would be extradited first to France, then to the United States and then to Russia.
This week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a final consent ruling against Kik Interactive Inc., to settle SEC allegations that Kik’s unregistered offer of “Kin” digital tokens in 2017 has violated federal securities laws. Under the ruling, Kik must pay a $ 5 million penalty and must, for the next three years, provide notice to the SEC before engaging in future issues, offers, sales, and transfers of digital assets.
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