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Showing posts from July, 2023

Breaking: US SEC Sues Richard Heart for Selling Unregistered HEX Securities

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The SEC Case Against Heart According to the markets regulator, Heart raised as much as $1 billion in the sale of tokens associated with PulseChain , PulseX, and Hex protocols since their existence. The market regulator claimed that all of the three tokens are considered un register ed asset SEC urity. advertisement While the SEC found fault in the sales of these assets, the commission also accused the internet entrepreneur of constantly promoting these investments as a pathway to grandiose wealth for investors. The market regulator also found fault with Heart for offering a Staking product associated with these tokens which is capable of returning up to 38% to investors. The SEC noted that these actions are unsafe for investors, thus justifying the charges being brought against the entrepreneur “Heart called on investors to buy crypto asset securities in offerings that he failed to register. He then defrauded those investors by spending some of their crypto as

Curve Finance Losses $47 Million in Hack, CRV Declines by 13%

Curve Finance experienced an exploit due to a glitch in the programming language Vyper. The exploit resulted in a loss of about $47 million and a subsequent fall in Curve’s native token CRV. While CRV experienced a decline of 13%, other major cryptocurrencies, including BTC and Ether, also exhibited a plunge. Curve Finance, a prominent decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol, experienced a massive exploit, leading to a loss of more than $47 million and further to the fall of its native cryptocurrency, Curve DAO (CRV). As per a Twitter thread shared by the platform on July 30, a glitch in a particular version of Vyper, the platform’s programming language, has resulted in the exploitation of a number of stable pools, including alETH/msETH/pETH. A number of stablepools (alETH/msETH/pETH) using Vyper 0.2.15 have been exploited as a result of a malfunctioning reentrancy lock. We are assessing the situation and will update the community as things develop. Other pool

Privacy concerns raised as UK government advances Online Safety Bill

The U.K. Parliament is currently reviewing the Online Safety Bill (OSB) as a means of internet regulation. If approved, the government would be authorized to mandate messaging companies to create backdoors and require detailed reports of users’ online activity. As the bill approaches approval in UK’s highest chamber, the House of Lords, there are concerns about its potential consequences for global privacy and encryption standards. The bill’s critics argue that this approach may have implications for private conversations and could raise concerns about surveillance vulnerabilities. You might also like: House of Lords conducts final review of financial services bill before returning to House of Commons Stakeholders like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have expressed reservations about the OSB, raising potential challenges to online privacy and security. The EFF has emphasized the difficulty of maintaining end-to-end encryption while implementing government -mand

Breaking: Worldcoin (WLD) Under Probe by French Regulators

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The Scope of the Worldcoin Investigation Worldcoin has an ambitious vision to create a digital identity platform that utilizes biometric data, particularly iris scans, to authenticate and empower individuals. Worldcoin has set up sign-up sites across the globe where people can have their faces scanned by a shining spherical “orb.” advertisement Upon approaching the orb, individuals can have their faces scanned to capture biometric data, specifically for iris recognition. This biometric information is used to generate digital IDs, granting users access to free cryptocurrency and services. While Worldcoin ’s approach may appear promising to some, it raises significant privacy and ethical concerns. France’s privacy watchdog, CNIL noted in a Reuters report that the approach “appears questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data.”  CNIL indicated that it launched inquiries and later discovered that the jurisdiction for examining the case comes under

Grayscale urges SEC to approve all Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously

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Grayscale's ETF was previously knocked back by the SEC and it wants it and competing ETFs approved together so none have an advantage. Crypto fund manager Grayscale is urging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve all proposed spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) at the same time to avoid one having an advantage. A July 27 post by Grayscale chief legal officer Craig Salm said its legal team submitted a letter regarding eight spot Bitcoin ETF filings — including its own — arguing the SEC shouldn’t pick “winners and losers” and instead make a fair and orderly decision. The letter claimed the SEC could approve the spot ETFs based on its approvals for Bitcoin futures ETFs saying the two fund types are “inextricably linked.” Grayscale added recent surveillance sharing agreements (SSAs) between Coinbase and the spot ETF providers are “not a new idea” and claimed they would not meet the SEC’s standards. The SEC should approve spot #bitcoin ETFs to trade in

Can Ripple’s Attempt to Launch Stablecoin Help XRP Surge?

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Ripple revealed that it could be involved in a stablecoin development soon. Selling pressure has driven XRP to fall below $0.70 since previously hitting $0.84. If the MACD rises and RSI falls, then XRP may breakout into another rally. As a blockchain-payment firm, Ripple (XRP) is familiar with expansion and providing payment solutions. On July 26, Ripple announced that it had followed a similar path. But this time it was not the usual infrastructural provision for cross-border payments. According to Ripple, its November 2021 partnership with the Republic of Palau has resulted in the development of a stablecoin. Furthermore, Ripple added that the proposed stablecoin, which would be pegged to the U.S. Dollar would operate on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). XRPL Gets to Work For the unfamiliar, the XRP Ledger is the peer-to-peer public blockchain that allows for real-time transfer of XRP, and other fiat assets. Therefore, it is possible that the development, if c

FED Raising Interest Rates by Another 25 Bps

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Following the first pause on interest rate hikes in months, the FED is raising the interest rate by 25 Bps this month. The Federal Reserve has opted to return to raising interest rates to continue its fight against inflation. BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Fed eral Reserve raises Interest Rates by 25bps, a 22-year high. — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) July 26, 2023 The FED’s last interest rate hike was by 25 bps in May. While the US inflation numbers fell to 3%, a lower-than-expected number, the Fed eral Reserve has made the decision to return to raising rates. The total rate now stands between 5.25% and 5.5%. The new rate is the highest interest rate since 2001. It is also the 11th increase in over a year. Source: Bankrate Also Read: Federal Reserve Launches ‘FedNow’ Instant Payment System The FED first began its aggression in raising Interest Rates in March 2022. Reports suggest that this could possibly be the final rate increase in the tightening cycle by the Fed eral Reser

KuCoin’s CEO refutes 30% layoff rumors

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KuCoin’s CEO has denied reports that the company will lay off 300 workers, or 30% of its workforce. Still, he admits potential for future adjustments. In a tweet on July 25, CEO Johnny Lyu addressed the speculations initially posted by the Chinese journalist under Twitter monicker Wu Blockchain. Lyu claims KuCoin continues to operate smoothly. 1/ I'm aware of some rumors floating around about KuCoin. Let me clarify a few points and share a clear picture of how we're doing. — Johnny_KuCoin (@lyu_johnny) July 25, 2023 Lyu clarified that any adjustments to staff would be part of the regular semi-annual employee performance evaluation. He claims the measure is taken to stay “competitive and dynamic” in the rapidly evolving crypto sector. Independent journalist Wu Blockchain earlier alleged KuCoin was planning to cut 30% of its nearly 1,000 employees. Claiming the measure was confirmed by several KuCoin employees, he said the cuts were due to a strict know-your-customer (KYC

Swiss Retail Giant Supports Payment in Local Stablecoin

Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Today, local crypto banking service Sygnum announced that it had partnered with Galaxus, one of Switzerland’s largest online retailers, to develop an electronic payment system. Per a tweet , the bank explained that the system would use its Digital Swiss Franc (DCHF) stablecoin to allow Galaxus to accept crypto payments.  Optimizing the Swiss Online Retail Payment System Sygnum launched the DCHF in March. The asset is backed by the Swiss franc and holds a 1:1 ratio with the sovereign currency. The bank planned to use the asset to improve transaction speed and bolster security, while also eliminating the need for card-based transactions. By incorporating the DCFH stablecoin into its system, both companies plan to access the global e-commerce industry. As explained, they aim to improve connections between consumers and retailers, thus reducing intermediaries and the propensity for fraud. Galaxus’ Chief Finan

Why Are Companies Like Meta And Microsoft A Threat To Twitter's New Logo X?

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Meta, Microsoft, And Others Hold Rights Over Letter “X” Experts claim that businesses like Microsoft and Meta already have intellectual property rights that extend to the same letter. Furthermore, it would be unusual for Twitter to successfully change its name to “X” without encountering any legal issues because the letter “X” is so frequently used and mentioned in trademarks.  advertisement “There’s a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,” trademark attorney Josh Gerben told Reuter. Josh reported that he found approximately 900 current U.S. trademark registrations for the letter X across a variety of businesses. The new Twitter logo X Features a stylized, black-and-white rendition of the letter. If other branding may lead to customer confusion, trademark owners who protect things like brand names, logos, and slogans may claim infringement. The options for relief include monetary damages and prohibiting use. Microsoft has had ex

Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Discusses Worldcoin Risks And Issues

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The Risks And Issues With Worldcoin (WLD) Buterin noted that Worldcoin ’s guiding idea is simple, that is AI will benefit humanity much in terms of abundance and wealth, but it can also lead to the loss of many jobs and make it almost impossible to tell the difference between a human and a robot.  advertisement Therefore, he highlighted that the gap must be addressed by creating a highly effective system for personality evidence that enables people to show their actual humanity and by offering a UBI to everyone. Using specialized hardware known as the “Orb” to scan each user’s iris, Worldcoin ’s dependence on cutting-edge biometric technology sets it apart from other cryptocurrencies. However, Worldcoin has drawn criticism, for its “coin”‘s poor design, privacy, and security concerns around the Orb, and some of the company’s business decisions, Butrin said. Some of the comments are very detailed, focusing on choices the project made that could have been made di

The Weekend Shift: Bitcoin, FTX, Canada

Welcome to the 128th Weekend Shift! What’s the deal? Over the weekend, we’ll update this post with some of the most interesting articles, podcasts, charts, and opinion pieces we’re too busy to write about. OK, only crypto? Not necessarily. We do that Monday to Friday, so we try to explore new subjects on weekends. Feel free to join in and submit entries on Twitter. Any topic is fair game. 32 mins ago WATCH: Did SBF, Alameda, and FTX make its cash through the Kimchi Arbitrage? These curious ties to Chinese entities seem to suggest otherwise. https://t.co/aKcpuOokhE pic.twitter.com/2uidjV9cKm — Protos (@Protos) July 20, 2023 32 mins ago The Context: CoinDesk needs a better buyer The investor group that may acquire CoinDesk won’t make good custodians says @BennettTomlin. Subscribe and read https://t.co/Uck4gCfTQT pic.twitter.com/Pmli9VDmu0 — Protos (@Protos) July 21, 2023 31 mins ago SBF leaked diaries to harass Caroline Ellison and derail trial, lawsuit claims

Tron co-founder accused of printing TUSD out of ‘thin air’

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Tron co -founder , Justin Sun, is facing more allegations of engaging in questionable tactics to mint TUSD out of “thin air,” reportedly using deposits from two exchanges, Huobi and Poloniex. Recent on-chain data from Sun’s verified address, “TT2T17…U9N”, on Tron reveals that he minted $62 million in TUSD on July 21, 2023, withdrew $50 million in USDT from Huobi before proceeding to deposit $50 million USDT to Bitfinex. Afterward, he burned $50 million TUSD and added $50 million USDT and $12 million TUSD to JustLend, a top DeFi protocol on Tron. TUSD is a stablecoin that tracks the value of USD. The instant minting and burning of TUSD have raised concerns about the intention of Sun. Observers on Twitter said there was no apparent explanation from Sun to mint TUSD before instantly burning them. You might also like: Justin Sun speaks on trueUSD growth, looks to acquire a BRICS tender Adam Cochran, a vocal crypto analyst, speculates that unless Justin Sun used “the fake bal