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☆ Fintech firm SoFi set to exit cryptocurrency business
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 29 (Reuters) - Financial technology firm SoFi Technologies (SOFI.O) is set to exit the cryptocurrency business and has given its customers the option to migrate to UK-based Blockchain.com, the companies said on Wednesday. The San Francisco-based company said it was ending its crypto services on Dec. 19, and starting Wednesday, new SoFi crypto accounts cannot be opened. SoFi said its eligible customers can migrate their account to Blockchain.com or close their account instead. Crypto users living in New York will not be eligible for the migration due to New York state availability. London-based Blockchain.com said crypto account holders at SoFi will get access to dozens of tokens traded on its platform.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao, SoFi, Blockchain.com, Arasu Kannagi Basil, Devika Organizations: SoFi Technologies, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, New York, London, Bengaluru

SoFi will no longer be offering crypto trading services starting on December 19, 2023. Account Minimum $0 ($1 for fractional shares; $2,000 for margin trading) Fees 0% ($5/month for Robinhood Gold) Pros Check mark icon A check mark. Buy, sell, or store more than 170 cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and dogecoinCheck mark icon A check mark. Limited staking options Insider’s Take Coinbase is one of the best investment platforms for crypto trading, staking rewards, and crypto storage. The crypto trading app has 24/7 customer support, zero trading fees, learning rewards features, and an online storage wallet.

Persons: SoFi, eToro, Jeremy Zafiros, you'll Organizations: SoFi, Robinhood, Coinbase, Pro, USA, eToro USA, Smart, eToro Trading, eToro, Visa, Mastercard Locations: Blockchain.com, USA, New York , Minnesota , Nevada , Puerto Rico , Tennessee, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa , Northern Marianas, There's, New York , Nevada , Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Virgin Islands, Abra

A bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 14 (Reuters) - Bitcoin miners are making hay while the sun shines. "You're seeing a lot of urgency to plug rigs in ahead of the halving," said Gregory Lewis, analyst at brokerage BTIG that covers the 13 biggest U.S.-listed bitcoin miners. That means miners are having to use more and more power and speed to crack the complex maths puzzles that earn them a bitcoin. "It's too early to say if all bitcoin miners are out of the wood," said Ludovic Thomas, portfolio manager at Swiss-based Criptonite Asset Management that invests in digital assets.

Persons: Benoit Tessier, Gregory Lewis, Bitcoin's, Morgan, William Szamosszegi, Matteo Greco, It's, Ludovic Thomas, Medha Singh, Lisa Mattackal, Vidya Ranganathan Organizations: La Maison du, REUTERS, U.S, Fineqia, Central, Swiss, Management, Thomson, Reuters Locations: La, Paris, France, J.P, Bengaluru

☆ With China playing catchup with the U.S., these 3 charts show the top countries for fintech in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

UK has second-biggest number of top fintech firmsThe U.S. was home to 65 of the top fintech companies, according to CNBC's list of world's top 200 fintech companies. In the U.S., some of the top global fintech companies on Statista's list include names like Stripe, PayPal and Intuit . Stateside, meanwhile, the largest fintech unicorns are Stripe ($95 billion), Chime ($25 billion), Ripple ($15 billion), Plaid ($13.5 billion), Devoted Health ($12.6 billion, and Brex ($12.3 billion). Other leading ecosystems for fintech unicorns include India, on 17 unicorns, and China, on eight. Standing in 8th place is Mexico, with five fintech unicorns, Singapore, also with five, and the Netherlands, which has four in total.

Persons: Ed Jones, Starling, Tencent, Statista, Andreessen Horowitz, Wise, Vlad Tenev, Group's, —, Nick Parmenter Organizations: AFP, Getty, CNBC, Statista, Ant Group, Plaid, Visa, Mastercard, European Union, Apple, Google, Sequoia Capital, PayPal, Intuit, Financial, Authority, Consumers Locations: U.S, Beijing, China, Silicon, Europe, Ukraine, Covid, India, France, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Netherlands, Statista

☆ Crypto firm Ripple secures Singapore payments licence
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A representations of cryptocurrency Ripple is seen in front of a stock graph and U.S. dollar in this illustration taken, January 24, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSINGAPORE, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency firm Ripple said on Wednesday its Singapore subsidiary has secured a payments licence to operate in the city-state without transaction thresholds. The licence, granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), will allow Ripple to provide regulated digital payment token services. It is one of 14 companies that are licensed to offer digital payment token services in Singapore. Others include the Singapore arm of Coinbase, the world's largest listed crypto exchange, as well as the Singapore units of Britain's Revolut and London-based Blockchain.com.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Ripple, Revolut, Rae Wee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore, MAS, Thomson Locations: Rights SINGAPORE, Singapore, London, San Francisco, U.S, Asia, Pacific

☆ Asia promotes crypto clarity amid regulatory uncertainty in the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Earlier this month, Hong Kong officially opened crypto trading to retail investors and upgraded licenses of two exchanges. "This will further boost investor confidence, making Hong Kong more attractive as a potential global virtual asset hub," said Lai. He concluded some crypto firms could leave the U.S. for more progressive jurisdictions as a result. Asia's regulatory clarityAcross the Pacific, Singapore and Hong Kong offer far more operational clarity for many industry players "Singapore has the first mover advantage in the Asia Pacific region, including being ahead of Hong Kong. watch nowSingapore's Payment Services Act — a framework for regulating payment services and the provision of crypto services to the public — came into effect in January 2020.

Persons: Ben Charoenwong, Lennix Lai, Lai, Ong Chengyi, Chainalysis, Hong, Blockchain.com, Ripple, Hong Kong, Janice Goh, Coinbase, Binance, Brad Garlinghouse, Goh Organizations: Getty, Nurphoto, National University of Singapore Business School, Monetary Authority of, Cavenagh, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, CNBC, MAS Locations: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, China, Asia, U.S, Hong Kong . Hong Kong, Singapore, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong, Pacific

☆ Miami’s Love Affair With Crypto Is Souring as Bitcoin Faithful Flock to the City
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Deborah Acosta | Photographs James Jackman For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A year ago, when the annual bitcoin conference opened in Miami, the city was arguably the country’s biggest booster of digital currencies. MiamiCoin traded on a global crypto exchange. The Miami Heat basketball team played at FTX Arena, and cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com was preparing to move its headquarters to a splashy office in the city’s Wynwood neighborhood. Today, as Miami prepares to host Bitcoin 2023 on May 18, none of those things is true anymore.

April 18 (Reuters) - Beleaguered bitcoin miners are finally feeling the spring sunshine after a cold, hard crypto winter. At the current bitcoin price, these companies' cash flows have substantially improved and most of them should have no problem paying their obligations," said Jaran Mellerud, analyst at bitcoin mining services company Luxor. Bitcoin mining is the process by which a network of computers validates a block of transactions on the blockchain. "The bitcoin price increase has bought these companies time, but it would be detrimental for these companies if it were to fall back down to $20,000," he said. A rapid rise in power prices or a fast fall in bitcoin could usher in a new cold spell.

☆ Blockchain.com president on the state of crypto regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBlockchain.com president on the state of crypto regulationBlockchain.com's Nic Cary discusses the market outlook for cryptocurrencies in 2023 and actions taken by U.S. regulators on the space.

☆ 'Can't get their act together': Crypto firms slam SEC, Washington for lack of clarity on rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Joe Lubin, CEO of ConsenSys and co-founder of Ethereum, told CNBC Thursday that he thought the ecosystem was "generally frustrated." And it's a little bit, you know, sort of a frustrating thing to observe," Nicolas Cary, president of Blockchain.com, told CNBC on Thursday. "I find the talking point that there's a lack of clarity in the securities laws unpersuasive," Gensler said. "Some crypto companies might message that the laws are unclear rather than admitting that their platforms don't have sufficient investor protection." watch nowHe laid out instances where crypto firms come under existing securities laws, such as when a company offers lending products.

Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data. "But NFTs on bitcoin are a distraction from the network's core purpose, which is to serve as a permissionless network that is globally available, 24/7, and uncensorable."

March 14 (Reuters) - Imagine digitally inscribing 3D images of objects such as multi-colored spheres onto a tiny fragment of bitcoin. Just when you thought crypto couldn't get any stranger, bitcoin accidentally births a new breed of NFTs. "I think this is really the start of a fundamental shift in what you can do with bitcoin," said Alex Miller, CEO at bitcoin developer network Hiro. Nonetheless, bitcoin NFTs have built up a head of steam in a short space of time. Satoshis inscribed with NFTs are involved in about 7% of the total number of bitcoin blockchain transactions, according to Glassnode data.

☆ Crypto Exchange Kraken Names New Compliance Chief After Months of Searching
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said it named CJ Rinaldi as its new chief compliance officer, hiring him from rival Blockchain.com, as it continues to revamp its compliance program after a sanctions violation settlement amid increasing regulatory scrutiny of the crypto sector. Mr. Rinaldi most recently served as Blockchain.com’s chief compliance officer for about a year, where he implemented global compliance frameworks and mitigated compliance risks. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. As part of the agreement, Kraken will invest $100,000 in its sanctions compliance controls, which include training and technical measures. Kraken also hired a new chief financial officer and new chief marketing officer last year.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - Bitcoin is on the charge in 2023, dragging the crypto market off the floor and electrifying bonk, a new meme coin. Few crypto tokens have benefited more than bonk, which was launched at the end of December on the Solana blockchain and had rocketed 5,000% by early January. Other meme tokens are also up, with dogecoin and Shiba Inu up 19% and 27% respectively in 2023. The Solana token has now indeed jumped as bonk has gained traction: it's up 131% in 2023, the biggest gainer among major cryptocurrencies. The dollar value of bitcoin trading volumes on major exchanges over a 7-day period jumped to $151 million, the highest in nearly two months, according to data from Blockchain.com.

☆ THE CRYPTO CULLING: Thousands of employees are getting the axe as companies face plunging valuations, scandals, and legal turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Two weeks of mass layoffsCEO Brian Armstrong recently announced that Coinbase would lay off 20% of its staff. Patrick T. Fallon / Getty ImagesIn the early days of January, several major companies in the cryptocurrency industry, such as Genesis, Coinbase, Blockchain.com, and Crypto.com, announced plans to significantly reduce their workforces. For a few of these companies, such as Crypto.com and Genesis, this marks the second round of layoffs within a short period, following previous headcount cuts during the summer due to a decline in cryptocurrency prices. In this recent spate of layoff announcements, some companies alluded to "unscrupulous actors," while others directly addressed the elephant in the room: FTX's bankruptcy.

☆ $1.7 billion Sift just tapped a new CEO who's focused on helping the fraud-prevention startup build up its base of finance and fintech clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sift is a startup that provides fraud-prevention tech to e-commerce and fintech companies. The startup named Kris Nagel, former COO at Ping Identity, as its new CEO on Thursday. Sift has a new CEO, and one of his top priorities will be building up the startup's finance-focused clientele. Nagel, former COO at Ping Identity, an identity-security company, assumed the position in early December 2022. Nagel brings his experience helping lead Ping Identity through an IPO in September 2019 to Sift.

☆ The FTX disaster has set back crypto by 'years' — here are 3 ways it could reshape the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

It aims to reduce the risks for consumers buying crypto, making exchanges liable if they lose investors' assets. The saga has set back adoption of crypto assets by "one or two years," according to Evgeny Gaevoy, founder and CEO of crypto market maker Wintermute. ConsolidationMany new companies and projects emerged in the years that followed the 2018 crypto winter — FTX among them. Marieke Flament, Near's CEO, said the firm had limited exposure to FTX — though the collapse was still "a surprise and a shock." Fears have risen over the financial health of other major crypto exchanges after FTX's failure.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX wants to sell some of its last remaining solvent businesses as its restructuring process picks up
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

FTX wants to sell some of its last functioning business units, according to a court filing. The embattled company has petitioned a federal court for permission to sell several of its subsidiaries, including US derivatives platform LedgerX, as the troubled firm's restructuring process picks up. Company attorneys say it's a "priority" for FTX to "explore sales" and "strategic transactions" of some of its remaining businesses, according to a court filing on Thursday. The filing continued: "The Debtors believe a number of these entities have solvent balance sheets, independent management and valuable franchises." FTX wants to sell these businesses fast, according to the court document, which indicated that some of the entities have had their operating licenses suspended following FTX's collapse.

☆ FTX's LedgerX attracts interest from Blockchain.com, Gemini- Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 2 (Reuters) - FTX's digital currency futures and clearinghouse LedgerX is up for sale and has attracted interest from crypto firms including Blockchain.com, Gemini, Bitpanda and Kalshi, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. There could be over half a dozen other potential buyers for the crypto derivatives exchange, the people told Bloomberg, adding that some of the interested parties have signed non-disclosure agreements. Blockchain.com, Gemini and Bitpanda did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while Kalshi could not be reached for comment. FTX US acquired it last year to expand into crypto futures and options trading. Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler and Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon wants to go to war with Apple. History suggests it's probably not going to make a difference.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk isn't the first — or necessarily most powerful — exec to take on Apple's App Store fees. Industry insiders from developers to CEOs have long decried the 30% fee, dubbed the "App Store tax." At the same time, Musk's riches and influence may not be enough to turn the tide and get Apple to relent. A high-profile lawsuit, global regulators, and major companies have all tried changing Apple's app payment systems with little success. Regulatory bodies in the United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and other countries with significant iPhone users have also set their sights on Apple's App Store payment structures.

Proof of work and proof of stake are the two main ways cryptocurrency transactions are verified. Proof of stake requires participants to put cryptocurrency as collateral for the opportunity to successfully approve transactions. Proof of work is more secure than proof of stake, but it's slower and consumes more energy. Proof of stake requires network participants to stake cryptocurrency as collateral in favor of the new block they believe should be added to the chain. While proof of stake avoids the massive energy consumption of proof of work, it hasn't been proven to be as secure and stable as proof of work at scale.

☆ Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and allies lose influence in Washington as company collapses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and his allies are losing advocates in Washington, as the company hits rock bottom. 2 Senate Democrat told CNBC on Monday that the contribution "will be donated to an appropriate charity." It was announced in February that FTX and FTX US were joining the group's board of directors. A spokesman for the crypto trade group told CNBC that "on Thursday, ADAM removed FTX.com and FTX.US from its membership." The lobbying group is led by the former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

☆ FTX saga means people will increasingly hold their own crypto, says Blockchain.com CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFTX saga means people will increasingly hold their own crypto, says Blockchain.com CEOPeter Smith, Blockchain.com CEO, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss where he sees the FTX saga going, why he thinks the saga has potential upside and if the news casts doubt on the entire crypto sector.

☆ FTX collapse won't sink the crypto economy, but will change it, Blockchain.com CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Barbara Collins | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

This week's FTX collapse is "a tragedy and total failure of governance," Blockchain.com CEO and co-founder Peter Smith told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Thursday, but it's not going to sink the crypto economy by any stretch. The FTX situation will lead more investors to focus on corporate structure in crypto moving forward. Some analysts have said crypto exchange Coinbase could be among the companies to benefit from a greater focus on regulated entities. Armstrong pushed back in his interview, saying that as a public company, concerns about crypto custody are a "non-issue." As a public company, he added, it has financial statements audited by big four accounting firms.

☆ Thousands of workers were laid off this week as tech companies and startups brace for an economic crash. Investors, founders, and recruiters explain why this is just the beginning.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-05 | by ( Rob Price | Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Amid growing economic uncertainty, layoffs in the technology industry, both for public companies and for startups, have been escalating this Fall. While plenty of tech companies were still flying high in early 2022, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February accelerated global economic turmoil. More than 17,000 tech workers lost their jobs in both May and June, while July and August saw another 29,000 cuts, according to layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi. Davis, the VC at Interplay, explained that cost-cutting and layoffs are happening across the board, not just in the tech industry. But public tech companies as well as early- and growth-stage startups will face additional challenges, he said.

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