Autor Cointelegraph By Tom Mitchelhill

US Labor Dept warns of crypto risks in retirement plans

US Labor Dept warns of crypto risks in retirement plans

Uverejnil používateľ | mar 11, 2022 |

The US Department of Labor (DOL) has told 401(k) investors to “exercise extreme care” when dealing with cryptocurrencies and other digital assets citing fraud, theft, and financial loss as “significant risks”. In a compliance report, released on Thursday, the DOL offered a stark warning to employers that seek to increase their 401(k) exposure to cryptocurrencies, stating that any significant crypto investments within company-sponsored retirement accounts may attract legal attention.A 401(k) is a retirement savings plan offered by most American employers that extend tax advantages and long-term financial security to those that opt-in. Regarding the legislation surrounding 401(k) investments, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) does not specifically detail which asset classes must be included in a 401(k). However, it does instruct fiduciaries to “show the care, skill, prudence, and diligence that a prudent person would exercise” when making investment choices “in order to minimize the risk of large losses.”ERISA also extends a legal obligation to fiduciaries to monitor all investments on an ongoing basis in order to further mitigate any losses. This means that extremely volatile assets such as cryptocurrencies may yet prove to be increasingly ambiguous in regards to 401(k) investments. The recent DOL announcement comes as an increasing number of financial services begin to market crypto as an investment choice for 401(k) fixed retirement accounts, including ForUsAll Inc. which announced a strategic partnership with Coinbase in June last year. In a DOL blog post that accompanied the compliance report, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Assistant Secretary, Ali Khawar, proffered caution to fiduciaries, stating, “The retirement savings of America’s workers and their families represent years of hard work and sacrifice… and [they] must be carefully protected.” Khawar continued to say that the DOL had significant concerns for long-term investments in any form of digital asset:”At this early stage in the history of cryptocurrencies, however, the [DOL] has serious concerns about plans’ decisions to expose participants to direct investments in cryptocurrencies or related products, such as NFTs, coins and crypto assets”Related: The tax advantages of crypto in a 401(k) can be eye openingWhile President Joe Biden’s recent executive order on cryptocurrencies highlighted the risks associated with investments in digital assets, actual regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies and other digital assets has yet to be formulated, exacerbating confusion about what investors can and can’t do with their digital assets.

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Jamaican central bank to airdrop Jam-Dex CBDC to early adopters

Jamaican central bank to airdrop Jam-Dex CBDC to early adopters

Uverejnil používateľ | mar 11, 2022 |

The first 100,000 Jamaican citizens to use the country’s new central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as Jam-Dex, will be given a free $16 payment in the hopes of promoting widespread adoption. Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness first announced the news in a Facebook post on Thursday. The post received a mixed response as some Facebook users praised Holness for “embracing a digital future”, while others expressed concern about the motivations of the Jamaican government, accusing Holness of trying to “bribe” citizens into the federal banking system. According to the Jamaica Observer, approximately 17% of the Jamaican population is currently unbanked. While social media users postulate about government motives, the Observer points out that remaining unbanked is both costly and time-consuming for poorer Jamaicans. It is hoped that this new payment incentive, among others, will encourage low and middle-income citizens to join the national banking system. The announcement comes as the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) officially completed its 8-month long pilot program for Jam-Dex on Dec. 31 last year, and is expected to complete a national rollout as soon as next month. The BoJ further outlined that all Jamaicans with pre-existing bank accounts will be automatically eligible for Jam-Dex digital wallets. Jamaican Finance Minister Nigel Clarke said in a speech to the country’s House of Representatives on March 9 that Jam-Dex must achieve widespread adoption by citizens and their businesses in order to be successful. According to the report provided by the BoJ on Feb. 17, the new digital currency will be called Jamaica Digital Exchange or Jam-Dex for short, and comes with its own logo and the following tagline, “no cash, no problem”. The BoJ expects the currency to be launched as soon as next month. The name “Jam-Dex”, was met with a great deal of criticism for both technical and aesthetic reasons. While the Jam-Dex is potentially making reference to the fact that currencies are “exchanged”, and that it is both “digital” and “Jamaican”, the terminology has created a good deal of confusion for many. Users on Twitter were quick to point out the obvious misnomer in the currency’s namesake, as Jam-Dex is simply a digital currency whereas “DEX” in crypto parlance refers to a decentralized exchange, a place where cryptocurrencies are bought and sold. . Is it a CBDC or a DEX? And I appreciate the attempt at crowd sourcing the design – fairly Web 3 of you but… this logo cannot work. It should have been put to a broader voting mechanism – the panelists let you down here big time— Jaymeon Jones (@Jaymeon__Jones) February 18, 2022Despite China being one of the first countries to announce the development of its CBDC, the “digital yuan”, countries in the Caribbean have quickly become leaders in the adoption and proliferation of CBDCs — with Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) having now rolled out its own CBDC, DCash to eight different member countries. Related: CBDCs will not impact private stablecoin market, says Tether CTOThe adoption of DCash however has been mired after a crash on Jan. 14 saw the central bank-backed digital currency go offline for nearly 2 months. It wasn’t until Mar. 9 that the ECCB announced that DCash was once again fully functional, stating the reason for the crash was an “expiring certificate” on the Hyperledger Fabric that hosts the DCash ledger.Numerous other countries around the world are beginning to experiment with the implementation of CBDCs, with the Philippines announcing plans to launch Project CBDCPh as recently as Mar. 8. Iran, Kenya, and the European Union are also among the most recent countries to begin looking at introducing some form of CBDC.

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Chainalysis launches free sanctions screening tools

Chainalysis launches free sanctions screening tools

Uverejnil používateľ | mar 11, 2022 |

Blockchain-data analysis firm Chainalysis has announced the fast-tracked launch of two primary ‘sanctions screening’ tools that it will provide free of charge to the cryptocurrency industry. According to the report provided by Chainalysis on March 10, the screening tools include two main components of new tracking software that will assist exchanges in screening wallets and transactions for activity that appears to be skirting economic sanctions. The first tool, which is immediately available, is an on-chain oracle. An on-chain oracle is a smart contract aimed more specifically at DeFi (decentralized finance) projects. It validates whether or not a cryptocurrency wallet address has been included in a sanctions designation. This means that all wallets included on economic sanctions lists provided by the US, the EU and the UN will be automatically available to anyone running the oracle. The second tool, which is scheduled for release next month, is an application programming interface (API). An API uses the exact same data as the on-chain oracle to validate whether a wallet is included on any sanctions list, however, it is designed for use on a much broader variety of applications, including centralized crypto exchanges and mobile user interfaces. Speaking on the importance of transparency in cryptocurrency, co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis, Michael Gronager said in a statement, “Now is the time for the industry to demonstrate that blockchains’ inherent transparency make cryptocurrency a powerful deterrent to sanctions evasion.”He added that Chainalysis has accelerated the development of its screening tools and would be releasing them to anyone in the crypto industry free of charge. “In anticipation of ongoing sanctions, we’ve prioritized the development of these tools so that all cryptocurrency market participants have what they need to harness this transparency and conduct basic sanctions screening at no cost to them.”Related: BNY Mellon partners with Chainalysis to track users’ crypto transactionsChainalysis continued to state that it would be focusing more attention on monitoring and scrutinizing transactions in the growing DeFi sector.“Many decentralized protocols and platforms that have more recently grown in popularity do not incorporate tools that allow for effective management of sanctions risk.”Currently, users of DeFi platforms can operate with more anonymity than centralized exchanges, which tend to have more strict identity verification protocols in place such as KYC. US-based cryptocurrency platform, Coinbase has further supported the idea that the inherent transparency and public nature of cryptocurrencies can actually assist governments in enforcing sanctions. Where traditional fiat currencies allow bad actors to use shell companies, tax havens, and opaque ownership structures to “obscure the movement of funds”, crypto assets are fundamentally public and traceable, which helps governing authorities “detect and deter evasion adds” said Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal in a blog post earlier this week.

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Crypto-friendly Yoon Suk-yeol wins Sth Korean presidency, ICX surges 60%

Crypto-friendly Yoon Suk-yeol wins Sth Korean presidency, ICX surges 60%

Uverejnil používateľ | mar 10, 2022 |

Conservative South Korean presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol has officially been elected as South Korea’s next president.The election was one of the closest in South Korean history, according to BBC coverage, which saw Yoon, representing the conservative People Power Party, claim victory over his more politically progressive opponent, Lee Jae-myung, by a margin of less than 1%. Cryptocurrency played a leading role in South Korea’s election debate, with both candidates releasing campaign-related NFTs. Their crypto-sympathetic stances are in opposition to former-President Moon Jae-In’s crackdown on crypto exchanges last year, and helped curry favor with the younger, more crypto enthusiastic demographic. Speaking at a virtual asset forum in January, Yoon promised to deregulate South Korea’s crypto industry, establishing his forward-thinking stance on digital assets. “To realize the unlimited potential of the virtual asset market, we must overhaul regulations that are far from reality and unreasonable.”Continuing his plans for crypto-positive developments pending his election, Yoon stated that he wished to help create blockchain-tech related “unicorns” (startups that grow to be worth $1 billion or more) in South Korea. Yoon has also promised to introduce some form of legislation that would see crypto profits gained from illicit activity returned to its victims. In a possibly related development cryptocurrency Icon (ICX) the native token of the South Korean ICON blockchain, surged 60% in the past 12 hours. It’s pulled back a little but was still up 40% at the time of writing. Yoon famously minted his signature on the blockchain at a televised start up forum in Dec. last year. South-Korean presidential candidate Yoon Seokryul visited the ICONLOOP office today.As the Korea Startup Forum held its heavily televized start-up policy talk, Yoon Seokryul went on to mint his signature as an NFT on @craftdotnetwork!✍️: https://t.co/NpvDYtixVF pic.twitter.com/naBYXjPnkz— ICON Foundation (@helloiconworld) December 2, 2021Regulation concerning crypto has been a minefield for South Korean politicians, with strict rulings seeing the bulk of South Korea’s crypto exchanges shut down in Sept. of 2021. A lack of legislative clarity surrounding taxation of digital assets has been a continual source of confusion for citizens and legislative bodies alike.Related: Major crypto exchanges eye Asian market amid growing regulatory clarityCryptocurrency is gaining popularity with young South Koreans. According to reports from local news outlets, young people have been leaving their jobs to pursue day-trading cryptocurrencies. South Korea’s traditional stock market by contrast is dominated by four family-owned conglomerates, known as “chaebols,” which many believe to be corrupt and politically influential. Before the major crackdown on crypto exchanges in September last year, trading volumes on South Korea’s top exchanges were exceeding those of the stock market.

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Crypto-related stocks jump in positive reaction to executive order

Crypto-related stocks jump in positive reaction to executive order

Uverejnil používateľ | mar 10, 2022 |

The stock prices of crypto-related companies have jumped as the broader market reacted positively to President Joe Biden’s long-awaited executive order requiring US federal agencies to create a regulatory framework for digital assets, as well as exploring a future digital dollar. Coinbase (COIN) surged, up 10.5% at market close, while shares in Bitcoin-evangelist Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy (MSTR) posted a 6.4% gain, according to TradingView. Blockchain-related exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) also enjoyed the markets’ renewed confidence in crypto, with ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) gaining 10% and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) closing up 10.3%.Cryptocurrency mining companies enjoyed the largest gains with Riot Blockchain Inc. (RIOT) shares up 11.2% and Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (MARA) rose 13.5% with Jefferies (JEF) analyst Jonathan Peterson, reportedly restoring his buy rating for MARA in a note to clients and stating that crypto miners are likely to gain now that the U.S Government is “more formally recognizing, engaging with and seemingly supporting” the digital asset industry. While 10% swings are common in crypto, these are unusually volatile moves on traditional markets. And despite the past day’s increase, Coinbase is still down nearly 48% from it’s direct listing price in Apr. last year, while RIOT is in an even worse position, currently down 76% from it’s most recent high in Feb. 2021. Bitcoin (BTC) itself jumped 9% after details concerning the executive order leaked last night, before settling back to the current 5% gain. Aside from the immediate positive price action, the executive order was considered by most investors to be if not a net positive for the crypto industry, at least a lot less bad than had been feared. President Biden called the rise of digital assets, “an opportunity to reinforce American leadership in the global financial system and at the technological frontier”. The order didn’t explicitly state what sort of regulatory measures could be expected, butthe overall sentiment from the US Federal government seemed constructive — meaning that the executive order will potentially work to expand the adoption of virtual currencies within the U.S. financial system.This was further supported by the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen who said in a statement that legislation will aid consumers and businesses. “President Biden’s historic executive order calls for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to digital asset policy,” Yellen said. “This approach will support responsible innovation that could result in substantial benefits for the nation, consumers and businesses.”Minnesota Congressman, Tom Emmer provided an insightful breakdown of the areas that the executive order glossed over, warning his 48,000 Twitter followers that they have no reason to expect that the US government will prioritize policies for open, permissionless or private technology. Related: Crypto could bypass President Biden’s ‘devastating’ sanctions on Russian banks and elites: Report1) Decentralization is the Point: The EO doesn’t mention decentralization once. The disintermediation of our economy will enable all Americans, regardless of circumstance, to decide their futures, not a bank or Big Tech or the government.— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) March 10, 2022He added however the one of the most promising parts of the executive order was that it “doesn’t ask the SEC to weigh in. SEC Chair Gensler has spent the past year intimidating crypto innovators and entrepreneurs with his unproductive regulation by public statement and enforcement action. His input is not critical.”Gensler weighed in on the news anyway, deciding to post his support for Biden’s regulatory efforts on Twitter.Today, @POTUS signed an Executive Order on crypto-assets. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the government to achieve important public policy goals: protecting investors & consumers, guarding against illicit activity, & helping ensure financial stability.— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) March 9, 2022

Gensler’s tweet was received with criticism from some in the cryptocurrency community on Twitter, given his oft expressed skepticism for the digital asset industry. Ryan Selkis, the CEO of Messario Crypto, put Gensler directly in the crosshairs, claiming that Gensler’s goals have nothing to do with investor protection.With any luck, you’ll be completely boxed out of meaningful input as your personal goals have nothing to do with investor protection, market stability or blocking illicit activity.Fitting you say nothing about capital formation here.Keep promoting CCP companies over crypto!— Ryan Selkis (@twobitidiot) March 9, 2022

Zooming out, the overall share market rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 posting a 2.5% gain despite continued geopolitical tension in Eastern Europe.

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