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• <a href="#Crypto">Crypto Exchanges Launch Institutional Platform, LATAM Stablecoin</a> • <a href="#US">U.S. District Court Orders TRO Blocking EIA Survey on Crypto Mining Data</a> • <a href="#IRS">IRS Hires Experts to Enhance Digital Asset Compliance and Enforcement</a> • <a href="#DOJ">DOJ Targets NFT Rug Pull, NY DFS Settles With Exchange Over Earn Program</a> • <a href="#Social">Social Media Hack Results in $440K Crypto Loss; Avalanche Suffers 4-Hour Outage</a>

Crypto Exchanges Launch Institutional Platform, LATAM Stablecoin

By <a href="https://www.bakerlaw.com/RobertAMusiala">Robert A. Musiala Jr.</a>

A major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange recently announced the launch of an institutional platform “aimed at institutions, asset managers, hedge funds and high net-worth individuals.” According to a press release, the new platform “pulls together the … products and services institutions already use, including spot trading, OTC trading and staking.”

Another major crypto exchange recently announced that it has entered into a “strategic agreement” with BTG Pactual, a major Latin American investment bank, “to further advance crypto banking services across the region.” According to a press release, the crypto exchange “will enable the listing of BTG DOL, BTG group’s proprietary stablecoin with a 1:1 parity with the US dollar (USD).” The press release further notes that the strategic partnership will seek “to catalyze the digital economy throughout Latin America and effectively bridge traditional and digital finance for customers.”

In a final notable item, a popular decentralized exchange is reportedly planning to launch a web extension for its native self-custodial wallet application. The wallet extension is reportedly designed to allow users to access the wallet directly from a web browser.

For more information, please refer to the following links:

<a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240227115839/en/Kraken-Launches-New-Brand-to-Offer-Dedicated-Crypto-Solutions-for-Institutions">Kraken Launches New Brand to Offer Dedicated Crypto Solutions for Institutions</a>

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<a href="https://crypto.com/company-news/cryptocom-enters-into-strategic-agreement-with-btg-pactual">Crypto.com Enters into Strategic Agreement with BTG Pactual</a>

<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/uniswap-dex-launch-web-wallet-extension">Uniswap DEX to launch web wallet extension</a>

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U.S. District Court Orders TRO Blocking EIA Survey on Crypto Mining Data

According to reports, a U.S. District Court judge in Texas recently granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the U.S. Department of Energy from requiring cryptocurrency mining companies to provide electricity usage data to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The TRO is the result of a lawsuit brought by the Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company, in response to a recent <a href="https://www.theblockchainmonitor.com/blogs/crypto-products-launch-bitcoin-ordinals-project-sells-out-u-s-eia-to-survey-miners-ofac-and-doj-announce-crypto-actions-ransomware-data-published/#US">action</a> by the EIA “initiating a provisional survey of electricity consumption information from identified cryptocurrency mining companies operating in the United States.”

<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/texas-blockchain-council-riot-platforms-eia-omb">Texas Blockchain Council and Riot secure win against US energy officials</a>

<a href="https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1806139?nl_pk=443df714-8612-4cc7-92bb-12102189ef09&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=fintech&amp;utm_content=2024-02-26&amp;read_main=1&amp;nlsidx=0&amp;nlaidx=2">Crypto Org, Bitcoin Miner Sue DOE Over Electricity Survey</a>

<a href="https://www.law360.com/fintech/articles/1806741?nl_pk=443df714-8612-4cc7-92bb-12102189ef09&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=fintech&amp;utm_content=2024-02-27&amp;read_main=1&amp;nlsidx=0&amp;nlaidx=2">Albright Pauses DOE's Crypto Mining Survey, For Now</a>

IRS Hires Experts to Enhance Digital Asset Compliance and Enforcement

A recent press release by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) “announced the addition of two private-sector experts to help the agency’s efforts in the cryptocurrency and other digital assets arena.” According to the press release, the new IRS employees “have been hired as executive advisors” and “will help lead IRS efforts building service, reporting, compliance and enforcement programs focused on digital assets.” The press release further notes that “[e]xpanded work on digital assets is one of the priority areas where the IRS will focus, including work through the John Doe summons effort and the release of proposed regulations of broker reporting in August 2023.” The press release defines “digital asset” as follows: “A digital asset is a digital representation of value that is recorded on a cryptographically secured, distributed ledger or any similar technology. Common digital assets include convertible virtual currency and cryptocurrency; stablecoins; and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”

For more information, please refer to the following link:

<a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-adds-two-key-experts-to-focus-on-cryptocurrency-other-digital-assets">IRS adds two key experts to focus on cryptocurrency, other digital assets</a>

DOJ Targets NFT Rug Pull

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced an indictment charging two individuals with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged “rug pull” scam involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to the DOJ press release, in 2022 the defendants made “a number of material misrepresentations to attract victim-investors” to an NFT mint in which they minted 632 NFTs, resulting in cryptocurrency funds valued at approximately $135,000 being sent to wallets under their control. The press release notes that the defendants “then abandoned the mint without satisfying several of the representations made to victim-investors, commonly known as a ‘rug pull.’”

<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/two-individuals-charged-non-fungible-token-rug-pull-and-laundering-proceeds-through">Two Individuals Charged With Non-Fungible Token “Rug Pull” And Laundering Proceeds Through The Solana And Ethereum Blockchains</a>

Social Media Hack Results in $440K Crypto Loss; Avalanche Suffers 4-Hour Outage

According to recent reports, the social media account of a major business intelligence, mobile software and cloud-based services company was hacked, enabling a phishing attack in which the attacker used the company’s social media account to announce the launch of a fake cryptocurrency token. The fraudulent post reportedly contained a link directing victims to send cryptocurrency to the company to claim the new token, resulting in over $440,000 worth of crypto being stolen from victims.

In other reports, the Avalanche Network recently suffered a major outage, resulting in a failure to produce transaction blocks for over four hours. The outage was reportedly caused by a software bug that was subsequently patched by Avalanche Network developers.

<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/02/26/microstrategys-x-account-hacked-leads-to-440k-crypto-being-stolen-blockchain-sleuth-zachxbt">MicroStrategy’s X Account Hacked, Leads to $440K Crypto Being Stolen: Blockchain Sleuth ZachXBT</a>

<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-x-account-hacked-phishing-scam">MicroStrategy’s X account hacked, shilling Ethereum token phishing scam</a>

<a href="https://www.coindesk.com/business/2024/02/23/avalanche-suffers-outage-fails-to-produce-block-for-almost-two-hours">Avalanche Is Back Up After Failing to Produce Block for Four Hours</a>

Weekly Blockchain Blog – March 3, 2024