The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued a BitLicense to the Bakkt trading platform, which will allow it to legally work with residents of this state. NYDFS has been issuing BitLicense since 2015. Firms wishing to obtain a license must meet certain requirements. In addition, obtaining a BitLicense costs a rather large amount – up to $ 100,000. The head of NYDFS Linda Lacewell said that the department is ready to

Ethereum developer Mikhail Kalinin has published a document proposing a faster merger of the ETH1 and ETH2 blockchains and, accordingly, a faster transition to PoS. The Ethereum 2.0 network based on PoS is already in operation – this is the so-called Beacon Chain, launched on December 1, 2020. Stakers have already blocked $ 6.2 billion worth of ETH to participate in block production. Kalinin has published specifications for connecting the Ethereum mainnet and the Beacon

According to a survey by INATBA, most cryptocurrency firms believe that the EU Cryptocurrency Regulation (MiCA) bill will hinder innovation but reduce fraud. The International Association for the Development of Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA) conducted a survey of 44 CEOs of cryptocurrency firms and startups to get their opinion on the MiCA bill. An unofficial version of the MiCA proposed by the European Commission hit the web last fall. The bill contains the rules for

In South Korea cryptocurrency exchanges will be fined for not complying with AML rules The Financial Services Commission of South Korea (FSC) has introduced new rules according to which cryptocurrency exchanges will be fined for non-compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) rules. Under the new rules, virtual asset service providers (VASPs), including cryptocurrency exchanges, will be fined if: VASPs do not track and report suspicious transactions; digital asset firms do not store relevant suspicious transaction data;

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb has stopped serving traders from 21 countries due to the tightening of anti-money laundering measures under the FATF directive. According to local media reports, Bithumb has banned traders from 21 countries from opening new accounts and froze existing user accounts. These actions were implemented in order to comply with the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), as well as to improve investor protection and increase

US lawmakers have proposed creating a working group, which will include representatives from the SEC and CFTC, to assess the current regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and make recommendations for changing it. Members of the US House of Representatives Patrick McHenry and Stephen Lynch have presented a bill that will help clarify the regulation of cryptoassets. The bill calls for the creation of a working group composed of industry experts, representatives from the Securities and Exchange

Venezuelan citizens will be able to buy dollar-pegged stablecoins through the government’s biometric payment system Biopago, thanks to the Bank of Venezuela’s partnership with Glufco. Venezuelans will be able to buy cryptocurrency directly from government social security accounts. Thanks to the Bank of Venezuela’s partnership with financial services startup Glufco, Venezuelans will be able to buy USD-pegged stablecoins through the same infrastructure that powers the country’s biometric payment system, Biopago. The Biopago platform plays an

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched a program to identify cryptocurrency owners who are hiding their income. For this, IRS employees will be trained in blockchain analysis. IRS Anti-Fraud Director Damon Rowe said the IRS will work to identify unreported revenue streams through the Operation Hidden Treasure program. The main priority of the program is to detect cryptocurrency users who hide their income. Operation Hidden Treasure is a joint program of the Anti-Fraud

The Blockchain Association, an American advocacy group, will discuss with the administration of US President Joe Biden the possibility of creating favorable conditions for the development of the cryptocurrency industry in the country. The Blockchain Association includes cryptocurrency exchanges Circle, Binance.US, Kraken and investment company Grayscale. Blockchain Association Executive Director Kristin Smith announced meetings with senior White House politicians, including US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, candidate for deputy secretary and former BlackRock chief Wally Adeyemo,

Ethereum developers have decided to include EIP 1559 in the London hard fork scheduled for July. EIP 1559 implies burning ETH when paying commissions. Based on the results of the last meeting of Ethereum developers, it was decided to include EIP 1559 in the London hard fork in July this year, despite the dissatisfaction of the miners. Five more EIPs could also be included in the update. EIP 1559 will greatly change the transaction –