BITCOIN

Complying with the latest EU sanctions targeting Russia, well-known cryptocurrency platforms like Localbitcoins, Blockchain.com, and Crypto.com have started to restrict or terminate services for Russian accounts. The moves follow the adoption of new European penalties in response to Moscow’s military escalation in Ukraine. Major Crypto Platforms Conform to EU Measures, Restrict Services for Russian Users Over Ukraine War About a week after the European Union introduced another set of measures aimed at hurting Russia’s economy and finances, including its access to the crypto market, a number of service providers in the industry have taken steps to comply with the new requirements. In April, the bloc banned only high-value services, those for digital assets exceeding €10,000 in value ($11,000 at the time). Last Thursday, Brussels prohibited the provision of all crypto-related services to Russian residents and entities, regardless of the amount. Localbitcoins, the peer-to-peer excha

A U.S. senator has called on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue crypto regulations now “through a transparent notice-and-comment regulatory process.” He stressed that “some digital assets are securities, others may be commodities, and others may subject to a completely different regulatory regime.” US Senator Calls for ‘Transparent Notice-and-Comment Regulatory Process’ to Regulating Crypto Assets U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO) has sent a letter to the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, regarding crypto regulations. In his letter dated Oct. 13, the senator told Gensler, “Clear rules promote an environment where investors are protected,” adding: I write to urge the SEC to issue regulations for digital asset securities through a transparent notice-and-comment regulatory process. He stressed: “Currently, digital asset markets do not have a coordinated regulatory framework. This creates uneven enforcement, and deprives

For a couple of years now, MEV-Boost relays or Flashbots have become popular tools in order to gather the maximum value that can be extracted from Ethereum’s block production. However, in recent times, Flashbots have been controversial as people believe the technology threatens Ethereum’s censorship-resistance. This is because Flashbots account for 48% of blocks that are compliant with government-enforced regulations. Nakamoto Coefficient or Government Coefficient? — Crypto Users Complain That OFAC-Compliant Flashbots Have Stained Ethereum’s Censorship-Resistance While Ethereum has been complimented for meeting the demands of environmentalists, critics believe the blockchain network made a trade-off by increasing validator centralization, and the probability of rising censorship for a so-called ‘greener’ blockchain. The day after The Merge , when Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) network to a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, PoW supporters criticized Ethereum over th