Per an interpretive letter from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released on Monday, national banks will be free to hold reserve currencies for stablecoins. The new guidance reads, "We conclude that a national bank may hold such stablecoin 'reserves' as a service to bank customers." Alongside the announcement, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Brian Brooks noted that stablecoin services are already a part of many banks' activities: “National banks and federal savings associations currently engage in stablecoin related activities involving billions of dollars each day.” The letter does, however, specify that for now, this will only …

I thought we were the good guys when I worked in operations security for the Austrian government. After I learned how trivial it was for certain institutions or people in certain positions to fetch all the data related to citizens, I quickly began to understand how privacy had been under siege for probably 100 years. In a post-COVID-19 world, I fear those attacks are getting worse. When I took the job as an OpSec specialist for the government, I would have never thought about what I think today: I became skeptical of the system. I question everything now. Initially, however, …

A candidate for the Wisconsin State Assembly is challenging a state regulator by accepting donations in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). Phil Anderson, a real estate broker and entrepreneur, now accepts cryptocurrency donations for his Assembly campaign. According to an official statement by Anderson, crypto donations are available via major cryptocurrency payment service provider BitPay. Anderson said that his campaign is accepting crypto donations despite regulatory uncertainty from the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Back in 2018, Anderson accepted Bitcoin donations in his campaign for governor of Wisconsin despite the WEC finding them a “serious challenge” to compliance with state law. According to …

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments worldwide to focus on bringing blockchain technology to their financial services, along with the needed regulatory upgrades to keep the burgeoning fintech industry clean. Related: Not like before: Digital currencies debut amid COVID-19 For example, on Sep. 10, Switzerland — a global center for the wealth management industry, housing around $2 trillion or 27% of global offshore wealth — passed a reformed Blockchain Act that includes a new set of laws and regulations to support the growth of blockchain and decentralized finance companies in the country. Related: Why Switzerland is becoming a “crypto nation” …

Some of the main functions of government institutions include redistribution of resources and maintaining official records. These are precisely the domains where blockchain technology — with its focus on facilitating secure, traceable transactions and maintaining immutable records to build trust — is well-positioned to make a strong impact. A recent report by Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the latest to highlight blockchain technology’s potential to serve as a powerful tool in the fight against government corruption. This proposition, however, is only the latest in a long string of policy proposals and analytical reports that document the immense promise that …

The de facto state of Abkhazia threw the towel on its fight against crypto mining, with the president recently announcing measures to lift the nation’s current ban. According to Finanz.ru, Aslan Bzhania stated on Thursday that his government plans to introduce “the most optimal mechanism” to regulate crypto mining, rather than maintaining the state’s current prohibition on blockchain-related activities. Earlier this week, Ruslan Kvarchia, director of operational and technological management of the state’s official energy company, pointed to crypto mining as a major driver behind the current energy crisis affecting Abkhazia. Commenting on this situation, Bzhania said: “Now we are …

As an anarcho-capitalist, I hold that property rights are sacred and that violence is acceptable only when our natural rights, as embedded and enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, are under a direct and imminent threat, and only in self-defense. I might be the first anarchist, anarcho-capitalist, or minarchist you’ve ever met. Those labels may sound scary to some — that’s fine. Democrats and Republicans call each other scary names all the time, too. But all my labels mean is that I believe in a monetary system that presumes freedom more consistently than that which is advocated by …

The drama over alleged fraud involving Bithumb’s senior executives continues as the company’s chairman has reportedly been summoned for interrogation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency is purportedly seeking to question Lee Jung-hoon, chairman of board at Bithumb Korea and Bithumb Holdings, according to a Sept. 18 report by South Korea’s state-run news agency Yonhap. As reported, Lee is allegedly accused of multiple fraud and embezzlement offenses regarding the failed listing of the BXA token. The purported fraud caused investor damages of up to 30 billion won ($25 million), the report notes. The police are also reportedly looking to question Lee …

Abkhazia, a de facto state in the South Caucasus, continues to face an energy crisis. The head of the region’s national energy provider recently blamed increased crypto mining activity for the problems. According to Jam News, the government’s year-old ban on crypto mining has not been respected nor enforced by the local authorities, with miners continuing to take advantage of the area's low energy costs. Ruslan Kvarchia, director of operational and technological management of Chernomorenergo, Abkhazia’s official energy company, said: “Total capacity of the mining equipment operating in the republic is at least 40–45 megawatts. This capacity, subject to round-the-clock …

San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken has become the first cryptocurrency business to receive a charter to operate as a bank in the United States. When seen as part of a larger-scale shift in regulatory attitudes that may help to bring crypto into the mainstream, the repercussions could be even more significant. Kraken Financial, the firm's new bank, is headquartered in Cheyenne and got the green light from Wyoming on Sept. 16 as a special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) — a bank that can both receive deposits and custody assets. "For Wyoming, this is an economic development initiative," founder and CEO of …

China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment system is at the forefront of news around central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs. As China will be the first nation to launch a CBDC, the changes a digital yuan promises for global economics and the role this plan plays in pushing for a “currency war” keeps its project in headlines. For its part, the proposed currency not only poses a threat but is intended to threaten, and potentially unseat, the U.S. dollar for the top position of global reserve currency. However, to understand how successful a digital yuan may be in this endeavor, it’s …

The United States Internal Revenue Service has better ways to spend taxpayer dollars than offering bounties to break Monero’s (XMR) privacy, a Monero working group says. After the IRS announced it is offering up to $625,000 to anyone who can break Monero, a major Monero-focused workgroup expressed their take on the matter. A spokesperson for Monero Outreach — an independent workgroup focused on XMR awareness and education — told Cointelegraph that the IRS should learn how Monero actually works instead. Monero Outreach’s representative emphasized that the crypto’s features in fact provide users with a certain level of transparency, stating: “$625,000 …