Interest in Cryptocurrency Jumped 15-Fold in Kazakhstan

Interest in cryptocurrency in Kazakhstan has surged fifteen-fold this year compared to 2017 according to a study by Yandex. The number of online searches began to rise significantly in June of last year for a number of cryptocurrency-related search terms. Also read: Indians Look to Buy Bitcoin Overseas as Regulations Tighten Crypto-Related Search Queries Increase A … Read more

Mexican Cryptocurrency Regulations Approved by Congress

Mexico’s bill to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges has been approved by the country’s lower house of Congress and is now awaiting the signature of President Enrique Pena Nieto to become law. Crypto operators have 12 months to comply, a local crypto exchange explained to news.Bitcoin.com. Also read: Indians Look to Buy Bitcoin Overseas as Regulations Tighten Mexico’s Crypto … Read more

16 Government-Approved Crypto Exchanges Forming Self-Regulatory Body in Japan

16 cryptocurrency exchanges that have been approved by the Japanese government are teaming up to form a self-regulatory group, following the hack of one of the country’s most popular exchanges. Besides these exchanges, there are 16 “quasi-operators” for cryptocurrencies as well as about 100 firms seeking to enter the market in Japan. Also read: Japan’s DMM … Read more

North Korea Obtained 11,000 bitcoins in 2017, Expert Says

North Korea may have made over $200 million USD from cryptocurrency transactions last year, according to a former NSA official. DPRK is believed to have obtained at least 11,000 bitcoins through mining or hacking in 2017. Pyongyang continues to exploit the benefits of using cryptos and the cyber security weaknesses of its adversaries, recent reports … Read more

Russian Ministry Offers to Set Up Crypto Exchange for Miners

Russia’s Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications has put forward the idea to set up a cryptocurrency exchange, where Russian miners can trade their digital coins for fiat money. The ministry has held consultations with representatives of the crypto sector and prepared a comprehensive concept to regulate the mining industry. Also read: Two Russian Regions … Read more

Court Strikes Down Ban on 40 Bitcoin Sites in Russia

Saint Petersburg City Court has struck down a ban on 40 bitcoin related websites offering information about cryptocurrencies and exchange services in Russia. The ban was imposed by a district court in May last year, following a request from the Prosecutor’s Office. It prohibited the “spreading of information” about bitcoin, as well as buying and … Read more

Another Thai Bank Shuts Down Accounts of Local Crypto Exchange

Another major Thai bank is reportedly terminating transactions involving cryptocurrencies through the bank accounts of a local crypto exchange. This decision follows a similar move by another major Thai bank, Bangkok Bank, to terminate the same exchange’s bank accounts. Also read: Indians Look to Buy Bitcoin Overseas as Regulations Tighten Second Bank Closes Account of Crypto … Read more

Transaction Batching: Good for Fees, Bad for Privacy

Over the past few weeks, many people have noticed that bitcoin core network fees and transactions times have been a lot better than two months ago when fees reached highs of 1,000 satoshis per byte or $30-40 per transaction. Many people are wondering why these issues have subsided, and some people believe it is due … Read more

Korea Investigates 20 Public Companies for Using Crypto Claims to Boost Share Prices

The South Korean financial authorities are investigating 20 publicly listed companies for unfairly using cryptocurrency claims to boost their share prices. Crypto-related companies do not always follow through with their plans after seeing their share prices surge. Also read: Indians Look to Buy Bitcoin Overseas as Regulations Tighten Investigating 20 Companies The South Korean Financial Supervisory … Read more

Japanese Police Reveal 669 Money Laundering Cases Tied to Local Exchanges

Just recently Japanese investigators revealed they had obtained 669 reports concerning “suspected money laundering” tied to cryptocurrency transactions and domestic digital currency trading platforms. The linked data was derived from investigations spurred by the recent transaction reporting statutes licensed exchanges are required to follow. Also read: Bitcoin Is Finding Its Way into High Schools Japanese Police … Read more