The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking a 2.6 million penalty from Ripple in the XRP case. Meanwhile, the Biden administration, along with Mark Cuban and Representative Ro Khanna, are preparing for a crucial crypto roundtable. A Bank of America report reveals that younger wealthy investors are increasingly favoring cryptocurrencies over traditional investments. […]
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Openai Reportedly Mulling For-Profit Shift
Openai, the artificial intelligence (AI) company, is considering shifting to a for-profit model, according to The Information. Sam Altman, CEO of the company, is said to be contemplating this decision and taking Openai’s non-profit board out of the picture, given that it would not have control over this new venture. The shift might spur an […]
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Companies in Two Capital Markets Reportedly in Negotiations to Implement Microstrategy’s Bitcoin Business Model
Companies in two capital markets are looking to implement the business model that Microstrategy, led by entrepreneur Michael Saylor, pioneered in the U.S. According to David Bailey, CEO of Bitcoin Magazine, who denied one of these markets to be Korea, these operations are currently in the negotiation stage. More Companies Looking to Adopt Microstrategy’s Bitcoin […]
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El Salvador Reportedly Mined Nearly 474 BTC Using Geothermal Energy
El Salvador, the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender, has reportedly added 473.5 BTC to its treasury using geothermal energy. According to reports, official data released by The Bitcoin Office of El Salvador (ONBTC) disclosed that this number of bitcoin was mined since 2021 using 1.5 MW of power from the Tecapa volcanic […]
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Bitcoin Reportedly Hindering El Salvador’s Credit Opportunities With the IMF
Bitcoin and its adoption by the government of El Salvador have become a negative factor in the country’s negotiations with the IMF. According to reports, the institution demands changes to El Salvador’s Bitcoin law to receive a .4 billion credit line for expediting public debt payments and other obligations. El Salvador’s Bitcoin Allegiance Is Getting […]
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Dutch Prosecutors Reportedly Charge Tornado Cash Developer With Money Laundering
Alexey Pertsev, a developer for Tornado Cash, has reportedly been indicted by prosecutors in the Netherlands. They accuse him of laundering .2 billion. Pertsev’s attorney confirmed the prosecutors’ intent to charge his client. According to Dutch prosecutors, while a crypto-mixing service is not “inherently illegal,” using it to launder criminal assets is punishable. Dutch Prosecutors […]
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Wealthy London Residents Reportedly Use Cryptocurrency for High-End Property Rent Payments
Some of London’s wealthy residents are reportedly using cryptocurrency to pay for luxury home rentals. High interest rates and a dampened real estate market have led the city’s affluent residents to opt against buying properties. The acceptance of payment in cryptocurrency demonstrates the real estate agency’s openness and its eagerness to become “a leader within […]
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Ebay’s Web3 Division Reportedly Lays off 30% of Its Employees
Recently, Ebay, the e-commerce behemoth, implemented significant changes within its Web3 division. These changes resulted in a 30% reduction in the division’s workforce and the departure of a pivotal employee. Among those affected by this restructuring is David Moore, the founder of Knownorigin, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), whose post is redundant. Ebay’s Dedication […]
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Venezuelan Petro Reportedly on the Brink of Liquidation
According to local sources, one of the first state-backed cryptocurrency assets, the Venezuelan Petro, would be facing an imminent liquidation. Asonacrip, a national cryptocurrency association, reported having information about the upcoming liquidation process, including the automatic exchange of the Petro balance to bolivares, the Venezuelan fiat currency.
Venezuelan Petro to Be Liquidated
The life of the Venezuelan petro, one of the first state-backed cryptocurrencies, might be ending soon. According to reports from Asonacrip, a Venezuelan cryptocurrency group, the government would be preparing to liquidate all the petros in circulation, automatically exchanging them for bolivares, the Venezuelan fiat currency.
The information coincides with the liquidation of other crypto assets held by users in government-managed accounts, which will also be converted to Venezuelan bolivares on January 15.
There have not been official communications on the future of the cryptocurrency asset since Sunacrip, the cryptocurrency watchdog, was restructured due to the alleged involvement of its former head, Joselit Ramirez, in a multi-billion corruption scheme related to the sale of crude by the institution.
In May, the Petro blockchain faced operational problems and stopped several times, blocking hundreds of wallets from making transactions.
However, lately, the petro had been used more as a unit of account for certain state-related payments than as a payment cryptocurrency. The value of the Petro was established at , the price of a Venezuelan barrel or crude by January 2018.
This is not the first time that sources appear to signal the end of the cryptocurrency. In June, three sources linked to Sunacrip reported that liquidating the petro was an already taken decision by the Venezuelan government and that the institution was negotiating payments with the largest Petro holders.
The cryptocurrency was at the top of its popularity in 2019 when President Nicolas Maduro airdropped half a petro to the country’s citizens and paid pensioners Christmas bonuses with the cryptocurrency asset.
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Lesotho’s Entire Payment System Reportedly Goes Offline After Cyberattack
The Central Bank of Lesotho recently confirmed that its payment system was attacked by unknown cybercriminals. The bank also acknowledged that the resulting downtime is making it “impossible for all local banks to honor inter-bank transactions in the country.”
No Financial Loss Suffered
The Central Bank of Lesotho (CBL) has stated that the cyber security incident on December 11, which reportedly knocked out the country’s entire payments system, did not result in “any financial or other loss.” However, the bank has “suspended some of its systems to prevent further infiltration from the attackers.”
While the central bank has not shared details about the severity of the attack, one South African media outlet suggested that interbank and international payments routed through the country had gone offline. Another outlet suggested that the incident posed a threat to the stability of Lesotho’s financial system and the local currency’s exchange rate versus the South African rand.
In a statement issued a day after the attack, the Lesotho central bank said it has since initiated an investigation into the incident and is working to restore normalcy.
“Consequently, some payments may be delayed while the Bank works on getting the systems back to normalcy,” the CBL said.
Meanwhile, in another statement issued on Dec. 13, the CBL, together with the Lesotho Bankers Association, confirmed that the downtime is making it “impossible for all local banks to honor inter-bank transactions in the country.”
The two institutions have since agreed to undertake so-called business continuity processes and measures which are expected to help facilitate transactions between banks while work to restore normal service is underway.
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