October 2024 - BTC USA

Kraken cryptocurrency exchange headquarters in San Francisco, reflecting recent workforce reductions amidst industry layoffs.

Kraken Joins Crypto Exodus with 15% Workforce Layoffs

October 31, 2024 Dan K

Kraken cuts 15% of its workforce amid industry-wide layoffs, joining Consensys and DYDX. New co-CEO Arjun Sethi aims to refocus the exchange’s strategy.

South Korean cryptocurrency investor base reaches 7.78 million in 2024, driven by Bitcoin surge and supportive policies.

South Korea’s Crypto Investor Base Reaches 7.78 Million, Marking 21% Growth in First Half of 2024

October 31, 2024 Dan K

South Korea’s crypto investor count surged to 7.78M in 2024’s first half, up 21%, spurred by Bitcoin’s rise and pro-crypto U.S. policy shifts.

Hong Kong court delivers ruling in the JPEX cryptocurrency fraud case, ordering compensation for investors.

Hong Kong Court Rules in Favor of Investors in JPEX Cryptocurrency Fraud Case

October 30, 2024 Dan K

Hong Kong court sides with investors in the JPEX fraud case, ordering $238,000 in recovery, spotlighting cryptocurrency regulations. #crypto #JPEX

Map of Eastern Europe highlighting crypto adoption in Ukraine and Russia

Ukraine and Russia Lead Global Crypto Adoption Amid Rising Geopolitical Instability

October 30, 2024 Dan K

Eastern Europe’s crypto adoption surges, led by Ukraine and Russia, with robust growth in both institutional and retail sectors, Chainalysis reports.

Jimmy Patronis, Florida CFO, proposing Bitcoin investment for state pension funds

Florida CFO Advocates for Bitcoin in State Pension Fund Investment Strategy

October 30, 2024 Dan K

Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis is pushing for Bitcoin investments in state pensions, aiming to diversify and protect Florida’s retirement funds.

Kalshi betting platform screenshot with USDC deposit options for U.S. election markets

Kalshi Now Accepts USDC Deposits, Enters Election Betting Arena Amid Strong Competition

October 29, 2024 Dan K

Kalshi accepts USDC deposits to attract users in election betting, challenging Polymarket and Robinhood in a competitive crypto-driven prediction market.

Screenshot of a hacked X account promoting the fraudulent Infinite Backrooms token.

Truth Terminal Founder’s X Account Hacked to Shill Scam Memecoin, Resulting in $600,000 Theft

October 29, 2024 Dan K

Truth Terminal’s X account hacked to shill scam memecoin, netting hackers $600K. Incident underscores security risks in AI-driven crypto trading.

Chris Larsen speaking on Ripple’s crypto policy stance, with Kamala Harris in background.

Ripple’s Chris Larsen Sees Kamala Harris as Key to Revamping Biden’s Crypto Policy

October 29, 2024 Dan K

Ripple’s Chris Larsen supports Kamala Harris to amend Biden’s crypto policy. His $10M XRP donation reflects a push for pro-innovation regulation.

BIS-Led Project 'Mandala' Enables Automated Compliant Cross-Border Transactions The Bank for International Settlements, with various central banks, has come up with Project Mandala in a bid to enable seamless cross-border transactions with an automated mechanism for compliance. Introducing decentralized technology along with compliance-by-design principles, Mandala aspires to international financial transactions that will be quicker, safer, and cheap. On October 28, BIS announced that Mandala had completed its proof-of-concept phase, the most important milestone of the collaborative project. Two real-world scenarios have thus far been tested for Mandala. First was a cross-border lending transaction between Singapore and Malaysia, which demonstrated that Mandala can make CFM processes and sanctions screening easier for financial institutions. This capacity enhanced the central banks' abilities in monitoring compliance issues in real-time and ensured smooth funds transfers between countries. In the second, Mandala facilitated a cross-border investment transaction from South Korea into Australia: this involved automated CFM reporting and sanctions screening against an unlisted securities transaction. Again, that represents flexibility and the ability to operate in several regulatory regimes. Important steps toward less friction in international money transfers. A Compliance-by-Design Approach The Mandala network is a decentralized network of nodes, with each node operated by the participating institution, which, in turn, includes both commercial and central banks. Each of its nodes would contain, at the minimum, a P2P messaging system, a rules engine, and a proof engine. This will be important because any of the nodes would connect directly with others around it. This means there will be no intermediaries, and transactions would go through without or with less complication. Mandala incorporates compliance by design, embedding regulatory requirements from different jurisdictions for sanction screening and CFM measures within its network. Before the release of the funds, cryptographic proofs for compliance are generated to be certain that the regulatory standards are met without compromising efficiency. Furthermore, in zero-knowledge or ZK proofs, privacy is maintained to make sure that compliance is preserved without leaking sensitive information. Digital Asset-Traditional Finance Systems Integration Project Mandala is supportive of traditional payment networks, such as Swift, and all forms of digital assets, including central bank digital currencies and regulated stablecoins. The core of asset mobility in Mandala is a policy wrapper contract. It will lock the source asset, mint a wrapped version for cross-border mobility, and cater to compliance obligations checked by the smart contracts via cryptographic proofs. In the Direction of Global Financial Efficiency While the BIS has underlined that Mandala remains an experiment, the extent of its success thus far suggests that it has broad applications in cross-border finance. Automating compliance, Mandala is something of a blueprint as to how international transactions can be more efficient, private, and secure-at least insofar as any valuable insight into the future of compliance and programmable finance is concerned.

BIS-Led Project ‘Mandala’ Automates Compliant Cross-Border Transactions

October 28, 2024 Dan K

The BIS-led Mandala project tests automation for cross-border compliance, enabling faster and secure international transactions with digital assets.

Graph showing record $27 billion digital asset inflows in 2023

Digital Asset Inflows in 2023 Reach $27 Billion, Nearly Tripling 2021 Record

October 28, 2024 Dan K

Digital asset inflows in 2023 have soared to $27 billion, nearly three times the 2021 record. U.S. leads the charge, with Bitcoin ETFs seeing massive inflows.

Month: October 2024

Kraken Joins Crypto Exodus with 15% Workforce Layoffs

South Korea’s Crypto Investor Base Reaches 7.78 Million, Marking 21% Growth in First Half of 2024

Hong Kong Court Rules in Favor of Investors in JPEX Cryptocurrency Fraud Case

Ukraine and Russia Lead Global Crypto Adoption Amid Rising Geopolitical Instability

Florida CFO Advocates for Bitcoin in State Pension Fund Investment Strategy

Kalshi Now Accepts USDC Deposits, Enters Election Betting Arena Amid Strong Competition

Truth Terminal Founder’s X Account Hacked to Shill Scam Memecoin, Resulting in $600,000 Theft

Ripple’s Chris Larsen Sees Kamala Harris as Key to Revamping Biden’s Crypto Policy

BIS-Led Project ‘Mandala’ Automates Compliant Cross-Border Transactions

Digital Asset Inflows in 2023 Reach $27 Billion, Nearly Tripling 2021 Record

El Salvador to Discontinue Bitcoin Wallet Chivo in $1.4B IMF Agreement