Coinbase, Blockchain Association challenge FinCEN’s proposed mixer crackdown 

Several industry players have objected to a federal agency’s attempt to crack down on crypto mixing services, with one advocacy group calling the proposal “fundamentally flawed.”

The US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) proposed in October to classify what it calls convertible virtual currency mixing, or CVC mixing, as “a class of transactions of primary money laundering concern.”

The proposal is FinCEN’s first-ever use of its authority to target a transactions class as such.

Read more: FinCEN seeks tighter controls on crypto mixing services

Mixing is a process that blends different crypto transactions to obscure the original source —…

Read more on Blockworks

Top Trending Crypto Coins of The Day

BIGCAP COINS:

  1. Bitcoin: Market Cap of $761 Billion.
  2. Solana: Market Cap of $34.6 Billion.
  3. Celestia: Market Cap of $2.2 Billion.

MIDCAP COINS:

  1. Manta Network: Market Cap of $582 Million.
  2. Terra Classic: Market Cap of $531 Million.
  3. SatoshiVM: Market Cap of $61.7 Million.

RISING COINS:

  1. Pepe: Market Cap of $420 Million.
  2. MAGA: Market Cap of $69.9 Million.
  3. Troll: Market Cap of $44.2 Million.

Disclaimer: Market capitalizations can vary in real-time. The information provided here is intended purely for educational purposes and should not, under any circumstances, be construed as financial advice.

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Why Is Bitcoin Censorship Resistant?

One of the central value propositions of Bitcoin is that no matter what happens, if you pay a high enough fee some miner out there in the world will confirm your transaction. In other words, Bitcoin is censorship resistant. There is a very good reason that the phrase “censorship resistant” is the wording you hear whenever this topic comes up, not “censorship proof.” Any individual miner can censor whatever they want, in the sense that they can refuse to include something in any block they mine themselves. They cannot, however, prevent other miners from including that transaction in their own blocks whenever they find one.

Bitcoin is resistant to censorship, but it is not immune…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Cornell University’s College Scholar Program Approves First Bitcoin Focused Degree

Cornell University’s College of Arts & Sciences’ College Scholar Program has officially approved the first independent Bitcoin-focused study on January 11th. The pioneer behind this academic milestone is Ella Hough, a student at Cornell University, who is set to embark on a unique academic journey that is centered around Bitcoin.

“The past 15 months have been a long but incredibly worthwhile road to approval,” Hough told Bitcoin Magazine. “I continue to believe that spending my time and energy studying Bitcoin is the most worthwhile academic endeavor. I’m particularly grateful to study it inside the College of Arts and Sciences and at Cornell whose founders championed ideals…

Read more on BitcoinMagazine

Polymer Labs secures $23M to bring IBC to Ethereum

Polymer Labs, a modular IBC-based networking protocol, has secured a $23 million Series A co-led by Blockchain Capital, Maven 11 and Distributed Global. 

Other investors, including Coinbase Ventures, Placeholder, Digital Currency Group, North Island Ventures and Figment Capital also participated in the round.

Polymer can be described as a modular layer-2 network that employs Cosmos SDK’s IBC protocol, OP stack’s settlement functionality and Eigenlayer’s data availability layer. It is the brainchild of Bo Du and Peter Kim.

After being in the blockchain industry for a few years, the Polymer founders experienced firsthand how difficult it was to build interchain products. In the…

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Bitcoin Adoption In Pakistan Continues To Rise Without Regulatory Clarity

Pakistan is one of the emerging markets in Southeast Asia with a population of approximately 250 million, and a country where the majority of the population lives below the poverty line.

The people of Pakistan are hopeful; many believe that good times are coming, and the country’s future is bright amid political chaos and a tumbling financial situation for 2023. However, the overall situation seems to be getting on track, with the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) reaching its historical all-time highs.

“Bitcoin Pakistan,” a community of like-minded technology and bitcoin enthusiasts in Pakistan, organized its first physical networking event in Lahore last month, in November. The interest in…

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FTX Sells Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares Worth $1B

The Bitcoin world has been buzzing with recent developments surrounding FTX, one of the major players in the market, and its significant influence on the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

According to a Bloomberg report on January 22, “two people familiar with the matter” revealed that the estate of the unsuccessful digital asset exchange and Alameda Research hedge fund sold majority of its GBTC shares, potentially raising at least $600 million.

Other sources mention different numbers, some claiming FTX has sold its entire GBTC shares, which accounts for $1 billion of GBTC sales the week after Bitcoin ETF approval.

SourceMassive Sell-Off of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Shares

In this surprising…

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Trezor Wallet Security Breach | Info Of 66k Users Leaked

In a recent announcement on January 20, hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor disclosed a security breach that impacted nearly 66,000 users. The breach, which occurred through unauthorized access to a third-party support portal on January 17, potentially exposed the contact information of Trezor Wallet users who had interacted with Trezor’s support team since December 2021.

Despite the alarming nature of the incident, Trezor assured users that no digital assets were compromised during the attack. Notably, the company has initiated an investigation into the security breach and is working closely with the third-party service provider involved.

The company promptly sent emails to all affected…

Read more on bitcoinnews

Digital Dedollarization | A Morgan Stanley Report

In a comprehensive report titled “Digital (De)Dollarization?” released recently, financial giant Morgan Stanley explores the potential disruption to the long-standing dominance of the U.S. dollar in the global economy by the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and digital assets like Bitcoin.

The “dedollarization” report begins by highlighting the current state of the U.S. dollar, which, despite the U.S. contributing 25% of global GDP, constitutes around 60% of global foreign exchange reserves. However, due to the U.S.’s growing deficits and recent strategic economic sanctions, this dominance is now under scrutiny, leading nations to look for… Read more on bitcoinnews

Why Coinbase Stock Is Tumbling Premarket Today – Coinbase Glb (NASDAQ:COIN)

Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN fell sharply in premarket trading on Tuesday.

The downside comes amid the lackluster sentiment relayed by the stock futures. The broader market will likely tread water after touching record highs in two successive sessions.

Coinbase’s shares could also be reacting the sell-off in the cryptocurrency market, especially after the SEC greenlighted the spot Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin has shed about 4.50% and traded below $39,000.

Also, JPMorgan analysts downgraded Coinbase shares to Underweight from Neutral, while maintaining the $80 price target, excerpts from the note shared on X showed.

Benzinga