Bitcoin Daily: Bitcoin Dips With SEC ICO Probe, UK ‘Cryptojacking’ Attacks Surge 1,200 Percent

After news broke that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was issuing subpoenas to advisers and tech companies as it looks into initial coin offerings (ICOs), bitcoin dipped by about 2 percent on the news, CNBC reported. The cryptocurrency was up to $10,982.15 as of 8:14 p.m., according to Coindesk.

And more people in the U.K. are becoming victims of “cryptojacking,” the Independent reported. Incidents of the scheme have increased by as much as 1,200 percent in recent months, according to Symantec Threat Intelligence. With cryptojacking, hackers take over personal computers to mine bitcoin. At one time, hackers had to install malware to hack into computers – but now they can simply hack the JavaScript on a web page.

In the U.S., two large banks have completed a $30 million securities lending transaction using software backed by the blockchain, Reuters reported. Credit Suisse Group AG and ING Groep N.V. swapped baskets of securities through the HQLAx app, which was made with a version of blockchain created by a bank consortium. In an effort to cut the costs and complexity of their back office processes, banks have put millions into creating blockchain applications.

And Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts doesn’t believe that new sanctions on North Korea address the theft of cryptocurrencies, Coindesk reported. “These sanctions do nothing to restrict North Korea’s ability to steal cryptocurrencies, a principal means for Kim Jong-un’s regime to raise revenue for its military programs,” Markey said in a statement.

In Singapore, the country’s central bank is considering whether it needs to implement more regulations to protect crypto investors, Reuters reported. “We are assessing if additional regulations are required for investor protection,” said Ong Chong Tee of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. While Singapore does not regulate crypto, its central bank regulates some activities that involve digital coins. Companies that are involved with virtual currency, for example, are subject to anti-money laundering rules.