News

By Hannah Lang and Michelle Price WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Banks’ cryptocurrency projects have been upended by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accounting guidance that would make it too capital-intensive for lenders to hold crypto tokens on behalf of clients, according to more than half a dozen people with knowledge of the matter.

By Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An aggressive regulator is critical to maintaining the United States as the “gold standard” for capital markets, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler will tell the U.S. Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Hannah Lang (Reuters) – Ethereum, the blockchain that underpins the world’s second-largest crypto token ether, on Thursday underwent a major software upgrade that slashes the amount of energy needed to create new coins and carry out transactions.

(Reuters) – A major software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain aimed at drastically reducing its energy usage has been completed, Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum inventor and co-founder tweeted on Thursday. The upgrade, known as the “Merge”, will change how transactions on the Ethereum blockchain occur and how ether tokens, the second-largest crypto coin after bitcoin, are created. Under the change, Ethereum will move from a “proof of work” system, in which energy-hungry computers validate transactions by solving complex maths problems, to a “proof of stake” system, where individuals and companies act as validators, using their ether as collateral, to win newly created tokens.

By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar climbed close to a 24-year peak against the yen on Wednesday amid a jump in U.S. yields after hotter-than-expected inflation boosted bets for even more aggressive monetary tightening by the Federal Reserve next week.

By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

LONDON (Reuters) – The global Basel Committee of banking regulators will complete work on “robust” rules for how banks must set aside capital to cover cryptoassets on their books, the committee’s oversight body said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The brother of a former Coinbase Global Inc product manager pleaded guilty on Monday to a wire fraud conspiracy charge in what U.S. prosecutors have called the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency.

By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON (Reuters) – A long-awaited software upgrade to the Ethereum blockchain aimed at slashing its huge energy consumption is expected this week, a move proponents say may widen the technology’s use and support the price of the ether token.

(Reuters) – The U.S. securities regulator will set up two new offices to deal with filings related to crypto assets and the life sciences sector, the agency said on Friday.

(Reuters) – FTX Ventures plans to scoop up a 30% stake in SkyBridge Capital, the companies said, making it the latest in a flurry of deals by cryptocurrency’s white knight Sam Bankman-Fried.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Bitcoin surged past the $20,000 barrier and was eyeing its best day in six weeks on Friday as the U.S. dollar fell broadly and markets found reasons to be cheerful at the end of a dour week.

By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – Ethereum, the blockchain that underpins the world’s second-largest crypto token ether, will soon undergo a major software upgrade that promises to slash the amount of energy needed to create new coins and carry out transactions.

By Michelle Price WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Companies that help facilitate transactions in the cryptocurrency market should register with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) just like other market intermediaries, the agency’s chair said on Thursday.

(Reuters) – The United States has seized over $30 million in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean-linked hackers Lazarus from the popular online game Axie Infinity, crypto intelligence firm Chainalysis said on Thursday.