Consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion is moving in the direction of Web3. The Illinois-based company announced this week it will bring off-chain consumer credit, identity, and compliance information to public blockchain networks. The move is made possible via a partnership with Spring Labs, a company that offers decentralized infrastructure for credit and identity data. Spring Read more...

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Bipartisan lawmakers from the U.S. House and Senate Agriculture Committees have requested clear information from the chair of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) about the crypto industry and their role in monitoring it and taking enforcement actions. The CFTC chair Rostin Behnam intends to expand the regulator’s authority over the crypto market. Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House Agriculture Committees agreed that the agency plays a “critical role“. In a letter that Bloomberg described as “a rare show of bipartisanship in a divided Congress”, the lawmakers asked chair Benham to answer several questions in order “To understand the scope and size of digital asset markets, the benefits and risks presented by these emerging technologies” and “the role of the Commission with respect to these markets”. “The CFTC has a critical role to play to ensure the integrity of digital asset markets. While some of these technologies have the potential to modernize the financial system, it is imperative that customers are protected from fraud and abuse and that these markets are fair and transparent.” The lawmakers approached the risks of the crypto industry and called for the CFTC to widen their engagement to protect consumers from losses and scams. The letter details alleged risks from the industry and reiterated that the CFTC is enabled by the Commodity Exchange Act to take enforcement actions for violations coming from digital asset marketplaces. “Despite the CFTC’s responsible engagement, this industry is still subject to risks of abuse, including consumer fraud and cybercrime. Consumers reported losing nearly $82 million to 2 cryptocurrency scams between the fourth quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, more than 10 times the amount from the same six-month period a year earlier.” The lawmakers are also concerned about risks in the DeFi space and “any DeFi protocols offering derivatives contracts on unregistered exchanges”. However, they noted that “there are still questions about who is responsible for monitoring DeFi markets for fraud and manipulation, safeguarding customer funds, and ensuring parties meet their obligations to one another.” Related Reading | Did US Regulators Began Offensive Against Crypto Platforms? CFTC Fines Kraken Authority Of The CFTC In October 2021, during chair Rostin Behnam’s confirmation hearing, he appealed to Congress looking to expand the CFTC’s regulatory authority and stated that the entity is ready to be the “primary cop on the beat” “the total size of the digital asset market was US$2.7 trillion and among that $2.7 trillion, nearly 60% were commodities. So with that in mind, I think it’s important for this committee to reconsider and consider expanding authority for the CFTC,” Behnam’s statement seemed to contradict Gary Gensler’s, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), who sees most cryptocurrencies as equity. This has seemingly turned into a race amongst regulators to gain more authority. The SEC’s view on how to define Ether has become unclear. If the two largest cryptocurrencies by market cap (BTC and ETH) are not securities, then the SEC has a large size of the market out of regulatory reach. However, the lawmaker’s letter defined both Bitcoin and Ether as commodities, which would mean that both of these assets fall under the CFTC’s jurisdiction. “The CFTC has long considered certain digital assets to be commodities and courts have agreed. In fact, the two largest digital assets by market capitalization are commodities: Bitcoin and Ether. These two digital assets alone make up approximately 60% of the $2.7 trillion market. Futures contracts on Bitcoin and Ether are currently traded on CFTC-registered derivatives exchanges.” Related Reading | How the CFTC fine on Coinbase could affect future crypto company listing

Hackers in North Korea are still holding roughly $170 million worth of stolen and "unlaundered" crypto, says research firm Chainalysis.

A record high consumption of electricity blamed on illegal crypto farms in northwestern Georgia has caught the attention of authorities in the capital Tbilisi. The central government and the local utility are taking on the issue of dealing with power shortages in the mountainous region of Svaneti. With Tourism Hit by Pandemic, People in Georgia […]

Boxing legend Mike Tyson has snapped up a Catalina Whale NFT, available on SolSea, an NFT marketplace built on Solana. The 55-year-old posted a picture of his recent acquisition on Twitter while also stating that he’s “all in on Solana”.

American cybersecurity and intelligence agencies released a joint advisory this week on how to detect, respond to, and mitigate cyberattacks orchestrated by Russian state-sponsored hackers. This advisory comes amid renewed tension between the US and Russia over Ukraine and Kazakhstan. To that end, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and […]

According to Ric Edelman, the launch of a “pure-play” bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the USA may not be as far off as some think. The TV host predicted that such a product will see the light of day by the end of 2023 at the latest, as the SEC is “running out of excuses […]

Pakistan's finance and law ministries are yet to make a decision on a potential blanket ban on crypto in the country.

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a specialized financial investigation agency under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, has seized assets valued at 36.72 crore rupees ($5 million) in connection with a cryptocurrency scam. The ED began investigating the alleged crypto scam after a first information report (FIR) was registered by the Kerala Police under the […]

Indian Enforcement Directorate has seized assets worth approximately $5 million in connection with an alleged cryptocurrency scam involving Morris coin that has duped investors out of $162 million. The crime proceeds were used to buy cryptocurrencies. India Authorities Seize Assets in Alleged Crypto Scam Case India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), a specialized financial investigation agency under […]

A whale monitoring resource has found that the richest wallet addresses on the Ethereum network have been loading up on Polygon ($MATIC) and Chainlink ($LINK) as the cryptocurrency market recovers, with only Ethereum’s ETH and stablecoins leading these coins in terms of holdings. According to data from WhaleStats, first spotted by DailyHodl, the 1,000 largest […]

Industry veteran brings senior leadership experience, risk management and complex property expertise to P&C Specialty division

(PRWeb January 13, 2022)

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