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Kraken, the San Francisco-headquartered digital currency exchange, has received a court order from a U.S. judge requiring the release of customer data to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The court filing, submitted on Friday, states that the IRS is seeking details pertaining to accounts that registered an annual trading activity of $20,000 or higher during the years 2016 to 2020. IRS Gains Court Order for Kraken’s Customer Data in Crypto Tax Investigation Last February, the IRS submitted a court petition to the Northern District of California, outlining its intention to thoroughly investigate Kraken’s financial records and data in order to uncover cryptocurrency users who may have neglected their tax obligations. The petition specifically requested access to Kraken’s “books, records, papers, and other data.” “The IRS is conducting an investigation to determine the identity and correct federal income tax liability of U.S. persons who conducted transactions in cryptocurrency for

Veteran trader Peter Brandt has urged the U.S. Federal Reserve to stay hawkish and increase interest rates another 100 basis points to protect the nation’s wealth. He stressed that there is nothing more destructive to wealth than inflation, emphasizing that the Fed “must keep their feet to the floorboard to prevent a re-occurrence of inflationary pressures.” Peter Brandt’s Advice for the Federal Reserve Veteran trader Peter Brandt has urged the Federal Reserve to remain hawkish and increase interest rates by another 100 basis points. Brandt has been a futures and FX career trader since 1975. He is a chartist and the author of the Factor Report. He trades a variety of markets, including Dow futures, bonds, corn, crude oil, European wheat, Osaka Dow, U.S. dollar, and sugar. “The U.S. Fed was negligent for not aggressively raising rates in early 2021,” he tweeted Thursday. “Traders knew this, but the Ph.D.s had their heads up their butts.” He added: “But now, I congratulate the Fed as

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has reaffirmed the Fed’s hawkish stance. Noting that the latest economic data indicates that the Fed’s policy “may not be restrictive enough” and “has not been restrictive for long enough,” Powell stated that the central bank could raise interest rates “at consecutive meetings.” Fed Chairman Powell on Rate Hikes Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the Fed’s hawkish stance on Wednesday during a central banker panel hosted by the European Central Bank in Sintra, Portugal. With the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated for July 25-26, Powell emphasized that the Fed is not done curbing inflation and hinted at the possibility of consecutive interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve paused raising interest rates in June after 10 consecutive rate hikes. “If you look at the data over the last quarter, what you see is stronger than expected growth, a tighter than expected labor market, and higher than expected inflation,” Pow

Lawmakers in Slovakia have adopted legislation that will reduce the tax burden for cryptocurrency holders in the country. Income derived from long-term investments in digital assets will also be relieved from healthcare taxes, the parliamentarians decided. Investors in Slovakia to Pay 7% Tax on Income From Crypto Held More Than a Year Members of the National Council of Slovakia, the country’s unicameral legislature, have approved an amendment that will reduce the taxation of cryptocurrencies, local media reported . Income from crypto assets sold more than a year after their purchase will be taxed at 7%. Thus, the tax rate for long-term crypto holdings will be lower than the regular income tax rates. Slovaks pay personal income tax according to a progressive scale and the rate can be either 19% or 25%, for income exceeding a certain threshold. The legislative proposal was submitted by the liberal Freedom and Solidarity party, the Democrats and the conservative Ordinary People and

In recent days, there has been a buzz surrounding the upcoming debut of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Fednow project, slated for July 1, 2023. The discussions surrounding this topic have sparked speculation about whether this marks the central bank’s inaugural foray into a central bank digital currency (CBDC), with some suggesting that Fednow may render blockchain-based cryptocurrencies obsolete. Fednow System Launch Ignites CBDC Speculation The highly anticipated Fednow system is set to launch on July 1. Developed by the U.S. Federal Reserve, this payment system aims to provide “24x7x365 settlement service” and facilitate instantaneous payments. Extensive information on this subject has been released by the Fed, with significant involvement from the U.S. Treasury. The Federal Reserve’s board members have conducted an evaluation and determined that the central bank is “well positioned” to tackle the nationwide implementation of instant payment infrastructure. It is worth noting that

Paysafe will discontinue support for bank transfers of euros to and from Binance, the payments provider announced. The news comes when the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange finds itself under pressure from regulators and banking partners in Europe and elsewhere. Paysafe to Stop Euro Deposits and Withdrawals for Binance Crypto exchange Binance, the global leader in terms of daily trading volume, will lose access to payments in the common European currency, another setback for its operations on the Old Continent that comes amid regulatory crackdown in various jurisdictions. “Following a strategic review, we have taken the decision to cease offering our embedded wallet solution to Binance across the region,” its U.K.-based payment processor, Paysafe, said in a statement, quoted by Bloomberg. The company added: Paysafe and Binance are now working to mutually implement an orderly and fair process to terminate this service over the next few months. Paysafe will no longer suppor

Mastercard has introduced its Multi-Token Network (MTN), an app store powered by blockchain technologies for building regulated financial applications. “MTN represents one of Mastercard’s most ambitious projects in the digital asset space to date,” said the payment giant’s head of crypto and blockchain. “Our goal is to support the wider digital asset industry and interested parties to help fortify confidence in its future.” Mastercard Unveils Multi-Token Network Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s head of crypto and blockchain, announced in a blog post on Wednesday: Today, we are taking the next step on our journey with the introduction of Mastercard Multi-Token Network, a tailor-made solution for the industry. “Our vision for MTN is to provide a set of foundational capabilities designed to make transactions within the digital asset and blockchain ecosystems secure, scalable, and interoperable — ultimately enabling more efficient payment and commerce applications,” he explained. The

The U.S. state of North Carolina has advanced a bill to study holding cryptocurrencies, particularly bitcoin, in the state treasury. The bill appropriates $50,000 from the state’s general fund to study three areas, including “The process of acquiring, securely storing, insuring, and liquidating … virtual currency, such as bitcoin, that may be held on behalf of the state.” North Carolina Explores Holding Bitcoin The U.S. state of North Carolina has advanced House Bill 721 (HB721) titled “State Precious Metals Depository Study.” The bill appropriates $50,000 from the state’s general fund, which is made up of tax revenues, excluding transportation, to the state treasurer to conduct a study that examines three key areas. The first area involves: The process of acquiring, securely storing, insuring, and liquidating … virtual currency, such as bitcoin, that may be held on behalf of the state. The second area is the “expected impact of allocating a portion of the general fund” to “virt

Change The Code, a Greenpeace-backed initiative that seeks to change Bitcoin’s consensus algorithm, has blasted Wall Street companies for the support they are showing to Bitcoin-related activities. On social media, it has called out companies like Fidelity, Blackrock, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs, stating their actions propping up climate-destroying technologies are “unacceptable.” Change the Code Rails Against Wall Street Incumbents Change The Code, a campaign that seeks to change Bitcoin’s consensus algorithm to “fix” its energy consumption, has called out Wall Street companies for their support of Bitcoin activities. The initiative, backed by Greenpeace and EWG, has criticized the recent push of financial incumbents toward Bitcoin-related investments. Change The Code explained that Fidelity, Blackrock, Vanguard, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Citi held shares in 24 mining companies valued at over $1.35 billion, accusing Wall Street of “going all in on Bitcoin” and directly suppor

Banks in the European Union will have to disclose their exposure to cryptocurrencies, EU institutions announced. The obligation will be introduced under a deal to implement globally agreed regulatory standards meant to improve the resilience of the financial institutions. Deal Reached to Finalize EU Reforms of Banking Rules Addressing Crypto Risks Representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a provisional agreement to amend EU regulations on capital requirements for banks. The changes seek to make EU banks more resilient to economic shocks by implementing the Basel III global standards while taking into account European specifics. The third Basel Accord was agreed by the European Union and its G20 partners in the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. It represents a framework of international standards for bank capital adequacy, stress testing, and liquidity requirements which was first announced in late 2010 but its implementation was repea

FTX management is actively seeking potential participants to revive the formerly defunct crypto exchange, as reported by sources knowledgeable about the situation. CEO John J. Ray III and other FTX executives have reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with prospective investors, who could either acquire full ownership of the business or establish a joint venture. FTX Aims for Resurgence: CEO and Executives Enter Discussions to Bring Back Crypto Exchange Over the past few days, FTX’s native exchange token, FTT, has experienced a substantial surge in value. In the last 24 hours alone, the crypto asset has seen a 40% increase. Furthermore, within the past week, FTT’s value has soared by over 100%, as it surpassed the $2 threshold on Thursday, June 29, 2023. This recent spike in FTT’s price is attributable to renewed speculation surrounding the potential reboot of FTX. The latest speculation originated from a report in the Wall Street Journal, which cites sources familiar with

Islamic coin, a Sharia-compliant crypto asset, has secured $200 million from ABO Digital, which brings to $400 million the total funding that the project has received. The latest capital raise is expected to give the crypto project access to funding of up to $200 million as well as to ensure that the coin “has a long and stable runway.” Revolutionizing the Sharia-Compliant Market Islamic coin, the “Sharia-compliant” digital asset, has secured $200 million from ABO Digital, the digital asset investment arm of the ABO group. The latest raise brings to $400 million the total funding the crypto project has received. According to a press release, ABO Digital’s capital injection is expected to give crypto-asset access to funding of up to $200 million as well as to ensure that the coin “has a long and stable runway.” Remarking on ABO Digital’s decision to partner with Islamic Coin, Amine Nedjai, the CEO of the digital asset investment firm, said: ABO Digital is thrilled to collaborate wi

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has reconsidered a decision to delist some privacy tokens in several European markets. The leading coin trading platform will continue to offer trading in these digital assets after revising their classification to comply with EU regulations. Binance to Continue Support for Certain Privacy Coins Despite Earlier Intentions to Remove Them The world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, Binance, has decided to reverse a plan to delist privacy-oriented cryptocurrencies in several EU jurisdictions. The move comes after the company received feedback from some of the projects and traders. Last month, Binance informed customers it intends to remove 12 privacy coins in France, Spain, Italy, and Poland. Those set to be delisted on June 26 were dash ( DASH ), verge (XVG), beam (BEAM), monero ( XMR ), navcoin (NAV), firo (FIRO), horizen (ZEN), secret (SCRT), zcash (ZEC), pivx (PIVX), decred (DCR), and mobilecoin (MOB). At the time, the exchange cited lo

U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has promised to ensure that “your right to use and hold bitcoin is inviolable” if he is elected U.S. president. “Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our money supply, it points the way toward a future in which government institutions are more transparent and more democratic,” said the presidential hopeful. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Bitcoin Promise U.S. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) has made a promise regarding bitcoin if he is elected president of the United States. Kennedy is a son of former U.S. Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. RFK Jr. tweeted Tuesday: As president, I will make sure that your right to use and hold bitcoin is inviolable. “Bitcoin is not only a bulwark against totalitarianism and the manipulation of our money supply, it points the way toward a future in which government ins

Binance’s attempt to prevent the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from making public statements alleging that the crypto exchange mishandled U.S. customers’ assets has been denied by the judge overseeing its enforcement case. A former SEC head of internet enforcement warned that the motion may “prompt the criminal authorities to expedite whatever action, if any, they plan on taking with respect to Binance.” Judge Denies Binance’s Motion Against SEC Binance’s motion against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was denied by Judge Amy Berman Jackson on Monday. The motion was filed as part of the case in which the SEC charged Binance , CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ), and Binance US with securities law violations. The cryptocurrency exchange filed a motion asking Judge Jackson to prevent the securities regulator from making public statements alleging that Binance and Zhao mishandled the assets of U.S.-based customers. The cryptocurrency exchange argued that the SEC h

Lately, the media has been captivated by the possibility of a grid collapse and the devastating economic consequences it would entail. Curiously, the internet is teeming with headlines suggesting the plausibility of such a collapse, whether caused by cyberattacks, physical assaults on infrastructure, equipment malfunctions, or even the notion of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) incapacitating the most influential energy providers. Antiquated and Fragile Power Grids Putting U.S. and Global Economies on Edge In recent months, the media has honed in on the potential for a grid collapse. On June 27, 2023, Wired writers Maryn McKenna and Matt Simon elucidated in an editorial that although the power system may possess resilience, it is not impervious to vulnerabilities. The article delves into the implications of scorching heat waves and questions whether contemporary power stations can withstand the demands. The authors elaborate on the detrimental impact hurricanes and earthquakes can ha

Over the past 30 days, the popularity of the term “bitcoin” has surged significantly, as indicated by Google Trends metrics. On June 21, 2023, the search term bitcoin achieved a perfect score of 100. Notably, the curiosity surrounding bitcoin-related news has also experienced a notable uptick this past month. In particular, topics such as Blackrock’s exchange-traded fund (ETF) have contributed to the heightened interest in the subject matter. Blackrock Sparks Bitcoin Interest Boom, According to Google Trends Over the course of the past month, bitcoin ( BTC ) has witnessed a notable 9% increase in its price, captivating the attention of many. This surge in interest is depicted through Google Trends statistics, revealing a significant upswing in searches for the term “ bitcoin .” As of June 28, 2023, the data from Google Trends clearly demonstrates a significant rise in search activity since May 28, 2023. On that day, the search term bitcoin achieved a score of 61 out of 100. However

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive director for Russia says a growing number of countries are switching to trade in Chinese yuan, not only with China but also with third countries. He stressed that it is wrong for the U.S. dollar to be widely used globally given that the U.S. government uses the currency “for the purposes of national interests” and “the economic and financial obligations of one country.” IMF Director on De-Dollarization Gaining Momentum Worldwide The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) executive director for Russia, Aleksei Mozhin, shared his thoughts on the global de-dollarization trend in an interview with RIA Novosti Monday. He explained that Washington’s policies and actions have compelled countries around the world to seek alternatives to the U.S. dollar, noting that more nations are ramping up the use of alternative currencies, particularly the Chinese yuan, in cross-border transactions. The IMF executive director described: We can see that I

On Monday, FTX released a second investigative report accusing co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried and senior executives of commingling customer deposits and corporate funds and misusing them. The report alleges that they spent $243 million on luxury residential real estate for senior staff and family members, as well as on commercial properties. FTX Execs Accused of $243 Million Real Estate Spending Spree, Retaliation, and Fraud A second investigative report by FTX debtors alleges that “commingling and misuse of FTX.com customer deposits occurred for several years.” The report criticizes this fraudulent practice for making it “extraordinarily challenging” to trace the origins of specific transactions or distinguish between operating funds and customer assets. As part of the report, it states that FTX.com owed customers $8.7 billion as of the date of the bankruptcy petition. “The image that the FTX Group sought to portray as the customer-focused leader of the digital age was a mirage,” th

A U.S. judge has rejected an attempt by Binance.US, the American subsidiary of crypto exchange Binance, to sue the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) over its press release that equivocates defendants’ customers. It is unnecessary or inappropriate for the Court to “get involved in wordsmithing the parties’ press releases,” the District Court Judge stated. D.C. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who was in charge of the case, has rejected Binance’s request to limit the SEC’s use of language regarding Binance.US’ management of customer funds. Binance argued that such language could be detrimental to their position during the trial. Judge Jackson stated that the court’s role does not involve “wordsmithing” public statements for either party involved in the case. She ruled that court intervention was unnecessary and not warranted at this time and that the SEC’s public relations efforts thus far were unlikely to significantly impact the proceedings. A Complex Web

According to several reports, Chibi Finance, the decentralized finance (defi) platform built on top of Arbitrum, allegedly executed an exit scam on its users. Blockchain intelligence firm Peckshield provided a detailed account, revealing that approximately $1 million worth of cryptocurrency assets were illicitly withdrawn and converted into Ethereum. Chiba Finance Becomes 12th Defi Platform on Arbitrum to Exit Scam, Says Smart Contract Auditor Certik On June 27, 2023, the blockchain analysis and intelligence firm Peckshield’s Twitter alert system notified the community about funds being drained from the DeFi application Chiba Finance. “Seems like Chiba Finance rugged,” Peckshield’s alert disclosed on Tuesday. “$1M worth of cryptocurrencies were drained. The stolen funds, which have been swapped for 555 ETH , were bridged from Arbitrum to Ethereum. They have already been transferred into Tornado Cash,” the notice added. All traces of Chiba Finance, including the website, Twitter ac

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are now accessible to Hong Kong customers via the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX). Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) has reportedly added three new exchange-traded products to its listing, including CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF, Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF, and Ether Futures ETF. These offerings are officially available on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEX). Hong Kong is Leading the Way The news initially surfaced on Wu Blockchain’s Twitter, backed by Colin Wu, a reporter covering Asia-focused crypto news. He highlighted that HSBC was the first and the largest bank in Hong Kong to officialize crypto ETFs, leveraging local customers’ access to cryptocurrencies. Hong Kong customers can now buy, sell, and trade Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs listed on the HKEX platform. Managed by CSOP Asset Management, the CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and the CSOP Ether Futures ETF track standardized Bitcoin futures contracts and Ether futures contracts listed on the Chica

Russian citizens sought refuge in tether amid the brief mutiny of the Wagner mercenary group that shook their country. The ruble-denominated trading volume of the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin spiked during the short-lived rebellion, market data revealed. Russians Traded Millions of Dollars’ Worth of Tether in a Day of Unrest Triggered by Wagner Many Russians have apparently tried to find safe haven in crypto when their nation was at the brink of a civil war a few days ago. On Saturday, as a revolt by the Wagner private army unfolded, trades between the Russian fiat and tether ( USDT ) surged to almost $15 million in value, or close to 1.3 billion rubles, according to blockchain data firm Ccdata. The volume was up from $4 million on Friday, the Wall Street Journal noted in a report. On the same day, Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, posted a series of video and audio messages announcing his mercenaries will lead a “march for justice” against Russia’s military leadership, the culmin