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FATF Grades U.S. Government on Crypto Regulation Enforcement 

The Financial Action Task Force, one of the most prominent Anti-Money Laundering (AML) enforcers in the world, has called out the United States government for being lax on policy enforcement. On March 31, the body published a report in which it explained that the United States is only “largely compliant” with its AML and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) regulations – especially when it comes to the issue of virtual currencies. Higher Awareness is Good, but Loophole Still Exist In the report, the FATF outlined the United States’ degree of compliance with the recommendations it issued last

Top 5 Cryptos Other Than Bitcoin This Week (Mar 29): XMR, BNB, HT, CRO, BSV

Consumer attitudes are changing towards banknotes and credit cards as reports suggest that the deadly coronavirus can spread by their use. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has, therefore, urged the central banks to consider developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). BIS believes that under the current circumstance, CBDCs will quickly gain prominence. However, it has warned that this move could have a “severe impact on unbanked and older consumers.”  Chamath Palihapitiya, the billionaire CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital, believes that the setting is right for Bitcoin (BTC) to

Top 5 Cryptos Not Named Bitcoin This Week (Mar 29): XMR, BNB, HT, CRO, BSV

Consumer attitudes are changing towards banknotes and credit cards as reports suggest that the deadly coronavirus can spread by their use. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has, therefore, urged the central banks to consider developing central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). BIS believes that under the current circumstance, CBDCs will quickly gain prominence. However, it has warned that this move could have a “severe impact on unbanked and older consumers.”  Chamath Palihapitiya, the billionaire CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital, believes that the setting is right for Bitcoin (BTC) to

Staking, Consensus and the Pursuit of Decentralization

Oh, the wonders of decentralized consensus — that dream of permissionless blockchains to be censorship-resistant, trustless, collaborative and egalitarian for a potentially global community of users. While lofty in ideals, consensus is foundational for each crypto network, which must agree upon that most basic question of who decides what on the network.Decentralized consensus in the form of a proof-of-work mechanism was at the core of Satoshi Nakamoto’s innovation when creating Bitcoin — all additional protocol elements stem from PoW’s ability to reach consensus regarding the digital ledger through the computational work

Crypto Community Largely Approves of Binance Acquiring CoinMarketCap

Despite markets all over the world facing ever-worsening economic troubles amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it seems as though the crypto industry has been able to weather the storm, at least thus far. In this regard, Binance — the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange — has recently reached an agreement to acquire CoinMarketCap, one of the most prominent crypto data websites.The official announcement was made by both companies on April 2, with Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao telling Cointelegraph that CMC and Binance have from the very start been working to make

Talking Digital Future: Smart Cities

My journey into smart cities and their future development was a really big surprise, as the way I arrived there was not something that I had planned. I was working as the chief information officer for a company in Northern California called O'Reilly Media when I got a call from a headhunter who asked if I would consider being the chief information office for the City of Palo Alto. I can vividly remember — it was only about eight years ago — my feeling when she asked the question. The

Coronavirus & Bitcoin Price: Is China Losing Its BTC Mining Monopoly?

This week the price of Bitcoin (BTC) surged more than 15%, reaching a high at $7,200 before pulling back into the $6,800 range. Despite the recovery, Bitcoin still has a way to go in order to reach the $8,000 level seen before the coronavirus-triggered selloff on March 12.Cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360The drop had several consequences on the Bitcoin network. Having reached the $3,800 price range, the accentuated drop forced some Bitcoin miners to throw in the towel and shut down their operations due to mining becoming unprofitable.As miners have

Binance Shelters Against Job Losses During Global Pandemic

While global unemployment continues hitting new highs amid the coronavirus pandemic, the cryptocurrency industry is stepping in to shelter job losses, with some of the biggest companies in the space announcing their intention to hire new employees.Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has just announced that it is seeking to hire more than 100 new employees, despite the ongoing economic downturn.In an April 3 tweet, Binance invited people around the world to build a career in the Blockchain space, offering a crucial opportunity to “work from home” as global jurisdictions

Past Halvings in Review: Case for an Immediate Bitcoin Upsurge Is Flawed

The block reward halving of Bitcoin (BTC) has long been touted as an optimistic factor to drive the short-term price trend of BTC in the first half of 2020. Historical data, however, shows that the halving does not necessarily coincide with an immediate upsurge in the price of Bitcoin.On the Bitcoin network, miners create blocks that record Bitcoin transactions to essentially verify and confirm payment data using computing power. Through large-scale mining centers filled with ASIC mining chips and sophisticated equipment, miners use a large amount of electricity and have

South African National Blockchain Alliance Holds Online Launch

The South African National Blockchain Alliance carried out an online livestream launch while the country is in the midst of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization was due to be launched at the beginning of April in Johannesburg but had to be taken online as South Africa and the world tackles a global health crisis.The launch happened during a livestream on YouTube on April 3, which included a panel of speakers elaborating on how SANBA will help nurture blockchain-focused startups and companies that

As Malta Delays Regulatory Clarity, Fewer Firms Remain on ‘Blockchain Island’

It seems that Malta is becoming both less popular among and less populated with crypto firms. The European Union country attracted dozens of industry players in 2018 on the back of the “blockchain island” agenda championed by the local government, but the relevant framework has not yet proven to be effective. Meanwhile, the official rhetoric apparently started to shift away from the blockchain sector, as the government now aims to consolidate it with “other niche sectors.”Meanwhile, the Malta Financial Services Authority, continues to pluck out non-registered crypto agents — be