Switzerland’s St.Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB), a prominent Swiss bank with a legacy dating back to 1868, has embraced the world of cryptocurrencies.
In a strategic move, SGKB has teamed up with SEBA Bank, a global financial institution specializing in cryptocurrencies, to introduce Bitcoin and Ether trading services for its customers.
This groundbreaking development was officially announced on November 1, 2023, marking SGKB’s foray into the digital asset landscape.
Following a successful testing phase earlier in the year, the new cryptocurrency service is now available to select SGKB clients.
Initially, customers can trade and hold Bitcoin and Ether, with plans to expand the offering to include more cryptocurrencies based on market demand.
St.Galler Kantonalbank, often referred to as SGKB, is a Swiss regional bank of considerable significance. It caters to a wide range of clients, offering retail and commercial banking services as well as private and institutional banking solutions.
As of the end of 2022, SGKB managed assets totaling 53.6 billion Swiss francs (approximately $58.9 billion), solidifying its position as the fifth largest bank in Switzerland.
SGKB’s partnership with SEBA Bank is designed to seamlessly integrate cryptocurrencies into its customers’ investment portfolios.
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Falk Kohlmann, the Head of Market Services at SGKB, expressed enthusiasm for this new venture, stating, “We are pleased to offer a select client base access to digital assets and the digital economy.”
He further emphasized the bank’s commitment to meeting the evolving needs of its clients and ensuring the security of their digital assets through SEBA Bank’s expertise.
SEBA Bank, SGKB’s crypto partner, is a Swiss-regulated global financial institution specializing in the management, investment, and custody of cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens, and other digital assets.
Having obtained a banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority in 2019, SEBA has been actively collaborating with major private and retail banks, including LGT Bank Liechtenstein and Bank Julius Baer, to integrate cryptocurrency services.
The Swiss cryptocurrency ecosystem has been rapidly expanding, with numerous local banks embracing digital assets.
In September 2023, Dukascopy Bank, a licensed Swiss bank, launched crypto-enabled services, including marginal trading and online retail banking accounts.
This demonstrates the growing recognition of cryptocurrencies’ importance in the contemporary financial landscape and the value they add when offered through regulated banks.
Payment giant PayPal has been served with a subpoena by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concerning its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin, according to the firm’s official disclosure in its Q3 financial report filed with the SEC on November 2.
The SEC’s Enforcement division issued the subpoena to PayPal on November 1, requesting specific documents.
PayPal stated that it is fully cooperating with the SEC’s request.
This development comes approximately three months after PayPal introduced its PYUSD stablecoin in early August.
PYUSD is backed by U.S. dollar deposits, short-term Treasurys, and similar cash equivalents, with Paxos Trust acting as its issuer. The stablecoin operates on the Ethereum blockchain and is designed for digital payments and Web3 applications.
Paxos, the issuer, reported that PYUSD has enjoyed a successful launch, achieving a market capitalization of $150 million within two months of its introduction.
As of now, the market capitalization of PYUSD stands at approximately $159 million, with a daily trading volume of nearly $2.7 million, as reported by CoinGecko.
PayPal has not yet responded to requests for comment from Cointelegraph.
The rapid adoption of PayPal USD was driven in part by its listing on major exchanges such as Coinbase, Crypto.com, Bitstamp, and Kraken shortly after its launch.
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In September, PayPal announced plans to integrate PYUSD into its Venmo mobile payment service, allowing users to buy and send PYUSD to friends and family.
PayPal has been actively expanding its crypto-related initiatives not only in the United States but also internationally.
In late October, it received a license from the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority, allowing it to offer crypto services in the UK.
This recent action by the SEC against PayPal further highlights the challenging regulatory environment for crypto companies in the United States.
The SEC has initiated lawsuits against several prominent domestic crypto firms, including its ongoing lawsuit against Coinbase.
In a notable development in October 2023, the SEC moved to dismiss its three-year lawsuit against Ripple, the company behind the XRP token, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
In April 2023, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire attributed the declining market capitalization of Circle’s USD Coin stablecoin to increased regulatory scrutiny and a crackdown on cryptocurrencies by U.S. regulators.
Georgetown, Cayman Islands, November 3rd, 2023, Chainwire
Injective, a Cosmos Layer-1 blockchain designed to power next-generation DeFi applications, has selected the Kava Chain’s Native USDT for their Perps trading. The Kava Chain is a secure, lightning-fast Layer-1 blockchain that combines the developer power of Ethereum with the speed and interoperability of Cosmos.
This collaboration is poised to bring significant benefits to users of both platforms, signaling that this transformative partnership is set to reshape the world of DeFi. The integration of Kava Chain’s capabilities with Injective’s revolutionary DeFi technology is set to offer a host of advantages for both platforms, including Enhanced Trading Opportunities, Improved Liquidity, and Cross-Chain Flexibility.
“The introduction of stable asset interoperability is a major boon for the Injective ecosystem. USDT stands as a cornerstone within the broader crypto industry, and the extension of Kava’s USDT offering will serve as a major milestone for the community,” said Eric Chen, Co-Founder and CEO of Injective Labs.
The choice of Kava Chain’s native USDT for Perps Trading exemplifies the mutual benefits that this partnership brings, offering users the best of both worlds and enriching the DeFi experience for traders, investors, and developers alike. Together, they are poised to reshape the possibilities within the decentralized finance sector.
“We are thrilled that Injective has chosen the Kava Chains native USDt for perps trading. This partnership with Injective is a testament to our commitment to fostering innovation and access within DeFi. We are excited to offer our users the powerful tools and capabilities that Injective brings to the table,” said Scott Stuart, Co-Founder and CEO of Kava Labs.
Tether’s decision to integrate USDt natively on Cosmos in July 2023, using the Kava Chain as a hub, has since brought accessibility and financial stability to users and developers within the Cosmos ecosystem. After Osmosis, Injective is the 2nd tier-1 Cosmos protocol that is adopting Kava’s natively issued USDt, therefore simplifying the process, and offers a streamlined, efficient mechanism for stablecoin liquidity provision and transfer between the Cosmos and Ethereum ecosystems.
For more information about Injective and Kava Chain and its benefits, please visit their respective websites.
For more updates, follow Kava Chain on X (fka Twitter).
About Kava
Kava Chain is a secure, lightning-fast Layer-1 blockchain that combines the developer power of Ethereum with the speed and interoperability of Cosmos in a single, scalable network. Committed to fostering innovation and growth, Kava Chain is a trusted choice for developers and users worldwide.
About Injective
Injective is a lightning-fast interoperable Layer-1 blockchain optimized for building the premier Web3 finance applications. Injective provides developers with powerful plug-and-play modules for creating unmatched dApps. INJ is the native asset that powers Injective and its rapidly growing ecosystem. Injective is incubated by Binance and is backed by prominent investors such as Jump Crypto, Pantera, and Mark Cuban.
Contact
Media Manager
Guillermo Carandini
Kava
[email protected]
Amir Elmaani, the 31-year-old founder of the now-defunct cryptocurrency scheme Oyster Protocol, has received the maximum penalty of four years in prison for his involvement in tax evasion.
The United States Attorney’s Office announced the sentencing on October 31, following Elmaani’s guilty plea on April 6.
In his confession, he admitted to secretly creating and selling Pearl tokens without paying income tax on the substantial profits generated by the project, resulting in tax losses exceeding $5.5 million.
U.S. District Attorney Damian Williams expressed his stance on the matter, stating, “Amir Elmaani violated the duty he owed to pay taxes on millions of dollars of cryptocurrency profits, and he also violated the trust of investors in the cryptocurrency he founded.”
Elmaani’s deceptive actions unfolded between September and October 2017 when he promoted a cryptocurrency named Pearl (PRL) as an investment opportunity tied to the blockchain-based data storage platform, Oyster Protocol.
Unknown to the Oyster Protocol team and investors, Elmaani covertly generated a large quantity of new PRL tokens and introduced them into the market for his personal gain in October 2018.
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In his plea agreement, Elmaani admitted, “I was aware that the counterparties who were buying these newly-minted PRL likely were not aware of my reopening of the smart contract and did not know that I had just substantially increased the total supply of PRL.”
Despite amassing millions of dollars from this illicit scheme, Elmaani falsely reported his income in his tax returns, claiming he had earned a mere $15,000 from a patent design business in 2017 and declared zero income in 2018.
Court investigations revealed that in 2018, Elmaani spent over $10 million on multiple yachts, $1.6 million at a carbon-fiber composite company, hundreds of thousands of dollars at home improvement stores, and more than $700,000 on two homes.
One of these homes was acquired through a shell company, while the other was registered in the names of two of Elmaani’s associates.
Additionally, he engaged extensively in precious metals trading and stored gold bars in a safe on one of his yachts.
Prosecutors uncovered that Elmaani utilized friends and family as intermediaries to receive cryptocurrency proceeds and subsequently transfer them to his accounts.
In addition to his four-year prison term, Elmaani has been sentenced to one year of supervised release and has been ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution.
In October 2023, Bitcoin achieved its highest monthly closing price since May 2022, experiencing a remarkable uptrend throughout the month. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView verified that Bitcoin bulls successfully maintained their upward momentum into November 1st.
This surge in the cryptocurrency’s value was reminiscent of October’s initial breakout, and it marked the second-best performing month of 2023, with Bitcoin gaining an impressive 28.5%.
This performance only trailed behind January, which had a 39.6% increase.
Renowned trader Bluntz cautioned against underestimating the significance of the current bullish trend, drawing parallels to similar occurrences in October 2020 and April 2019, where Bitcoin entered extended bullish phases.
Moustache, another prominent figure in the crypto trading community, pointed to the TK Crossover indicator, which signaled a rare bull market trigger.
This indicator, derived from the Ichimoku Cloud and involving Tenkan-sen and Kijun-sen trendlines, produced a bull flag at the monthly close, indicating a potential sustained upward trend.
However, on-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators offered a slightly more conservative view, suggesting that while bullish momentum still persisted, it appeared to be weakening compared to the previous month.
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They anticipated a possible retest of the $33,000 level, though it might not occur until after an attempt at $36,000.
Market participants remained vigilant, as a significant macroeconomic event was on the horizon. The United States Federal Reserve was set to announce its interest rate policy in the context of a challenging inflation environment.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was also scheduled to deliver a speech and hold a press conference.
Market expectations were leaning toward the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) maintaining the current elevated interest rates, with a probability of nearly 98% according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
Prominent trader Crypto Tony weighed in on the potential impact of this announcement on Bitcoin’s price action, predicting increased volatility and market movements as the Fed’s decisions and data were released.
He personally anticipated a pause in interest rate hikes and a subsequent rise in Bitcoin’s price, possibly reaching the $36,000 mark after an initial temporary downturn.
In summary, Bitcoin’s performance in October 2023 was exceptional, with significant gains and indications of a potential sustained bullish trend.
However, the market remained watchful of the upcoming Federal Reserve announcement, which could introduce further volatility and shape the cryptocurrency’s future movements.
Turkey is making significant strides in the world of cryptocurrency regulation as it seeks to shed its “grey list” status with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The FATF, an international organization dedicated to combating financial crimes, placed Turkey on this list in 2021 due to concerns related to money laundering and terrorist financing.
According to recent reports, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek addressed a parliamentary commission on October 31 and revealed that Turkey had successfully adhered to all but one of the FATF’s 40 standards.
The one area of concern is related to crypto assets.
To address this issue, Turkey is actively drafting new regulations specifically designed for crypto assets.
The government’s aim is to present a comprehensive crypto assets law to parliament, with the ultimate goal of convincing the FATF to remove Turkey from its grey list.
While the exact legal changes have not been disclosed, it is clear that Turkey is committed to strengthening its regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency sector.
The Group of Seven (G7) established the FATF to protect the global financial system, and in 2019, it raised concerns about Turkey’s procedures for freezing assets connected to terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The Turkish government has taken these concerns seriously and is actively working on enhancing its regulatory environment.
READ MORE:Dubai Grants VASP License to Crypto Wallet
The Turkish Presidential Annual Program for 2024, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey on October 25, outlines the government’s plans regarding cryptocurrency regulations.
Article 400.5 of this extensive 500-page document sets a target to finalize cryptocurrency regulations within the country by the end of 2024.
This initiative aims to establish clear definitions for crypto assets, which may have tax implications in the future.
Furthermore, the program aims to provide legal definitions for crypto asset providers, such as cryptocurrency exchanges.
While the specifics of the forthcoming regulatory framework are yet to be disclosed, Turkey is demonstrating its commitment to bringing transparency and oversight to the crypto industry.
In a related development, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has been actively exploring the concept of a central bank digital currency, known as the digital lira.
By December 2022, it had completed a successful initial trial of the digital lira and expressed its intention to continue testing through 2024.
These efforts signal Turkey’s willingness to embrace digital financial innovation while also adhering to international standards and expectations in the realm of cryptocurrency regulation.
While the Bank of Spain explores the potential adoption of a digital euro, it appears that the country’s populace may not share the same level of enthusiasm for the European Central Bank’s digital currency project.
The Bank of Spain recently conducted a survey titled “Study on the habits in use of cash,” in collaboration with Ipsos, which involved 1,600 respondents from two groups: the general public and representatives of small businesses.
The survey also included questions about the digital euro, a proposed pan-European central bank digital currency (CBDC).
The survey findings revealed that only 20% of the general public were aware of the concept of a “digital euro.” A similar percentage, around 23%, among small business owners were aware of it.
However, it’s worth noting that these questions were posed in 2022.
In 2023, only 20% of respondents confirmed their intention to use the digital euro alongside their existing payment methods, while a significant 65% expressed their reluctance to do so.
This marks a shift from the previous year when the numbers were more favorable to the CBDC, with only 58% responding negatively in 2022.
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The survey also highlighted varying levels of interest in the digital euro based on age groups. The youth demographic (18–24) displayed the most enthusiasm, with 36% indicating their willingness to use the digital currency.
However, this enthusiasm gradually waned with age, with 31% of those aged 25–34, 24% of those aged 35–44, 18% of those aged 55–64, and a mere 7% of individuals over 65 expressing interest in the digital euro.
The Bank of Spain has been proactive in promoting the digital euro’s potential benefits. In October, they released a document explaining the nature and applications of the digital euro.
The bank emphasized that physical cash limitations hinder the full exploitation of the advantages offered by the growing digitalization of the economy and society.
They believe that the digital euro will play a vital role in making electronic payments an integral part of the financial system.
It’s worth noting that Spain has demonstrated a strong commitment to the European Union’s digital economy initiatives, having decided to implement the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), a pan-European crypto framework, six months ahead of the general deadline.
Despite the current hesitancy, the future of the digital euro in Spain may evolve as awareness and understanding of the concept increase.
Zug, Switzerland, November 2nd, 2023, Chainwire
The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) has today announced that, during a successful live-streamed stress test, the TON blockchain has proven that it is the world’s fastest and most scalable public blockchain. The TON testnet was launched on 256 validators. Under heavy load, the testnet split into 512 shards, enabling the network to achieve a speed of 104,715 TPS. The unprecedented success of this test has proven TON capable of being the infrastructure layer for the Web3 ecosystem in Telegram and large enterprises seeking to create blockchain-based products, as well as a global decentralized network ready to usurp traditional finance rails.
In test runs, the TON testnet outpaced the reported speed of Visa while exceeding a speed of approximately 100,000 TPS, far surpassing the speed of approximately 65,000 TPS recorded by the previous record holder.
The data generated by this test has been verified by The Open Network’s security partner, CertiK, which is a Web3 smart contract auditor providing a comprehensive suite of tools to secure the industry at scale. CertiK has performed formal verifications of the TON blockchain to confirm its stability and security and has also assisted TON Foundation in verifying network speeds. TON Foundation used the infrastructure of Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing subsidiary of Alibaba Group, to deliver the live-streamed stress test.
The stress test involved multiple layers of verification and performance monitoring. CertiK authenticated the network’s architecture, ensuring the 256 validators were operational and configured according to the specified settings. The nodes’ software versions were also checked for uniformity. During the actual performance test, TON lite servers were employed to fetch transaction counts at one-minute intervals, which were then used to calculate the TPS.
TON’s unique architecture means that the blockchain is inherently scalable by design. TON takes the concept of sharding to its extreme, using an “infinite sharding paradigm” to form a blockchain of blockchains. TON is able to split into 2^30 workchains, each of which can then be subdivided into up to 2^60 shards. TON is designed so that rather than having the capacity constantly available, TON may rapidly scale capacity as and when demand requires it. This ensures that computational power is used as efficiently as possible.
A host of large enterprises have started to recognise the benefits of using TON as their infrastructure for Web3 services. In September 2023, TON Foundation announced a collaboration with Telegram and Tencent Cloud. These partnerships are the first of many, with TON set to play a key role in hastening the mass adoption of blockchain technology by individuals and industries alike.
“The most amazing thing is that, despite the record-breaking results, the speed reached is not the limit of what TON is capable of. With a sufficient number of validators, TON’s unique architecture allows the blockchain to scale almost infinitely and process millions of TPS from billions of users.” said Anatolii Makosov, Core Development Lead at TON Foundation. “We are pleased to show you in practice that, with only 256 cloud validators, the TON blockchain broke the world speed record.”
About TON Foundation:
The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) is a non-profit organization founded in Switzerland in 2023. TON Foundation is 100% funded by the community, acting in the community’s interests, and supports initiatives aligned with The Open Network’s mission. Learn more at https://ton.foundation.
About The Open Network (TON):
The Open Network (TON) is putting crypto in every pocket. By building a Web3 ecosystem in Telegram Messenger, TON is giving billions the opportunity to own their digital identity, data, and assets. See more at https://ton.org/.
Contact
TON Foundation
[email protected]
Crypto wallets associated with the now-defunct FTX crypto exchange and its sister company, Alameda Research, have recently made significant transfers of altcoins, totaling over $13 million as of November 1st.
On-chain analysis firm Spotonchain provided data on these transactions.
Initially, the FTX wallet moved $8.12 million worth of altcoins to Coinbase.
This transfer included 46.5 million units of The Graph’s GRT valued at $4.85 million, 972,073 Render (RNDR) tokens worth $2.3 million, and 708.1 Maker tokens valued at $967,000.
Three hours later, FTX and Alameda Research wallet addresses executed another transfer, this time amounting to $5.49 million.
The primary assets in this transaction were 1.14 million dYdX (DYDX) tokens worth $2.64 million, 192,888 Axie Infinity tokens worth $1.05 million, and 5,858 Aave tokens valued at $522,000.
Before this $13.1 million transfer on November 1st, Nansen, a crypto analytics firm, had flagged multiple movements from FTX-linked wallets in the past week.
These movements involved the deposit of millions of dollars in various cryptocurrencies on different exchanges.
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Initially, $8.1 million worth of altcoins was transferred to Binance, with Nansen estimating that an additional $24.3 million in assets from FTX and Alameda-linked wallets were deposited into Binance and Coinbase.
On October 31st, FTX moved 1.6 million Solana (SOL) tokens worth $56 million, which had been unstaked, to an unknown wallet.
Another 930,000 SOL tokens worth $32 million, associated with FTX and Alameda, were sent to another undisclosed wallet, speculated to be linked to Galaxy Digital, the designated firm for the liquidation process.
Data compiled by Spotonchain indicates that a total of $78 million in assets has been transferred from FTX and Alameda wallets to various crypto exchanges over the past week.
Despite a court-ordered phased liquidation process, FTX-linked wallets have continued to send their holdings of altcoins to crypto exchanges over the past month.
This court order allows FTX to sell digital assets worth over $3 billion in weekly batches through an investment adviser, adhering to pre-established rules.
The phased liquidation process enables FTX to sell up to $50 million worth of assets weekly, with the possibility of increasing the cap to $100 million or even $200 million per week with the consent of the creditors’ committee and ad hoc committee following court approval.
Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) have experienced a remarkable surge in investor interest, marking their highest weekly inflows in over a year, as reported by CoinShares, a prominent asset management platform.
The data released on October 30 reveals that inflows for the week ending October 27 amounted to a staggering $326 million, dwarfing the previous week’s meager $66 million.
ETPs are investment instruments that offer exposure to the performance of specific assets, with crypto ETPs typically tracking the prices of major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether.
Many investors opt for these funds to gain crypto exposure, avoiding the complexities of holding these digital assets directly, as ETP shares can be held in conventional brokerage accounts.
In the world of ETPs, “inflows” occur when the fund’s price rises more rapidly than the underlying asset, prompting the fund to acquire more of the asset, generally considered a bullish indicator.
Conversely, “outflows” transpire when the fund is forced to sell the asset due to declining note or share prices relative to their target, typically seen as bearish.
CoinShares’ latest report underscores the impressive nature of this surge in investor interest, with the $326 million weekly inflow being the most substantial since July 2022, a span of 15 months. Moreover, this marked the fifth consecutive week of positive ETP inflows.
READ MORE: Gary Gensler’s Critique of SEC’s Inconsistent Bitcoin ETF Approach Resurfaces
One potential explanation for this sudden uptick in inflows, according to CoinShares, may be the mounting optimism among investors regarding the potential approval of a spot-based Bitcoin ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Such approval could pave the way for substantial inflows into U.S.-based funds upon acceptance.
Despite the significant rise in inflows, this week’s figures only rank as the 21st largest increase ever recorded, as per CoinShares.
The lion’s share of the weekly inflows went into Bitcoin ETPs, accounting for a remarkable 90% of the total.
Solana’s SOL also benefited from the prevailing market optimism, garnering $24 million in inflows. However, Ether funds experienced an adverse trend, witnessing outflows of $6 million.
Despite numerous applications submitted over the years, the SEC has yet to grant approval for a spot Bitcoin ETP.
Some companies, like Van Eck, recently amended their applications to address the agency’s concerns, while Hashdex engaged with the SEC on October 25 in pursuit of approval for their spot Bitcoin ETP.