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BitMEX Co-founder Gets 30 Month Probation, Tackles Prison Time

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Benjamin Delo, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, was sentenced to 30 months of probation for breaching the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), an anti-money laundering statute.

Following his guilty plea in February to charges of “willfully neglecting to establish, administer, and maintain an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program” in his capacity at BitMEX, the sentence was handed down on June 15th in a federal court in New York.

Prosecutors suggested that Delo should serve a year in prison or at the very least be sentenced to two years of probation and six months of home detention, as former CEO Arthur Hayes was in May.

BitMEX’s Benjamin escapes jail time

Delo’s reduced term brings an end to a legal drama that began in October 2020, when co-founders Hayes and Samuel Reed, as well as BitMEX’s first formal employee Gregory (Greg) Dwyer, were all prosecuted with similar crimes.

Delo’s offenses were described by Judge John Koeltl as “extremely significant,” and he admitted that he knew BitMEX was infringing US rules by failing to build an anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) system.

However, Judge Koeltl acknowledged that the exchange later took steps to correct the problem and became compliant.

Judge Koeltl, a British citizen who lives in Hong Kong, ordered that Delo be permitted to spend his probationary sentence there.

The fact that Delo paid a $10 million fine to settle a court judgment from May in a civil lawsuit brought by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for violating parts of the Commodity Exchange Act was also taken into account by Judge Koeltl.

After the sentencing hearing, a spokesperson for Delo’s legal team claimed the court rejected “the government’s opportunistic attempt to misrepresent the gravity of the Bank Secrecy Act charge in this instance.”

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, former BitMEX head of business development Greg Dwyer, who now dwells in Bermua, is in discussion with the New York federal court to prolong a deadline for filing pre-trial documentation.

China’s BSN Blockchain Ready For Global Expansion Despite ‘Challenges’

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China’s blockchain-based service network a.k.a BSN is eyeing its first major international expansion, according to a CNBC report. CEO Yifan revealed the firm’s plan to launch a project called BSN Spartan Network overseas sometime in August.

The Hong Kong-based firm boasts itself as a “one-stop-shop” for blockchain cloud applications. It aims to bridge different blockchains together to help businesses deploy the technology.

Even though Chinese President Xi Jinping has doubled down on Blockchain technology, elevating it to a national priority, it is strictly against any cryptocurrencies other than Digital Yuan.

Due to this, the Spartan Network will rely on half a dozen public blockchains that do not operate with cryptocurrencies. One of those will be a non-crypto version of the Ethereum blockchain when the project launches in August.

Yifan also confirmed that the Blockchain transactions fee will be paid in U.S. dollars rather than Ethereum’s related cryptocurrency called ether.

“The purpose of this is to drop the cost to use public chains to very minimal so that more traditional IT [information technology] systems and business systems can use public chains as part of their systems. That is why we are working with other major public chain protocols to convince them the mainstream is non-crypto public chains.”

More hurdles for BSN ahead

Being a blockchain firm and not dealing with cryptocurrencies will have its challenges. The CEO admitted that the initial years will be “difficult to push as most people in the blockchain industry only understand crypto.

Not only that, as it is backed by the Chinese government, foreign firms would likely be a bit hesitant to do business with the firm.

But Yifan begged to differ saying, “People will say BSN is from China, it is dangerous. Let me emphasize, BSN Spartan will be open source … we will not access anything from our end.”

“That is why when we a launch in August we will open-source immediately and we are working with a lot of western companies,” he added.

On the other hand, here is some good news for Bitcoiners.

China’s iron hold over Bitcoin miners from running operations in the country seems to be wavering. Data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index [CBECI] showed that activity has picked up again and the nation is now the second-largest Bitcoin miner, after the US.

Argentina’s Banking Giant Welcomes Crypto Trading

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Argentina’s largest private bank Banco Galicia with a market cap of nearly $1.3 billion, has finally added the option to trade cryptocurrencies on its platform. As per a Monday announcement, the financial firm will allow users to buy and sell Bitcoin [BTC], Ether [ETH], USDC, and XRP.

Banco Galicia has collaborated with Lirium, a Liechtenstein-based crypto product for digital wallets and mobile banking apps.

Sources also revealed that for the time being it is offering users the ability to buy and sell crypto, but not allowing them to withdraw or send crypto, Lirium COO Martin Kopacz said, adding that the bank also offers a custody feature.

Banco Galicia plans to launch the service to all of its customers by mid-May, Kopacz noted.

Stakeholders lending support to Argentina’s biggest crypto development

In order to facilitate crypto trading and custody service, Lirium has partnered with OSL, a Hong Kong-based digital asset trading platform that began operating in Latin America last October.

Lirium is also working with four Argentinian financial institutions that plan to unveil a crypto trading service, Kopacz said, without disclosing dates. Apart from that, Lirium is working on similar integrations in Brazil and Mexico, according to Kopacz.

Reasons behind Argentina’s exponential crypto growth

In frontier markets like Argentina, cryptocurrency has skyrocketed. The nation marred by an unstable financial system and strong government intervention in the country’s economy has driven Argentines to seek solace in digital assets, according to a new report from the BBC.

The highly volatile Argentine peso, the country’s national currency, has been subjected to a range of financial controls that make the everyday citizens’ basic life essentials like buying and investing with the currency, increasingly difficult.

Amid this chaos and uncertainty, cryptocurrency has enjoyed a steady boon. Data from Chainalysis showed that Argentines earned $1.86 billion in cryptocurrency in 2021.

So far, the government has taken a relaxed attitude to the cryptocurrency boom. Recently it rolled out a so-called “innovation hub” to bolster fintech and cryptocurrency startups in a regulated manner.

The latest addition by the country’s largest bank to allow crypto is certainly a good start towards encouraging user adoption.

Cardano App Allows Users To Interact With Smart Contracts

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The Cardano ecosystem is bubbling with a lot of significant updates. Leading crypto hardware wallet provider ‘Ledger’ has recently announced a key upgrade for the ADA app that incorporates the smart contract functionality to the Cardano ecosystem.

In September 2021, the Alonzo hard fork debuted in the Cardano community and for the first time introduced the smart contract component. However, compatibility issues persisted in the app for more than six months.

Finally, on April 26th, Ledger announced that the ADA app had been upgraded to v.4.0.0, and the major highlight is of course the introduction of the smart contract feature to the app. The tweet read,

“The app now provides users with access to the growing Cardano decentralized finance ecosystem via ‘YoROI’ and ‘AdaLite’. Ledger also revealed that, with the upgrade, users can now sign smart contracts on the ADA app.”

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Ledger was co-founded in 2014 by Eric Larchevêque, Nicolas Bacca, Joel Pobeda, and Thomas France. At present, the firm has three crypto hardware wallets under its wing. These are Ledger Nano X, Ledger Nano S, and Ledger Nano S Plus. Its headquarter is located in Paris.

Ledger’s support team too chimed in by declaring that the Ledger Live app is currently working on adding full support for the blockchain.

Besides that, the support team also cleared doubts about the update to users.

Cardano founder’s reaction

Elated over the development, Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson cheered the crypto hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger’s announcement via tweet, saying, “Moving the chains. Great work ledger”

Recently, the leading layer 1 blockchain has increased its mainnet block size by 8K, taking note of the increment in transaction volume, and the future growth potentialities.

According to a Monday announcement by Cardano’s founding company, Input Output Hong Kong [IOHK], the upgrade was proposed last weekend. Implemented on 25th April, it has increased ADA’s block size by 10% to 88KB, where initially it was 80KB.

Further, IOHK noted that the scalability upgrade “is the latest in a series of planned network optimizations” for Cardano in 2022. It will not only increase the network’s throughput but also ramp up the performance of DApps building atop the blockchain.

Sandbox to solicit funds at $4 Billion value

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According to Bloomberg, The Sandbox, the world’s second-largest metaverse player, is trying to raise $400 million at a $4 billion valuation.

Sources close to the media house stated that The Sandbox, a platform that allows users to exchange and monetise virtual assets on the Ethereum blockchain, was considering seeking new funding at a valuation of more than $4 billion.

Although detailed specifics are few at the moment, Bloomberg sources claim that the newest fundraising will include both new and existing investors. Sandbox, which is majority-owned by blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands Corp., has been in talks with potential investors for the investment round, according to reports. Furthermore, the media house stated that the level of the rise is subject to market movements and investor demand and that it might be modified accordingly.

Following the $93 million arrangement, a new fundraising deal would be made. In November, SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a Series B round of funding for the metaverse player. The investment was the fund’s first into crypto assets, and it was intended to aid in the development of The Sandbox’s open metaverse.

The Sandbox acclaims up the ladder

In 2018, Animoca Brands, a Hong Kong-based gaming company, purchased The Sandbox and turned it into a multi-billion dollar project that is now deeply established in the metaverse and NFTs spaces.

The metaverse player grew to prominence thanks to its two name-brand mobile games, which have accumulated a total of 40 million downloads. It joined the blockchain space in 2018 by offering user-generated content and a marketplace where users could upload, publish, and sell non-fungible tokens. With its own cryptocurrency, SAND, the company has expanded into virtual land sales, fashion, and concerts.

Snoop Dogg NFT concert

In perspective, Adidas AG, retailer Carrefour SA, and Warner Music Group Corp., which wants to hold live concerts on the platform, are among the companies that have recently purchased virtual plots in the metaverse. For his song “House I Built,” Snoop Dogg debuted his first metaverse-filmed music video, which showed his digital double dancing. In addition, top multinational organizations, including HSBC Bank and Samsung, have recently expressed interest in the initiative by purchasing virtual pieces of property in its metaverse.

Overseas Crypto Firms Require Singapore’s Stamp Of Approval

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Singapore’s ambition to be the global hub of crypto received a major boost when the nation’s parliament gave its consent to a law that aimed to bring foreign digital asset firms operating in the city-state under its ambit. According to sources, the new legislation will require overseas virtual asset service providers [VASPs] in the region to be licensed.

At present, such firms fall outside the purview of anti-money laundering and terror financing. The new law passed in the legislature on Tuesday is part of a broader effort to combat money laundering and other criminal activities. However, the move sends mixed signals.

This is because it comes at a time when Singapore’s financial regulator has recently prohibited firms in the cryptocurrency space from advertising their services to the public, which points to its cautious approach.

Apart from that, Singapore’s leading bank DBS Bank has made a complete reversal of its plan to extend crypto trading services to retail customers, a few days back. Many believed the decision was taken under regulatory pressure.

The rumors turned true when in an interview, Chief Executive Officer, Piyush Gupta said the local watchdogs were“rightfully concerned” about allowing digital asset services in the retail sector. Besides that, Singapore’s strict regulatory standards became a source of disillusionment for many in the industry.

Is Singapore’s crypto framework a “tall regulatory wall”?

Patrick Chiu, the founder of Hong Kong’s AP Capital, a fund with an expanding digital asset portfolio license said that the city-state has terms and stipulations that “aren’t typical for global exchanges.” “Everyone was welcome to apply”, said Chiu. “But there’s a tall regulatory wall”.

Even Binance who is the biggest player reportedly felt let down by the moves, as it had withdrawn its application for setting up its local affiliate.

Earlier this year, Singaporean regulators banned direct-to-consumer marketing for exchanges and directed crypto ATM operators to turn off their machines. It also placed DeFiance Capital, one of the larger crypto funds in the city-state, on an investor alert list because it was “wrongly perceived as being licensed or regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.”

That said, the city-state has fared relatively well among its regional peers in welcoming the technologies of cryptocurrency and has launched a framework for legalizing the industry. In contrast to that, other Asian nations such as China have opted for a blanket ban.

Malaysia’s Ministry Backs Proposal To Legalize Cryptocurrency

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Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin put forward his intention to legalize digital currencies. Zahidi said the move would help the younger generation who are active users of the currency, especially on non-fungible token [NFT] trading platforms.

The Minister said the department will look into ways to increase the youth’s involvement in digital assets which he claims is the future of finance.

“All of these are under the purview of Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission. We hope the government will allow and legalize this so that we can increase the youth’s uptake of cryptocurrencies.”

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Zahidi also spoke about the government’s stand on trading on NFT platforms, which was becoming more popular, especially among the younger generation.

That being said, Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Ministry oversees the digital and broadcasting sectors didn’t specify under which ministry digital assets come.  While financial regulation falls under the central bank and the securities regulator, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government also has jurisdiction over “digital financial activities,” Zahidi said. 

Malaysia’s legal crypto adoption will lead to bullish price action

Following the news, the crypto community went into a tizzy. Entrepreneur and VanEck’s digital asset initiatives strategist, Gabor Gurbacs tweeted that the country’s population stood at around 30 million and its GDP is 35th in the global ranking, next to Hong Kong. “I wouldn’t be surprised if G20 countries also made similar moves,” he added.

Another user commented, if it turns into reality, Malaysia will be the second country after El Salvador in accepting crypto as legal tender. This news would provide a much-needed boost and expects ‘a good spike in the price of crypto’.

However, the Bank Negara Malaysia which is its Central Bank hasn’t announced any formal position on adopting Bitcoin as legal tender. In an interview back in January, the top bank said that it’s examining whether to introduce its own digital currency or CBDC. At the time of this post, the bank didn’t respond to Zahidi’s remarks. 

Last September, the Asian nation worked collectively with the Bank for International Settlements, Australia, Singapore, and South Africa to test the use of CBDCs for international settlements through a shared platform dubbed Project Dunbar. 

K-pop NFT metaverse is the new goal for Animoca Brands and Cube

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The Non Fungible token (NFT) industry is solidifying its roots in the mainstream entertainment industry and crypto market. The Hong Kong-based NFT gaming firm and venture capital Animoca Brands has announced its partnership with the Korean record label, music production company, and talent agency Cube Entertainment to create a metaverse around K-pop music.

The partnership of Animoca Brands and Cube around the K-pop music metaverse aims to celebrate famous actors and K-pop musicians by creating multimedia NFTs. The announcement on November 15 states that the NFTs will feature artist portraits and album art along with digital sound sources, including full-length albums.

K-pop Metaverse could be a milestone in the digital content industry

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Animoca Brands, Yat Siu, said that he is really excited to start working with Cube with the goal of making the open metaverse a reality. He added that the partnership would enable true virtual property rights and various benefits for both creators and fans on Cube’s roster.

The CEO of Cube Ahn Woo Hyung, on the other hand, said joining hands with Animoca is a significant step for the company for leading the digital culture market and adopting the virtual content industry. The company manages around 50 famous K-pop artists, including BtoB, Lightsum, (G)I-DLE, and Pentagon. 

Animoca Brands CEO stressed the importance of the disruptive form of ownership offered by NFTs. The venture capital is known for its close link to major milestones in the NFT world’s growth. After Dapper Labs brought the Ethereum network, Animoca decided to invest in it.

Last year, Animoca helped Formula 1 to launch its F1 Delta Time game and secured a global licensing agreement. Recently in November, the company raised around $93 million for the expansion of its NFT metaverse projects.

The humongous price surge of Decentraland Metaverse token (MANA) is a proof of rising interest in the digital sphere. The MANA token is used to own and trade virtual LAND in Decentraland metaverse. While Facebook also turned a new leaf with Meta, it seems that this new blockchain-based technology will attract more institutions, including Microsoft.

FTX exchange raises another $420 million, following a $900 million round

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Earlier this year, the popular crypto exchange FTX raised $900 million in a Series B round with a valuation of $18 billion, which included as many as 60 investors. In today’s announcement, FTX declared that it had raised another $420 million after a Series B-1 round.

The Series B-1 funding round involved as many as 69 investors, including giants like BlackRock and Tiger Global, who have now come on board. FTX attained the largest-ever investment round back in July and now aims to maintain a global presence.

The exchange also reported in the announcement that the firm witnessed a surge of 48% in the number of users after July while the trading volume rose by as much as 75%. Now, the exchange is on its way to being a worthy contender for the top spot.

FTX plans to expand into more countries

FTX exchange has huge plans for the future, as the CEO of the firm, Sam Bankman-Fried, claims. The exchange moved its headquarters from Hong Kong to the Bahamas because of the regulatory pressure from authorities. This movement was planned to increase the influence of the firm in other crypto-friendly nations.

“FTX is committed to maintaining a close working relationship with local regulators to help promote the growth of crypto and is furthering its commitment to providing all our clients with a safe, trustworthy and compliant exchange.”

FTX Spokesperson to CoinDesk

Also, the CEO told CoinDesk in a telephonic interview that the firm is looking to create new openings through acquisitions, projects, and partnerships. With a great deal of money flowing in, the firm has already implemented half-billion dollars in acquisitions.

The company’s growth has been surprising to its rivals as it has invested a lot in summertime marketing through advertisement deals with Major League Basketball. Furthermore, the firm has been actively involved in deals regarding crypto futures derivative products.

BIS Report outlines CBDC benefits as joint initiative evolves to Phase 3

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Central Bank Digital Currencies or CBDCs have been gradually gaining traction. While some countries are at a later stage in terms of piloting, others seem to have lagged in the global race.

The US, for one, has been struggling with its e-dollar exploration. Nevertheless, entities such as BIS and IMF have continued to advocate for the CBDC rollout in response to the growing popularity of stablecoins and have also backed several collaborative initiatives of the same.

In the latest development, the Bank for International Settlements [BIS] outlined a prominent use case after reviewing a prototype being jointly developed by the central banks of China, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

CBDC Speed and Cost benefits

Titled ‘Inthanon-LionRock to mBridge,’ the report by the Switzerland-based financial institution stated that blockchain-powered CBDCs can potentially minimize cross-border payments’ transaction throughput from multiple days to just a few seconds. According to BIS, the aforementioned prototype shows a tangible improvement not just in terms of cross-border transfer speed but also substantially reduces numerous of the core cost components of correspondent banking. It further stated,

BIS stated that the prototype essentially displayed the potential of faster and lower-cost cross-border transfers for participating jurisdictions. It also went on to add that it can be beneficial for jurisdictions that do not necessarily have strong correspondent banking relationships.

BIS revealed the project evolving into Phase 3 which involves additional experimentation with respect to design choices, technology trade-offs, and defining a future direction from prototype to an open-source, production-ready system.

This isn’t the only joint initiative. As a matter of fact, the central banks of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Africa unveiled a joint initiative to trial international settlements with the help of CBDC earlier this month. Called ‘Project Dunbar,’ the initiative is expected to prototype shared platforms thus facilitating direct transfers between institutions using digital currencies issued by multiple central banks.

Dunbar is slated to be conducted in partnership with the Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub from its Singapore Center. Similar to mBridge the initiative will also be based on a DLT-enabled infrastructure to “lay the foundation for global payments connectivity.”.