A venure that would make it easier for consumers to pay for purchases in bitcoin is applying for a license from New York state regulators.
Bakkt, which is spearheaded by Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has applied for a license to become a trust company, allowing it to hold bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for customers.
“This structure will provide the first end-to-end regulated environment for price discovery of crypto — bitcoin will be stored at a regulated custodian, and traded and cleared on a federally regulated exchange and clearinghouse. This means investors will have access to the same high performance, low latency exchange and clearing infrastructure that powers many of the world’s most liquid futures markets. We believe that end-to-end regulation, paired with reliable infrastructure, will unlock greater institutional participation and, as a result, establish more liquid, fair and efficient markets for this emerging asset class,” the company wrote in a blog post.
But the Wall Street Journal said the move will further delay Bakkt’s launch since the process for approval from New York could take six months or more.
Suspension, Taxes and a Breach
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has temporarily suspended the trading of Bitcoin Generation shares (BTGN) from the Oklahoma-based cryptocurrency exchange.
The suspension is expected to last until May 10, prohibiting third-party brokers and dealers from offering the security to clients unless they follow provisions under Rule 15c2-11 of the Exchange Act.
“The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities of BTGN due to concerns about the accuracy and adequacy of information in the marketplace about, among other things, (1) BTGN’s public statements regarding the viability and valuation of a bond that BTGN purportedly acquired from an entity based in the United Kingdom; (2) the amount of BTGN’s outstanding common stock; (3) stock promotional activity relating to BTGN and the market impact of such promotional activity; and (4) the accuracy and adequacy of current public information regarding BTGN’s financial condition,” according to an SEC document.
In other news, Australia wants to make sure crypto traders are paying their fair share in taxes.
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) is currently collecting bulk records from crypto service providers after revealing that an estimated 500,000 to 1,000,000 Australians have invested in crypto assets.
“The ATO uses third party data to improve the integrity of the tax system by identifying taxpayers who fail to disclose their income details correctly. We also use third-party data to assist taxpayers in meeting their tax obligations through pre-filling of tax returns,” said ATO’s deputy commissioner Will Day.
And a Microsoft Outlook breach specifically targeted crypto users, with a number of victims revealing that their crypto accounts had been breached.
“The hackers also had access to my inbox allowing them to password reset my Kraken.com account and withdrawal [sic] my Bitcoin,” Jevon Ritmeester, a Microsoft user that the company alerted to the data breach, told Motherboard in an email.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More