On 8th February, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) encountered their third-largest surge, amounting to £403 million.
The substantial inflow occurred despite over £100 million exiting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
The total influx into spot Bitcoin ETFs has surpassed £2.1 billion since their introduction on 11th January, indicating robust demand for BTC in the market.
The third-largest inflow day for spot BTC ETFs coincided with BTC’s price surpassing $46,000 to mark a fresh multiweek high, just £2,000 shy of new yearly highs.
Leading the ETF flow chart is BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) with an inflow of £204 million, followed by Fidelity with £128 million, ARK 21Shares with £86 million, and Bitwise with £60 million.
The remaining seven ETFs collectively witnessed £27 million in inflows, while GBTC recorded another £102 million in outflows.
IBIT also clinched the distinction of becoming the first ETF to surpass GBTC’s daily trading volume.
Nonetheless, the total trading volume of all 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs dipped below £1 billion for the first time since their inception.
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Bloomberg senior analyst Eric Balchunas underscored BlackRock’s overtaking of Grayscale in trading volume as a significant achievement, noting that it typically takes about five to 10 years for a new fund to surpass the category’s “liquidity king.”
Market analysts interpret the positive flow into Bitcoin ETFs as indicative of investors’ appetite and burgeoning demand.
The net flows into the ETFs imply that approximately £403 million, or roughly 8,698 BTC, was withdrawn from the market and transferred into cold storage.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs received approval from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission for listing on 10th January and commenced trading the following day.
Since their launch, spot BTC ETFs have witnessed record trading volumes, with over a billion dollars traded daily, indicating robust investor interest.
The forthcoming Bitcoin halving is less than 70 days away, which will halve the market supply of BTC from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC.
With mounting demand from institutional investors, the dwindling supply could propel BTC to reach new market highs.
AI-generated voices utilised in unwarranted or automated robocalls have now been officially deemed illegal in the United States following a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
In a statement dated February 8, the agency declared, “Today the Federal Communications Commission announced the unanimous adoption of a Declaratory Ruling that recognises calls made with AI-generated voices are ‘artificial’ under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).”
“This would give State Attorneys General across the country new tools to go after bad actors behind these nefarious robocalls.”
The FCC’s prohibition comes shortly after residents of New Hampshire received fraudulent voice messages mimicking U.S. President Joe Biden, advising them against participating in the state’s primary election.
Robocall scams are already prohibited under the TCPA — a U.S. law overseeing telemarketing.
The recent ruling will also criminalise the use of “voice cloning technology” employed in these scams. The regulation will take immediate effect, stated the FCC.
“Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities, and misinform voters.
We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice,” stated FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
The FCC initially suggested the prohibition of AI robocalls under the TCPA on January 31, which is a 1991 law regulating automated political and marketing calls made without the recipient’s consent.
The TCPA’s primary objective is to shield consumers from unwanted and intrusive communications or “junk calls” and to limit telemarketing calls, the use of automatic telephone dialling systems, and artificial or pre-recorded voice messages.
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FCC regulations also mandate telemarketers to acquire written consent from consumers before initiating robocalls. The ruling will now ensure that AI-generated voices in calls are also held to the same standards, London Insider reported.
The FCC highlighted in its recent statement that AI-supported calls have surged in recent years and cautioned that the technology now has the potential to befuddle consumers with misinformation by replicating the voices of celebrities, political figures, and close family members.
Furthermore, while law enforcement has been able to address the repercussions of an unwanted AI-voice-generated robocall — such as the scam or fraud they aim to perpetrate, the new ruling will empower law enforcement to pursue scammers solely for using AI to generate the voice in robocalls.
Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrator behind the Biden robocalls in mid-January has been traced back to a Texas-based firm named Life Corporation and an individual named Walter Monk.
The Election Law Unit issued a cease-and-desist order to Life Corporation for contravening the 2022 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title LXIII on bribes, intimidation, and suppression.
The order necessitates immediate compliance, and the unit reserves the right to take further enforcement actions based on prior conduct.
Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, which introduces “proto-danksharding,” has successfully completed its final testing phase via the Holesky testnet and is now awaiting scheduling for its mainnet deployment.
Data indicates that the Dencun upgrade was initiated on Holesky at approximately 11:35 am UTC on February 7, with Nethermind promptly sharing the news on X.
This upgrade is widely anticipated to reduce transaction costs on Ethereum layer-2s.
Dencun will notably introduce proto-danksharding through Ethereum Improvement Proposal-4844 (EIP-4844).
The key feature of EIP-4844 is the introduction of “blobs,” which will enable Ethereum nodes to temporarily store and access large amounts of off-chain data.
Philippe Schommers, head of infrastructure at Gnosis, previously explained to Cointelegraph that the implementation of Dencun on the Ethereum mainnet could potentially lower rollup costs by up to 10 times.
A decision regarding the mainnet deployment date of Dencun is expected to be made on February 8 during an AllCoreDevs call, while Ethereum enthusiast Anthony Sassano stated on February 7 that “all signs point to early-mid March.”
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Combining the Cancun and Deneb upgrades, Dencun is poised to be the most significant upgrade of Ethereum since the Shapella upgrade last April, which marked the first instance of unstaking Ether (ETH) from the Beacon Chain since its launch on December 1, 2020.
Cancun primarily focuses on network scalability at the execution layer, with EIP-4844 being the central component.
Additionally, EIP-1153, EIP-4788, and EIP-6780 are included in the upgrade.
Deneb, on the other hand, concentrates on enhancing Ethereum’s consensus layer.
Before being tested on Holesky, Dencun underwent deployment on the Goerli and Sepolia testnets on January 17 and January 30, respectively.
However, the deployment of Dencun to Goerli encountered a four-hour delay due to a bug that hindered the testnet from completing the upgrade.
“The network faced syncing issues with nodes due to a bug in Prysm, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake client,” explained Nebojsa Urosevic, a founder of the Ethereum development platform Tenderly, to Cointelegraph at the time.
“This incident underscores the importance of having multiple clients and the necessity of testnets,” Urosevic added.
Effective January 1st, 2024, a significant change will take effect for businesses operating in the United States. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) now requires both domestic and foreign companies to report their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This move aims to increase transparency and combat financial crimes such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
Shining a Light on Beneficial Owners
The CTA aims to combat financial crime by identifying the individuals who ultimately control companies. These “beneficial owners” are those who hold at least 25% of the company’s equity or exert substantial control through other means. Prior to the CTA, such information often remained shrouded in secrecy, making it easier for criminals to launder money or finance illicit activities through shell companies.
Reporting Requirements and Deadlines
Companies existing before January 1st, 2024 have a grace period until January 1st, 2025 to submit their initial reports. Newly formed companies have 90 days after registration to comply. The reports require detailed information about the company itself, including its legal and trade names, address, and tax ID number.
For beneficial owners, companies must disclose names, dates of birth, addresses, government-issued ID numbers, and even a photo of the ID. This level of detail aims to create a clear picture of who truly wields power behind the scenes.
Failure to Comply Comes at a Cost
The CTA isn’t without teeth. Individuals who willfully violate the reporting requirements can face hefty fines of up to $500 per day for the duration of the non-compliance. Additionally, criminal penalties including imprisonment and even larger fines are possible. Violations can include failing to file a report altogether, submitting false information, or neglecting to update information when ownership structures change.
Keeping Up-to-Date Crucial
Companies are also responsible for updating their reports within 30 days of any major changes to their ownership structure or company information. This ensures FinCEN maintains an accurate and up-to-date database of beneficial owners.
Transparency: A Step Towards Financial Security
The Corporate Transparency Act represents a significant step forward in the fight against financial crime. By shedding light on the true owners of companies, law enforcement will have a more powerful tool to identify and disrupt criminal activities. Businesses that operate legally have nothing to fear, and the benefits of increased transparency can help foster trust and stability within the American financial system.
To provide further insights into this change, we consulted Claudemir Ramos, a widely recognized accountant specializing in both Brazilian and American regulations. As the Owner and Founder of CR Accounting & Consulting LLC, Claudemir is a renowned professional within the field who provides insights from current tax law. Regarding this matter, he states:
“As specified in the Corporate Transparency Law, a person who willfully violates the BOI’s reporting requirements may be subject to civil penalties of up to US$ 500 for each day the violation persists. That person may also be subject to criminal sanctions of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to US$ 10,000. Possible violations include willfully failing to file a beneficial ownership information report, willfully filing false beneficial ownership information, or willfully failing to correct or update previously reported beneficial ownership information.”
When investigating financial crimes, law enforcement often needs to trace the flow of money. The CTA provides a valuable tool for investigators by allowing them to quickly identify the beneficial owners of companies involved in suspicious transactions. This can lead to faster and more effective investigations, ultimately helping to recover stolen funds and hold criminals accountable.
According to the specialist Claudemir Ramos:
“By requiring disclosure of beneficial owners, the goal of the CTA is to make it more difficult to hide behind layers of bureaucracy. Law enforcement will have a clearer picture of who is truly behind a company, making it easier to identify and investigate suspicious activity.”
It’s important to note that the CTA is just one piece of the puzzle in combating financial crimes. Other regulations and law enforcement efforts are still needed. However, by increasing transparency in corporate ownership, the CTA provides a valuable tool for law enforcement and can significantly hinder the ability of criminals to operate in the shadows.
For more information on Beneficial Ownership Reporting and how to comply with the CTA, visit the FinCEN website at https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/.