Demond Cureton

NatWest Limits Crypto Transfers to £1K a Day, Citing Cybercrime, Online Scams

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British bank NatWest launched measures this week to limit cryptocurrency exchange transfers, citing fears of “crypto-criminals” and online scams.

The London-based retail and commercial bank said in a press release it had begun capping transfers at £1,000 a day and £5,000 a month. The bank’s fraud protection chief, Stuart Skinner, added NatWest had monitored a rise in cryptocurrency-linked scams totalling £329 million in 2022.

He said at the time: “You should always have sole control of your cryptocurrency wallet and nobody else should have access. If you didn’t set the wallet up yourself or can’t access the money then this is likely to be a scam. We have seen an increase in the number of scams using cryptocurrency exchanges and we are acting to protect our customers.”

The news comes after the banking institution limited cryptocurrency transfers in 2021 based on assessments of crypto exchanges.

Some people on Twitter slammed the move as restrictive and having “nothing to do with scams.”

Small and medium enterprise consultant Mike Cosgrove tweeted at the time: “Nothing to do with scams. A bank has no right to limit how much a person can transfer.”

He added that NatWest customers could transfer their money to rival banks to circumvent the restrictions.

Conversely, career advisor Edgar Enriquems said it was “interesting” to see NatWest follow suit with other British banks.

“It’s important to be aware of the risks associated with investing in volatile assets, and it’s good to see banks taking steps to protect their customers,” he concluded.

UK Taxpayers to Declare Crypto as Separate Assets, HM Treasury Reveals

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HM Treasury has introduced declarations for cryptocurrency assets for future tax returns, it announced in a paper on Wednesday.

The new report, published for the national budget in Spring of this year, notes that the upcoming changes will enter force for 2024-2025. Taxpayers must declare their holdings in self-assessment forms.

People must report their holdings in the fiscal year 2025-2026 for the previous year. It is expected that the Treasury will profit up to roughly £10 million per year from the declarations.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) backed the changes, with its deputy president, Gary Ashford, stating: “Highlighting the need to declare crypto asset transactions in the tax return will help raise awareness of people’s obligations in this area.”

Despite this, he added that the government needed to implement measures to tackle “widespread ignorance” of cryptocurrency taxing and reporting.

The news comes after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) backed Parliament’s House of Commons to discuss the latter’s Financial Services and Markets Bill. The new legislation would provide the FCA expanded powers to regulate cryptocurrency firms and investors across the industry.

The UK has also launched numerous plans to regulate and outline cryptocurrency frameworks for future digital asset inclusion in the British economy. The UK treasury recently published a white paper detailing its plans for cryptocurrency regulations shortly before HSBC bought Silicon Valley Bank’s UK division for just £1, allowing Britain’s tech sector to prevent a collapse of funding for key tech firms.

US Treasury Set to Release DeFi Risk Assessment on Criminal Activity

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The United States Treasury may soon release its risk assessment for decentralised finance (DeFi), Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg has revealed.

In an event in Sydney, she told the audience: “Illicit actors are constantly looking for effective ways to hide criminal activity and the laundering of their proceeds. This is a threat to DeFi services or other elements of the virtual asset ecosystem.”

She added that her team was “actively” working on the assessment and would soon release the findings.

She added that the regulatory industry treated “regulations and financial crimes compliance as an afterthought,” citing an “astounding” surge in virtual assets.

Speaking further, she cited North Korean cybersecurity attacks, stating,

“Some of the illicit finance risks pertaining to virtual assets are best illustrated in the North Korea context. North Korea-affiliated actors have conducted ransomware attacks, stolen hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of virtual assets, and laundered their ill-gotten funds through mixers and other virtual asset service providers to fund North Korea’s illegal nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.”

The news comes after cryptocurrency experts criticised the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at a Futures Industry Association (FIA) event. An executive from Andreessen Horowitz slammed the SEC as ‘rogue’ and added the ‘clock is ticking’ on the development of clear regulations.

A16z Chief Slams ‘Rogue’ SEC at Futures Conference

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A key executive for venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has slammed the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for poorly-defined regulatory frameworks, reports show.

The comments come at Tuesday’s Futures Industry Association event, where numerous cryptocurrency executives and thought leaders gathered to discuss the crypto industry.

Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) chief, Brian Quintenz, said: “The SEC is completely out of control. They’re going rogue.”

He said in a panel talk: “The United States has to make a decision about whether or not it will embrace and support innovators in this country. There are jurisdictions that are mindful about this. That is not what we are seeing in the United States, and the clock is ticking.”

CoinFund President Chris Perkins added that locations such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong surpassed the US in regulatory frameworks.

He added: “We try to advise our founders about regulatory risk, but it’s hard without regulatory clarity. Other countries are not waiting for us.”

Perkins added that industry experts have aimed to build future laws backed with bipartisan support. Julia Hueckel, Coinbase associate general counsel, added: “I see bipartisan interest, and that gives me hope.”

The news comes after New York Attorney General (NYAG) Leticia James sued cryptocurrency trading platform KuCoin, designating its sale of Ether (ETH) as an unregistered security.

US regulators have also targeted cryptocurrency firms such as Binance.us, Binance, Paxos, Ripple, Gemini, CoinEx, and many others. Gemini co-founder Tyler Winklevoss slammed the SEC in January after the latter sued the exchange for selling unregistered securities with its Earn programme.

Silicon Valley Bank Shareholders File Lawsuit, Citing Interest Rate Fraud

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Shareholders of Silicon Valley Bank Financial Group have sued the now-defunct bank and two of its top executives.

The class action lawsuit involves SVB, chief executive Greg Becker, and chief financial officer Daniel Beck. The group launched the lawsuit in a federal court based in San Jose, California, reports show.

Chandra Vanipenta has led the litigation for shareholders of the bank. In it, the lawsuit alleges the three entities withheld information about the knock-on effects of interest rates on the bank, leading to subsequent bank runs.

SVB Collapse amid Liquidity Scramble

The news comes after the collapse of the 16th-largest bank in the United States. US government authorities seized the company’s assets on Saturday after liquidity issues triggered a massive bank run.

SVB shocked its clients and market watchers after revealing a $1.8 billion USD loss of revenues after taxes due to investment sales. The bank later failed to raise sufficient capital to close the fiscal hole.

Just ahead of its collapse, SVB posted just $209 billion in assets and $175.4 billion in deposits. The bank’s failure is the largest since the 2008 financial crisis.

Fears over subsequent collapses have surfaced across the industry, with many tech startups, venture capitalists, and affiliated regional banks mulling potential such possibilities.

In the United Kingdom, HSBC purchased SVB’s British operations for one pound — the same fee Sir Philip Green charged for the remaining shares of defunct retailer British Home Stores (BHS) in 2015.

The news comes just under a week after Silvergate Capital shuttered its banking division over its alleged ties to FTX. The now-defunct crypto trading platform used Silvergate Banking to facilitate transactions just days before filing for bankruptcy.

Meta Closes Facebook, Instagram NFT Feature After Year-Long Run

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Meta Platforms has begun shuttering its non-fungible token (NFT) functionality across its family of social media apps.

Facebook and Instagram will no longer accommodate the feature, just a year after it went live.

According to Stephane Kasriel, commerce and fintech chief for Meta, the Menlo Park-based firm was “winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.”

He thanked partners of the programme for “doing great work in a dynamic space,” referring to Web3 technologies. Kasriel also looked forward to backing “the many NFT creators who continue using Instagram and Facebook to amplify their work.”

He said that Meta would continue to build to support “creators, people, and businesses” across Meta’s apps, “both today and in the metaverse.”

Kasriel added that Meta prioritised supporting opportunities for creatives and businesses to interact with and monetise interactions with fans.

“We’re going to focus on areas where we can make [an] impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels,” he explained.

The Meta executive concluded: “[We’ll] continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta.”

The news comes after the product launched in May last year with a select group of users in the United States. The pilot later rolled out across Facebook the following June, with further expansions in July with Instagram NFT tool across 100 countries.

NY Authorities Shutter Signature Bank, Citing Need to ‘Protect’ US Economy

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State authorities have targeted Signature Bank, closing down the cryptocurrency-friendly bank on Sunday.

In a joint statement between the United States Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the three institutions closed Signature Bank to protect the national economy and boost banking system sentiment.

It said in its statement: “All depositors of this institution will be made whole. As with the resolution of Silicon Valley Bank, no losses will be borne by the taxpayer.”

It added it would not protect “shareholders and uncertain unsecured debtholders” and that senior management had “also been removed.”

The statement continued: “Any losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund to support uninsured depositors will be recovered by a special assessment on banks, as required by law.”

According to reports, Signature Bank held $88.6 billion in deposits.

The news comes amid the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on Saturday after it failed to secure additional capital to resolve a liquidity crisis. Further troubles took place on Thursday last week after Silvergate Bank shut down and liquidated due to ongoing “industry and regulatory developments.”

Crypto Addiction Rising among Young Men

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Therapists providing therapy to people addicted to gambling have spotted a sharp rise in addicts seeking help over cryptocurrency speculation, reports show.

An ITV News report found that cryptocurrency investing became more popular during COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.

One man interviewed by ITV said, “As it was going on, it was having more of an effect because I was putting a lot more money into it. I was investing before but then after I was gambling. I was just watching this coin go up and down with any money I’d got. I was doing it as a day trade rather than like leaving it for a year or something.”

He added that he would frequently invest in cryptocurrencies to “make quick money,” but soon began to obsess over trading.

“I was constantly on my phone, constantly looking at it, just detached from everyday life,” he said.

Castle Craig rehab centre therapist, Tony Marini, said he had seen roughly 200 people hit by crypto trading addictions since 2016. Many addicts were young men affected by the pandemic and isolation from national lockdowns, he alleged.

Marini explained that he had researched over the last six years, speaking to many people and found similar behaviours and addictions to gambling.

He said: “The isolation, the fantasies about making money, being able to get the fast cars, the big houses, and then that depression starts to come in. You know, they crossed that line into the addiction and they isolate away from everybody. They start telling lies.”

According to Castle Craig, such addictions affect 9 out of 1,000 people while “a further 70 people out of every 1000 participate at risky levels that can become a problem in the future.”

Circle Attempts to Calm Investors After USDC Loses Dollar Peg

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USD Coin (USDC), one of the most trusted stablecoins in the cryptocurrency market, has lost its peg to the US dollar, falling to record lows on Saturday.

Circle, the firm that created the USDC stablecoin, attempted to calm investor and holder fears it could restore the cryptocurrency’s peg.

Despite this, the coin remains exposed to Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed on Saturday. Roughly $3.3 billion out of $40 billion in Silicon Valley Bank’s USDC reserves are Circle reserves.

According to Circle, it will resume USDC liquidity operation on Monday after banks reopen in the United States.

It said in a blog post: “As a regulated payment token, USDC will remain redeemable 1 for 1 with the U.S. Dollar.”

The coin lost its 1:1 peg to the USD, nosediving up to $0.88 on Saturday around 07:50 UT, Trading View data revealed.

It explained further, stating,

“As of Thursday, we had initiated transfers of these funds to other banking partners. Though these transfers had not yet been settled as of close of business Friday, we remain confident in the FDIC’s management of the SVB situation and stand ready to receive these funds.”

It concluded that USDC had “zero exposure to Silvergate,” referring to Silvergate Bank, which also collapsed last week after ceasing operations. The bank had facilitated payments for now-defunct cryptocurrency platform FTX in November, despite the latter collapsing days later.

Circle also noted it does not return 100 percent of customer deposits, but would use its corporate resources and external capital to cover shortfalls.

Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder & CEO of Circle, said in a series of tweets on Sunday,

“We were heartened to see the US government and financial regulators take crucial steps to mitigate risks extending from the fractional banking system. 100% of deposits from SVB are secure and will be available at banking open tomorrow.”

He added that he would publish a longer thread with “reflections on all of the past [week’s] events.” Allaire continued that Circle had “long advocated for full-reserve digital currency banking” to insulate the firm’s “base lay of internet money and payment systems from fractional reserve banking risk.”

The bank’s collapse is the largest US Bank since the financial crisis of 2008, news reports revealed.

Bank of London Proposes Buyout of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK Subsidiary

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The Bank of London has proposed to buy Silicon Valley Bank’s British subsidiary.

The Bank of London is a clearing bank in the United Kingdom and had proposed the deal to the UK Treasury and Bank of England.

A consortium of investors that includes private equity firms leads the Bank of London.

Bank of London co-founder and chief executive Anthony Watson said in a statement: “Silicon Valley Bank cannot be allowed to fail given the vital community it serves.”

He added: “This is a unique opportunity to ensure the UK has a more diversified banking sector, whilst allowing continuity of service to SVB’s UK client base.”

UK authorities also drafted a rescue plan for startups and tech firms hit by the SVB collapse, including cash bailouts for numerous tech firms.

UK Government Response to SVB Crisis

According to a statement from UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the Bank of England had confirmed that SVB had a “limited presence in the UK” and did not “perform functions critical to the financial system.”

It added it understood the “level of concern” the collapse raised for SVB UK customers, namely impacts on “cashflow positions in the short term.”

Hunt stated: “The UK has a world leading tech sector, with a dynamic start-up and scale-up ecosystem. The government recognises that, given the importance of Silicon Valley Bank to its customers, its failure could have a significant impact on the liquidity of the tech ecosystem.”

Downing Street would treat the issue as a “high priority” and launch talks between the Bank of England Governor, British Prime Minister, and Chancellor at the weekend.

Hunt concluded: “The government is working at pace on a solution to avoid or minimise damage to some of our most promising companies in the UK and we will bring forward immediate plans to ensure the short term operational and cashflow needs of Silicon Valley Bank UK customers are able to be met.”

Coadec Statement on SVB Collapse

A further statement from Coadec, a coalition representing British tech firms and startups, work with HM Treasury “remains ongoing.”

The organisation said discussions were “ongoing with potential buyers for SVB UK.” There were numerous potential measures to address “the immediate liquidity and banking problems” under consideration, the statement read.

It aimed to release an announcement “before the market opens on Monday,” Coadec added.

It continued: “The Government has worked incredibly hard over the past several days and we have to give them great credit. At the same time, we have made clear in no uncertain terms the risks that are posed to the UK startup ecosystem and innovation economy if the deal does not do what it needs to in helping companies at risk.”

Coadec concluded that the United States Federal Reserve aimed to resolve the crisis in a way that “fully protects all depositors.”

Silicon Valley Bank has long supported tech startups and Web3 firms, and its recent collapse is the world’s biggest since the 2008 financial crisis.

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