No piece of legislation — crypto-related or otherwise — has largely been able to move through the United States Congress since Oct. 3, when lawmakers voted to oust then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the legislative body has been without elected leadership, with no definitive plan to fill the slot.

At the time of publication, there are several candidates in the running for the third most powerful role in the U.S. government, but it’s unclear if any of them have enough support from Republican lawmakers — the political party currently holding the majority of seats in the House — to win. Following Speaker…

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United States undersecretary of commerce for industry and security Alan Estevez recently told reporters at an event in Tokyo, Japan that the U.S. is currently looking to crack down on Chinese access to U.S. cloud-based technologies.

Speaking to journalists at the Mount Fuji Dialogue policy forum on Oct. 21, Estevez confirmed reports that the U.S. was considering applying similar interventionary measures to China’s cloud technology access as it had to artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Per a report from Nikkei, Estevez said “cloud-based technologies are already fairly ubiquitous. Now, AI itself is also fairly ubiquitous.”

Estevez continued, clarifying:

“The concern is … AI in the… Read more on Cointelegraph

Two of the largest and most structurally important Solana DeFi protocol frontends have geofenced UK users.

The developments come amid continued uncertainty regarding the regulatory requirements of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the country’s finance markets regulator. 

Frontends are web portals commonly used to interact with DeFi protocols, and are often maintained by the protocol development teams. In recent months, frontends have become a focal point for crypto regulation — and the geofencing moves highlight how they may act as a point of centralization for the industry. 

Reports emerged on Monday that Solana liquid staking provider Marinade Finance and Solana-based…

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Binance is set to discontinue its card services in Europe amid the recent emergence of other crypto cards in the market.

On its website Friday, the crypto exchange noted it would shut down its Visa debit cards in the European Economic Area (EEA) on Dec. 20.

Certain rival exchanges appear set to continue offering card services, while others have designed “non-custodial” options to limit third-party risk.

The Binance Visa card launched in Europe in September 2020. It has allowed residents of the continent to convert and spend crypto in more than 60 million online and physical stores, according to the company.

Powered by Swipe, the card is linked to a card wallet within a user’s…

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Maika Isogawa, CEO of Webacy will be speaking at the upcoming Benzinga Future Of Digital Assets. Mark Nov. 14 on your calendar for the must-attend gathering in the fintech industry!

The crypto revolution has come a long way since the inception of Bitcoin over a decade ago. What was once a niche interest for tech enthusiasts has evolved into a global financial powerhouse of activity. Throughout this, one thing is clear: safety is the key to the next billion users. Users need to feel safe in order to feel free to transact, create, trade, and even play. As the CEO of Webacy, a crypto security startup, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing the rapid growth of the digital asset space, and I…

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California legislators have proposed a new bill titled “Digital financial asset transaction kiosks,” calling for a cap on crypto ATM withdrawals of $1,000 per day in light of growing scams. Additionally, starting in 2025, the law would limit operators’ fees to $5 or 15% (whichever is higher). The bill, if approved, would come into effect on January 1, 2024.

The bill was introduced after legislative members visited a crypto ATM in Sacramento and found markups as high as 33% on some crypto assets compared to their prices on crypto exchanges. On average, a crypto ATM charges fees between 12% and 25%, according to a legislative analysis.

Government officials also found ATMs with limits…

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Web3 security company Blockaid secured venture capital.

What Happened: The Tel Aviv-based startup raised $27 million in Series A funding led by Coinbase investor Ribbit Capital and early-stage venture capital firm Variant.

Cyberstarts, Sequoia Capital, and Greylock Partners reportedly participated in the funding round.

The capital will be used to enhance product offerings, and customer base and handle the industry’s constantly evolving security challenges.

Why It Matters: In the past three months, Blockaid scanned a total of 450 million transactions, prevented 1.2 million malicious transactions, and safeguarded $500 million in user funds that would have otherwise been lost.

In its recent…

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