Payment Expert’s Blockchain Bulletin analyses how the world of blockchain is constantly evolving and heavily impacting the payments industry, with cryptocurrencies, NFTs and the metaverse revolutionising the space.
This week, the US government has taken legal action against KuCoin over a “multibillion-dollar criminal conspiracy” after being accused of breaking the US Bank Secrecy Act.
KuCoin lands in deep water in the US
The US government has indicted cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin over allegations it has broken the US Bank Secrecy Act in a similar situation, to that of Binance back in November.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Southern District of New York have filed a joint indictment against the company for allegedly operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and breaching the BSA by failing to meet AML requirements.
US Attorney, Damian Williams, said: “Indeed, KuCoin allegedly took advantage of its sizable US customer base to become one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency derivatives and spot exchanges, with billions of dollars of daily trades and trillions of dollars of annual trade volume.
“Crypto exchanges like KuCoin cannot have it both ways,” he continued. “The indictment should send a clear message to other crypto exchanges: if you plan to serve US customers, you must follow US law, plain and simple.”
MP Lisa Cameron outlines “crucial” six month timeline for UK crypto regulation
During the recent Pay360 payments event in London, Payment Expert spoke to Lisa Cameron MP, the Conservative Party Chair of the Crypto and Digital Assets All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on how the country is aiming to get legislation passed for crypto sooner rather than later.
Cameron believes that crypto will become a “huge part of the economy” and has been working diligently with other UK MP’s to formalise a bill that would see crypto and digital assets become regulated in the country for the first time.
This is all a part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s goal of creating the UK into a digital hub for technological innovation, but Cameron stressed that education and a clear understanding of the crypto sector is key to its growth in the country.
Why the time is now for firms to enhance crypto security solutions
Writing for Payment Expert, Morgan Williams, Product Lead at blockchain protection firm Coincover, explains why crypto providers must keep their security watertight and how 2024 will bring a new host of risks and threats.
Williams highlights the most recent Chainalysis Crypto Crime report, with total funds stolen by crypto hacks and scams falling by 29.2% and 54.3%, respectively in 2023 from 2022, but believes that these encouraging figures could lead to a “false sense of security”.
Enhanced user experiences, the potential and threat of artificial intelligence and developments in crypto standards and regulation were all addressed as key topics when it pertains to crypto security.
UK further embraces crypto launching ETNS on London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced yesterday (25 March) that it will begin to allow trading of cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether as exchange-traded notes (ETNs).
Applications for Bitcoin and Ether ETNs will be open to potential issuers on 8 April 2024, and will be subject to approval by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the agency presiding over crypto regulation and guidelines.
Jack Grealish becomes face of OKX’s latest campaign
OKX has named Manchester City football player Jack Grealish as its global brand ambassador to star in its ‘my fabric’ campaign.
The agreement kicks off with the launch of the ‘my fabric’ campaign, aiming to deepen the connection between fans and the club.
Grealish said: “I’m very excited to continue my partnership with OKX as they develop more great experiences for our fans around the world. In the ‘my fabric’ campaign, I enjoyed sharing details about my journey as a footballer and talked about overcoming some challenges I’ve faced.”
