From the Binance CEO refuting claims that its US arm is meant to evade regulations to PayPal finally throwing its weight behind cryptocurrency, the virtual currency space is not short of stimulating happenings. Below, we look at the latest crypto news making headlines across the globe.
PayPal and its New-Found Crypto Love
Since the advent of cryptocurrencies, most traditional financial institutions have been in a fighting mode. Unfortunately, with BTC, ETH, and other cryptos keeping a vigorous growth and adoption rate, legacy institutions have no option but to give in.
Take PayPal, for example. Recently, it announced that it would add functionalities that would enable shoppers to pay using virtual currencies.
The service will first be enjoyed by its customers in the United States. It will include BTC, ETH, as well as Litecoin (LTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). Apart from shopping, the financial firm will also allow users to buy, sell, and hold digital assets. PayPal’s CEO had praised cryptocurrency’s speed, inclusion, easy access, and resilience.
A 19-year old Indicted for Stealing Cryptocurrencies Through SIM Swapping
A 19-year-old Kyell Bryan was indicted together with his friend Jordan Milleson for fraudulently acquiring virtual currencies via a SIM swapping scheme. The scheme landed them an illegal $16,847 worth of cryptocurrency belonging to a crypto investment firm.
To successfully carry out the scheme, Milleson harvested the login credentials of victims using phony websites. With most crypto accounts requiring the user’s mobile phone for 2FA verification, Bryan swapped SIM cards to get full access to the victims’ crypto accounts.
Unfortunately, when Milleson got the funds, he decided to sideline Bryan, causing Bryan to retaliate. The two were charged in the Maryland federal district court for multiple offenses, including wire fraud and intention to defraud victims via unauthorized access to private computing devices.
JPMorgan Harnesses BTC’s Popularity to Prop JPM Coin
In another recent crypto news, analysts from JPMorgan, an international investment bank, projected that BTC’s price is headed for a massive rise and could triple in the near future. Also, they indicated that BTC could be swapped with gold as an investment option.
Unfortunately, heaping praises on Bitcoin was a way to get the word out about their own digital asset, JPM Coin. Additionally, the praise on Bitcoin preceded an announcement that the bank has established Onyx, a crypto-focused business department with over 100 staffers.
JP Morgan Chase’s Takis Georgakopoulos, who heads the bank’s bulk payments section, noted that JPM Coin is already in use by an unnamed tech firm to transfer funds across the globe.
CZ denies claims Binance US was Born to Circumvent Regulations
Binance’s CEO, Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ in the crypto circles, has responded to claims appearing on a Forbes article on October 29. According to the latest crypto news, the article’s author, Michael Del Castillo, claims that the US outfit is a way to evade US regulators’ long arm. Castillo claimed to have a video presentation showing the exchange’s elaborate plan to operate in the country and circumvent regulations.
In his defense, CZ has maintained that the video’s source is not from a Binance employee and Binance’s operations in the country are “within the boundaries of the law.”
