BitMEX CTO Released On USD 5m Bond, USD 2bn Blockchain City + More News
Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.
Legal news
- BitMEX Chief Technology Officer Samuel Reed, who was charged and arrested by the US Department of Justice, has been released on a USD 5m appearance bond, as first reported by The Block. According to court documents, Reed’s bond was approved on conditions that he would appear for court proceedings and if convicted, would surrender to serve a sentence. The unsecured USD 5m bond is to be secured by USD 500,000 in cash.
- US Attorney General William P. Barr has announced the release of “Cryptocurrency: An Enforcement Framework,” which is a publication produced by the Attorney General’s Cyber-Digital Task Force. According to the press release, this Framework gives a detailed overview of the emerging threats and enforcement challenges connected with the increasing use of cryptocurrency; details the relationships built by the Department of Justice with regulatory and enforcement partners within the United States government and around the world; and outlines the Department’s response strategies.
Blockchain news
- A consortium headed by LG CNS, the IT services arm of the LG Group, has won a government contract to build a USD 2.2bn blockchain-powered smart city, holding off competition from rival consortiums led by Hyundai, mobile carrier KT and other major companies. Per Chosun, the project will be carried out in Sejong, the new administrative capital of the country, at the behest of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and a government housing agency. The winning consortium also comprises a number of other LG subsidiaries, as well as business heavyweights such as KB Finance, Shinhan Finance, CJ, and web giant Naver.
- SBI Securities, a subsidiary of the SBI financial group, is set to begin issuing blockchain-powered corporate bonds from November, reported Nikkei. The media outlet said the firm intends to sell the bonds “mainly to individual investors” and will use a platform developed by securities giant Nomura. Both Nomura and the rival Mizuho Financial Group have previously released blockchain-powered bonds – but both firms chose to make smaller-scale issuances targeted at selected groups of investors. SBI’s November move will likely be something closer to an unrestricted general sale.
Exchanges news
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has announced that about 5% of employees (60) have decided to take the previously offered exit package made available to any employee who didn’t feel they could be on board with the company’s recently presented direction. Per the latest post, there are conversations still ongoing, “so the final number will likely be a bit higher.” Dan Yoo, Vice President at Coinbase, has also decided to leave the company.
- Crypto trading volumes in both spot and derivatives markets decreased in September. Derivatives volumes decreased 17.5% to USD 635bn. Meanwhile, total spot volumes have also decreased by 17.5% to less than USD 677bn, CryptoCompare said in their latest report.
- Tech news outlet CyberNews said, that it has exposed a vulnerability on the Bitexlive crypto exchange. The vulnerability allows all site visitors to view support tickets submitted by customers. The media outlet said that these support tickets – communications between agency staff and customers – can be “mundane or extremely sensitive, depending on the type of information being communicated between the customer and the customer support agents.” Some of the data that is visible to site visitors includes the name, email addresses, and sometimes Telegram IDs of the ticket creators, as well as other information such as image locations.
Crypto adoption news
- The central bank of the Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank NV (DNB), has granted Amsterdam-based digital asset service company AMDAX BV the ability to operate under its jurisdiction. Finextra reported that this enables AMDAX to process crypto transactions and store crypto currencies. Also, this makes the company the first approved crypto service after the Dutch government started applying new legislation related to crypto, based on AMLD5, focuses on the prevention of money laundering and the terrorist financing.
- Digital asset transaction and storage platform Fireblocks has partnered with UK based fintech bank Revolut in order to “support the introduction of new crypto services for its 13 million global retail customers,” said Fireblocks in their announcement. It added that Revolut is the platform’s 100th customer, and that streamlining liquidity settlements through the Fireblocks Network would guarantee the best price for their users while reducing counterparty risk.
