SEC Reaches Agreement to Settle Novel Crypto Insider Trading Case

US SEC nears deal with ex-Coinbase employee accused of insider trading -filing

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is nearing a settlement with a former Coinbase Global Inc product manager in a landmark case of insider trading involving cryptocurrency, according to a court filing this week.

The SEC has reached “an agreement in principle” with Ishan Wahi to resolve its claims against him, the agency said in a court document filed on Monday.

DeFi Needs to Comply With Anti-Money Laundering Rules, US Says

Decentralized financial transactions, including those done with virtual currencies, need to comply with anti-money laundering and sanctions laws, the US Treasury Department said in a new report.

The 39-page report, which was commissioned by the Biden administration, concludes there are several risks associated with DeFi technology, which has no exact definition but includes self-executing transactions between two or more people based on the same blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies. Those risks include abuse by “ransomware cybercriminals, thieves, scammers, and Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) cyber actors,” according to Treasury.

U.S. Treasury Warns That DeFi Used by North Korea, Scammers to Launder Dirty Money

Decentralized finance (DeFi) services that aren’t compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules pose “the most significant current illicit finance risk” in that corner of the crypto sector, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s first analysis of hazards from the technology.

In an expected risk assessment published Thursday, the Treasury said thieves, scammers, ransomware cyber criminals and actors for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) are using DeFi to launder proceeds from crime.

The Case for Banning Crypto…. The root of the problem is that cryptocurrency assets can be created at no cost and without limit, and an unlimited supply of assets makes a system more vulnerable to booms and busts. When assets have nothing behind them, no reliable financial accounting practices or valuation techniques exist to expose the fraudulent manipulation of those assets. The result is that fraudsters have rushed into cryptocurrency, exploiting the complexity and hype to dupe the unwary. As Bankman-Fried awaits trial, U.S. policymakers need to limit the harms associated with cryptocurrency technologies and business models. At the very least, they should not loosen existing laws in the name of fostering cryptocurrency innovation. But they should also consider a more serious measure: banning cryptocurrency assets outright.

Crypto 2023: The Storm Breaks

Finally, history repeats itself, and pride cometh before a fall. The rise of the digital asset industry was extraordinary and thrilling. However, such excitement tends to blind those involved no matter what the situation. Charles Ponzi used to have huge crowds waiting outside his office on School Street in Boston (two blocks from where one of the authors used to live — the building still stands) hanging on his every word. The mere fact that a crowd is following a particular dream does not mean that the dream will come true. In the end, when new economic ventures are being born and developed, they must be accompanied by thoughtful and robust risk management and be driven by talented people who can operate those tools while also accommodating innovation and forward thinking. There has never been another way, and there never will be.

NYDFS Chief Dismisses ‘Choke Point 2.0’ Theory of Signature’s Closure as ‘Ludicrous’

Speaking to the audience at blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis’ Links conference in New York on Wednesday, Harris said the decision by her office to step in and shut down Signature was totally unrelated to crypto.

“The idea that taking possession of Signature was about crypto, or that this is Choke Point 2.0 is really ludicrous,” Harris said. “I mean, I just have no other way to say it – what we saw was a new-fashioned bank run. When you have a high percentage of uninsured deposits, and you don’t have liquidity management protocols in place, you end up in a place where you cannot open on Monday in a safe and sound manner.”

Hidden Inside MacOS, the Bitcoin White Paper

Someone has hidden the Bitcoin white paper inside every copy of MacOS shipped since 2017.

Back in April 2021, a user by the name of bernd178 on the MacOS Community Forum noticed that buried within the Image Capture Utility is a function called Virtual Scanner II, which is not enabled by default.

Hidden within Virtual Scanner II is a nondescript image of a bay in San Francisco, and a PDF copy of the Bitcoin white paper.