Starbucks has clarified that it will not be accepting Bitcoin (BTC) or other cryptocurrencies as payment, despite misleading reports from mainstream media, a spokesperson told Motherboard Friday, August 3. Earlier on Friday, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) operator the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced plans to create a new “global platform and ecosystem for digital assets,” dubbed “Bakkt,” alongside a group of big name enterprises including Starbucks, BCG and Microsoft. Following the major announcement, a number of mainstream media outlets, including Bloomberg and CNBC, ran misleading headlines –– such as CNBC’s “New Starbucks partnership with Microsoft allows customers to pay for …

Cryptocurrencies — what are they? Money? Commodities? Securities? Utility tokens? Or something else? Few national governments seem to be in any kind of agreement on this question, and for now, at least, their divisions have given such currencies as Bitcoin and Ethereum a floating, indeterminate status on the global stage. As a result, cryptocurrencies lack a single, definite existence, with some nations treating them as money (e.g., Japan, Germany) and others treating them as an unregulated, speculative asset (e.g., Mexico, Denmark), making them the financial equivalent of Schrödinger's cat. However, as this review of classifications of crypto throughout the world …

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the operator of 23 leading global exchanges including the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), has announced plans to create a Microsoft cloud-powered “open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets,” according to a press release published August 3. The operator of NYSE is forming a new company, dubbed “Bakkt,” and will work alongside a marquee group of enterprises that includes BCG, Microsoft, Starbucks, and others, to create the new ecosystem. The intention is to create an integrated platform that enables consumers, merchants, and institutional clients to buy, sell, store, and spend digital assets on a “seamless global …

Congressman Bill Huizenga has urged for the U.S. Congress to focus on crypto regulation in an interview with Bloomberg July 27. Huizenga wants to see more oversight in what he considers the “muddied and fairly opaque” initial coin offering (ICOs) and digital assets markets. Speaking in his Capitol Hill office, Huizenga argued that Congress should empower financial regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to regulate the market in compliance with the same rules governing other currencies and stocks. Huizenga said that the main reason for focusing on crypto regulation is to …

Crypto markets have taken a sharp downturn, today, July 27, with all of the top ten coins by market cap hit by hefty losses and Bitcoin (BTC) dipping back below the $8,000 psychological price point, as data from Coin360 shows. The grim market picture is likely due to yesterday’s breaking news that the Winklevoss Twins’ application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has now been rejected for a second time by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Market visualization from Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $7,915 to press time, down about 4 percent on the day. After leading …

July 26: crypto markets are seeing a healthy flush of green, with most of major crypto assets seeing solid growth over the 24-hour period, as data from Coin360 shows. After leading last week’s major market rally when Bitcoin (BTC) broke the $8,000 psychological price point, the leading cryptocurrency has been consolidating its gains. Altcoins are also holding market confidence, with most of the top ten coins by market cap seeing growth of between 1 and 7 percent on the day to press time, according to CoinMarketCap. Market visualization from Coin360 Bitcoin (BTC) is trading around $8,230 to press time, up …

Chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Christopher Giancarlo outlined his agency’s interest in blockchain technology during a Congressional hearing Wednesday, July 25. The chairman emphasized the need for the appropriate procedures that would enable the CFTC to examine innovative blockchain tech for potential future use cases. The hearing, titled “Examining the Upcoming Agenda for the CFTC,” was convened by the House Committee on Agriculture. During the hearing, Giancarlo was asked by Congressman Austin Scott to explain the goals of LabCFTC, a dedicated hub for “engagement with the fintech innovation community” that was set up by the agency …

Witnesses before the U.S. House of Agriculture Committee at a public hearing July 18 were unanimous in their view that digital assets complicate the hard and fast distinctions of existing regulatory frameworks. The hearing was chaired by Texas U.S. Representative Michael Conaway, who convened six eminent witnesses to give testimony — former Goldman Sachs partner and U.S. government regulator Gary Gensler, Andreessen Horowitz managing partner Scott Kupor, the CFTC’s Daniel Gorfine, law professor Joshua Fairfield, Clovyr CEO Amber Baldet, and Perkins Coie managing partner Lowell Ness. A key takeaway from the hearing was that a given digital asset may shift …

Digital currency fraud will form one of the areas of “particular attention” for a new U.S. anti-crime task force with participation from several government bodies, according to an executive order issued July 11. The Task Force on Market Integrity and Consumer Fraud, which will have the U.S. deputy attorney general as its chair and associate attorney general as vice chair, seeks to “provide guidance for the investigation and prosecution of cases involving fraud on the government, the financial markets, and consumers.” The executive order outlining the taskforce highlights areas of particular attention as “digital currency fraud,” as well as fraud …

On June 8, it was reported that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) demanded extensive trading data from several cryptocurrency exchanges in order to investigate whether there has been price manipulation in the crypto market. Earlier, on May 24, Bloomberg reported that a criminal probe into Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) price manipulation by crypto traders had been opened by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). That information was indirectly confirmed in the recent Wall Street Journal report, although it was made clear that the DOJ was studying potential price …

Regulators from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reportedly demanded extensive trading data from several cryptocurrency exchanges, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal June 8. Regulators requested data in order to investigate whether manipulation might be compromising prices in digital currency markets. The probe followed the launch of Bitcoin (BTC) futures by CME Group in December last year. CME forms its Bitcoin (BTC) futures prices based on data from four crypto exchanges; Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Kraken, where manipulative trading could reportedly have distorted the value of BTC futures. Investigators are going after trading schemes …

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has refused a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for a release of the subpoenas allegedly issued last year to cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and token issuer Tether, Coindesk reports Wednesday, June 6. Bitfinex and Tether share a CEO, Jan Ludovicus van der Velde, and the two entities had created controversy last fall over alleged price manipulation of Tether. The two companies reportedly received subpoenas from US regulators on Dec 6, 2017, with the impetus for the subpoenas still unclear. Tether has also since been under some scrutiny from the crypto community after they dissolved …