- SEC Struggles to Serve Richard Heart in Multi-Billion Dollar Crypto Case
The SEC’s legal battle with Richard Heart, a well known name in the crypto sphere, took an unexpected twist. According to a court filing, the SEC has encountered difficulties in serving legal documents to Heart. This development raises questions about the progress and future of the lawsuit, which alleges Heart and his entities Hex, Pulsechain, and Pulsex of securities law violations.
The lawsuit, filed on July 31, 2023, places Heart at the center of a significant legal dispute over the operation of his crypto entities. The SEC’s complaint accuses him and his companies of engaging in activities that contravene U.S. securities laws, and raising more than $1 billion through unregistered securities offerings. Millions, contends the SEC, were utilized to fund Heart’s extravagant personal acquisitions.
https://news.bitcoin.com/sec-struggles-to-serve-richard-heart-in-multi-billion-dollar-crypto-case/
- Dogecoin Now Held at 5M Crypto Addresses, Though Concentration Remains a Concern
The adoption of joke cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) continues to grow two years after the coronavirus pandemic that supposedly saw people beat lockdown boredom by gambling millions in non-serious digital assets.
The number of cryptocurrency addresses holding DOGE has topped 5 million for the first time, according to data tracked by on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock.
Meanwhile, the number of active addresses on the network has more than doubled to 168,000, reaching the most since March 2022, and the number of confirmed transactions on the Dogecoin blockchain has jumped to the highest since June, with the tally increasing by 1,000% in the past 10 days.
- Bitcoin ETF Hope Pushes Crypto Fund Investments to $1.5 Billion
As long as there’s hope for a Bitcoin ETF, institutional investors keep pouring cash into crypto funds, according to a new report from CoinShares.
The European digital asset manager clocked $346 million worth of deposits to crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) last week. That’s the highest they’ve been over 9 consecutive weeks of net inflows—bringing year-to-date deposits to $1.5 billion.
Deposits into Bitcoin-specific funds accounted for $312 million, or 90%, of the inflows from institutional investors. Thanks to those inflows and rising prices, the total value of assets under management in crypto funds has risen to $45 billion.
https://decrypt.co/207610/bitcoin-etf-hope-pushes-crypto-fund-investments-to-1-5-billion
- 11th anniversary of Bitcoin’s first halving: from $12 to $37,000
On Nov. 28, 2012, or three years and ten months after Bitcoin’s initial block was mined, the first-ever halving event took place. At the time, BTC traded at just around $12, according to data from StatMuse, or 308,200% below Bitcoin’s current price, according to data from CoinGecko.
Though Bitcoin’s halving and the digital currency’s 21 million supply cap are not directly described in Nakamoto’s white paper, the document still hints at certain mechanisms to control the creation of new BTC. The white paper reads:
“To compensate for increasing hardware speed and varying interest in running nodes over time, the proof-of-work difficulty is determined by a moving average targeting an average number of blocks per hour. If they’re generated too fast, the difficulty increases.”
https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-first-halving-11th-anniversary
- Spain’s Tax Agency Releases Overseas Crypto Asset Declaration Form
According to Foresight News, Spain’s Tax Agency has released an ‘Overseas Virtual Asset Tax Declaration Form’ requiring Spanish citizens to declare their crypto assets held on overseas cryptocurrency platforms between January 1 and March 31, 2024. By December 31, individual and corporate taxpayers must declare the amount of funds stored in their offshore cryptocurrency accounts. Only individuals with crypto assets exceeding €50,000 (approximately $55,000) in their balance sheets are obligated to declare their overseas assets. Users storing assets in self-custody wallets must report their assets through the standard wealth tax form 714.
- European Banking Authority Launches New Consultation on Crypto Travel Rule
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has opened a new consultation that seeks to receive feedback on the procedures proposed to apply the travel rule to transfers that use wallets hosted by crypto asset service providers.
The rules are focused on “preventing the abuse of funds and certain crypto-assets transfers for money laundering and terrorist financing purposes” and complement another consultation process made by the institution in June that dealt with due diligence procedures for anti-money laundering processes.
In its most recent Opinion about money laundering and terrorism financing risks, the EBA found that most competent European authorities believe risks related to crypto assets service providers (CASPs) are significant or very significant.
https://news.bitcoin.com/european-banking-authority-launches-new-consultation-on-crypto-travel-rule/
- Crypto Trading Firm Kronos Research Offers 10% Bounty to Hacker
Taipei-based cryptocurrency trading and investment firm Kronos Research has opened doors for negotiations with a hacker who made off with $25 million of the firm’s treasury early this month.
In a message to the hacker, Kronos said, send back 90% of the stolen funds, and we’ll drop this matter, Etherscan show.
Last week, the Taiwanese trading and VC firm reported via a post on X that an unauthorized entity gained access to its API keys. Onchain experts ZachXBT and Lookonchain later confirmed that the attacker made off with $25 million, mostly in stablecoins.
- Nic Carter, other pro-Bitcoiners fight climate impact narrative in new paper
Bitcoin mining is a “critical tool” for clean energy and balancing the grid, according to a new working paper penned by Bitcoin BTC $37,261 advocates and the former president of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the operator of Texas’ electrical grid.
The Nov. 22 paper titled “Leveraging Bitcoin Miners as Flexible Load Resources for Power System Stability and Efficiency” argued that Bitcoin mining’s inherent interruptibility and swift load response capabilities could enhance grid flexibility to better integrate variable renewable energy sources.
Authors of the working paper included Nic Carter, Castle Island Ventures partner; Dennis Porter, the CEO of Satoshi Action Fund; Murray Rudd, a science adviser; Shaun Connell, executive vice president of power at Houston-based tech company Lancium; and the former ERCOT president and CEO Brad Jones, who recently passed away.
- Binance CEO outlines plan for crypto exchange after CZ steps down
Richard Teng, Binance’s former global head of regional markets and now CEO, announced his intention to drive growth at the crypto exchange following Changpeng “CZ” Zhao stepping down.
In a Nov. 27 blog post, Teng said he had the support of CZ and Binance’s leadership following the former CEO’s departure as part of an agreement with United States officials. According to Teng, Binance plans to continue a user-focused approach to its business and “drive growth and the adoption of Web3,” assuring customers they will hear more from him soon.
“I am eager to jump headfirst into my new role and know there will be many more opportunities for me to share my thoughts with the community through blogs like this one, through my social media accounts — Twitter, LinkedIn — and through the many industry conferences and events around the world,” said Teng.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/binance-ceo-plan-crypto-exchange
- Dogecoin Adoption Grows as Number of Addresses Holding DOGE Tops 5 Million
According to CoinDesk, the adoption of joke cryptocurrency dogecoin (DOGE) continues to grow, with the number of cryptocurrency addresses holding DOGE surpassing 5 million for the first time. Data from on-chain analytics firm IntoTheBlock reveals that the number of active addresses on the network has more than doubled to 168,000, reaching its highest level since March 2022. Additionally, the number of confirmed transactions on the Dogecoin blockchain has jumped to its highest point since June, with the tally increasing by 1,000% in the past 10 days.
Despite these impressive figures, the concentration of ownership in DOGE remains a concern. According to BitInfoCharts, fewer than 5,000 addresses control over 80% of DOGE’s supply, meaning a relatively small number of traders have control over the cryptocurrency’s price.
