Okx, a Seychelles-based cryptocurrency exchange, clarified the information regarding a recent security incident that allowed unidentified criminals to take control of the accounts of a few customers, draining these. In a statement, Okx stressed that a third party had forged judicial documents and obtained user data, but that the users involved in this incident had […]
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IMF Acknowledges Russian Assets’ Confiscation Might Undermine the World’s Financial System
The IMF has expressed its concerns about the possible outcome of the confiscation of Russian assets abroad as a consequence of the ongoing military conflict between the nation and Ukraine. Julie Kozack, a spokesperson for the institution, called for these actions to have a proper justification to avoid threatening the world’s financial system. IMF Calls […]
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Goldman Sachs Raises Gold Price Forecast to $2,700, Acknowledges Rise Not Caused by Usual Macro Factors
Goldman Sachs, a leading investment banking institution, has updated its gold price forecast due to the unforeseen strong performance of the metal in 2024. In a note directed to investors, the bank expects gold to reach ,700 per ounce by year’s end, pushed by non-traditional factors. Goldman Sachs Updates Gold Price Outlook to ,700 per […]
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Taiwan Acknowledges Binance for Cooperating With Domestic Law Agencies
The government of Taiwan has acknowledged the cooperation Binance has offered to domestic law enforcement agencies. According to local reports, Binance is the only offshore exchange that assists the government in dealing with virtual asset fraud cases, allowing authorities to access the accounts involved in these actions and deposit the assets derived from these schemes. […]
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Donald Trump Acknowledges Bitcoin’s Popularity — Says BTC Has Taken on ‘a Life of Its Own’ and ‘I Can Live With It’
U.S. presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump has acknowledged the growing popularity of bitcoin, stating that “a lot of people are doing it” and the crypto has taken on “a life of its own.” Trump further shared: “More and more I’m seeing people wanting to pay bitcoin and you’re seeing something that’s interesting so […]
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Jack Dorsey Backed Bitcoin Mining Pool Ocean Acknowledges Filtering Ordinal Inscriptions
Ocean, a Bitcoin mining pool that recently raised .2 million in a seed funding round led by former Twitter (now known as X) CEO Jack Dorsey, is currently filtering ordinal inscription transactions. Giacomo Zucco, a bitcoiner, confirmed that Ocean was using Knots as a node, a software developed by Luke Dashjr known to filter Ordinal inscriptions.
Ocean Bitcoin Mining Pool Filtering Ordinal Inscriptions
Ocean, a Bitcoin mining pool, has acknowledged that it is currently applying a filter that affects Ordinals-related transactions. The pool, which recently closed its .2 million seed round led by former X CEO Jack Dorsey, excludes certain Bitcoin Ordinals transactions using Knots, a Bitcoin node known to apply these filtering policies.
Giacomo Zucco, who was part of the conference as part of the relaunch of the pool, confirmed this fact, stating that it was currently using several filtering policies, excluding what he called “spam.”
Zucco stated:
Some ‘inscription’ spam is done this way, so it’s filtered away from Knots, which Ocean uses right now for centralized template creation. So shitcoin spammers will have to wait [for] phase2 of Ocean (the real deal) to create their own templates full of sh*t. I guess they are impatient.
Ocean’s Bitcoin Mechanic also acknowledged this, stating that the pool would “continue to filter inscriptions spam,” inviting others to mine with other pools if this bothered them.
The issue was first raised by checksum0, co-founder and CTO at Pow.re, a Bitcoin mining company, when he found that Ocean was excluding high-value transactions “costing on average 5-10% in fees, much more sometimes.” He declared:
Doing spot check of high-paying transactions, I have seen no transactions including any data after op_false … Mining with Ocean WILL cost you money.
The findings divided the cryptocurrency community, with some considering this filtered data as spam and agreeing with the measure, while others rejected this behavior, stressing that this was considered censorship. F2Pool, another Bitcoin mining pool, recently admitted it had been excluding transactions from OFAC-flagged addresses but ceased after facing a backlash from the community.
What do you think about the transaction filtering policies of Ocean? Do you believe they constitute censorship? Tell us in the comments section below.
Bitcoin Mining Pool F2pool Acknowledges OFAC Transaction Censorship; Backpedals After Community Backlash
F2Pool, a Bitcoin mining pool, has admitted to filtering transactions coming from Bitcoin addresses flagged by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). After the situation was discovered by 0xB10C, a Bitcoin developer, F2pool co-founder Chun Wang acknowledged that his pool was indeed applying this filter, announcing it would drop the censorship until there was consensus in the community on the issue.
F2pool Acknowledges Compliance With OFAC Sanctions
F2pool, one of the largest Bitcoin mining pools in the world, acknowledged having been filtering transactions coming from addresses flagged by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Chun Wang, a co-founder of the pool, admitted applying a compliance filter for these transactions after 0xB10C, a Bitcoin developer, published an article that examined different transactions to determine if they were intentionally filtered or if there were other explanations for this behavior.
The investigation, which examined six different transactions coming from OFAC-flagged addresses, pointed out that the four transactions excluded by F2pool were likely filtered. Nonetheless, the two remaining transactions could have been excluded due to other reasons. 0xB10C stated:
These four missing sanctioned transactions lead to the conclusion that F2pool is currently filtering transactions.
Wang Doubles Down, Backpedals Later
Wang answered a post made by 0xB10C in X, explaining the reasons that led F2pool to apply this OFAC transaction compliance filter. In a now-deleted post, Wang stated:
Why do you feel surprised when I refuse to confirm transactions for those criminals, dictators and terrorists? I have every right not to confirm any transactions from Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, don’t I? Meanwhile, CZ is selling his soul for money. He deserves.
Furthermore, Wang pointed out that a “censorship resistance system” had to be designed to resist censorship from its protocol design instead of depending on each participant to decide not to censor. He explained that Bitcoin should learn about the mistakes on the internet in this regard.
This posture resulted in backlash from the community, with several X users explaining that the hashrate in F2pool was not owned by the administrator of the pool, accusing Wang of imposing his values on other people.
F2pool finally backpedaled (in another since-deleted post) on the issue, announcing it would stop filtering these transactions. Wang declared:
Will disable the tx filtering patch for now, until the community reaches a more comprehensive consensus on this topic.
What do you think about F2pool’s OFAC-compliant transaction filtering initiative? Tell us in the comments section below.
APEC Meeting: Yellen Acknowledges Digital Assets’ Potential, Announces Regulation Advancements
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has acknowledged the advantages that the adoption of digital assets might bring to several key economic activities. After the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) finance ministers’ meeting, Yellen stated that while digital assets do pose risks, they have the potential to increase financial inclusion.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Acknowledges Potential of Digital Assets
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen acknowledged the possibilities that adopting digital assets might bring to several areas in the economies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). In a speech given after the APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting held in San Francisco, Yellen delved into the achievements of the officials of the 21 different economies integrating the organization.
Yellen stated:
We see increasing adoption of digital asset technologies across the region and note their potential to increase financial inclusion and reduce the cost of cross-border transactions.
However, Yellen stressed this potential cannot be fulfilled without compliance. Yellen, who chaired the meeting, also warned about the problems that uncontrolled adoption of these assets might originate, stating that “digital asset technologies carry risks” and calling for establishing “proper regulation and other policies to manage those risks.”
The Need for Regulation
Yellen reported that topics like digital assets regulation, sustainability, and inclusion were discussed during the APEC meeting. She declared the group cemented its progress on key priorities, with advancing the group’s approach to digital assets’ regulation being one of them.
The U.S. Treasury secretary also said that APEC had achieved a commitment to continue working on the “responsible development” of digital assets, sustaining that many APEC economies were already leaders in this industry.
Yellen has supported establishing regulations for digital assets, calling to plug the holes that the current legal framework presents for these. In November 2022, after the demise of FTX, Yellen stressed that the effects of this event demonstrated “the need for more effective oversight of cryptocurrency markets.” At the time, she added that Congress should “move quickly to fill the regulatory gaps the Biden Administration has identified.”
More recently, during an interview given in June, Yellen reiterated her call to Congress to step up and pass “appropriate regulation” where needed, proposing to do joint work to achieve this goal. She also signaled her support for government agencies taking action on crypto cases “using the tools they have.”
What do you think about U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s remarks on digital assets? Tell us in the comments section below.
Brazilian Tax Authority Acknowledges ‘Vertiginous Growth’ of Stablecoin Trading
The Brazilian Tax Authority (RBF) recently published an article acknowledging the growth in stablecoin trading in the country, which has taken the Brazilian cryptocurrency market by storm. The most transacted stablecoin is Tether’s USDT, which has moved more than 271 billion reals (close to billion) since the organization started registering these purchases in 2019.
Brazilian Tax Authority Reports Stablecoin Trading Growth
The Brazilian tax authority (RBF) has recently reported “vertiginous growth” in the trading of stablecoins, tokens tied to the value of other currencies, in the country, surpassing the volumes of cryptocurrencies like BTC. The organization states that their characteristics make them “more stable in value,” expanding the possibility of using them as a means of payment.
The data received by the organization from exchanges that have to report their movements by law, puts Tether’s USDT, USDC, and BRZ, a Brazilian real-pegged stablecoin, as the most traded stablecoins in Brazil. However, USDT’s trading volumes are higher than the two others, being present in 80% of all the transactions in 2023.
The institution had reported previously that during the first two quarters of 2023, more than billion were transacted using USDT, commanding more than 80% of the volume moved during that period.
USDT Leadership Confirmed
The Brazilian tax authority confirmed USDT’s leadership in the Brazilian cryptocurrency market, stating that it might affect the future regulatory oversight of these assets. The institution stated:
The trading of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has been largely overtaken by the movement of stablecoins like Tether. This change deserves attention, as it could have significant implications for the tax and regulatory scenario for cryptocurrencies in the country.
According to the authority, since it started receiving reports in 2019, USDT transactions have reached more than 271 billion reals (close to billion). USDT’s reported trading volumes overtook BTC in 2022, skyrocketing since July 2022.
Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino commented on the report, stating that the growth was natural due to the usefulness of USDT. On this, he declared:
USDT adoption in Brazil is skyrocketing. When a product is useful for real, and solves RWP (real world problems), it simply gets used.
In January, several Brazilian experts explained why Brazilians preferred stablecoins instead of dollars to hedge against devaluation and inflation. Jose Artur Ribeiro, CEO of Coinext, a national exchange, stated this was due to the lack of administration or performance fees and to the existence of a 24-hour live liquid market for negotiating these assets.
What do you think about the prevalence of Tether in the Brazilian cryptocurrency market? Tell us in the comment section below.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Acknowledges Sanctions Weaponization Could Hurt Dollar Hegemony
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen talked about the dangers that sanctions based on the U.S. dollar might pose for the hegemony of the currency in international markets. According to Yellen, the government tries to use sanctions “judiciously,” as they can create a desire to find alternatives to the U.S. dollar.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen Talks Dangers of Dollar Weaponization
Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary of the United States, has referred to the possible effects that continued use of sanctions could exert on the hegemony of the U.S. dollar in international markets. In an interview reviewed by Reuters, Yelled acknowledged that such a danger does exist in the long term.
On the issue, she stated:
So, there is a risk when we use financial sanctions that are linked to the role of the dollar, that over time it could undermine the hegemony of the dollar, as you said. But this is an extremely important tool we try to use judiciously.
Yellen recognizes that such sanctions push countries like China and Russia to seek alternatives to the U.S. dollar, in order to conduct trades even when affected by these sanctions. However, she also explained that this is no easy task due to the unique traits of the dollar. Yellen expanded on this, declaring:
We haven’t seen any other country that has the basic infrastructure – institutional infrastructure – that would enable its currency to serve the world like this.
This is the same conclusion that a report from the Bank of Russia, titled “Review of the Russian Financial Sector and Financial Instruments” reached, stating that substituting the U.S. dollar will be difficult due to the current structure of foreign trade.
Sanctioned Countries Seek Alternatives
Even with all the difficulties, countries with individuals and entities sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) like China, Russia, and Iran, are starting to develop integration policies that allow them to conduct trade away from the U.S. dollar.
China and Russia have already started to conduct settlement transactions using the Chinese yuan, leveraging specially designated banks as clearing entities to facilitate these payments. In his recent visit to China, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio ‘Lula’ da Silva called for developing nations to abandon the U.S. dollar and for BRICS to establish a new currency.
The insurance of a BRICS currency will be debated at the next BRICS summit, which will be held in South Africa in August, according to statements from a Russian State Duma official. Russia and Iran are also finalizing an agreement to deepen their trade collaboration, avoiding the crippling sanctions that the U.S. has enacted against them.
What do you think about U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen’s stance on sanctions and the future of the U.S. dollar? Tell us in the comment section below.