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As part of its ongoing efforts to modernize financial regulations, China is revising its Anti-Money Laundering laws to include stringent measures against cryptocurrency-related transactions. This revision, the first since 2007, aims to plug the legal gaps exploited in the burgeoning world of digital currencies. China to Tighten Grip on Digital Assets With Revised Anti-Money Laundering Law China is set to overhaul its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws, incorporating cryptocurrency-related transactions into its regulatory framework. This major revision, according to an article in Jiemian.com , is the first since 2007 and comes amid increasing concerns over the use of digital assets in money laundering activities. Prime Minister Li Qiang chaired a key executive meeting of the State Council on Jan. 22, to address the revised AML law. The initial draft for this revision was first proposed in June 2021 and later included in the 2023 legislative work plan of the State Council. The final la

The SEC has decided to abandon its lawsuit against Debt Box, a crypto company previously accused of defrauding investors of millions. This decision follows the SEC’s acknowledgment of presenting misleading information in court, a revelation that undermines the agency’s case and credibility. Inaccuracies in Court Lead SEC to Drop Fraud Case Against Crypto Firm Debt Box The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has requested to dismiss its lawsuit against crypto startup Debt Box. The decision comes after the SEC admitted to making inaccurate statements in court. The lawsuit, initially filed against Digital Licensing Inc., which does business as Debt Box, accused the company of defrauding investors of at least $49 million. The SEC claimed that Debt Box offered “node licenses” for mining cryptocurrencies that were never actually mined. This action was part of a broader crackdown by the SEC on cryptocurrency firms, under the leadership of Chair Gary Gensler who has repeatedly s

On Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2023, the U.S. Federal Reserve opted to maintain the federal funds rate unchanged. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) additionally stated that the committee “does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation” is steadily approaching the 2% mark. As benchmark equity indices experienced declines, the price of bitcoin remained unaffected. Fed Holds Rate Steady, Aiming for ‘Greater Confidence’ in Inflation Control The U.S. central bank has resolved to maintain the federal funds rate between 5.25% and 5.5% until the forthcoming FOMC meeting. The Fed observed that recent signs indicate a robust expansion of economic activity. It acknowledged that while job growth has slowed compared to the early part of last year, it continues to be strong, and the unemployment rate has stayed low. Although inflation has moderated over the previous year, it continues to be higher than desired. “In support o

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) faced significant challenges on Wednesday, with its shares plummeting by over 40%, prompting a halt in trading. Currently, NYCB shares have experienced a decline of just above 36%, trading at $6.61 per share. Last Year’s Banking Fears Resurface as NYCB Faces Harsh Earnings Reality Financial challenges have resurfaced with New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB ), the entity that acquired Signature Bank , witnessing a steep decline in its stock value during Wednesday’s trading. The shares of NYCB nosedived over 40% against the U.S. dollar following the bank’s recent earnings announcement . The financial organization has declared firm measures to bolster capital, fortify its balance sheet, and enhance its risk management practices as the company enters the realm of $100 billion large banks. *NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCORP PLUNGES BY RECORD 44% AT THE OPEN https://t.co/SW7aEJTjRM — zerohedge (@zerohedge) January 31, 2024 For the quarter ending Dec.

The Argentine government, presided by Javier Milei, has resolved to drop the tax opportunities for crypto in the omnibus bill presented to Congress. The bill allowed taxpayers to declare the ownership of some previously undeclared assets, with crypto also included, reducing the payments and fees for this task. Argentine Government Excludes Crypto Opportunities From Omnibus Bill The Argentine government has withdrawn the opportunities for declaring ownership of certain assets, including crypto, from the omnibus bill presented to Congress this month. The bill, titled “Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines,” seeks to advance reforms in several areas, including getting legislative powers for President Javier Milei, who could take action directly in several fields, sidestepping Congress. Guillermo Francos, minister of interior, stated that the decision to withdraw these proposals derived from the lack of consensus in Congress regarding this part of the bill. Ac

Responding to the fierce competition in the spot bitcoin ETF market, Invesco and Galaxy Asset Management have lowered the long term fee of their joint BTCO fund, positioning it more competitively against sector heavyweights. Invesco and Galaxy ETF Fee Slashed in Response to Intense Market Competition In a strategic move to gain traction in the highly competitive spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) market, Invesco and Galaxy Asset Management have reduced the fee for their joint spot bitcoin ETF, the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO). This decision, announced on Monday , marks the latest move in the ongoing fee war amongst issuers of this new financial product. The fee reduction brings BTCO’s expense ratio down from 0.39% to 0.25%. Additionally, Invesco has announced a waiver of these fees for the first six months or until the ETF reaches $5 billion in assets under management (AUM). This aggressive pricing strategy aims to bolster the fund’s appeal among investors and compete mor

PRESS RELEASE. Crypto enthusiasts hold their breath as excitement builds around the upcoming integration of Areon Network ‘s new layer 1 chain with major exchanges. Scheduled for January 31 at 14:00 UTC , the integration marks a significant milestone for the project, the resumption of trading for its native token: $AREA. Prior to mainnet launch on January 12 , AREA was a token on the Binance Smart Chain ( BSC ) and was readily available for trading on several exchanges. Now this EVM-compatible chain with a unique consensus mechanism awaits the integration to popular exchanges. Waiting for the Integration The integration process led to a temporary halt in buying and selling $AREA. The pause has undoubtedly piqued the interest of investors , creating a sense of anticipation. The market has been boiling with intense pressure and the date January 31 will be the huge release of tension that the investors are eagerly expecting. What to Expect on January 31 Once the integrat

A Hong Kong watchdog, the SFC, has cautioned investors about the enticing yet potentially risky ‘Floki Staking Program’ and ‘Tokenfi Staking Program,’ which offer high annualized returns without the required regulatory green light. SFC Warns Against Unregulated Floki and Tokenfi Crypto Staking Programs The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a public warning against the “Floki Staking Program” and “Tokenfi Staking Program,” two crypto-related investment products promising unusually high returns. Both programs, associated with the Floki ecosystem, offer cryptocurrency staking services with promised annualized returns ranging from 30% to over 100%. However, the SFC states that these products have not received the necessary authorization for public offering in Hong Kong, thereby placing potential investors at risk. Staking, a process akin to depositing money into a savings account, contributes to blockchain operations. Staked cryptocurrencies are locked up i

Current data reveals that Blackrock’s IBIT spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) currently possesses 52,025.76 bitcoin, with a total value of $2.18 billion. Furthermore, Fidelity’s FBTC has increased its bitcoin holdings, now standing at 46,238.09 bitcoin as of Jan. 29, 2024. Blackrock Snags 52,025 Bitcoin, While Fidelity Now Holds 46,238 Several of the nine new spot bitcoin ETFs have amassed even more bitcoin, as indicated by their recent company statements. Excluding Grayscale’s GBTC, Blackrock’s IBIT takes the lead as the largest spot BTC ETF in terms of bitcoin holdings. On Jan. 29, the web portal displayed that the fund holds 52,025.76 BTC . Fidelity has also bolstered its FBTC holdings, rising from 43,855.14 BTC on January 26 to the current 46,238.09 BTC . The third-largest spot bitcoin ETF, Ark Invest’s 21shares fund, known as ARKB, holds a substantial 14,390 BTC . Following closely is Bitwise ETF BITB, which now possesses 13, 576.10 bitcoin, as reported by onchain data

The PWN DAO Foundation, linked to the peer-to-peer lending protocol PWN, has released a comprehensive report analyzing user-incurred onchain fees within major blockchain networks and decentralized applications (dapps) for the past year. The 2023 analysis examines Ethereum, BNB Chain, Bitcoin, and layer two (L2) solutions, along with widely-used dapps such as Aave and Uniswap. The report sheds light on the primary trends in fee generation and discusses the changing patterns of blockchain utilization and revenue. 2023’s L1 and L2 Fee Generation Stats Revealed The report published by PWN , illustrates a diverse landscape of onchain fee generation, underscoring a 33% overall reduction in fees across the selected projects compared to the previous year. This trend was particularly pronounced in non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, which experienced an 87% drop in fee generation. In contrast, L2 solutions exhibited significant growth of around 411%, indicating a shift in user preferen

Financial giant Vanguard has explained why the firm does not make spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) available on its trading platform. A Vanguard executive stressed that cryptocurrency is “an immature asset class that has little history, no inherent economic value, no cash flow, and can create havoc within a portfolio.” Vanguard Explains Why It Disallows Spot Bitcoin ETFs Vanguard published a blog post titled “No Bitcoin ETFs at Vanguard? Here’s why” on Jan. 24, explaining the firm’s stance on cryptocurrency and why it does not allow clients to trade the newly approved spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Vanguard serves more than 50 million investors worldwide as of Dec. 31, 2023. The firm manages around $8 trillion globally. Following the approval of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this month, Vanguard has drawn attention for disallowing its clients to trade the newly launched products. The company also has no plans

In a recent interview with Gareth Soloway, the chief market strategist at verifiedinvesting.com, Soloway suggested that bitcoin might revisit the $15K level should a significant stock market sell-off occur. Soloway Predicts Potential Bitcoin Dip to $15K Two days ago, in a freshly released Youtube video, Gareth Soloway of verifiedinvesting.com engaged in a new interview with Michelle Makori, Kitco News’ lead anchor and editor-in-chief, delving into bitcoin’s latest trends and its potential future trajectory. Soloway shared insights on his approach to analyzing various data sets for forecasting future trends and drawing conclusions. He highlighted the alignment of the 2017 and 2021 bitcoin bull markets with significant events: the introduction of regulated bitcoin futures in 2017 and the Coinbase initial public offering (IPO) in 2021. Soloway said: These big news stories create so much hype and the top in bitcoin. For Soloway, the current bitcoin price level and its recent do

Recent data reveals Coinbase Global is on the brink of holding 1 million bitcoins, requiring just an additional 5,019 bitcoins to cross this significant milestone. In the preceding fortnight, Coinbase has witnessed its bitcoin reserves grow by 16,404 bitcoins, inching closer to this noteworthy threshold. Coinbase on Cusp of 1 Million Bitcoin Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN ) is edging nearer to the 1 million bitcoin mark, currently possessing 994,981 BTC valued at $42.17 billion. Trailing only behind Satoshi Nakamoto , Coinbase stands as the most substantial bitcoin holder in the industry. Over the recent two weeks , the exchange observed a deposit of 16,404 bitcoins, amounting to $694 million. Meanwhile, Coinbase Pro, the firm’s trading platform, recorded a withdrawal of 4,624.56 BTC , as indicated by its 30-day outflow data. There’s a significant flurry of activity among the ten new U.S.-based spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Since Jan. 12, 2024, Grayscale’s GBTC reserves dim

In the span between Jan. 20 to Jan. 27, 2024, there was a notable decline in the sales volume stemming from non-fungible tokens (NFTs), plunging 21.25% from the week before. The leading blockchains in seven-day sales, Ethereum and Bitcoin, experienced substantial decreases, ranging from 28.78% to 12.62%, respectively. NFT Market Faces Sharp Decline At the onset of 2024, NFT sales dipped by 1.31%, falling below the last week’s figures of 2023. The subsequent week witnessed a marginal rise in NFT sales, approximately 0.05%, but last week experienced a 5.05% drop in digital collectible sales. This week marked the steepest decline in 2024, with sales plunging over 21% compared to the previous seven days. According to metrics from cryptoslam.io , the total amounted to $228,327,660. This downturn contrasts with the year-end surge in NFT sales during 2023, largely driven by Bitcoin blockchain-based NFT transactions. In November and December of 2023, Bitcoin’s NFT sales dominated, conti

Global investment bank JPMorgan says that profit-taking from Grayscale’s bitcoin trust (GBTC) has largely happened already. “This would imply that most of the downward pressure on bitcoin from that channel should be largely behind us,” the bank’s analyst explained. JPMorgan’s Bitcoin Price Outlook Global investment bank JPMorgan weighed in on the crypto market again this week following a bitcoin selloff that saw the price of BTC dropping from above $47K before the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals to below $39K this week. The bitcoin selloff is accompanied by massive outflows from Grayscale’s bitcoin trust (GBTC), which converted into a spot bitcoin ETF following the approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Jan. 10. Since Jan. 12, GBTC’s bitcoin holdings have decreased by 114,367.39 BTC , equivalent to $4.77 billion, based on the BTC exchange rates as of Jan. 27. On Thursday, JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said: “Given $4.3b

The crypto community is abuzz with anticipation for the upcoming Bitcoin network halving event, projected to occur on or around April 20, 2024. This event is sparking widespread speculation about its distinct importance. As the fourth Bitcoin halving nears, a theory of a potential major blockchain reorganization, fueled by the extraordinary worth of the halving block, is seizing the attention of crypto enthusiasts. Ordiscan Founder Says Bitcoin’s Next Halving May Trigger Unprecedented Reorg The upcoming Bitcoin network’s reward halving is not just a routine milestone. With less than 13,000 blocks left until the halving, occurring at block height 840,000, this event might mark a historic turning point for the protocol. Tristan , the founder of Ordiscan.com , emphasizes the unusual nature of this halving in a blog post called “The Next Bitcoin Halving Will be Reorged.” In the blog post, the author claims that Bitcoin block 840,000 is predicted to have the most valuable block reward

In the wake of a noteworthy 11-day period during which U.S.-centered spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) amassed a trading volume totaling $25.36 billion, discussions have emerged about the potential involvement of Charles Schwab, the American multinational financial services corporation. Eric Balchunas, Bloomberg’s lead ETF analyst, advises, “don’t sleep on Schwab, they’re never first to market in anything but they make back impact when they come in.” Analyst Predicts Charles Schwab’s Delayed Move to Disrupt Bitcoin ETF Arena Recent conversations have surfaced about Charles Schwab gearing up to introduce a spot bitcoin ETF, hot on the heels of the debut of ten U.S.-based ETFs on Jan. 11, 2024. In her article on riabiz.com, Lisa Shidler touches upon this development, remarking that “Charles Schwab Corp. is being cryptic about cryptocurrency.” Shidler delves into how Schwab might leverage its extensive scale and competitive low-fee pricing strategy to make a bold move with i

Bitcoin’s cumulative hashrate witnessed notable swings starting in late December, with a pronounced decline occurring in mid-January. This decrease was primarily attributed to the severe cold in Texas, leading many miners to pause their operations temporarily. By Jan. 21, 2024, the hashrate’s seven-day simple moving average (SMA) dipped under the 500 exahash per second (EH/s) mark, plunging to a year’s low at 482 EH/s. However, since this low, the hashrate has rebounded, showing a 10.99% increase to 535 EH/s. Bitcoin Network Demonstrates Strength With Hashrate Revival In the past six days, the hashrate of Bitcoin ascended to 535 EH/s, according to the seven-day SMA from Luxor’s hashrateindex.com. The three-day SMA highlights a zenith of 559 EH/s, while the monthly average is recorded at 522 EH/s. The seven-day indicators point to a 10.99% surge from the trough of 482 EH/s, leading to block times now marginally outpacing the standard ten-minute interval. Presently, block durations

Worldcoin will change the design of the Orb, the device used for scanning the irises of users as proof of personhood for the project, to be more friendly and less polarizing. Alex Blania, CEO and co-founder of Tools For Humanity, the company behind Worldcoin, stated that the next iteration would be akin to an “Apple product.” Worldcoin Redesigns the Orb to Be “Much More Friendly” Worldcoin, the biometric ID and wallet project, is making changes to the Orb, a device used to scan the irises of users wishing to prove their personhood, to make it less polarizing. Alex Blania, CEO of Tools for Humanity, explained that the current design of the Orb was agreed upon before he arrived at the company almost four years ago. Blania hopes to tone down the device with a programmed upgrade, making it more appealing and adding personalization options. In a chat, Blania told Techcrunch more about this redesign. He explained: The new Orb is coming and the next iterations will look quite different

In a recent announcement by the Ethereum Foundation, the Ethereum blockchain network is set for a major enhancement through the introduction of Dencun. The foundation elaborated that Dencun is scheduled to launch on the Sepolia network at epoch 132,608 on Jan. 30, 2024, and will subsequently activate on the Holesky network at epoch 29,696 on Feb. 7, 2024. Ethereum’s Path to Upgrade: Foundation Announces Dencun Timeline, Targeting Scalability Boost The Ethereum Foundation has published a timeline for the upcoming Sepolia, Holesky, and Dencun milestones. Dencun’s most notable introduction is Proto-Danksharding , a groundbreaking concept aimed at future scalability enhancements. This innovation is expected to optimize gas fees significantly, making transactions more cost-effective for users. The upgrade also focuses on improving the network’s modular scalability, an essential aspect of Ethereum’s expanding ecosystem . Following successful activations on Sepolia and Holesky, Dencun