The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) board has approved a new system for overseeing and licensing stablecoins.
In a recent meeting in Abu Dhabi, the board discussed various projects under the government’s Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) program.
This initiative aims to enhance digital transactions, advance the digital economy, and foster innovation in the UAE.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Vice President and CBUAE Chairman, chaired the meeting.
The attendees included Deputy Chairmen Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh and Jassem Mohammad Al Zaabi, CBUAE Governor Khaled Mohamed Balama, and other board members.
During the meeting, the board approved a regulation for overseeing and licensing stablecoins.
KARM Legal Consultants founder Kokila Alagh explained to Unlock Blockchain that the new regulations clarify the issuance, licensing, and supervision of dirham-backed payment tokens.
She stated, “The regulations clarify the issuance, licensing and supervision of dirham-backed payment tokens.”
Alagh emphasized that payment tokens must be backed by UAE dirhams and cannot be linked to other currencies, digital assets, or algorithms.
She added, “Merchants and service providers can only accept dirham-backed tokens and no other virtual assets.”
The meeting also reportedly included discussions on key projects under the FIT program.
READ MORE: Bitcoin to Reach $150,000 by Early September, Says Crypto Trader Peter Brandt
On February 13, the CBUAE announced its plan to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as part of the FIT initiative.
This CBDC aims to address inefficiencies in cross-border payments and drive domestic payment innovation.
The CBUAE believes that issuing a CBDC will help position the UAE as a competitive financial and digital payments hub.
In addition to the stablecoin licensing, one of the UAE’s financial regulators recently updated its rules for stablecoin recognition.
On June 3, the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) introduced new criteria for recognizing stablecoins.
Currently, the DFSA recognizes only a few crypto tokens, including Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, XRP, and Toncoin (TON).
This limitation means that funds under the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) cannot invest in other tokens beyond the five recognized crypto assets.
However, the revised token regime allows investing in unrecognized crypto tokens, provided the investment does not exceed 10% of the funds’ gross asset value.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Early investors in memecoins like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and Dogecoin (DOGE) made astronomical returns, and Don’t Stop Daddy (DSDCOIN) presents a similar opportunity for a limited time.
Don’t Stop Daddy (DSDCOIN), a newly launched Solana memecoin, is poised to explode over 17,000% in a matter of days, as former Shiba Inu (SHIB), Bonk (BONK) and Dogecoin (DOGE) investors pour funds into this new token.
DSDCOIN will be listed on KuCoin, one of the largest centralized exchanges in the world, within a few days – and this is a massively bullish development for the token, as millions of new investors will easily be able to buy Don’t Stop Daddy.
Currently, Don’t Stop Daddy can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jupiter and Raydium, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
To buy DSDCOIN on these platforms, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Don’t Stop Daddy by entering its contract address – GqtsBS3rK2hw5CUPumQBxGVdTkttmPL94npHDY3euqZq – in the receiving field.
DSDCOIN currently has a market cap of just under $16,000, with over $4,000 in locked liquidity, meaning it has huge upside potential.
Early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and Bonk (BONK) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The crypto space is all about decentralization, self-sovereignty and privacy, but it’s quite rare to see projects really follow this ethos. Bitcoin and Ethereum are unquestionably decentralized, but outside of those, most projects are managed more like Silicon Valley startups than decentralized communities. There is an exception: EOS, the startup turned decentralized community project.
EOS was once considered the blockchain most likely to challenge Ethereum’s dominance. Built on solid technology and designed by visionaries in the Blockchain space, it was hailed as the original “Ethereum Killer.”
Initially, the project enjoyed immense success, becoming the most successful ICO of all time in 2018, raising over $4 billion. But it was unable to adapt to the bear market and saw its market share quickly drop to near irrelevancy — so much that by the time we found real use cases for smart contracts, it was already too late.
The protocol had originally outlined ambitious goals, including the capacity to process 1 million transactions per second and hosting 1000 dApps. Unfortunately, by the end of 2019, none of these promises had been fulfilled. While chasing for greatness, Block.One, the company developing EOS, failed to make the network competitive in that state of the market, and gradually abandoned the project.
Block.One launched several spin-off projects, most notably Voice, a blockchain-based social media network, and Bullish, a centralized exchange. While Voice relied on EOS technology, it did not use the network as it existed. It was pretty clear that the company did not care about EOS and its community, and mostly coasted on the huge amount of cash it had raised prior.
With tensions reaching a boiling point, the users and backers who had believed and invested in the project decided to take action. They founded the EOS Network Foundation (ENF), a non-profit organization aimed at addressing Block.one’s mismanagement and providing financial and non-financial support to EOS.
In December 2021, under the leadership of Yves La Rose, the ENF officially severed ties with Block.one, booting its remaining EOS share and transferring $6.5 million worth of tokens to the ENF’s official account to ensure the future development of EOS.
EOS EVM
During the Block.one era, EOS was recognized for its immense technical potential, earning the nickname “Ethereum on Steroids” from its enthusiastic supporters. But one of the biggest obstacles to adoption was the EOS development experience, which simply lacked the variety of tools and existing developers to make it self-sufficient.
Under the new community leadership, EOS quickly pivoted to offering its own EVM protocol, which is deployed as a regular smart contract on the EOS blockchain. The latest version is EOS EVM v0.6.0, which provides EOS USDT as a native token and facilitates cross-chain trading and “bridge messages” between the EVM and the regular EOS VM.
The EOS EVM is exceptionally fast and provides full support with other Ethereum-based contracts, which makes it possible to run complex apps like order book exchanges.
The ENF is making concerted efforts to incentivize programmers to develop on EOS with financial and strategic support though its ENF Grant Framework, Pomelo, and EOS Network Ventures.
With that said, the EVM is a “bare-minimum” implementation of a viable blockchain today. While EOS brings interesting innovations to the EVM space, it’s difficult to stand out now. But there are other ways to use the efficiency of EOS.
EOS’ commitment to Bitcoin
Bitcoin is seeing a bit of a renaissance as Ordinals NFTs and Layer-2 solutions are starting to see some interest and traction. The benefit is that it would unlock the hundreds of billions in BTC currently not doing much of anything on the Bitcoin blockchain.
EOS has recently launched exSat, which acts as an extra layer to connect Bitcoin with EOS by using EOS’s memory (RAM) and to store Bitcoin data. This includes all kinds of information from Bitcoin, like transaction records and Ordinals NFT data.
The network is pushing hard on exSat, planning on using up to 50% of its total memory (RAM) for it. It has also recently amended its tokenomics in part to make this possible, dedicating 350M EOS ($283M) for growing the liquidity of its native RAM market and thus expanding the throughput of the network.
Other planned changes include fixing the token supply to a maximum of 2.1 billion tokens released in regular halving cycles, which is something that Bitcoin fans might find familiar.
Years of EOS development and adaptation to the current market might finally pay off. The performance of the network enables it to become an infrastructure backbone of the space, giving computing resources to projects that need it.
The story of EOS is a curious demonstration that a rough start must not necessarily lead to defeat, as long as there’s someone who’s not giving up. The strength of the community is everything, and sometimes it might lead to projects taking their own life, rejecting their original creators. For an industry as misunderstood as crypto, being resilient and decentralized might just be the only way to thrive over a very long term, and the EOS community is certainly strong on those fronts.
Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has begun serving his sentence at a low-security federal prison in Lompoc, California.
CNBC confirmed the news through Zhao’s legal team at Latham and Watkins.
The crypto community has shown support for Zhao during this time. A Reddit user highlighted that Zhao’s prison sentence could safeguard Binance from potential risks.
User Ilsemprelaziale commented:
“If FTX downfall hit Crypto hard, just imagine what would happen if Binance collapsed. He pleaded guilty and stepped down as CEO.”
Zhao has revealed his plans following his four-month sentence.
He intends to resume his involvement in the cryptocurrency sector, maintaining his holdings and focusing on passive investing, demonstrating his unwavering confidence in digital assets.
He emphasized this period as “a new stage for the crypto industry,” highlighting the critical need for adherence to regulations and compliance.
In April, Zhao, also known as “CZ,” was sentenced by Judge Richard Jones in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
The charges were related to money laundering at Binance, resulting in a four-month prison term and a $50 million fine.
This sentence is notably less severe than the three years federal prosecutors initially sought.
Despite sentencing guidelines recommending 12 to 18 months in prison, Zhao’s lawyers advocated for five months of probation.
Before his sentencing, Zhao apologized and reflected on his actions, accepting responsibility for Binance’s inadequate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) program.
Following Judge Jones’ decision, Zhao stated he would report to prison on a date to be determined.
In November, Zhao reached an agreement with the U.S. government to resolve a multiyear investigation into Binance.
As part of the settlement, he resigned as CEO of Binance.
The U.S. government also imposed a $4.3 billion fine for “civil regulatory enforcement actions,” of which Zhao agreed to pay $50 million.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Devil Biden (DEVBIDEN), a new Solana memecoin that was launched today, is poised to explode over 14,000% in price in the coming days.
Currently, Devil Biden can only be purchased via Solana decentralized exchanges, like Jupiter and Raydium, and early investors stand to make huge returns in the coming days.
Early investors in SHIB and DOGE made astronomical returns, and Devil Biden could become the next viral memecoin.
In fact, many early Shiba Inu and Dogecoin investors have been pouring funds into this new Solana memecoin.
Devil Biden launched with over $6,000 of locked liquidity, giving it a unique advantage over the majority of other new memecoins, and early investors could make huge gains.
To buy Devil Biden on Raydium or Jupiter ahead of the KuCoin listing, users need to connect their Solflare, MetaMask or Phantom wallet, and swap Solana for Devil Biden by entering its contract address – Hu1cFazfpaEFyJ3ETdotpTSBModCC4pJoCvVyLNiTKm7 – in the receiving field.
In fact, early investors could make returns similar to those who invested in Shiba Inu (SHIB) and Dogecoin (DOGE) before these memecoins went viral and exploded in price.
If this happens, a new wave of memecoin millionaires could be created in a matter of weeks – or potentially even sooner.
The Solana memecoin craze continues amid larger memecoins, like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Dogecoin (DOGE) and DogWifHat (WIF) trading sideways in recent weeks and losing momentum.
This is why many SHIB, DOGE and WIF investors are instead investing in new Solana memecoins, like DEVBIDEN.
Apple has denied being a “monopolist” and insisted it faces “fierce competition” in the tech industry, according to a letter previewing its defense against a U.S. antitrust lawsuit.
In a letter dated May 21 to New Jersey federal judge Julien Neals, Apple’s attorneys requested a conference before filing a motion to dismiss the case.
They refuted U.S. allegations that Apple engaged in anticompetitive practices by restricting third-party access to its platform and designing products to “lock in” users to purchasing iPhones.
The company argued that its purported anticompetitive behavior merely involved making independent decisions regarding the terms and conditions for third-party access to its proprietary platform.
In March, the Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, accusing the firm of holding a smartphone monopoly.
The suit claimed Apple restricted features of digital wallets and payments and enforced App Store rules that stifled competition.
Apple’s restrictions on fiat-only payments have also impacted the use of cryptocurrencies in iOS apps, making it financially unfeasible for crypto apps to offer in-app purchases due to a 30% fee known as the “Apple Tax.”
“Apple has opted to offer users a curated, secure, and reliable experience, in contrast to its competitors’ more open platforms,” the company stated.
Apple contended that the government did not “properly define the relevant market or establish that Apple has monopoly power in it,” and any alleged anticompetitive behavior occurred in different markets, such as digital wallets.
READ MORE: Bitcoin Hovers Near $67,000 as Traders Eye Key Resistance and Support Levels
“These products all exist in their own separate markets with their own competitive dynamics, and the Government’s failure to define the proper market for those products is fatal,” Apple asserted.
Apple further argued that the U.S. claims were invalid, citing the Supreme Court’s stance that a company’s decisions regarding third-party dealings do not constitute exclusionary conduct.
The company also countered the DOJ’s claim of a smartphone monopoly, asserting it faces strong competition from Google and Samsung, noting Google has the most-used mobile OS and Samsung leads in global smartphone sales.
The U.S. failed to provide a factual link demonstrating that Apple’s design decisions corner smartphone buyers, Apple claimed.
“Someone unhappy with Apple’s limitations has every incentive to switch to competitor platforms that ostensibly do not have those limitations,” the company stated.
Following the DOJ’s March filing, an Apple spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the lawsuit could “set a dangerous precedent” and potentially allow the government to heavily influence the design of technology.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Hong Kong’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) has concluded that the Worldcoin project violated the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) in Hong Kong.
On May 22, Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung Lai-ling issued an enforcement notice to Worldcoin, ordering an immediate halt to all operations in Hong Kong involving the scanning and collecting of iris and facial images using iris scanning devices.
The PCPD launched its investigation into Worldcoin in January 2024 to assess whether its identity verification methods posed significant risks to personal data privacy and contravened the PDPO.
Between December 2023 and January 2024, the PCPD conducted ten covert visits to six premises involved in the Worldcoin project.
The PCPD found that collecting face images was unnecessary for verifying the humanness of participants since operators could perform this verification in person at the locations.
Thus, the collection of face images was deemed an unnecessary step.
Moreover, the PCPD highlighted that Worldcoin failed to provide adequate information, preventing participants from making informed decisions and giving genuine consent.
The privacy notice was not available in Chinese, leaving non-English speaking participants unaware of the project’s policies, practices, terms, and conditions.
READ MORE: Kraken Affirms No Plans to Delist Tether in Europe Amid MiCA Compliance Review
The PCPD stated:
“[…] the iris scanning device operators at the operating locations also did not offer any explanation or confirmed the participants’ understanding of the aforesaid documents.
They also did not inform the participants the possible risks pertaining to their disclosure of biometric data, nor answered their questions.”
The PCPD determined that under these conditions, the collection of face and iris images was unfair and unlawful, violating data protection principles.
Furthermore, Worldcoin’s retention of sensitive biometric data for up to 10 years solely for AI model training, including face and iris images, was deemed unjustified.
Worldcoin confirmed that 8,302 individuals had their faces and irises scanned for verification during its operation in Hong Kong.
The project, announced in 2021, saw over two million people sign up before its official launch in July 2023.
Worldcoin has faced regulatory scrutiny in many countries over privacy concerns, leading to the suspension of services in Kenya and the halting of iris scans in India.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
U.S. prosecutors are seeking a five to seven-year prison sentence for former FTX executive Ryan Salame, who was allegedly a key accomplice to FTX co-founder Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried, in connection with the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange.
On May 21, federal prosecutors submitted a sentencing memo to a Manhattan federal court, calling for a strict sentence for Salame, who has pleaded guilty to serious crimes related to the misuse of FTX investors’ funds.
According to a court filing viewed by Bloomberg, the prosecutors are advocating for a “just punishment” that reflects the severity of Salame’s crimes, contrary to his lawyers’ recommendation of no more than 18 months in prison.
“The campaign finance offense is one of the largest-ever in American history, and the unlicensed money transmitting business exchanged more than $1 billion without proper supervision,” said the prosecutors.
Salame’s sentencing, for aiding SBF in misappropriating $10 billion of users’ funds, is scheduled for May 28.
The prosecutors emphasized, “Only a meaningful period of incarceration could adequately deter the defendant and others and promote respect for the law.”
READ MORE: Bitcoin Hovers Near $67,000 as Traders Eye Key Resistance and Support Levels
On April 1, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced SBF to 25 years in prison after he was convicted on seven felony charges.
Salame is set to be the first of SBF’s accomplices to be sentenced.
Salame joined Alameda Research in Hong Kong in 2019 and eventually became the CEO of FTX Digital Markets, the Bahamas-based subsidiary of FTX.
Other notable figures involved in the FTX scheme, including Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, have yet to be sentenced.
Meanwhile, several U.S. lawmakers are backing a bill intended to clarify the roles of financial regulators in the oversight of digital assets, aiming to prevent future incidents similar to FTX.
North Carolina Representative Wiley Nickel has called for the passage of the Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act, which would define how the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulate cryptocurrencies.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
The newly-approved spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could launch as early as mid-June if the United States securities regulator follows a timeline similar to its spot Bitcoin ETF process.
Spot Ether ETFs received approval for their 19b-4 filings, allowing the funds to be listed on their respective exchanges.
However, applicants must first obtain approved S-1 registration statements to begin trading.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has suggested that S-1 approvals could come in a “couple of weeks,” though he also noted that the process could take longer, typically up to five months.
Fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas responded that “mid-June is certainly poss[ible].”
Balchunas expects there will only be one round of comments on the S-1 amendments, similar to the SEC’s feedback process for spot Bitcoin ETF applicants.
He noted that this process took about two weeks, which is why he estimates mid-June as a possible launch date. “Just a guess tho.
“We will see,” Balchunas added.
VanEck filed its amended S-1 shortly after having its 19b-4 approved, and other applicants are expected to follow suit soon.
However, Delphi Labs general counsel Gabriel Shapiro noted the SEC’s approval was made by its Division of Trading and Markets unit on a “delegated authority,” claiming that one of the five SEC Commissioners could challenge the decision within the next 10 days.
Digital asset lawyer Joe Carlasare told Cointelegraph that such a challenge could theoretically happen—“but it won’t.”
READ MORE: Bitcoin Battles to Hold $69,000 as Analysts Eye Potential Retracement
“They wouldn’t have passed it through trading and markets without knowing that no Commissioner opposed it.”
Seyffart disagrees, noting that making decisions with delegated authority “is the norm” as requiring an official vote for every decision and document “would be insane.”
He added that asking for a review likely “wouldn’t change anything” about the approvals.
If the S-1s are approved, Seyffart expects the spot Ether ETFs will see 20% of the flows that spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen, while Balchunas estimates a smaller range of 10-15%.
According to Farside Investors, spot Bitcoin ETFs have tallied $13.3 billion in net inflow since their launch roughly four and a half months ago.
Capturing 20% of that would mean spot Ether ETFs could tally a combined $2.66 billion over the same timeframe.
Some worry that the spot Ether ETF market could see significant outflows from the converted Grayscale Ethereum Trust into spot ETF form, similar to outflows seen with the firm’s converted Bitcoin investment product.
More than $11.3 billion is locked in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, according to Arkham Intelligence.
On May 23, eight applicants received regulatory approval: VanEck, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Bitwise, and Invesco Galaxy.
Hashdex was the only ETF issuer that did not receive approval.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.
Bitcoin maintained upward pressure on liquidity on May 17 as analysts noted a potential golden cross on lower timeframes.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC price action hovering near its highest levels since mid-April.
Liquidity at $67,000 and above continued to act as a barrier, with around $75 million at stake at the time of writing, according to monitoring resource CoinGlass.
Although still below its all-time highs of 2024 and 2021, Bitcoin sparked enthusiasm among market observers. Popular pseudonymous trader Moustache highlighted two significant trendlines.
“Golden Cross (12h-Chart) of $BTC is imminent,” he informed his followers in one of his recent posts on X (formerly Twitter).
A golden cross happens when a shorter-term moving average crosses above a longer-term one, with the last occurrence in October of the previous year — just before Bitcoin saw significant gains.
“The last bullish cross was over six months ago. Bitcoin has risen by over 170% since then,” Moustache noted.
Another trader, Titan of Crypto, suggested that the Ichimoku Cloud indicator might follow a similar trend.
READ MORE: Oobit Mobile Payment App Integrates with Tether’s USDT and XAUt on TON for Streamlined Transactions
“BTC seems to be repeating the same pattern from early 2024,” a part of an X post on May 16 read, adding that BTC/USD saw an upside of more than 60% the last time Ichimoku requirements were met.
Titan of Crypto also pointed out a transfer of $60,000 from resistance to support.
As reported by Cointelegraph, this area includes various bull market trendlines, all converging in one place.
Among these are the short-term holder realized price and the 100-day moving average, the latter rising quickly and now above $62,000.
“BTC is perfectly flipping previous resistance into support,” Titan of Crypto summarized, sharing an Ichimoku chart.
Overall, Bitcoin’s current trajectory and technical indicators suggest a potentially bullish outlook, with significant levels being tested and possibly transformed into new support zones.
To submit a crypto press release (PR), send an email to sales@cryptointelligence.co.uk.