500+ Crypto Wallets Linked to Telegram Nth Room Suspect + More News
Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Crime news
- Media outlets in South Korea have been investigating the cryptocurrency holdings of Cho Joo-bin, the suspect thought to be behind the notorious “Telegram Nth Room” – a pedophile video sex ring that required would-be viewers to pay makers in cryptocurrency. Per Hankyoreh (via Media Today, the suspect has crypto wallets containing ETH 8,825 (USD 1.2 million), although he is also believed to have withdrawn a significant amount of crypto in fiat – with an accomplice making bank withdrawals in cash in “a large plastic bag.” Police said that deposits were made in Cho’s accounts from “over 510 crypto wallets,” 80 of which have been traced to overseas exchanges.
Stablecoins news
- A widely adopted global stablecoin could, in the long-term, replicate existing financial products and services with the stablecoin ecosystem as a new payment medium or core component of market infrastructure, the International Organization of Securities Commissions said in a new report. It analyzes risks across a range of areas including consumer protection, market integrity, transparency, conflicts of interest, financial crime, systemic implications and economic impacts.
Exchanges news
- Mt Gox creditors could finally receive reimbursements for the crypto funds they lost when the exchange went under in 2014. Some 24,000 creditors are still waiting to receive payouts. In an official announcement, the bankrupt exchange’s trustee said it would hold a meeting for creditors on March 25, and, per CoinPost, will allow creditors to receive reimbursements in fiat, bitcoin (BTC) or bitcoin cash (BCH). Russian hackers are believed to have made off with a huge amount of investor cryptocurrency holdings in a 2011 raid on the Japan-based platform – once the world’s biggest.
- South Korea’s “big four” exchanges are aiming to gain official recognition as “financial companies” when the country’s new cryptocurrency laws come into force, reports Money Today. The media outlet says that Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit hope to convince regulators of their bona fide status, financial and business stability by purging their platforms of disreputable coins and diversifying their business models.
- Gate.io has launched a new version of the user interface to improve the trading experience for its users, they said in an emailed press release, adding that the interface is now more interactive. The changes include an updated menu that provides a better overview of ranking; an updated trading system; Auto Hide Function of the menu to spare more space to move around, and more.
- Binance and privacy browser Brave (BAT) have announced a partnership that enables Brave browser users to trade cryptoassets through Binance. The announcement says that, built into Brave, the new Binance widget in the new tab page of the Brave desktop browser enables Brave users to access Binance.com and Binance.US to buy and sell crypto assets, view asset balances, and obtain deposit addresses without leaving the browser.
Blockchain news
- Japanese business consortium Marubeni’s metals subsidiary will test a blockchain technology-powered platform for steel distribution, reports Crypto Watch. The subsidiary, Marubeni-Itochu Steel, says it will co-build the platform in conjunction with a Singapore-based blockchain company named Blockchain Solutions. The Marubeni group first began testing blockchain-powered solutions in 2017.
- The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will push back the start date for its major blockchain clearing and settlement system CHESS, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the press release, this also comes in response to user feedback on timing, requested functionality changes, and the need for ASX to complete aspects of its own readiness. In June, ASX will seek user input on the new schedule that will delay the go-live date originally scheduled for April 2021, while the target of opening an Industry Test Environment (ITE) in July remains.
DeFi news
- KyberSwap, a non-custodial crypto exchange powered by open-source, on-chain liquidity protocol Kyber Network (KNC), is integrating with key-management service Torus to offer easy Ethereum wallet management. Thanks to this partnership, says the emailed press release, KyberSwap will offer an one-click wallet creation and management process using social media logins, while users can purchase crypto with fiat using credit card, debit card, and Apple Pay.
- Major crypto market data provider CoinGecko has announced the release of a new section called CoinGecko Earn and the publication of the first Decentralized Finance (DeFi) book called ‘How to DeFi.’ The announcement says that CoinGecko Earn will provide an overview on the returns on various crypto lending/staking platforms, as well as additional data (where available for both centralized and decentralized platforms) to also display security audit records, DeFi risk scores, and more. Meanwhile, ‘How to DeFi’ offers a step-by-step guide on getting started with various DeFi applications.
Coronavirus news
- Binance Charity, a blockchain-powered donation platform, has announced a new fundraising project, the Crypto Against COVID initiative, aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic globally. Per the emailed press release, Binance Charity is looking to raise USD 5 million in cryptoassets for medical supplies for the countries worst affected by the virus. Binance will be leading this effort with an initial donation of USD 1 million, while committing to donating up to USD 2 million through the #CryptoAgainstCOVID social media campaign, as well as match USD 1 million of public donations received.
Regulations news
- The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has published its final guidance on actual delivery for digital assets. It states that “actual delivery” happens when a) a customer has complete control over the asset and the one offering that asset no longer has any control over it by the end of 28 days after the transaction, and b) the offeror and counterparty seller don’t retain any interest in, legal right, or control over any of the commodity purchased on margin, leverage, or other financing arrangement at the expiration of 28 days from the date of the transaction.
Investment news
- Non-custodial portfolio manager Balancer Labs has raised USD 3 million in a seed round led by Accomplice and Placeholder with participation of CoinFund and Inflection. Balancer protocol is open source and has been audited by Trail of Bits, the announcement says. The smart contracts are already on mainnet and a closed beta is underway for improving the user interface and user experience before it’s opened for use by the end of the month.
