Digital Assets Monthly Report – August Edition

August was another strong month for digital assets, as it built upon momentum kickstarted in July.  Central banks continue to make progress surrounding CBDCs, while calls for $100,000 BTC build as hashrates rebound.  The following are a few key events from the past month.

Regulatory Advances and Findings

As time passes, the importance of AML/KYC compliance among digital asset exchanges has become clear.  If exchanges want to continue operating, without imbuing the wrath of regulators, changes must be made.  This was most recently highlighted as Binance, the worlds largest digital asset exchange, suddenly imposed an immediate KYC requirement on all clientele.

Binance to Limit Services for All Existing Users Who Do Not Complete KYC

Digital Securities

For the time being, tokenized real estate appears to be the most popular implementation of digital securities.  This was recently highlighted by a foray in to the sector by Nasdaq and its ‘Marketplace Services Platform (MSP)'.

Nasdaq Eyes Tokenized Real Estate while tZERO Onboards Exodus Investors

In the News

Bitcoin Miners Return, Hashrate Triples in Previous Two Months

When China began to enforce its crackdown on BTC mining, a healthy dose of ‘FUD' entered crypto markets.  Looking back, this reaction was unfounded, as the Bitcoin network hashrate has almost completely rebounded within months as miners set up shop in more friendly climates.  Read More

Hacker Returns Bulk of $612M Stolen from PolyNetwork, Refuses a $500K Bounty

The vast majority of the time, funds lost to hacks are never seen again.  For a hacker to steal, and subsequently return roughly $612M worth of digital assets, one has to wonder why?  Was this simply the result of getting cold feet? Or was the hack meant to help in highlighting deficiencies with PolyNetwork?  Read More

Thought Leaders

Are Crypto Firms Laser-Focused on AntiMoney Laundering Compliance?

Adherence to AML/KYC regulations is of vital importance for service providers within the digital asset sector.  Many have realized this, taking steps towards ensuring compliance.  Adam Mclaughlin of NICE Actimize, takes a closer look at what moves companies are making, and how commonplace compliance actually is.  Read More

Demystifying VASPs in Crypto Compliance

Blockchain is a wonderful technology, but without a means of implementing and taking advantage of it, it does not serve a purpose for the average person.  This is where Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) come in to play.  These entities leverage blockchain technology, providing end users with an easy means of buying/selling, transferring, and storing digital assets.  With such a broad range of services come issues surrounding regulatory compliance.  In this contribution to our ‘Thought Leaders' series, a closer look at these issues is taken, and which regions are leading the way.  Read More

Interviews

Warren Paul Anderson – VP of Product at Discreet Labs

Building on years of experience working at Ripple, Warren Paul Anderson is now focusing his efforts on a new endeavour – Findora.  In this interview, we learn more about this privacy-centric blockchain, and its vision for the future.  Read More

Diane Dai – CoFounder & CMO of DODO

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is believed by many to be the future of finance/investing.  However, early examples of DeFi exchanges often suffer from liquidity issues.  Here, Diane Dai speaks on DODO and how it is working to solve this problem, setting itself apart from the pack.  Read More

Around the Web

Bitcoin comes to UK PayPal – but not for payments – BBC

In late 2020, PayPal began offering various crypto-based services to its U.S. based users.  This move turned out to be quite successful, with the company now looking to emulate this in the United Kingdom.  In doing so, one of the worlds most populated nations will now gain another means of easy exposure to a variety of digital assets.  Read More