U.S. federal law enforcement agencies have recovered $110,000 worth of stolen bitcoin, and returned it to cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. That amount — totaling 27.7 bitcoin — is just a small portion of the amount stolen by hackers in August 2016. The criminals made off with almost 120,000 bitcoin, worth about $72 million, during one of the biggest thefts from a crypto exchange, according to Reuters.
In other news, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) has partnered with the Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne for a blockchain trial to see how the technology could automate the reporting of cross-border transactions. ZDNet reported that the two are building a prototype to test it out. The country’s Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act stipulates that institutions or certain individuals involved in a cross-border transaction must report its details within 10 days. The trial launched in December, and is expected to run for a year.
Meanwhile, South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinbin has declared bankruptcy after losing millions of dollars due to “increased debt” and “government regulation.” According to CoinDesk, the company said the bankruptcy decision was caused by regulators prohibiting Coinbin from issuing virtual accounts, increased operating expenses and liabilities resulting from its defunct subsidiary exchange Youbit, and “corporate executive moral hazard” (or embezzlement). Reports said Coinbin has suffered estimated losses of ₩29.3 billion ($26 million USD).
A group of central securities depositories (CSDs) in Europe and Asia are looking to work together “on infrastructure to custody digital assets.” The CSDs are investigating how to protect private keys for crypto investors, as well as the impact tokenization will have around the world. The group plans to present its findings at the annual SIBOS conference in London in October.
“A new world of tokenized assets and blockchain is coming. It will probably disrupt our role as CSDs. The whole group decided we will be focusing on tokenized assets — not just blockchain, but on real digital assets,” said Artem Duvanov, head of innovation at the National Settlement Depository (NSD) of the Moscow Exchange Group, according to CoinDesk.
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