REGULATORS TO LOOK INTO BITCOIN FUTURES TRADING: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said Thursday that it will meet on Jan. 31 to discuss the trading of cryptocurrency futures contracts.

The agency says that its technology and risk advisory committees will meet to discuss the self-certification process for such derivative contracts, focusing on "oversight, surveillance, and monitoring" of listed cryptocurrency derivatives.

"With the rapid development of financial technology products -- including cryptocurrencies -- and the corresponding demand for new and novel price discovery and risk management tools, the CFTC is poised to utilize its authority and expertise to ensure that the markets we oversee innovate responsibly within an appropriate oversight framework," said CFTC Commissioner Rostin Behnam.

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Regulators and financial institutions have been wary of cryptocurrency futures, in part because of the price volatility of many cryptocurrencies.

The meeting comes after two exchanges launched bitcoin futures in December.

Cryptocurrencies have caught regulators attention in recent months following their meteoric rise over the past year. The value of major digital currencies like bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple have increased by thousands of percent over the past year.

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SEC WARNS OF ILLEGAL CRYPTO TRADING: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) warned investors Thursday that those firms and brokers who offer cryptocurrency investments are often breaking federal trading laws.

In a joint statement, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and commissioners Kara Stein and Michael Piwowar also said the agency faces severe challenges in recovering losses for jilted cryptocurrency investors.

The SEC has reviewed cryptocurrencies that are traded as securities, holding them subject to the same disclosure laws as other commonly traded assets. The agency has blocked initial coin offerings (ICOs), sales of cryptocurrencies meant to raise capital for a business, that don't follow federal trading laws.

"It is clear that many promoters of ICOs and others participating in the cryptocurrency-related investment markets are not following these laws," the SEC said in its statement.

The SEC said those who purchase cryptocurrencies are entitled to protection under federal securities laws, but would have limited success getting restitution.

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CRITICAL COMPUTER FLAWS PRESENT NEW SECURITY CHALLENGE: Two critical vulnerabilities that affect modern computer processing chips are about to become a huge headache for governments worldwide.

The vulnerabilities could allow hackers to pilfer sensitive data from virtually all modern computing devices, ranging from computers to smartphones to cloud infrastructure. Experts believe that they may be the most dangerous computer processor flaws to date.

The Department of Homeland Security issued guidance on the matter late Wednesday, noting that while operating system updates could help mitigate the issues, the only true solution would be to replace computer processing units' hardware.

This means that mitigating the flaws will likely cost federal, state and local governments a significant amount of time, money and effort.

The cyber-flaws, which were originally believed to only be in Intel chips, affect an array of chip vendors including, AMD, Google, Microsoft and Apple, and impacts millions of modern computing systems developed over the last decade.

Read more here.

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INTEL STOCK SALE RAISES EYEBROWS: Intel CEO Brian Krzanich sold more than $20 million worth of company stock after his company had been informed of a massive cybersecurity flaw in its chips and prior to the company publicly disclosing the flaw.

Krzanich sold stock and exercised options worth a rough total of $24 million on Nov. 29, reducing his holdings of Intel shares to 245,743 -- the minimum required by his contract with the firm. The Intel CEO's sale occurred as developers were racing to fix enormous vulnerabilities in their computer processors.

Though the sale raises insider trading concerns, the Securities and Exchange Commission has not publicly said if it will investigate Krzanich.

Intel says that his selloff came independently of the vulnerabilities and notes that it was preplanned.

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ANTI-SEX TRAFFICKING BILL WINS 60 CO-SPONSORS: A Senate sex trafficking bill that has worried the tech industry now has the support of 60 co-sponsors, ensuring that the legislation will be able to bypass a filibuster.

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Sens. Rob Portman Robert (Rob) Jones PortmanRomney undecided on authorizing subpoenas for GOP Obama-era probes Congress needs to prioritize government digital service delivery House passes B bill to boost Postal Service MORE (R-Ohio) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the original sponsors of the bill, announced on Wednesday that the legislation had won over three more Republicans: Sens. Mike Rounds Marion (Mike) Michael RoundsSenate GOP eyes early exit Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden 2024 GOP presidential rivalries emerge on virus package MORE (S.D.), Richard Shelby Richard Craig ShelbySenate GOP eyes early exit Dems discussing government funding bill into February GOP short of votes on Trump's controversial Fed pick MORE (Ala.) and Pat Roberts Charles (Pat) Patrick RobertsThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by National Industries for the Blind - Trump seeks to flip 'Rage' narrative; Dems block COVID-19 bill GOP senators say coronavirus deal dead until after election Trump says he'll sign USPS funding if Democrats make concessions MORE (Kan.).

"Today is another important milestone in our fight to hold online sex traffickers accountable and help give trafficking survivors the justice they deserve," Portman and Blumenthal said in a joint statement. "There continues to be strong bipartisan support and momentum for this bill, and behind our efforts to help ensure that sex traffickers are brought to justice."

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ZUCKERBERG'S RESOLUTION: Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot ZuckerbergThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Trump contradicts CDC director on vaccine, masks Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll FTC eyes antitrust suit against Facebook: report MORE is vowing to devote 2018 to improving Facebook after a year in which the platform was heavily scrutinized over disinformation campaigns and abusive content that proliferated on the site.

"My personal challenge for 2018 is to focus on fixing these important issues," Zuckerberg wrote in a post on Thursday.

"We won't prevent all mistakes or abuse, but we currently make too many errors enforcing our policies and preventing misuse of our tools. If we're successful this year then we'll end 2018 on a much better trajectory."

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The Facebook co-founder acknowledged the growing movement that is concerned about the size and influence of giant tech companies, saying that he will take a closer look at tools that give more control to users, citing cryptocurrency and encryption.

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ON TAP:

The Carnegie Endowment for Peace will hold an event exploring "Iran's Cyber Threat" at 12:30 p.m.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Guardian: Facebook declines to say why it deletes certain political accounts, but not others

CNBC: Ripple co-founder is now richer than the Google founders on paper

Bloomberg: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook to look into cryptocurrency

CNN: Update your software today. Seriously

Wired: A simple algorithm reveals the truth about voter ID laws