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Crypto Briefs is your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.

Crypto mining news

The Ukrainian government has indicated that it will take a laissez-faire attitude to crypto mining. Per a “digital manifesto” revealed by the country’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, the government wrote that the crypto mining industry “does not need regulations.” The ministry added, “Mining does not need to be policed by state-run supervisory authorities or third-party rules. It is an activity that is regulated by the protocol itself and the network participants.”

The computer networks at Russian government agencies and major companies in the nation are riddled with cryptojacking malware, per a new study. According to Izvestia (via Lenta), a Positive Technologies study found that 81% of companies and state-run agencies have computers on their networks that are infested with malware – with cryptojacking software running on 55% of that number.

Adoption news

Litecoin Foundation said it has selected Cred , a U.S.-based licensed crypto lender, to offer financial services to Litecoin (LTC) holders. Starting today, LTC holders will be able to earn up to ten percent interest on their digital assets, according to the Foundation.

said it has selected , a U.S.-based licensed crypto lender, to offer financial services to Litecoin (LTC) holders. Starting today, LTC holders will be able to earn up to ten percent interest on their digital assets, according to the Foundation. Digital asset storage, transfer, and issuing platform Fireblocks said it has partnered with B2C2 , a major cryptocurrency liquidity provider. B2C2 will deploy Fireblocks to protect billions of dollars in digital assets and secure more than 10,000 over-the-counter (OTC) trades daily, the company added. Therefore, Fireblocks is expanding its presence in the EU market by providing security for more than 15,000 OTC trades per day on the B2C2 platform.

said it has partnered with , a major cryptocurrency liquidity provider. B2C2 will deploy Fireblocks to protect billions of dollars in digital assets and secure more than 10,000 over-the-counter (OTC) trades daily, the company added. Therefore, Fireblocks is expanding its presence in the EU market by providing security for more than 15,000 OTC trades per day on the B2C2 platform. Cryptocurrency custody company BitGo announced the expansion of its global presence with new custodial entities in Switzerland and Germany. BitGo’s Swiss entity BitGo GmbH is a member of the Financial Services Standards Association (VQF), supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA). BitGo’s German entity, BitGo Deutschland GmbH , is currently providing custody services in Germany and will apply for regulatory approval when the application window opens in November 2020, says the press release.

announced the expansion of its global presence with new custodial entities in Switzerland and Germany. BitGo’s Swiss entity is a member of the (VQF), supervised by the (FINMA). BitGo’s German entity, , is currently providing custody services in Germany and will apply for regulatory approval when the application window opens in November 2020, says the press release. Korea University students in Seoul, South Korea, will be issued with blockchain technology-powered ID cards, reports DDaily. The elite university is teaming up with KEB Hana Bank for the new initiative, and the platform will make use of bank-developed blockchain technology.

students in Seoul, South Korea, will be issued with blockchain technology-powered ID cards, reports DDaily. The elite university is teaming up with for the new initiative, and the platform will make use of bank-developed blockchain technology. Mexico’s University of Guadalajara will use blockchain technology to power its administrative system, reports Diario Bitcoin. The university’s ambitious plans involve using blockchain networks to process enrollment and other data for its 270,000 students.

will use blockchain technology to power its administrative system, reports Diario Bitcoin. The university’s ambitious plans involve using blockchain networks to process enrollment and other data for its 270,000 students. Blockchain Technology Partners (BTP), an enterprise blockchain company, has partnered with the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) to ensure the production readiness of its Blockchain Securities Lending (BSL) platform and provide ongoing support for it once it is launched, says the announcement. The platform is now undergoing trials with market participants ahead of its launch later this year.

(BTP), an enterprise blockchain company, has partnered with the (TASE) to ensure the production readiness of its (BSL) platform and provide ongoing support for it once it is launched, says the announcement. The platform is now undergoing trials with market participants ahead of its launch later this year. Tether (USDT) is the first stablecoin to go live on Algorand 2.0, a permissionless, proof of stake blockchain platform. An announcement states that this will provide “instant confirmation,” micro payments and automatic wallet support. Tether is using one of the key features of the Algorand 2.0 upgrade, the Algorand Standard Asset (ASA) technology, which enables the tokenization and issuance of any type of asset on the Algorand blockchain.

Exchange news

After adding a new type of futures contract on its platform called the TRUMP-2020 (TRUMP) contract, crypto derivatives exchange FTX has added five more futures contracts for other U.S. presidential hopefuls, according to their tweet: Bernie Sanders (BERNIE), Joe Biden (BIDEN), Mike Bloomberg (BLOOMBERG), Pete Buttigieg (PETE) and Elizabeth Warren (WARREN). The President 2020 contracts settle to USD 1 for the one that wins the 2020 election and USD 0 otherwise.

has added five more futures contracts for other U.S. presidential hopefuls, according to their tweet: Bernie Sanders (BERNIE), Joe Biden (BIDEN), Mike Bloomberg (BLOOMBERG), Pete Buttigieg (PETE) and Elizabeth Warren (WARREN). The President 2020 contracts settle to USD 1 for the one that wins the 2020 election and USD 0 otherwise. Cryptocurrency exchange group operator Huobi has joined the governance council of Klaytn, the Kakao Group’s blockchain network, reports No Cut News. Huobi has been attempting to raise the profile of its Huobi Korea branch in recent months. Klaytn is now building up a collection of crypto exchange partners, including the likes of Binance and OKEx.

Regulation news

Jamal El-Hindi, the deputy director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), said that social media, messaging platforms and others focusing on the establishment of cryptocurrencies “cannot turn a blind eye to illicit transactions that they may be fostering.” According to prepared remarks, the agency will judge emerging financial institutions on whether they make their systems resilient to money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, human and narco-trafficking, and other illicit activity, on how they achieve that resilience, and on how they report on these activities.

Legal news

Judge Kevin P. Castel of the Southern District of New York issued an order on February 6, asking lawyers from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to express their opinion in the case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Telegram’s USD 1.7 billion gram token sale.

issued an order on February 6, asking lawyers from the (CFTC) to express their opinion in the case brought by the (SEC) against USD 1.7 billion gram token sale. A 28-year-old employee at a South Korean securities company will face a criminal trial after prosecutors brought forward charges of embezzlement, reports news agency Yonhap. The man is accused of misappropriating over USD 1 million of company money, the vast majority of which he allegedly used to invest in cryptocurrencies.

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