Using SMS as a form of two-factor authentication has always been popular among crypto enthusiasts. After all, many users are already trading their cryptos or managing social pages on their phones, so why not simply use SMS to verify when accessing sensitive financial content? Unfortunately, con artists have lately caught on to exploiting the wealth buried under this layer of security via SIM-swapping, or the process of rerouting a person's SIM card to a phone that is in possession of a hacker. In many jurisdictions worldwide, telecom employees won't ask for government ID, facial identification, or social security numbers to …

Multi-party computation (MPC) developer MPCH Labs has concluded a Series A funding round totaling $40 million ahead of the planned launch of its Fraction digital asset operating platform later this year. The funding round was led by Liberty City Ventures, the same venture studio that incubated MPCH Labs, with additional participation fro QCP Capital, Global Coin Research, Polygon Studios, Quantstamp, LedgerPrime, Animoca and others. To-date, MPCH Labs has raised $50 million in venture financing. The funding will be used to further develop MPCH Labs’ first product, Fraction, an operating platform that enables institutions to securely safeguard their digital assets. Fraction …

Interoperability-focused blockchain network Cosmos has dropped a new whitepaper proposing a revamped Cosmos Hub aimed at strengthening interoperability and security, along with key changes to its native ATOM token. The new Cosmos whitepaper was released on Monday at the Cosmoverse conference in Medellin, Colombia. The upgrades outlined in the whitepaper are still technically in “proposal” status but changes are expected to be made on-chain on Oct. 3. Cosmos is an ecosystem of blockchains designed to scale and interoperate with each other. Cosmos Hub was the first blockchain to be built on Cosmos, which initially served as an intermediary between other …

The California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) has filed a desist and refrain order against crypto lending platform Nexo as part of its ongoing investigation of companies offering interest-bearing crypto assets accounts. The agency claims it is joining regulators from seven other American states in taking action against the company. The other states involved are Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Washington and Vermont, according to CNBC. The DFPI claimed in the filing Nexo’s Earn Interest Product was an unqualified security, that is, a security that has not been cleared by the government for sale, in the …

Until 2020, most of the crypto market action was largely driven by retail enthusiasm. It was only around August 2020 that institutions started to participate meaningfully in this asset class. As the United States Federal Reserve unleashed trillions of dollars of liquidity into the market during the COVID-19 pandemic, retail and institutional investors jumped onto the cryptocurrency bandwagon. While crypto loyalists claim large-scale institutional adoption over the last couple of years, the entire asset class is only around $1 trillion in size. That is quite small when compared to the gold market of $11 trillion and the bond market of …

Digital asset data analytics company Inca Digital will study the implications of digital assets for national security under a year-long contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the company announced Sept. 23. DARPA is the R&D branch of the United States Department of Defense. Inca Digital will work on a project called "Mapping the Impact of Digital Financial Assets" that will aim to create a “cryptocurrency ecosystem mapping tool” to provide information to the U.S. government and commercial businesses. Besides looking at possible money laundering and sanctions evasion, the project will contribute to the understanding of the interaction …

Crypto markets are flashing a bit of green on Sept. 22 as Bitcoin (BTC) price tacked on a 4.7% gain to trade above $19,300 and Ether (ETH) surged 6.5% to recapture the $1,300 level. RSR and and Astar Network (ASTAR) also surged by 23% and 17% respectively, but the more notable mover of the day was XRP. Currently, XRP price reflects a near 25% gain and the asset is up 41% in the past month. According to defense lawyer, James K. Filan, on Sept. 18 Ripple Labs filed a motion for summary judgement - a legal process which involves the …

BNB Chain, the native blockchain of Binance, has launched AvengerDAO, a new community-driven security initiative to help users against scams, malicious actors and possible exploits. The security-centric decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has been developed in association with leading security firms and popular crypto projects such as Certik, TrustWallet, PancakeSwap and Opera, to name a few. The AvengerDAO security initiative mainly consists of three major components, namely a passive API system called Meter, a subscription-based alert system called Watch, and a programmable fund management system called Vault. When a user on the BNB Chain interacts with any applications or counterparties, the …

Widespread adoption of Web3 mayeventually become a reality but Trust Wallet CEO Eowyn Chen foresees three main barriers standing in the way of mass adoption. During the Australian Crypto Convention on Sept. 18, Chen outlined how security, ease of use, identity, and privacy were all vital aspects to address for growth in the Web3 industry. Chen is the CEO of Trust Wallet, a major multi-chain, non-custodial crypto wallet acquired by Binance two years ago. She was speaking in a keynote presentation that was attended by Cointelegraph reporters on the ground in Queensland, Australia. On the security front, Chen says protections …

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs have both called for a federal judge to make an immediate ruling on whether Ripple’s XRP sales violated U.S. securities laws. In separate motions filed on Sept. 17 by Ripple and the SEC, both have called for summary judgment in the U.S. District Court Southern District of New York. Summary judgments are submitted to the courts when a party involved believes there’s enough evidence at hand to make a ruling without the need to proceed to trial. Both parties have called on Judge Analisa Torres to make an immediate ruling …

Ethereum’s upgrade to proof-of-stake may have placed the cryptocurrency back in the crosshairs of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to reporters after the Senate Banking Committee on Sept. 15, SEC chairman Gary Gensler reportedly said that cryptocurrencies and intermediaries that allow holders to “stake” their crypto may define it as a security under the Howey test, according to The Wall Street Journal. “From the coin’s perspective […] that’s another indicia that under the Howey test, the investing public is anticipating profits based on the efforts of others,” WSJ reported Gensler as saying. The comments came on the same …

Representatives of the crypto community shared their responses to the proposed Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act (DCCPA) on Sept. 15. Speaking at the second panel of a hearing held by the Senate Agriculture Committee, invited speakers praised the bill as a whole, but had recommendations for improvement. Definitions were an issue for all five of the speakers and Blockchain Association head of policy Jake Chervinsky, who released a statement on the bill within moments of the conclusion of the hearing. All the commenters expressed a desire for a clearer definition of securities and commodities. “While the bill includes a carve-out …