Bank of Russia Moves to Safeguard Crypto Companies Against Sanctions

The Central Bank of Russia has introduced measures to protect entities working with digital assets from sanctions pressures. These businesses will be exempted from some reporting requirements as part of a regulatory relief intended to minimize the burden on financial organizations. Russia’s Central Bank Eases Supervision of Digital Asset Platforms Amid Sanctions The Central Bank … Read more

Time for Serious Global Crypto Regulation, Germany Says

Germany’s financial watchdog has issued a call for global regulation of the crypto industry in the aftermath of the FTX collapse. The hands-off approach was wrong, the head of the agency says, insisting it’s time to protect consumers as the sector expands links with traditional finance. Bafin President Convinced Self-Regulation Won’t Work for Crypto The … Read more

Russian Social Media Giant Vkontakte Launches NFT Service

Russia’s largest social network, Vkontakte, has launched a feature allowing users to upload digital collectibles to the platform. Account holders will also be able to buy and sell them in the future as the company intends to establish a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. Vkontakte Users to Showcase Their NFTs, Set Them as Avatars The leading … Read more

Amid Withdrawals, Binance CEO Warns of Bumpy Months Ahead

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has reportedly told staff to expect some difficult months as the leading cryptocurrency exchange is seeing customer withdrawals. The warning comes while the crypto industry is facing challenges after high-profile bankruptcies and amid tightening regulations. $3 Billion Pulled Out From Binance at Peak, Nansen Data Shows Binance, the world’s largest … Read more

Decentralized Finance Protocols Flounder as Value Locked in Defi Shed More Than 25% Since FTX Collapsed

On December 12, 2022, the total value locked (TVL) in decentralized finance (defi) has been range bound after falling 25.5% from $55.94 billion on Nov. 5, to today’s $41.67 billion. Moreover, during the past 12 months, the TVL in defi dropped 82.56% from roughly $239 billion in Dec. 2021, to today’s aggregate. Smart Contract Token … Read more

Hacker Steals $6.9 Million From Arbitrum-Based Defi Protocol Lodestar Finance

Arbitrum-based lending platform Lodestar Finance was exploited on Dec. 10, 2022, according to a tweet from the project’s Twitter account on Saturday. Community reports detail that Lodestar lost roughly $6.9 million from the vulnerability. Lodestar Finance Loses $6.9 Million in an Exploit, TVL Drained, LODE Drops by 53% Another decentralized finance (defi) platform, Lodestar Finance … Read more

Full Ban on Crypto in Russia Would Be Counterproductive, Rosfinmonitoring Says

Russian citizens and businesses already own cryptocurrencies, which is why a complete crypto ban would be counterproductive, according to a top executive of Rosfinmonitoring, Russia’s financial intelligence agency. At the same time, the regulator supports prohibiting payments with digital coins and their advertising. Rosfinmonitoring Backs Government’s Strategy to Strictly Regulate Cryptocurrencies in Russia The Federal … Read more

Russia’s Interior Ministry Employs Tool to Identify Crypto Wallet Owners, Track Transactions

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is now using a digital tool allowing officers to link cryptocurrency wallets to their owners. The software also has a feature facilitating the monitoring of crypto asset transactions, the department told Russian media. Russian Police Brag About New Crypto Tracing Tool on Eve of Anti-Corruption Day Employees of MVD, … Read more

Binance and Crypto.com Publish Proof-of-Reserve Audits Conducted by Global Auditor Mazars Group

This week two cryptocurrency exchanges provided proof-of-reserves in order to highlight that the trading platforms are backing customer assets 1:1. Binance published its report on Dec. 7, 2022, and detailed the global auditor Mazars Group conducted the audit. On Dec. 9, 2022, the exchange Crypto.com published proof-of-reserves records and the verification was also conducted by … Read more

Brussels Wants All Crypto Service Providers to Report Transactions of Europeans

The European Commission has set out to oblige platforms processing crypto transactions for EU residents to share information with tax authorities in the Union. According to the proposal, all crypto service providers, regardless of where they are based, will have to abide by the new rules. EU to Consider New Reporting Requirements for Crypto Platforms … Read more