Plustoken Cash-Outs Could Be Behind BTC Price Drop, Says Report

On Monday, the blockchain surveillance company Chainalysis published an excerpt from the firm’s upcoming crime report that will publish in January. According to the Chainalysis research, the Ponzi scheme called Plustoken not only defrauded investors out of $3 billion but the scam “may also be driving down the price of bitcoin.” Also read: Mystery Surrounds … Read more

Ciphertrace Says Banks Unknowingly Process $2 Billion in Crypto per Year

According to the blockchain analysis firm Ciphertrace, major U.S. banks process roughly $2 billion in digital currency transactions that go undetected every year. Ciphertrace disclosed a slew of financial institutions have not deployed the right KYC/AML infrastructure to detect unregistered cryptocurrency transfers. Also read: US to Strictly Enforce Crypto Rules Similar to FATF Guidelines All … Read more

80% of Crypto Trade Volume Tracked by Blockchain Surveillance

Ever since governments worldwide started showing adversity toward cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, a few startups have dedicated their business model to blockchain surveillance. Two weeks ago, Chainalysis revealed the company is monitoring 21 different tokens that stem from Ethereum. On Tuesday, the firm Ciphertrace announced that it’s now tracking 700 cryptocurrencies providing “visibility into 87% of … Read more

IRS Agents Propose Draconian Tactics to Investigate Bitcoin Users

A recently published U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) slide describes alarming recommendations on how tax agents should deal with digital currency users who are not paying taxes. The slide recommends that agents question crypto users’ friends and family, comb through social media posts and issue subpoenas to make sure U.S. residents are paying taxes on … Read more

Malta Appoints Cybersecurity Firm Ciphertrace to Monitor Crypto Transactions

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has appointed U.S. cybersecurity company Ciphertrace to help with compliance monitoring of crypto assets. Ciphertrace will be expected to keep track of transactions that pass through local crypto exchanges and digital wallets including ICOs, screening for potential money laundering and terrorism financing violations. Also read: Fidelity’s Cryptocurrency Arm Starts … Read more

African Cryptocurrency Exchanges Forced to Step up Security

Cryptocurrency exchanges in some of Africa’s biggest bitcoin markets have been forced to rethink their security to thwart persistent attacks from hackers, a trend that has troubled trading platforms all around the world. Also read: Cointext Launches Bitcoin Cash SMS Wallet in Argentina and Turkey The Worst Yet to Come for African Exchanges Exchanges in the … Read more