Goldman Sachs’ digital assets unit is reportedly open to bolstering its 70-strong team, despite a massive cost-cutting exercise at the firm last month that will see 3,200 employees clear their desks. Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets for Goldman Sachs said the bank remains “hugely supportive” of exploring blockchain applications and that the digital asset division will hire “as appropriate” this year. The executive made the comments in Hong Kong to Bloomberg last week, noting that the digital assets team has grown from just four staff members in 2020 to around 70 today. The firm’s supposed openness to beef …

Crypto industry layoffs appear to have slowed down significantly over the past month with an estimated 570 crypto employees dismissed in February, down from an estimated 2,850 in January. Cointelegraph compiled the figures based on publicly reported layoffs and found job cuts were spread across at least 12 companies over the 28-day period, but noticeably lacked the triple-digit crypto exchange layoffs compiled in January, such as those from Coinbase, Crypto.com and Huobi. Instead, staff cuts came in the double-digits for the most part — impacting blockchain analytics firms, blockchain and software development firms, and digital asset platforms among others. The …

The French National Assembly has voted in favor of legislating stricter licensing rules for new cryptocurrency firms in order to harmonize local laws with proposed European Union (EU) standards. The vote was passed with 109 votes (60.5%) in favor to 71 (39.5%) against. With the French Senate having already passed the bill, it will now be passed to president Emmanuel Macron who has 15 days to either approve it or send it back to the legislature. ✅ Projet de loi DDADUE dans les domaines de l’économie, de la santé, du travail, des transports et de l’agriculture | Adoption par l’Assemblée …

Coinbase has launched a grassroots political campaign to promote pro-crypto policies, according to a Feb. 28 Twitter thread from the company. The company said that the #Crypto435 campaign is intended to “grow the crypto advocacy community and share tools and resources,” so that crypto users can make their voices heard in all 435 congressional districts. 1/ It’s time to advance pro-crypto policy in all 435 Congressional Districts across the U.S. Introducing #Crypto435, our campaign to grow the crypto advocacy community and share tools and resources to make your voice heard. Become an advocate today https://t.co/TPJhtoP9eC — Coinbase (@coinbase) February 28, …

In a new blog post published on Feb. 28, Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin documented the continued need to improve the namesake network to better facilitate ETH as a means of payment. In one instance, Buterin shared how he tried to pay for tea for himself and friends at a coffee shop in Argentina in 2021, but had to pay 0.01 ETH (around $40 at the time) as that was the minimum deposit for the owner's exchange account. "I did not mind the 3x overpayment and treated it as a tip," the co-founder wrote. In another instance, Buterin explained how …

Nishad Singh, former director of engineering at FTX, is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges brought by U.S. prosecutors who are investigating the now bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange, Reuters reported on Feb 28. During the hearing in a Manhattan federal court, Singh's lawyer announced that his client had agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on FTX customers, and one count of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud. Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering at now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, has agreed to plead guilty to U.S. criminal charges, …

According to a press release published by cryptocurrency exchange OKX on Feb. 28, the firm said that it seized 2,014,381 Tether (USDT) from five accounts suspected of partaking in "malicious market manipulation," of the Celestial (CELT) token. As told by OKX, on Feb. 26, Celestial developers announced the creation of a new blockchain game. Shortly afterwards, the Celestial developers allegedly launched a social media campaign promoting the new game using OKX's branding, which the firm says was unauthorized. As a partial result of the activities, the CELT token nearly doubled in value within two days' time before falling over 50% …

Japan has consistently been a leader in the tech industry, so it’s a logical step forward that, given current trends in the space, the Cool Japan movement might incorporate Web3 to strengthen its initiative. Bringing Web3 into the mix alongside the popular culture aspects of the movement could prove a boon for the mission, but this move has not yet been implemented by the government-led movement. With much of Web3 still being an unknown in regard to its capabilities and future outlook, it is understandable that the government has yet to combine it with its initiative to bring Japan into …

Mobile payments processor Cash App has integrated crypto tax and accounting software TaxBit into its services, giving Bitcoin (BTC) holders a more streamlined approach to reporting their taxes. As of Feb. 28, Cash App users can now keep track of their Bitcoin transactions for tax reporting purposes using TaxBit, both companies announced. TaxBit’s chief operating officer Lindsey Argalas said her company’s platform simplifies tax reporting “for everyone who has integrated digital assets into their portfolio.” Cash App launched its Bitcoin trading services in 2018 and rolled out BTC deposits the following year. The company claims to have over 10 million …

According to a a Reuters report published on Feb. 28, American payment processors Visa and Mastercard has delayed the launch of new partnerships with crypto firms due to a series of high-profile bankruptcies in the industry that have led to increased regulatory scrutiny. The move follows a period of warming relations between payment giants and crypto firms as the popularity of cryptocurrencies exploded, with Mastercard exploring payments via USD Coin and Visa targeting stablecoin settlements mere weeks before today's development. Both Visa and Mastercard are said to be pushing back the launch of certain products and services related to crypto …

Crypto industry has been raising its lobbying efforts amid the crypto winter that began last year. In 2022, the market participants spent $25.57 million on lobbying in the United States. This number appears in a study, published by the Money Mongers on Feb. 23. The count is based on data from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit, tracking the lobbying expenses (which should be publicly accessible by law) in the U.S. According to this data, the general rise of the industry’s lobbying budgets made up 922% in five years between 2017 and 2022. In 2017, when the price of Bitcoin rocketed for …

Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, is set to launch a free zone for digital and virtual asset companies as the country’s approach to the industry continues to attract global crypto players. The RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO) will be a “purpose-built, innovation-enabling free zone for non-regulated activities in the virtual assets sector.” Applications will open in the second quarter of 2023, the statement said. The free zone would be dedicated to digital and virtual assets service providers in emerging technologies, such as the metaverse, blockchain, utility tokens, virtual asset wallets, NFTs, …