News 02.03. – 08.03.20

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Cryptocurrency

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Crypto exchanges, Banks

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Regulations, State digital currencies

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Blockchain, Technology

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Scams

266,000 passwords were stolen from the Trident Crypto Fund

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Is there a hostile takeover of Steem?

TRON and Steemit decided to reverse the recent blockchain softfork, which aims to reduce their ability to influence management decisions. According to some reports, these efforts were blindly supported by major crypto exchanges, such as Binance, Huobi, and Poloniex, because the tokens held by these exchanges were used to reverse the software while maintaining network control.

On February 24, Steemit implemented the “Steem Protection” software to disable the voting power of a large number of tokens owned by Steemit and TRON. Yesterday, however, an event that was described as a “hostile takeover” happened, and softfork could not prevent it. Based on the list of accounts launched on March 2, three exchanges managed to pass STEEM 45.6 million.

UK regulator: BitMex is not licensed to operate in the UK

The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the notice on Tuesday, saying that it believes BitMEX has been providing services in the country without its authorization. “BitMEX is not authorized by us and is targeting people in the UK. Based upon information we hold, we believe it is carrying on regulated activities which require authorization,” said the FCA.

When reached for comment, a BitMEX spokesperson told The Block: “We are working closely with our advisors to assess the situation. There is nothing more we can add at this time.”

Last month, the FCA became a compliance supervisor of crypto activities in the U.K. As a result, all existing and new crypto businesses are required to be registered by the watchdog. The deadline for existing businesses to get registered is January 2021.

Indian Supreme Court says no to central bank’s crypto ban

After many months of uncertainty, Indian cryptocurrency investors can finally breathe a huge sigh of relief as the Indian Supreme Court has struck down the Reserve Bank of India’s banking ban for cryptocurrency entities in the country. Token prices of the exchange WazirX have shot up and investor sentiment has almost unanimously been positive.

The news has been a long time coming for Indian investors, who wanted nothing more than some certainty on the state of cryptocurrencies in India. The fact that it is very positive news will only buoy investors further in the coming months.

Breaking:
Supreme Court of India has struck off Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) banking ban against #Crypto. The Court held that RBI Circular dated 6th April 2018 is unconstitutional.
— Crypto Kanoon (@cryptokanoon) March 4, 2020

South Korea passed a law legalizing cryptocurrencies

South Korea is following in the footsteps of India in terms of legalizing cryptocurrency trading and holding after passing a new amendment a few hours ago. From now on, digital assets are entirely legal in the East Asian nation. After President Jae-in Moon signs the amendment passed in the country’s parliament, the enactment process will begin. It will take one year from the date of the signing, followed by a 6-month grace period.

Once the required time passes, cryptocurrency-related businesses, such as exchanges, trusts, wallet companies, and token-sales, will need to comply with new rules. Those include having a real-name verification partnership with an approved local bank. Thus, when a verified individual is assigned to a single bank account, it helps prevent money-laundering when they deposit or withdraw fiat currencies.

266,000 passwords were stolen from the Trident Crypto Fund

In a major privacy breach, the usernames and passwords of more than a quarter of a million Trident Crypto Fund customers have been stolen and published online. Technical director of cybersecurity firm DeviceLock Ashot Oganesyan told Russian news outlet IZ the database — which contains email addresses, cellphone numbers, encrypted passwords and IP addresses — had been uploaded to various file sharing websites on February 20.

Earlier this week, hackers decrypted and published close to 120,000 of the passwords, potentially enabling them to log into affected users’ accounts and access their funds.

German regulator: Bitcoin is a financial instrument

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority in Germany, BAFIN, has issued guidelines to clarify the state of cryptocurrencies and regulations that apply to related business activities. The recommendations are based on the country’s existing legislation and take into account the latest changes. According to the regulator, Bitcoin is a financial instrument.