CoinDesk Crypto

The Israeli Tax Authority (ITA) is now requiring residents to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings for taxation purposes, according to a Globes report. 

• According to the report, dozens of Israelis who own digital currencies have recently received notification from the ITA telling them they must fully disclose their assets for tax purposes.
• The ITA requested data from cryptocurrency exchanges in Israel and outside of the country in order to obtain the data and information regarding the accounts held by Israelis.
• For the information the tax authority applied EU Common Reporting Standards regulations and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act which shared U.S. Internal Revenue Service data with Israel, the report said.
• The ITA states investors in digital currencies are subject to a 25% capital gains tax, as long as their activity does not turn into a commercial enterprise.

Read more: How Israeli VCs Are Doubling Down on DeFi Startups

• Coinbase Ditches US Customer Tax Form That Set Off False Alarms at IRS
• IRS Again Warns Crypto Investors They Under-Reported Gains
• PayPal’s Crypto Offering May Be ‘a Huge Headache’ for Taxpayers
• Coinbase Reportedly Warns Some UK Users It’s Handing Their Details to the Taxman

The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock is seeking to hire a vice president, blockchain lead to help build and execute strategies and “drive demand” for the company’s crypto and crypto-related offerings.

• BlackRock, which has $6.84 trillion assets under management, has posted a job vacancy for a New York-based VP blockchain lead to help with the valuation of crypto assets.
• According to the post, the applicant must have at least a year’s experience in the technological foundations of blockchain technology including cryptographic hash functions, distributed network consensus mechanisms, and public-private key cryptography.
• Candidates should be able to “devise and articulate fundamental valuation methodologies for crypto-assets; evaluate game theory and decentralizing governance models associated with blockchain technology,” said the listing.
• Recently BlackRock CEO Larry Fink made some bullish comments on bitcoin, stating it has “caught the attention” of many people and that the nascent cryptocurrency asset class can possibly “evolve” into a global market asset.

Read more: BlackRock’s Fink Says Bitcoin Can Possibly ‘Evolve’ Into Global Asset

• Ford Finds Using Blockchain With Hybrid Vehicles Can Help Cut Air Pollution in Cities
• Germany Legalizes Electronic Securities on the Blockchain
• Crypto Finance AG Hires SIX Group Exec to Lead Brokerage Business
• Bloccelerate VC Raises $12M Fund to Bet on Enterprise Blockchain Adoption

CME Group’s recent announcement that it will launch ether (ETH) futures on Feb. 8, 2021, is the “writing on the wall” that institutions will being buying the cryptocurrency next year, according to a pair of tweets by Ryan Watkins, an analyst at crypto data provider Messari.

• The price of the second largest cryptocurrency just topped $700 for the first time since May 2018, and at the time of writing is at $701.90, up 11.19% in the last 24 hours.

• Ether Trades Above $700 for the First Time Since 2018
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Recovers to Nearly $24K; Ether Rides Bitcoin’s ‘Coattails’
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Dumps to $21.9K; ETH 2.0 Affected Ether Locked in DeFi

Ether prices soared on Sunday, trading above $700 for the first time since May 21, 2018.

• The native currency of the Ethereum network’s break above $700 marks a 11% gain in just 24 hours.
• Ether was as low as $624.76 in the 11:00 UTC (6:00 a.m. ET) hour, just five hours before trading at $700.
• The second-highest cryptocurrency by market cap, the total value of ether was $80 billion as of press time.
• Bitcoin has also been rallying over the Christmas weekend, at one point piercing the $29,000 mark. It was trading in the $27,300 range when ether made its move higher than $700.
• Volume was noticeably higher on the eight exchanges tracked by the CoinDesk 20. The combined value of ether changing hands on those exchanges was more than $2.3 billion. The average daily volume was $2.175 billion over the previous seven days.

• Institutions Will Start Buying Ether in 2021, Messari Analyst Says
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• Camila Russo on Building The Defiant and the Future of DeFi
• First Mover: XRP Plunges 20% as Traders Assess SEC’s Ripple Suit

After tearing through $27,000 for the first time ever only a few hours before, the price of bitcoin briefly surged past $28,000 Sunday morning as the leading cryptocurrency’s recent meteoric rise continues. BTC’s market value now exceeds $500 billion.

• Recently, BTC has been leaving a string of broken records in its wake after passing the psychologically key $20,000 mark for the first time on Dec. 16.
• In the last several days BTC seems to found yet another gear, breaking through $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and going through $26,000 Saturday afternoon like a hot poker through one-ply tissue.
• Roughly half a day later, BTC surged past $27,000 early Sunday morning, before racing past $28,000 just before dawn, before settling down to $27,604.67 at this writing, up 9.63% in the last 24 hours.
• Year-to-date, BTC is up more than 275%. In the last 48 hours, it’s risen 14%.
• With a market value of $512.34 billion, BTC is now more valuable than all but seven publicly traded companies, sitting between Alibaba at $545.4 billion and Tencent Holdings at $509.7 billion, according to Statista data.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying BTC so they can brag next year about being smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so.
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic, while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks. These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for BTC.
• While the tremendous rise in BTC might make it easy to think we’re going to see $30,000 before the end of the year, it’s good to keep in mind that this surge is taking place over a holiday weekend on thin volume. Monday could well bring a different narrative.
• Still, there are those who think BTC is just getting started. Scaramucci has said he believes BTC is in the “early innings” and Saturday afternoon, crypto venture capitalist/bitcoin evangelist Tim Draper tweeted that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could rise ten-fold by the end of 2022.

• Bitcoin Soars Past $27K for 1st Time, Up $2K in a Day; Market Cap Now Tops $500B
• Bitcoin Tops $26K for First Time, Less Than a Day After Passing $25K
• Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever, Approaches $26K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High

After hitting $25,000 on Dec. 25 and $26,000 on Dec. 26, quite naturally the price of bitcoin (BTC) soared past $27,000 early on Dec. 27 as the leading cryptocurrency’s recent meteoric rise continues. BTC’s market value now exceeds $500 billion.

• Recently, BTC has been leaving a string of broken records in its wake after passing the psychologically key $20,000 mark for the first time ever on Dec. 16.
• In the last several days BTC seems to found yet another gear, breaking through $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and going through $26,000 Saturday afternoon like a hot poker through one-ply tissue.
• Roughly half a day later, BTC surged to a new all-time high of $27,666.17 early Sunday morning, before settling down to $27,519.52 at this writing, up 11.04% in the last 24 hours.
• Year-to-date, BTC is up more than 270%.
• With a market value of $512.34 billion, BTC is now more valuable than all but seven publicly traded companies, sitting between Alibaba at $545.4 billion and Tencent Holdings at $509.7 billion, according to Statista data.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying BTC so they can brag next year about being smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so.
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks.
• These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for BTC.
• While the tremendous rise in BTC might make it easy to think we’re going to see $28,000 on Dec. 28, $29,000 on Dec. 29 and so on, it’s good to keep in mind that this surge is taking place over a holiday weekend on thin volume. Monday could well bring a different narrative.
• Still, there are those who think BTC is just getting started. Scaramucci has said he believes BTC is in the “early innings” and Saturday afternoon, crypto venture capitalist/bitcoin evangelist Tim Draper tweeted that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could rise ten-fold by the end of 2022.

• Bitcoin Tops $28K for 1st Time, Hours After Crossing $27K; Market Cap Now Exceeds $500B
• Bitcoin Tops $26K for First Time, Less Than a Day After Passing $25K
• Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever, Approaches $26K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High

After hitting $25,000 on Dec. 25 and $26,000 on Dec. 26, quite naturally the price of bitcoin (BTC) soared past $27,000 early on Dec. 27 as the leading cryptocurrency’s recent meteoric rise continues. BTC’s market value now exceeds $500 billion.

• Recently, BTC has been leaving a string of broken records in its wake after passing the psychologically key $20,000 mark for the first time ever on Dec. 16.
• In the last several days BTC seems to found yet another gear, breaking through $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and going through $26,000 Saturday afternoon like a hot poker through one-ply tissue.
• Roughly half a day later, BTC surged to a new all-time high of $27,666.17 early Sunday morning, before settling down to $27,519.52 at this writing, up 11.04% in the last 24 hours.
• Year-to-date, BTC is up more than 270%.
• With a market value of $512.34 billion, BTC is now more valuable than all but seven publicly traded companies, sitting between Alibaba at $545.4 billion and Tencent Holdings at $509.7 billion, according to Statista data.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying BTC to be able to brag next year they’d been smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so.
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks.
• These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for BTC.
• While the tremendous rise in BTC might make it easy to think we’re going to see $28,000 on Dec. 28, $29,000 on Dec. 29 and so on, it’s good to keep in mind that this surge is taking place over a holiday weekend on thin volume. Monday could well bring a different narrative.
• Still, there are those who think BTC is just getting started. Scaramucci has said he believes BTC is in the “early innings” and Saturday afternoon, crypto venture capitalist/bitcoin evangelist Tim Draper tweeted that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could rise ten-fold by the end of 2022.

• Bitcoin Tops $26K for First Time, Less Than a Day After Passing $25K
• Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever, Approaches $26K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles

After hitting $25,000 on Dec. 25 and $26,000 on Dec. 26, quite naturally the price of bitcoin (BTC) soared past $27,000 early on Dec. 27 as the leading cryptocurrency’s recent meteoric rise continues. BTC’s market value now exceeds $500 billion.

• Recently, BTC has been leaving a string of broken records in its wake after passing the psychologically key $20,000 mark for the first time ever on Dec. 16.
• In the last several days BTC seems to found yet another gear, breaking through $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and going through $26,000 Saturday afternoon like a hot poker through one-ply tissue.
• Roughly half a day later, BTC surged to a new all-time high of $27,666.17 early Sunday morning, before settling down to $27,519.52 at this writing, up 11.04% in the last 24 hours.
• Year-to-date BTC is up more than 270%.
• With a market value of $512.34 billion, BTC is now more valuable than all but seven publicly traded companies, sitting between Alibaba at $545.4 billion and Tencent Holdings at $509.7 billion, according to Statista data.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December);  and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• With the end of the year looming, some fund managers may also be buying BTC to be able to brag next year they’d been smart enough to get in in 2020 while neglecting to say at which price they had done so.
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks.
• These actions are viewed by many as potential catalysts for inflation and bad for the U.S. dollar, both of which could be positive for BTC.
• While the tremendous rise in BTC might make it easy to think we’re going to see $28,000 on Dec. 28, $29,000 on Dec. 29 and so on, it’s good to keep in mind that this surge is taking place over a holiday weekend on thin volume. Monday could well bring a different narrative.
• Still, there are those who think BTC is just getting started. Scaramucci has said he believes BTC is in the “early innings” and Saturday afternoon, crypto venture capitalist/bitcoin evangelist Tim Draper tweeted that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could rise ten-fold by the end of 2022.

• Bitcoin Tops $26K for First Time, Less Than a Day After Passing $25K
• Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever, Approaches $26K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is the winner of Forbes’ inaugural “Person of the Year in Crypto” award, an honor for which the central bank chairman is unlikely to make room on his mantel.

• Because Powell’s Fed effectively printed more than $3 trillion in new money, almost doubling the central bank’s balance sheet in the process, it helped create an atmosphere that converted many long-time crypto skeptics into believers, Forbes noted in the award. Forbes quoted venture firm Pantera Capital as saying the Fed’s actions created “two centuries of debt in one month.”
• That spending spree and concomitant debt explosion led one of the judges, Anthony Pompliano of Morgan Creek Digital, to credit Powell with basically creating a “$3 trillion marketing campaign for bitcoin.”
• Crypto investors have been betting all year that the flood of government and central bank spending to fight the coronavirus-caused economic slowdown will eventually lead to inflation, against which bitcoin is viewed as a hedge.

• Federal Reserve Keeps Rates Unchanged, Adds Qualitative Guidance on Pace of Money-Printing
• First Mover: Stimulus Tests Bitcoin in Real-Time, and It Passes $20K
• New Federal Reserve ‘Qualitative’ Approach Could Push Further Into Experimental Realm
• What Is a CBDC?

The price of bitcoin (BTC) passed $26,000, hardly resting after blowing through what was supposed to have been the landmark level of $25,000 less than 24 hours earlier.

• Recently, the leading cryptocurrency has been leaving a string of broken records in its wake at an increasingly rapid pace after passing the psychologically key $20,000 mark for the first time ever on Dec. 16.
• BTC broke $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and set a new all-time high of $26,368.16 Saturday afternoon, before settling back to $26,246.72, up 7.39% on the day. Year-to-date BTC is up more than 250%.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).
• In addition, the U.S. Federal Reserve, along with other central banks, has been printing money with abandon trying to stave off the worst economic effects of the pandemic while U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Congress to pass an even bigger relief package to allow for larger stimulus checks. These actions are viewed by many as likely catalysts for inflation, against which BTC is viewed as a hedge.
• There are those who think BTC is just getting started. Scaramucci has said BTC is in the “early innings” and this afternoon, crypto venture capitalist/bitcoin evangelist Tim Draper tweeted that the price of the leading cryptocurrency could rise ten-fold by the end of 2022.

• Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever, Approaches $26K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Rangebound as XRP Plummets After SEC Lawsuit

Cryptocurrency market-maker B2C2 halted the trading of XRP with U.S.-based counterparties, effective this past Thursday, following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs, according to a report in The Block.

• Non-U.S. clients can still trade the token but need to pre-fund all short trades, according to The Block report, which cited no sources
• B2C2’s move comes as cryptocurrency exchanges Beaxy, Bitstamp, OSL and CrossTower have said they were halting XRP trading, as well as market-makers Galaxy Digital and Jump Trading, which both stopped XRP market-making.
• According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Ripple raised $1.3 billion over a seven-year period to retail investors through its sale of XRP on an ongoing basis.  If the SEC prevails, XRP could become a pariah token as platforms that continued to list the crypto may have to register as securities exchanges.

UPDATE (Dec. 27, 1:01 UTC): Adds that OSL and CrossTower have also suspended XRP trading.

Read more: An SEC Victory in Ripple Case Would Render XRP ‘Untradeable,’ Market Pros Say

• Bitstamp to Halt XRP Trading, Deposits in US Due to SEC Lawsuit
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• XRP Liquidations Soar as SEC Lawsuit, Token Airdrop Whipsaw Markets
• Coinbase, Other Big Exchanges ‘Between Rock and a Hard Place’ on Delisting XRP

The folks at Deribit apparently think betting on a $100,000 bitcoin (BTC) price is so earlier-this-month because on Friday, mere hours before the leading cryptocurrency hit $25,000 for the first time, the crypto derivatives exchange announced contracts on $120,000 BTC with $140,000 added on Saturday morning.

• A week ago last Thursday, Deribit made waves in the cryptocurrency industry by introducing call and put options at the $100,000 strike price expiring on Sept. 24, 2021.
• The purchase of a $100,000 call is a bet that bitcoin will rise above that level on or before Sept. 24, 2021, making the option “in-the-money.”
• When those options went live, BTC was in the midst of a stunning run into uncharted territory past $20,000, setting a then-record high of $23,770 on the day those $100,000 options went live.
• Since then, after a brief pause, BTC has resumed its rallying ways, hitting $25,000 for the first time late Christmas Day and at time of writing is trading at $25,716.52, up 6.11% in the last 24 hours.
• It’s not clear when these new calls and puts expire.

UPDATE (Dec. 26, 16:37 UTC): Adds information on $140,000 option.

• Deribit’s New Options Allow Bitcoin Traders to Bet on Rally to $100K
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Tests $19.5K; Ether Options Interest in Doldrums
• Bitcoin’s Options Market Skews Bearish as Spot Price Loses Ground
• How One Bitcoin Options Trader Turned $638K Into $4.4M in 5 Weeks

Digital currencies may challenge and someday could make redundant the SWIFT global banking payment system, according to a Central Bank of Russia official, Russia Today reported.

• Given the pace of development of central bank currencies, several countries may launch one in the next five to seven years, according to First Deputy Governor Olga Skorobogatova, RT said. 
• “Then we can deal with direct integration issues. In this case SWIFT it may not be necessary, because it will be a different kind of technological interaction,” Skorobogatova said at a meeting last week, RT reported.
• SWIFT is a messaging network that banks and other financial institutions use to securely transmit information and instructions via codes. It enables cross-border payments along with other services between more than 10,000 financial institutions in countries around the world.
• Skorobogatova also said SWIFT could wind up being one of the platforms the new central bank currencies use.
• Russia would likely welcome replacements for SWIFT as the nation’s banks have been threatened with being removed from the network as part of broader sanctions against the country and the CBR has been working on its own messaging system.

Read more: Bank of Russia Chair: Digital Ruble Is No Threat to Banks

• ‘Great Artists Steal’ – What Enterprise Blockchain Can Learn From the Past
• Crypto ‘Gray’ Markets Could Be Unintended Consequence of FATF Travel Rule
• Crypto Exchanges Need Common Messaging to Comply With Travel Rule
• Russia’s Central Bank Proposes New Token Framework, but Labels Crypto Transactions ‘Suspicious’

The price of bitcoin (BTC) topped $25,000 for the first time ever, a mere week after breaking $24,000 for the first time.

• The price of the leading cryptocurrency continued its recent torrid pace, breaking $25,000 Friday night for the first time, and setting a new all-time high of $25,914.46 Saturday morning, before falling back to $25,669.62, up 6.18% on the day. Year-to-date BTC is up more than 250%.
• Institutional investors are perceived to be driving this record-setting run. Among them: Anthony Scaramucci’s Skybridge Capital ($25 million in December); MassMutual ($100 million in December); and Guggenheim (up to 10% of its $5 billion macro fund).

UPDATE (Dec. 26, 16:29 UTC): Adds new all-time high.

Read more: Over $20K? Why Is Bitcoin Worth Anything at All?

• Bitcoin Tops $26K for First Time, Less Than a Day After Passing $25K
• Bitcoin Tops $24.6K on Christmas Day, Sets New All-Time High
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Rangebound as XRP Plummets After SEC Lawsuit

Turkey will begin piloting a previously undisclosed digital currency in the second half of 2021, the country’s chief central banker Naci Ağbal told members of parliament Friday.

Turkish-language media widely quoted him as follows:

“There is an R&D project initiated on digital money. Currently the conceptual phase of this project has been completed. We aim to start pilot tests in the second half of 2021.”

Related: Bank of Russia Chair: Digital Ruble Is No Threat to Banks

Ağbal’s surprise comments place Turkey on the fast track to a central bank digital currency (CBDC). Turkey seldom discloses any digital currency ambitions; The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), known in monetary circles as the “bank for central banks,” does not even record Turkey as having an active CBDC project in its running database.

Yet Turkey is now angling to overtake many better-known CBDC projects. Although 80% of central banks are considering CBDC according to the BIS, only a handful – Sweden, China, the Bahamas – have progressed to pilot phase/soft launch.

The details of Turkey’s own CBDC project are murky at best. Local crypto outlet Koin Bülteni reported in September that the central bank was hiring experts for its digital currency research and development team.

Among the topics of apparent interest: blockchain, cryptography and big data.

• Fintech Company Launches Platform to Assist in Central Bank Digital Currency Development
• Bank of France’s Deputy Governor Discusses CBDC Progress, Regulatory Changes
• China’s Latest Digital Currency Trial Is Its Most Important Yet

Cryptocurrency exchange EXMO said an estimated $4 million of the cryptocurrency stolen during a hack on Dec. 21 was through the exchange Poloniex.  

• The U.K.-based platform has estimated that a total of 6% of its cryptocurrency has been lost to the attack with an estimated $4 million being withdrawn through Poloniex. The dollar figure of what was lost overall in the hack wasn’t immediately known.
• The exchange said assets cannot be recovered by EXMO due to criminals withdrawing the funds through Poloniex 
• “$1 million in ZEC [zcash] stolen from EXMO have been withdrawn through the Poloniex crypto exchange,” an EXMO spokesperson told CoinDesk Friday.
• On the day of the attack, EXMO said it had contacted cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex with a request to block an associated account and informed London police about the breach.
• EXMO reported losses in six of the 57 cryptocurrencies it supports: ethereum classic. Each digital asset is hosted on its own server, the firm said.
• The platform said it hopes to soon be able to fully reinstate withdrawals and deposit functions on its exchange which has resumed most of its work.
• “We are making some final preparations and checks at the moment before enabling depositing and withdrawing on EXMO. It will soon be ready,” said the EXMO spokesperson. 
• EXMO stressed that those users affected by the incident will be covered by the exchange.
• Poloniex did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: Crypto Exchange EXMO Says Hackers Have Stolen 5% of Total Assets

• EXMO Exchange Now Says It Lost 6% of Total Crypto Assets in Monday’s Hack
• Crypto Exchange EXMO Says Hackers Have Stolen 5% of Total Assets
• Twitter Hires Noted Hacker as Head of Security Months After Bitcoin Scam
• Charity Turns Down Bitcoin Donation From Darkside Hackers

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp said it’s halting XRP trading and deposits for all U.S. customers on Jan. 8, 2021, because of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent filing, alleging XRP is a security.

• U.S. customers will be able to withdraw their XRP even after trading is halted, Bitstamp said.
• Other countries are not affected, Bitstamp said.

• Bitstamp is the first major cryptocurrency exchange to take action on XRP in response to the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs.

This story is developing and will be updated.

Read also: An SEC Victory in Ripple Case Would Render XRP ‘Untradeable,’ Market Pros Say

• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• XRP Liquidations Soar as SEC Lawsuit, Token Airdrop Whipsaw Markets
• Coinbase, Other Big Exchanges ‘Between Rock and a Hard Place’ on Delisting XRP
• Roisman Named Acting SEC Chairman, Peirce Tweets

“O, come all ye HODLers…” “Bitcoin we have seen on high…”

Regardless of what song one wants to ruin, there’s no denying bitcoin has been the gift that keeps on giving this holiday season, cutting through $24,500 on Christmas Day and setting another all-time high.

• The price of the leading cryptocurrency, set a new all-time mark of $24,667.63, before falling back to $24,442.24, up 5.92% on the day.
• The record price comes a week to the day bitcoin set the prior record of $24,122.67.
• With the latest price increase, bitcoin’s year-to-date percentage gains have grown to over 240%.

“So have yourself a merry little Bitmas…”

Sorry, couldn’t resist one more. Happy holidays, everyone!

Related: Bitcoin Hits $25K for First Time Ever

Read more: Over $20K? Why Is Bitcoin Worth Anything at All?

• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Stays in Tight Range but Gains Dominance as XRP Crumbles
• Market Wrap: Bitcoin Rangebound as XRP Plummets After SEC Lawsuit
• First Mover: XRP Plunges 20% as Traders Assess SEC’s Ripple Suit

Decentralized exchange (DEX) aggregator 1inch has issued its own governance token. 

Users of 1inch and the Mooniswap DEX, founded by the same execs, will get rewarded with a Christmas gift of sorts and have a say on matters like fees, referral rewards and other governance issues.

The token, named 1INCH and running on the Ethereum blockchain, will be distributed to all wallets that have previously interacted with 1inch (under certain trading conditions). The giveaway follows the approach taken by Uniswap, which made a surprise airdrop of UNI tokens to past users (worth well over $1,000 at the time) in September.

Related: Here Comes the Open Lending Era

Again similar to Uniswap, 1inch is also announcing a liquidity mining program that will be launched Dec. 26 for 1INCH liquidity providers.

Mooniswap, in turn, has just been rebranded as 1inch Liquidity Protocol, so that the team has all its startups consolidated under one brand, 1inch spokesperson Sergey Maslennikov told CoinDesk. 

Just as Uniswap’s UNI airdrop boosted activity on that site, CEO Sergej Kunz said the new token will help speed up the growth of 1inch.

“With the right community incentives, we see a chance to get a critical mass of liquidity to beat Uniswap,” Kunz told CoinDesk through a spokesperson. 

Related: Camila Russo on Building The Defiant and the Future of DeFi

Kunz estimates that around 50,000 wallets will get the 6% of 1INCH supply in the first round of distribution. The current supply of 1INCH is 1.5 billion tokens.

Among other things, 1INCH token holders will be able to vote on the settings of the so-called Spread Surplus pool, which accumulates the “leftovers” of swap transactions when the price of a swapped token changes during the time of transaction.

“Let’s say, a user swaps some ETH for DAI and sees the amount of DAI they should get. If while the transaction is processed the price changes and the user should get more DAI for their ETH, this is the spread surplus,” Maslennikov explained. 

These “leftovers” will get accumulated in a special pool, the proceeds from which will be swapped for 1INCH and either claimed by the governance participants or distributed to the referrers.

1inch was launched in 2019 at the ETHGlobal hackathon by Kunz, a former software engineer at Porsche, and CTO Anton Bukov, a former smart-contract developer at NEAR Protocol. The project raised $14.8 million in two rounds from Binance Labs, Pantera and others earlier this year.

EDIT (Dec. 25, 2020, 10:47 UTC): This story was updated with a new starting date for the liquidity mining program.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Tierion to pay back investors in its TNT tokens after finding the data verification startup’s $25 million initial coin offering (ICO) violated securities laws.

TNT holders and ICO investors who sold their tokens at a loss have 60 days to ask Tierion for what is essentially a refund – at cost, plus interest. Node operators can sell their compensatory TNT back to Tierion for .01 cent plus interest.

Tierion must immediately disable trading of its ERC-20 token, which runs on the Ethereum blockchain, under the settlement disclosed Wednesday. It will pay the SEC $250,000 in penalties. Tierion did not admit or deny wrongdoing, according to the SEC. The SEC also issued Tierion a Reg D waiver, meaning it won’t have to register future private placements of securities because it cooperated.

Related: Crypto Hedge Fund Founder Stefan Qin Accused of Fraud by SEC

The order effectively blows up 1 billion TNT tokens. At the time of its 2017 ICO, Tierion pitched them as the “method of settlement” between users of its data verification network, the “Chainpoint protocol,” and an “incentive” to secure the network. The order said Tierion sold 350 million TNT to 4,800 investors. 

But Tierion, which at one point had buy-in from the likes of Microsoft, plans to continue without TNT. Founder and CEO Wayne Vaughn told CoinDesk in a text message the settlement allows Tierion “to move forward without a heavy regulatory burden.” He framed TNT’s demise as the token going into “retirement.”

“This announcement does not impact the availability of Tierion’s current products or open-source software,” Tierion said in a Medium post.

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