The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued cease and desist letters to five companies for allegedly making false representations about deposit insurance related to cryptocurrencies. FDIC issued a Friday press release disclosing cease and desist letters for cryptocurrency exchange FTX US and websites SmartAssets, FDICCrypto, Cryptonews and Cryptosec. The government agency alleges that these organizations misled the public about certain cryptocurrency-related products being insured by FDIC. “These representations are false or misleading,” the FDIC said in regards to “certain crypto-related products” being FDIC-insured or that “stocks held in brokerage accounts are FDIC-insured.” The regulator said these companies must “take …

The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this month by President Joe Biden, empowers the IRS with nearly $80 billion in new funds. The world’s most powerful tax collection agency is using the money to go on a hiring spree to fuel much tougher enforcement efforts. It is widely assumed that the audits will be brutal and widespread. Taxes start with tax returns, which must be signed under penalties of perjury. The Biden administration has said that the audits on steroids are for fat cats who have escaped having to pay their fair share for too long. The administration has …

Four members of the United States House of Representatives from the Energy and Commerce Committee have demanded answers from four major crypto mining firms in regards to the potential effects of their energy consumption on the environment. In letters dated Wednesday to Core Scientific, Marathon Digital Holdings, Riot Blockchain, and Stronghold Digital Mining, U.S. lawmakers Frank Pallone, Bobby Rush, Diana DeGette, and Paul Tonko requested the companies provide information from 2021 including the energy consumption of their mining facilities, the source of that energy, what percentage came from renewable energy sources, and how often the firms curtailed operations. The four …

The United States-based Bitcoin mining company, Stronghold Digital Mining (SDIG), announced on Tuesday new moves to elevate outstanding debt and restructure its financial operations. In an agreement with lender New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), the company plans to release 26,000 of its mining rigs, 18,700 of which are currently running. The sell-off will create more liquidity and clear $67.4 million in debt held by Stronghold. Before the agreement, the company had $47 million in liquidity as of Aug. 12. After Stronghold returns 26,000 rigs, with a total hash rate of 2.5 EH/s, their operational fleet will be approximately 16,000 …

Not even 24 hours after revealing a three-month cash flow forecast that threatens total exhaustion of funds, a New York judge allowed crypto lender Celsius Network to mine and sell Bitcoin (BTC) during its bankruptcy. Since July 2022, Celsius Networks stands at the crosshair of United States officials after reports of bankruptcy surfaced, which risks losing the live savings of numerous crypto investors. Last week many got very upset with me as I said @CelsiusNetwork would run out of money & solutions needed to be acted upon faster. I was told I don’t understand Chapter 11. They have now confirmed …

Among a rich range of anxieties both for the crypto industry and the global economy at large, the summer of 2022 will be remembered as the time when the stablecoins proved themselves to be not so stable and thus came into the focus of regulators’ attention. The shock of the TerraUSD (UST) depegging in May opened a season of heated-up discussions on stablecoins around the world. The top financial officials from the Group of Seven (G7) largest advanced industrial economies had to send their private jets to the 40,000-populated German town of Koenigswinter to push the international body of the …

United States-based crypto policy advocacy group Coin Center said it intended to “pursue administrative relief” for individuals affected by Tornado Cash sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, or OFAC. In a Monday blog post, Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito and director of research Peter Van Valkenburgh alleged OFAC “overstepped its legal authority” when it named cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash and 44 associated wallet addresses to its list of Specially Designated Nationals, or SDNs, on Aug. 8. The directors claimed Treasury’s actions could have potentially violated U.S. residents’ “constitutional rights to due process and free …

Following the sanctions placed by the United States on USD Coin (USDC) and Ethereum (ETH) addresses associated with the crypto mixer Tornado Cash (TORN), the signatories of the projects’ multi-signature community fund disbanded. In 2021, the Tornado Cash community created a fund to provide incentives to key contributors to the project. The fund was held in a community-managed multi-signature wallet with five peer-elected members validating transactions who were selected because of their contributions to the project. However, as interacting with Tornado Cash started to come with more risks, with penalties ranging from an up to $10 million fine to up …

Founder and managing partner of Skybridge Capital, Anthony Scaramucci, has an optimistic outlook for the future of crypto markets, advising investors to "see through the current environment" and "stay patient and stay long term." In an interview with CNBC, the hedge fund manager spoke about his belief that several recent developments in the crypto space could spark "a lot more commercial activity." In particular, he highlighted the ever-improving Lightning Network, the two-layer payment protocol layered on top of Bitcoin (BTC), BlackRock's partnership with Coinbase, and their subsequent establishment of a BTC Private Trust Fund as positive signs for the future. …

There’s a ferment brewing with regard to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and most people really don’t know what to expect. Varied effects seem to be bubbling up in different parts of the world. Consider: China’s e-CNY has already been used by 200 million-plus of its citizens and a full rollout could happen as early as February — but will a digital yuan gain traction internationally? Europe’s central bank has been exploring a digital euro for several years, and the European Union could introduce a digital euro bill in 2023. But, will it come with limitations, such as a ceiling …

Cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform dYdX said it blocked some users’ accounts with funds linked to Tornado Cash, including mistakenly suspending some that never directly engaged with the controversial mixer. In a Wednesday blog post, dYdX said it had “unbanned certain accounts” that the derivatives platform had blocked in response to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the United States Treasury Department adding Tornado Cash to its list of Specially Designated Nationals, or SDNs. According to dYdX, its compliance provider flagged many accounts believed to be linked to Tornado Cash which the platform subsequently blocked — despite the fact some …

The United States subsidiary of electronic trading platform developer Clear Markets has reportedly received approval from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, to offer over-the-counter crypto derivatives products with physical settlement. In a Tuesday notice, SBI Holdings — a stakeholder of Clear Markets — said the CFTC had approved the U.S. subsidiary operating a Swap Execution Facility, in which it plans to offer derivatives trading for U.S. dollar and Bitcoin (BTC) pairs. The Japan-based financial services company said its market maker planned to expand its trading partners in the United States following pilot transactions on Clear Markets. SBI Holdings …