Tag: Crypto

Paying Iran in Crypto Could Put Shippers at Sanctions Risk: Analyst

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Shipping firms that turn to cryptocurrency to pay potential transit fees to Iran could face significant sanctions exposure, according to Kaitlin Martin, senior intelligence analyst at Chainalysis. Martin told Cointelegraph that under the current sanctions framework, any payments made to the Iranian regime, including those tied to passage through key waterways, could be interpreted as “material support,” putting companies at risk of violating US and international restrictions. “Doing so could carry significant sanctions violation risk, as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is sanctioned by multiple jurisdictions and Iran is subject…

Paul Frambot: Maple’s hybrid model combines CeFi and DeFi for institutional lending, resilience in crypto investment persists, and yield generation thrives through strategic partnerships

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Key takeaways Maple operates as a hybrid model, integrating both CeFi and DeFi elements for lending. Institutional interest in crypto remains strong despite market volatility. Maple’s clients include prime brokers and asset managers, with loans ranging from $10 million to $500 million. DeFi composability is a key differentiator for Maple, driving growth. Syrup USDC and USDT holders benefit from over-collateralized loans to institutional borrowers. Partnerships, like the one with Athena, diversify asset backing and yield sources. Aave and Syrup collaborate to enhance user yield and utilization, not compete. Institutional trust…

CFTC Announces Initial Crypto Task Force Members

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The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission has unveiled the first members of its new innovation task force as the agency continues its push to provide greater clarity for the crypto market. The Innovation Task Force was initially launched by CFTC Chairman Mike Selig on March 24, who appointed Michael Passalacqua as the leader of the group. Passalacqua is currently the senior advisor to Selig at the CFTC. In an announcement Friday, the CFTC said that Passalacqua will be joined by a list of five initial members including Hank Balaban, a…

Japan’s Cabinet approves bill to regulate crypto as financial products

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Japan’s Cabinet has approved amendments to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) to treat cryptocurrencies as financial instruments, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said after a cabinet meeting on April 10. Cryptocurrencies have so far been regulated under the Payment Services Act as a form of payment in Japan. The change will treat them like stocks and bonds, reflecting their growing role as investment assets. The measure is part of Japan’s efforts to overhaul its financial regulatory framework to adapt to changing capital markets, with new legislation targeting crypto asset…

Binance’s CZ Hopes Crypto Will Disappear Into Everyday Technology

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Binance co-founder Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao said he hopes that cryptocurrencies and blockchain will simply become an invisible part of daily infrastructure by 2031, much like the internet today.  Speaking on Scott Melker’s Wolf of All Streets podcast posted Thursday, Zhao said that while new use cases and advances will continue to emerge, he hopes talk of the technology will subside as it becomes part of everyday life.  “I’m hoping that we don’t talk about crypto as crypto in five years, just like we don’t talk about the internet anymore, we…

Japan regulates crypto assets as financial instruments

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The Japanese government amended the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act on Friday to classify crypto assets as financial instruments. The amendment also bans insider trading and other activities that involve buying and selling based on undisclosed information, Nikkei reported. The amended act will also now require cryptocurrency “issuers” to be more transparent and disclose information once a year. Japan’s Financial Services Agency has previously regulated crypto assets under the Payment and Settlement Act, citing their potential use as a means of payment. However, the regulations and classifications have been updated…

OKX, HashKey Back VPBank’s CAEX in Vietnam Crypto Pilot

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CAEX, a crypto platform linked to the Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) ecosystem, said OKX Ventures and HashKey are backing the company as it seeks to qualify for Vietnam’s pilot regime for crypto exchanges. CAEX said Friday that the two offshore companies will join VPBank Securities (VPBankS) and technology partner LynkiD as shareholders. According to a release shared with Cointelegraph, their investment is intended to help CAEX reach Vietnam’s minimum charter capital threshold of 10 trillion dong (about $380 million), a key condition for participating in the pilot…

US Treasury To Give Crypto Industry Cybersecurity Intelligence at ‘No Cost’

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The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection (OCCIP) announced on Thursday that it is expanding its cybersecurity threat identification program to include digital asset companies. Blockchain companies that choose to take part in the program will receive the same cybersecurity threat intelligence provided to traditional financial institutions at “no cost,” according to the Treasury’s announcement.   “Cyber threats targeting digital asset platforms are growing in frequency and sophistication,” Cory Wilson, the deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity at the OCCIP, said.  Losses from crypto hacks between…

Operation Atlantic Freezes $12M in Crypto Scam Proceeds

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Authorities in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada have frozen millions of dollars tied to crypto scams in a joint enforcement operation called Operation Atlantic. The operation, focused on phishing attacks, took place in March and was coordinated by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the US Secret Service, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ontario Securities Commission. Operation Atlantic identified more than 20,000 victims across the US, Canada and the UK, securing and freezing more than $12 million in suspected criminal proceeds, the NCA said Thursday. It also…

Crypto Exchanges Vie for TradFi Commodities Market, Pricing Gaps Remain

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Cryptocurrency exchanges are taking a growing market share from traditional finance (TradFi) trading venues through tokenized commodities products, but the mainstream adoption of tokenized precious metals remains limited by pricing and liquidity issues. Silver perpetuals have reached about 40% of the equivalent volume of the Comex Silver (SI) Contract at their peak, the world’s largest silver futures market, which accounts for over 70% of global exchange-traded silver futures volume, according to a Thursday report from Binance Research. During March and April, tokenized silver accounted for 14.90% and 14.98% of the…