Crypto News

The T3 Financial Crime Unit, a collaboration between the Tron blockchain, stablecoin issuer Tether and blockchain intelligence company TRM Labs, said it has frozen a total of 100 million of Tether's USDT used by illicit actors since the unit was formed in September.The venture analyzed millions of transactions spanning five continents, monitoring a total volume in excess of 3 billion USDT, the largest stablecoin, T3 said in a statement.T3 involves TRM Labs using its blockchain intelligence and monitoring tools to help Tron and Tether identify and freeze USDT linked to illicit activities. There's nearly $60 billion in USDT issued on the Tron blockchain, the largest issuance behind Ethereum, which has just over $75 billion.Money laundering as a service — where...

Tether's USDT, the world's leading dollar-pegged stablecoin, has experienced the sharpest weekly decline in market value in two years, spurring market volatility concerns.USDT's market cap slid more than 1% to $137.24 billion this week, the most significant decline since the crash of the FTX exchange in the second week of November 2022, data from TradingView show. It hit a record $140.72 billion in mid-December. The decline follows a decision by several European Union (EU)-based exchanges and Coinbase (COIN) to remove USDT due to compliance issues with the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations that took full effect on Dec. 30, even though the rules on stablecoins — cryptocurrencies whose value is pegged to a real-world asset like the dollar —...

Critics like John Quiggin question bitcoin’s legitimacy, comparing it to worthless assets, but the value of any commodity, including bitcoin, often depends on community recognition and market demand. The analogy of the diamond rush in Zimbabwe illustrates that value is often realized only when a market exists. Australian Treasurer Wants Country to Be Proactive WhenSource link

KuCoin has introduced a feature for merchants to allow customers to pay for purchases directly from their account on the crypto exchange.Merchants can integrate the tool, called KuCoin Pay, into their payment systems. Customers pay by scanning a QR code or using the KuCoin app, the exchange said in a press release.The exchange joins a number of crypto payment providers in facilitating direct payments for customers, a feature that’s supposed to bridge the gap between crypto and the legacy payments infrastructure.In August, for example, digital payments platform Flexa announced a similar product with retailers including Chipotle, Mikimoto, Regal Cinemas and 99 Ranch Market.The new infrastructure supports 54 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH) and the USDT and USDC stablecoins.Several merchants,...

China’s foreign exchange regulator has imposed stricter controls on cryptocurrency-related activities, requiring banks to monitor and report high-risk trades. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) mandates that banks track foreign exchange behaviors linked to underground banking, cross-border gambling, and illegal crypto transactions. These measures compel banks to assess the identity, funds, and frequency ofSource link