Crypto exchanges in South Korea have been issued notices from police requesting the sequestering of funds related to the Luna Foundation Guard. On Monday, Korean authorities sent a request to the top crypto exchanges in the country to prevent funds from being withdrawn. Specifically, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency asked to prohibit the Luna Foundation Guard from taking any action. The police claim that clues have been found that may link the organization to embezzlement. The Luna/Terra algorithmic stablecoin crash, which reduced the value of the coin by over 99%, crushed investor portfolios overnight earlier this month. However, this request …

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has created a “crypto native think tank” in an attempt to help shape the global conversation around policies for digital assets. The newly formed Coinbase Institute will also publish research on crypto and Web3. Coinbase tapped its director of policy Hermine Wong to head the institute. She previously served in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis at the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and before that worked at the Department of State. The related Coinbase Institute Advisory Board has also been formed and will feature academics across law and finance from top universities such …

B3, the Brazilian Stock Exchange, confirmed that within six months it intends to launch its first official product aimed at the cryptocurrency market — Bitcoin (BTC) futures trading. The group's chief financial officer, André Milanez, made the announcement during a conference call on Monday. Milanez did not provide many details on how the product will work. It is not yet known if B3 will form a partnership or if it will offer Bitcoin futures trading directly, but the timeline for launching this product was stated to be relatively short. "We plan to launch bitcoin futures in the next three to …

Following the Coinbase report where the company declared its losses, a disclosure that suggests that users are not protected in the case of bankruptcy has been gaining traction on social media. However, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong explained that funds are safe “as they’ve always been.” In the company’s first-quarter report for 2022, Coinbase reported its first loss amounting to $430 million. Apart from this, the firm also reported the number of users transacting in the exchange has also dropped from 11.4 million to 9.2 million. After the loss was posted, concerns over bankruptcy protection were brought up on Twitter, quoting …

Security breaches and hacks often highlight the risks of storing Bitcoin (BTC) on centralized exchanges. One analyst has even claimed that keeping BTC on exchanges is also a factor for price dips. Rufas Kamau, research and markets analyst at Scope Markets Kenya, explained his thoughts on why keeping BTC on an exchange lowers the coin’s price. Kamau believes that buying BTC on exchanges only amounts to buying an “I owe you,” or IOU, which he describes as “paper Bitcoin.” If you buy Bitcoin at the exchange, you are buying paper Bitcoin, an IOU from your exchange that's settled the moment …

The Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) has put the kibosh on financial institutions offering crypto trading only days after two of the country’s largest banks signaled they were opening up to digital assets. On Thursday, the BCRA said the move was to mitigate the risks crypto poses to users and “to the financial system as a whole,” citing crypto’s high volatility, use in money laundering and absence of regulatory safeguards. The news came hot on the heels of an announcement on Monday from two of the country’s largest banks, Banco Galicia and Brubank, that they would allow their customers to …

Crypto exchange Crypto.com announced severe reductions to Cronos (CRO) staking rewards for most tiers of its VISA prepaid card, which has forced the token price to fall around 30% in less than a week. Its Sunday blog post explained that card rewards will be reduced by an average of 69.5% and 100% on its lowest tier Midnight Blue card “to ensure long-term sustainability.” On its highest tier Obsidian card, which requires at least $400,000 in CRO to be staked, rewards will drop from 8% to 5%. Changes to the rewards schedule will begin on June 1. However, cardholders who had …

A new rule imposed by Belgium’s financial regulatory agency, the Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA), will now require crypto exchanges and custodial wallet services in the region to register within a sharp deadline. Starting tomorrow on May 1, legal individuals and entities that wish to provide crypto exchange services or custodial wallets in Belgium will have to register in advance, according to the information released by the FSMA. As from 1 May 2022, providers of exchange services between #virtual #currencies and legal currencies, or custody #wallet services will have to register with the #FSMA. Please consult the FAQs. https://t.co/P44mkovn5L …

Governments around the globe have also become more aware of the crypto market and the various ways in which it can be regulated. Despite a growing adoption rate and involvement of mainstream financial giants, however, naysayers continue to portray crypto as a tool for miscreants and criminals. Several crypto platforms and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols have been compromised over the years, owing to various code vulnerabilities or centralization problems. However, stealing of money is the easiest part, while moving that money and cashing it out is nearly impossible. This is primarily because most crypto transactions are recorded on a public …

Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit has recently announced its service expansion into crypto options trading, allowing users to trade USD Coin (USDC) options and perpetuals. Ben Zhou, co-founder and CEO of Bybit, told Cointelegraph that this decision to add options to the product line was in response to its community’s demands. Zhou noted that investors want to trade options because it can “serve as a hedge against existing risks and provide greater market exposure.” It also gives traders a way to diversify their portfolios. The newly-launched crypto options contracts on the exchange work on the same principles as its traditional finance …

Two former Jefferies Financial Group executives are set to launch a new cryptocurrency exchange designed for institutional investors. Named Crossover Markets Group Inc., the exchange is set to debut in “late summer to early fall” following the closure of a recent seed funding round. The Crossover Markets’ website describes the new exchange as a “digital asset exchange designed to meet the liquidity needs of institutional clients.” We are excited to officially announce the creation of Crossover Markets! More announcements coming soon!https://t.co/2igfAQleaS#Crypto #DigitalAssets #institutional #fx — Crossover Markets (@crossover_mkts) April 26, 2022 Jefferies is the largest independent full-service investment banking firm …

The launch of Australia’s first three Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETF) scheduled for Wednesday has been delayed as a result of further “checks” needing to be completed. The exchange listing the Bitcoin Spot ETF from Cosmos Asset Management, Cboe Australia, released a statement late Tuesday stating that “standard checks prior to the commencement of trading are still being completed” and a “further update will be provided in the coming days.” Cboe issued the same notice regarding two spot ETFs issued by 21Shares also scheduled for launch today, a Bitcoin ETF and an Ether ETF. A representative for …