The Bitcoin network’s on-chain activity still appears to be in a bear market as U.S. and E.U. buyers are struggling to stay ahead of sellers based in Asia. Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode’s latest report on the weekly activity of the Bitcoin (BTC) network shows that the price of the largest crypto by market cap has stayed firmly within the same tight $5,000 range from $37,680 to $42,312. However, on March 22 the asset saw a sudden spike in price which elevated prices to a two-week high. Overall, the network is in a demonstrable lull according to Glassnode’s weekly review: “Bitcoin …

South by Southwest — commonly referred to as “South By” or “SXSW” — has returned to Austin, Texas this year to showcase the latest trends in interactive media, music, art, film and technology. While SXSW runs through March 20, 2022, the entertainment and technology festival kicked off its first weekend with a large focus on Web3 and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). NFT activations and panels SXSW’s attendees’ interest in NFTs and the future of the internet was particularly evident at the venue hosted by Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) — a business and creative unit formed by FOX Entertainment in 2021. On …

Bitcoin (BTC) miners are holding more and more Bitcoin while “relentlessly expanding” their operations in 2022. A report by Arcane Research indicates that publicly listed Bitcoin miners are “constantly looking for expansion opportunities,” as they “plan to increase hashrate faster than the whole network in 2022.” 44.95% of the global hash rate derives from North American miners, according to the latest figures from the Cambridge Bitcoin electricity consumption index. With the massive projected increases in target hash rate among the publicly traded Bitcoin miners, it's "likely to increase." Jaran Mellerud, an analyst for Arcane Research, told Cointelegraph that “most publicly …

Representative Brad Sherman will be introducing a bill in the House aimed at cracking down on U.S. businesses handling crypto transactions for Russian banks and individuals. Speaking at a hybrid markup meeting with the House Financial Services Committee on Thursday, Sherman said he will be introducing a companion bill to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s legislation that would give the Biden administration “explicit authority to require that crypto exchanges that are subject to U.S. law stop facilitating transactions with Russian-based crypto wallets.” Warren first announced the legislation on March 8, later saying during a Senate Banking Committee hearing she will be introducing …

Industry experts and lawmakers who spoke at a hearing of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs clashed on how the country should handle digital assets used for illicit purposes. Speaking remotely in a Thursday hearing on “Understanding the Role of Digital Assets in Illicit Finance”, Michael Chobanian, the founder of Kuna crypto exchange and President of Blockchain Association of Ukraine, called out Binance. He claimed the crypto exchange was “still working with the ruble” and implied the firm was not in compliance with current sanctions against Russia, which has engaged in a military invasion of …

As pointed out by Caroline Malcolm, Head of International Policy at Chainalysis, the transparent nature of blockchain technology makes it relatively easy for crypto intelligence companies to track funds related to sanctioned entities. “We're in quite a unique position because of the transparency and the permanency and the immutability of that public record”, explained Malcolm in an exclusive Cointelegraph interview. Governments around the world have expressed concerns that Russia could use crypto to evade sanctions imposed as a response to its military offensive against Ukraine. Addressing those concerns, Malcolm pointed out that in the last few years there has been …

The New Hampshire House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to adopt the new version of Chapter 12 of the Universal Commercial Code, or UCC, which will govern transfers of digital assets. The chapter is still in draft form, but if HB1503 is signed into law, New Hampshire will be the first U.S. state to adopt the chapter. Like the draft chapter of the UCC, the bill — titled “Exempting the developer, seller, or facilitator of the exchange of an open blockchain token from certain securities laws” — seeks to create a “workaround” to make it easier to buy …

Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at crypto advocacy group the Blockchain Association, said the United States should be careful to avoid a “totalitarian nightmare” in its potential launch of a central bank digital currency, or CBDC. Speaking at Austin’s SXSW festival on Tuesday in a panel on ‘Financial Surveillance in a Cashless Society’, Chervinsky said though U.S. President Joe Biden had issued an executive order establishing a national strategy for cryptocurrencies in the United States, there were potential privacy concerns over the country launching a CBDC. Empowering a government to surveil its citizens using a CBDC, “sounds like the kind …

United States President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets on March 9. The order had been expected for several months, giving some in the industry ample time to build up trepidation. Once the executive order, or EO, was released, however, it was met with a chorus of approval. “I was expecting certain things and the positive tone was not necessarily one of them,” TRM Labs head of legal and government affairs Ari Redborn said of the order. Crypto advocacy group Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito tweeted that the EO is “further affirmation …

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Allison Herren Lee announced that she would be stepping down from her post at the end of her term in June. In a Tuesday announcement, Lee said that she will remain in the role until her successor has been confirmed. The SEC commissioner has spent less than three years at her current position, having been sworn in in 2019 to serve out the remainder of a five-year term expiring in June. With her departure, Lee, a Democrat who replaced former commissioner Kara Stein, will create a second vacancy at the SEC, with another left open by …

Former Federal Reserve Board governor Sarah Bloom Raskin has withdrawn her name for consideration as the central bank’s vice chair for supervision in an attempt to allow other nominations to move forward. According to a Tuesday tweet from Washington Post journalist Seung Min Kim, Raskin sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden withdrawing as his nominee for the next vice chair for supervision of the Federal Reserve, citing “relentless attacks by special interests.” The letter referred to Republican lawmakers, who she said have “held hostage” her nomination since February. “Their point of contention was my frank public discussion of …

Following its immense marketing efforts, Crypto.com finally begins the initial rollout of its services to users in the United States. In an announcement, Crypto.com mentioned that its exchange platform is already available to users who are waitlisted and will be available to more users soon. Currently, the trading platform can only be used by selected institutional investors. However, in the next few months, the exchange will be offering its services to more investors who want to trade using Crypto.com. The exchange is also inviting institutional investors based in the U.S. to join their waitlist and use the platform. Apart from …