Crypto CliffsNotes
Binance is expecting to pay fines related to its business in the US following investigations by regulators over affiliations with two trading firms and its CEO Changpeng Zhao. A Securities and Exchange Commission probe is seeking to determine the relationship between Zhao, Sigma Chain AG and Merit Peak — two market makers acting on behalf of Binance’s US affiliate.
A New Hampshire man has fired back at the IRS over the agency's issuance of a "John Doe" summons. James Harper recently filed a response to the IRS' motion to dismiss his lawsuit, which alleged a violation of his constitutional rights in a fight over access to his cryptocurrency records. In November 2016, the IRS made a formal request to serve a John Doe summons on all US Coinbase customers who transferred convertible virtual currency from 2013 to 2015. A John Doe summons is an order that does not explicitly identify the person but instead identifies a person or ascertainable group or class by their activities.
A pair of Stanford University academics co-signed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bond, according to court documents unsealed on Wednesday. Larry Kramer, dean emeritus of Stanford Law School, signed a $500,000 bond, while Stanford University senior research scientist Andreas Paepcke signed for $200,000. Bankman-Fried is facing a litany of criminal charges for his alleged mishandling of customer funds at FTX, among other misdeeds.
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday gave approval to the central bank to extend the deadline to turn in old banknotes by another 60 days after cash shortages stoked anger ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections next week. Nigeria's central bank decided last year to start circulating newly designed 1,000 ($2.17) 500 and 200 naira notes. The deadline to turn in old notes has already been extended once to Feb. 10, after which they would no longer have been legal tender.
New Ripple partner MFS Africa (an ODL user) has partnered with EziPay, a digital wallet for SME & Individual remittances. EziPay will use MFS for xborder payments. Also ID's MFS Africa's business suite, "Beyonic." No word if RippleNet is involved.
"Reminder that agency authority rests 'on laws and regulations, not on personal beliefs or political motivations. Regulatory threats, undue pressure, coercion, and intimidation … have no place.' - 2019 FDIC statement ending Operation Chokepoint" - Stuart Alderoty
"We just subpoenaed Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and Apple regarding Big Tech’s reported collusion with the federal government." - Rep. Jim Jordan
Titled "GQ3 Issue 001: Change Is Good," the collection is made up of 1,661 NFTs linked to one-of-a-kind art pieces created by artists Chuck Anderson, REO, Kelsey Niziolek and Serwah Attafuah. Each token allows holders to claim additional rewards such as a GQ magazine subscription, a curated GQ box of products, exclusive merchandise and a ticket to the inaugural GQ3 party in April. Holders will also have access to a special Discord channel and will receive priority access to future releases.
Wyoming, a historically friendly state for crypto companies and investors, has passed a bill prohibiting the forced disclosure of private keys. The measure, which will take effect in July, allows investors to withhold private keys “unless a public key is unavailable or unable to disclose the requisite information,” the bill read. In most legal matters, the court is able to obtain the required information without being given the actual private key, Christopher Allen, founder and executive director of Blockchain Commons, said on Twitter in May when advocating for the bill. “A judge can still achieve the desired outcome by compelling the use of private cryptographic keys (such as to turn over assets in a divorce proceeding, or to prove ownership of an asset) without requiring the disclosure of the key itself,” Allen said.
