In response to a deluge of comments, the United States Treasury Department's Anti-Money Laundering office is slowing its roll on a rushed proposal to monitor a whole new range of cryptocurrency transactions. On Thursday, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced that it was extending the window on comments in response to a rule originally announced two days before Christmas and less than a month before a new administration takes over. The rule as originally proposed sought to add new thresholds for registered money services business — i.e., crypto exchanges — transacting with self-hosted wallets, which are only …

Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, the heightened need for various biosurveillance measures sparked interest in the relevance of privacy-enhancing technologies such as blockchain that could protect public health data amid the crisis. A Twitter user claimed last week that Frankfurt Airport's coronavirus testing center appeared to be using Iota blockchain technology to manage passengers' health stats, and this fact has now been confirmed to Cointelegraph by the technology provider. Ubirch, a blockchain-based cybersecurity technology provider based in Cologne and several other locations, has developed the IT infrastructure for a solution it calls the "Digital Corona Test Certificate." The solution …

On New Year’s Day, the U.S.-based crypto exchange Bittrex announced via Twitter that it was delisting three leading privacy coins: Monero (XMR), Zcash (ZEC) and Dash. A link promised further details, but those who followed it learned nothing to explain why trades in those tokens would end on Jan. 15. Still, the news couldn’t have been entirely surprising. Regulators, both in the United States and abroad, have been casting a gimlet eye at privacy coins these days. Unlike Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the coins promise enhanced anonymity by hiding users’ addresses and transaction amounts, which make transactions more difficult …

Crypto custodian BTSE has launched an ERC-20 token that represents Monero (XMR) on the Ethereum blockchain, giving investors new exposure to the privacy-centric coin. Represented by the ticker symbol WXMR, Wrapped Monero is intended to bring greater liquidity to the DeFi ecosystem. The new asset is fully backed by Monero at a ratio of one-to-one and is secured by BTSE. In a press release that was shared with Cointelegraph, BTSE said WXMR “gives holders of Monero more flexibility to utilize their tokens without having to sell it for Ethereum or stablecoins, in order to access the many exciting opportunities in …

With just two weeks left in office, President Donald Trump has sent out a new executive order targeting Chinese payment apps. The Tuesday order bars United States citizens or people located in the U.S. from using nine Chinese payment apps. It continues the White House's earlier efforts to cut off the U.S. market from Chinese-owned apps like TikTok. Yesterday's order repeats earlier concerns of data collection by the Chinese Communist Party: "The continuing activity of the PRC and the CCP to steal or otherwise obtain United States persons’ data makes clear that there is an intent to use bulk data …

Despite many objections to the truncated timeframe, public comments are due tonight in response to the U.S. Treasury's proposal to require businesses like crypto exchanges to know the identities behind wallets with which they transact. As of Sunday night, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, had recorded 5,633 responses to its proposed rule. That number is despite the fact that FinCEN gave only 15 days, rather than the usual 60 for responses. The office dropped its announcement on Dec. 18, a Friday evening a week before Christmas Day in the states. Meanwhile, today, the due date, is the …

It would be fair to admit that after 2020 and all it has put us through, making any predictions for the upcoming year is most likely to be a game of blindfold. Meanwhile, I am certain that humanity has much to learn from its past transgressions, and will move forward by correcting our mistakes and weaknesses. That’s what we always do. Undoubtedly, the major driver of our development this year was the COVID-19 outbreak. The effects of the ongoing global pandemic on every aspect of our lives will form our future, and there are some tendencies we started last year …

A recent tweet from Dash’s official Twitter account has invited criticism that the cryptocurrency, which once advertised its privacy features, is wilting in the face of possible regulatory scrutiny. On Jan. 1, the US-based Bittrex exchange announced in a tweet that it would be delisting Monero, Zcash, and Dash: #Bittrex Customers: The $XMR, $ZEC, and $DASH markets will be removed on Friday, January 15th at 23:00 UTC. Details: https://t.co/8qAdjuwryJ — Bittrex (@BittrexExchange) January 1, 2021 The delistings follow a similar Dec. 29 announcement last week that Bittrex would be delisting XRP following a SEC lawsuit against Ripple, prompting speculation that …

Nine congresspeople have signed on to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, telling him to hold his horses. The Thursday letter is in response to the Treasury's recent proposal to make registered crypto businesses hold on to more customer information, especially when transacting with self-hosted wallets. The proposal has been met with widespread outrage from the crypto community. Among grievances, many cite the fact that Mnuchin is pushing this rule out just weeks before the administration of Joe Biden comes into power, and with it his likely replacement, Janet Yellen. Accompanying new proposals for rules are invitations for public …

The unique power of blockchain and cryptocurrency can also be considered their weakness. Crypto users gain unparalleled privacy for financial transactions through a decentralized transactional system. Governments, however, demand transparency in financial transactions for legal concerns. This creates a paradox. People are less inclined to use financial instruments if, in doing so, they expose their money to the world. Conversely, there are a number of regulations requiring financial institutions to counteract terrorism and money laundering — serious concerns for many governments. The crux of the issue is that most public blockchains require a consensus of all participants to validate transactions. …

The hacker that breached hardware wallet provider Ledger’s marketing database earlier this year has released personal data for thousands of users, prompting many to threaten the firm with a class-action lawsuit. According to a tweet from network security firm Hudson Rock's Alon Gal, a hacker allegedly behind the breach of personal data from hardware wallet Ledger in June has made all the information they obtained available online. This reportedly includes 1,075,382 email addresses from users subscribed to the Ledger newsletter, and 272,853 hardware wallet orders with information including email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers. ALERT: Threat actor just dumped …

The Treasury has released its long-awaited proposal to restrict money services businesses, including U.S.-registered crypto exchanges, from dealing with self-hosted wallets. In a Friday evening announcement, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, announced proposed rules requiring registered crypto exchanges to verify the "identity of their customers, if a counterparty uses an unhosted or otherwise covered wallet and the transaction is greater than $3,000." The rule is currently just a proposal. The Treasury has given stakeholders 15 days to respond with comments. Rumors of the proposed rules have been circulating for the past month. With Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin …