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Showing posts from June 30, 2023

US Judge Orders Kraken to Release Customer Data to IRS in Cryptocurrency Tax Probe

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Kraken, the San Francisco-headquartered digital currency exchange, has received a court order from a U.S. judge requiring the release of customer data to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The court filing, submitted on Friday, states that the IRS is seeking details pertaining to accounts that registered an annual trading activity of $20,000 or higher during the years 2016 to 2020. IRS Gains Court Order for Kraken’s Customer Data in Crypto Tax Investigation Last February, the IRS submitted a court petition to the Northern District of California, outlining its intention to thoroughly investigate Kraken’s financial records and data in order to uncover cryptocurrency users who may have neglected their tax obligations. The petition specifically requested access to Kraken’s “books, records, papers, and other data.” “The IRS is conducting an investigation to determine the identity and correct federal income tax liability of U.S. persons who conducted transactions in cryptocurrency for

Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Urges Federal Reserve to Raise Interest Rates Another 100 Basis Points

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Veteran trader Peter Brandt has urged the U.S. Federal Reserve to stay hawkish and increase interest rates another 100 basis points to protect the nation’s wealth. He stressed that there is nothing more destructive to wealth than inflation, emphasizing that the Fed “must keep their feet to the floorboard to prevent a re-occurrence of inflationary pressures.” Peter Brandt’s Advice for the Federal Reserve Veteran trader Peter Brandt has urged the Federal Reserve to remain hawkish and increase interest rates by another 100 basis points. Brandt has been a futures and FX career trader since 1975. He is a chartist and the author of the Factor Report. He trades a variety of markets, including Dow futures, bonds, corn, crude oil, European wheat, Osaka Dow, U.S. dollar, and sugar. “The U.S. Fed was negligent for not aggressively raising rates in early 2021,” he tweeted Thursday. “Traders knew this, but the Ph.D.s had their heads up their butts.” He added: “But now, I congratulate the Fed as

Federal Reserve Chair Pushes Stronger Measures to Tackle Inflation Considers Back-to-Back Rate Hikes

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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has reaffirmed the Fed’s hawkish stance. Noting that the latest economic data indicates that the Fed’s policy “may not be restrictive enough” and “has not been restrictive for long enough,” Powell stated that the central bank could raise interest rates “at consecutive meetings.” Fed Chairman Powell on Rate Hikes Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reaffirmed the Fed’s hawkish stance on Wednesday during a central banker panel hosted by the European Central Bank in Sintra, Portugal. With the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting slated for July 25-26, Powell emphasized that the Fed is not done curbing inflation and hinted at the possibility of consecutive interest rate hikes. The Federal Reserve paused raising interest rates in June after 10 consecutive rate hikes. “If you look at the data over the last quarter, what you see is stronger than expected growth, a tighter than expected labor market, and higher than expected inflation,” Pow

Coinbase Alleges SEC Lacks Any Powers to Regulate Digital Asset Exchanges in Recent Filing

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Coinbase, one of the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges, has filed a 177-page answer to the complaint introduced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where the agency states the company was involved in the illegal brokerage of securities. Coinbase alleges that the institution lacks “any powers to regulate” cryptocurrency exchanges and that this enforcement action “offends due process and the constitutional separation of powers.” Coinbase Contests SEC Powers to Regulate Cryptocurrency Exchanges Paul Grewal, CLO of Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced the filing of an answer to the complaint presented by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where the institution accuses the Coinbase of unregistered securities brokerage. In the 177-page document , Coinbase explains that in April 2021, the SEC approved its registration to go public through an IPO on Nasdaq, “allowing Coinbase’s shares to be sold to millions of re

Haru Invest Fallout: South African Crypto Platform Says Customers Can Only Access 76% of Crypto Holdings

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The South African crypto platform, Revix, said on June 28 that customers can now only access just over three-quarters (76%) of their crypto assets. Revix said the move to block customers’ access to 24% of their crypto assets was made after one of its primary service providers Haru Invest suspended deposits and withdrawals. Impact of Haru Invest’s Abrupt Suspension of Deposits and Withdrawals Revix, the South African crypto investment platform, said on June 28 that it has rendered “24% of crypto asset balances held on the Revix platform as of Tuesday, 13th June, at 02:00 GMT+2 as reserved.” The decision means Revix customers can only withdraw 76% of their crypto assets which are stored on the platform. In a statement explaining the rationale behind the move, Revix said the unexpected suspension of deposits and withdrawals by one of its primary service providers Haru Invest prompted the decision to reserve 24% of customers’ crypto assets. The statement revealed that “Haru is part of