Today in Crypto: UK Loosens ID Rules on Unhosted Wallets; Babel Finance Reaches Debt Agreement; Bitcoin Rebounds Above $20K

The U.K. Treasury has gone back on a new rule regarding practices related to data collection for unhosted wallets, according to a report published Monday (June 20).

The HM Treasury report said there were mixed views on the requirement that crypto businesses must collect, but not verify, beneficiary and originator info around unhosted wallets.

This saw respondents saying the requirement should be opposed — unhosted wallets, they said, don’t post a high risk of illicit finance, and the percentage of transfers having to do with crime is similar to what has been seen broadly in the market.

The government has thus modified its proposals about unhosted wallets. Instead of making it so the collection of beneficiary and originator info has to go forward for any unhosted wallet transfer, the crypto businesses will have to only collect the information for transactions that might be more of a risk for illegal activity.

In other news, Babel Finance’s management announced Monday that the company has taken steps to help out with its liquidity situation, including talks with counterparties, customers and shareholders.

Babel recently stopped withdrawals and redemptions following major fluctuations that affected its liquidity pressures.

The company blog post noted that the company has reached “preliminary agreements” for the repayment period of some debts, after talking with counterparties and important customers. That has helped it ease its liquidity pressures for now.

The company is also talking with shareholders and possible investors about potential liquidity support, per the blog post.

Finally, bitcoin has gotten back above $20,000 as of Sunday (June 19), which has beaten its 12-day slide prior to that.

Bloomberg wrote Sunday that shift could help the leading crypto lead the market into what could be a turnaround after a long string of declines.

The report noted that bitcoin climbed 16% on Sunday and got back its losses from a steep drop the previous day. As of Monday at 8 a.m. EDT, bitcoin sat at around $20,500.

This all shows the wild swings, usually on weekends, when the crypto market moves can often be magnified, the report said.

Sign up here for daily updates on all of PYMNTS’ Crypto coverage.