EddieJayonCrypto
24 Aug 23
There are some big moves going on. Here is what is on my mind today.1. We all know about crypto mixer Tornado Cash. A mixer is basically the digital version of money laundering. You use a service like this to obfuscate the history of a digital asset. Well, the 2 founders of the platform have been ar...
There are some big moves going on. Here is what is on my mind today.1. We all know about crypto mixer Tornado Cash. A mixer is basically the digital version of money laundering. You use a service like this to obfuscate the history of a digital asset. Well, the 2 founders of the platform have been arrested by the FBI in the United States and have been charged with allegedly laundering money and sanctions violations. Most notably, the North Korean hacking team Lazarus Group is known to have used the platform. 2. Speaking of North Korea's Lazarus Group, it is said they have amassed over $40M in stolen Bitcoin and the FBI thinks they may sell it off. Of course, that would affect crypto investors. That said, Tether has been in the market for Bitcoin to bolster their stablecoin reserves. They are using about 15% of their profits to do so. 3. Bitstamp becomes the latest exchange to stop Ethereum staking in the United States. Even if they hadn't said so you would know they shut down the service due to the regulatory climate in the United States. Staking is a very touchy subject and has been even more difficult to operate in the US. Just ask Genesis and Gemini. 4. The Broker-Dealer space is about to be introduced to amendments to the rules. Gary Gensler believes there are regulatory gaps created by outdated exemptions. Previously, broker-dealers were allowed to trade as much as they wanted without having to join a national securities association, like FINRA. Changes are also coming to the private investment space. Of course, you can expect there to be some upheaval within the financial industry. I would think there would be some sort of shakeout as some may find it hard to operate using current business models or simply can't make the adjustments. 5. In a quick update, it turns out Robinhood is the owner of that mysterious $3B Bitcoin wallet. 6. Is there an internal struggle at the SEC? The exit of Pascale Guerrier from the Ripple case may be as sign. Guerrier is a senior attorney at the SEC and the exit definitely means something. What it means I am not sure of just yet, but I think news will come out sooner or later. 7. Back in June, I told you about the $35M hack to Atomic Wallet. Well, now there is a class action and it is an expensive one coming in at about $100M. The breach was massive, affecting over 5500 accounts. I think it could be expected that Atomic would held to task given they even fumbled the security upgrade.