Members of the 116th US Congress have now proposed a total of 32 bills related to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology this year.

They cover a wide range of concerns, possible use cases and new approaches to regulating, integrating and curtailing the use of the emerging technology depending on the players, their activities and their goals.

Citing data from Value Technology Foundation, a non-profit think tank focused on blockchain, Forbes reports that US legislators introduced 12 bills that are expressly designed to curb the use of cryptocurrency in criminal activities like money laundering, terrorism and trafficking.

While cryptocurrency has its early roots tied to the darknet with Bitcoin serving as a popular medium of exchange on the now-defunct Silk Road, it has since evolved, requiring legislation that can support it as well as monitor its use among criminals, tax evaders and adversaries.

One of the proposed laws seeks to address the economic activities of countries, such as Venezuela, that have created their own cryptocurrency to sidestep economic sanctions. Three bills aim to help banks and regulatory agencies identify criminal activities that involve the use of digital currencies.

Lawmakers also submitted 13 bills for the regulation and treatment of digital assets and blockchain. Concerns over Facebooks Libra project, which planned to roll out a new global currency before pivoting earlier this month to a new goal of launching several different stablecoins pegged to local currencies, led to a barrage of regulatory proposals.

The Managed Stablecoins are Securities Act of 2019 is an effort to classify Libra and other stablecoins as securities that are regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Five bills propose the governments use of blockchain technology. One directs the establishment of a Blockchain Working Group that will recommend a definition of distributed ledger technology and study its potential applications.

The two most recent bills cover the concept of the digital dollar in a bid to ensure faster delivery of the economic stimulus benefits to Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Bill Perry/Sashkin

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US Congress Considering More Than Two Dozen Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Proposals - The Daily Hodl

Tom Hagens wife Anne-Elisabeth disappeared in Norway in October 2018. Hagen cofounded the electric company Elkraft in 1992, and the case drew attention for his wealthhis net worth is reportedly about $200 millionas well as its mysterious circumstances. As the original story went, Anne-Elisabeth was kidnapped on October 31 that year; a ransom note demanding 9 million euros in the cryptocurrency Monero was left at the scene.

But on Tuesday, Norwegian police arrested Hagen. Investigators said they believe that the original version of events was false, a concoction to mislead police about Anne-Elisabeths murder.

As the case initially appeared, our main theory was that Anne-Elisabeth Hagen had been abducted by someone with a financial motive. And in June 2019, we came to believe that she had most likely been killed, st Police District said in a statement

We now believe there was no abduction and there was never any genuine negotiations. In other words there was a clear and well-planned attempt at misleading the police, it continued.

Hagen married Anne-Elisabeth in 1979, when he was 19. She had been a board member of his holding company (he is also a real estate investor), and the couple lived in Fjellhamar, a village about 12 miles outside of Oslo, CNN reported. Hagen has been described as media-shy in reports.

Hagens lawyer Svein Holden has denied the allegation and said Hagen had nothing to do with the disappearance or murder. It is important to emphasize that although we have charged Tom Hagen, the case is still being investigated and there are several unanswered questions, police said. They asked a court to keep Hagen in custody for four weeks, with no visits or outside communication allowed.

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The state of Wyoming has emerged as a leader in paving the legal way to enable banking of digital currency. In the coming months, its very likely the first financial institutions in the world for cryptocurrency will be operating here in the Cowboy State.

The Wyoming Legislature has approved more than a dozen measures to prime the states regulatory environment in hopes of recognizing the increasing legitimacy of digital currency like bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and others.

A potential bank to manage the growing digital currency market would operate using blockchain technology. Blockchain is a ledger platform to administer cryptocurrency transactions. These records consist of pieces, or blocks, of information like date, time, dollar amount and participants in a transaction.

Lawyer Matthew Kaufman of Cheyenne-based Hathaway & Kunz LLP said the states efforts to bring digital currency into mainstream financial operation began with then-Gov. Matt Meads Economically Needed Diversity Options for Wyoming (ENDOW) initiative. In an ongoing effort to help the state establish financial footing in business sectors other than fossil fuels, Kaufman was recruited to serve on the Blockchain Coalition to explore the possibilities of bringing this specific type of business technology to the state. Cryptocurrency immediately became an area of interest because of its notorious lack of existing infrastructure.

It has now been more than a decade since the introduction of bitcoin, and in that time, thousands of other digital currencies have emerged and grown exponentially. While the global market has leaped forward and gradually been accepted by world governments and citizens, no official bank for the cryptocurrency medium exists because of the tight administrative oversight necessary of conventional banks.

The banking industry has deemed blockchain to be a very risky industry sector its very unknown and unregulated, Kaufman said, pointing out the various safeguards conventional banks must employ to avoid being an unwitting participant in illegal activities. That has made it difficult for banks to feel comfortable with this currency, and understandably so.

This conundrum results in a global lack of access to fundamental services for entities that use digital currency they cannot run payroll, make basic transfers or have formal accounts to utilize for basic money services.

Electronic currency boasts some distinct advantages over the existing money system, including the ability to facilitate instant payments, no need for conversion between international currencies, and a permanence that omits the possibility of fraudulent chargebacks that can occur when using conventional credit cards. While it is becoming clear there may be a place in the future to convert money into an electronic format, the movement is stalled because of an inability to attain the professional backing of a bank.

That problem has been around a while, and one way the industry can be helped is by giving those businesses the opportunity to establish banking relationships, Kaufman said.

Wyoming has become the first state to create legal framework for a new banking charter to give digital currencies access to a banking system. The process took off last year when the Legislature enacted a bill establishing Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs). According to the Wyoming Division of Banking, House Bill 74 authorized the chartering institutions to receive deposits and conduct other incidental activities, including fiduciary asset management, custody, and related activities focusing heavily on virtual currencies, digital securities and utility tokens.

A notable obstacle to any prospective blockchain bank that might aspire to open its doors in the state is that digital asset companies are ineligible to be backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This is addressed in the state law by requiring the SPDIs to maintain 100% of depositor reserves. SPDIs also may not engage in lending activity, but can still provide needed banking services to a niche demographic. In keeping with the intent of the economic diversification initiative continued by present Gov. Mark Gordon, SPDIs are required to have an in-state physical presence.

Regulatory structures have not been friendly to the growth of cryptocurrency, Kaufman said. Wall Street has strict regulatory guidelines on its use, trading and growth. On the other hand, Wyoming is more nimble and can move quickly to respond to the needs of the industry. The promise of blockchain is that it claims to be quick, immediate and secure, and fees are much lower than going through traditional banks and finance.

Applications for a bank charter were officially being accepted as of November. One of a handful of corporations that is readying to apply is Avanti Financial Group, based in Cheyenne.

Avanti expects to serve as a compliant bridge to the U.S. dollar payment system and a custodian of digital assets that can meet the strictest level of institutional custody standards, founder and CEO Caitlin Long said in a news release. Avanti will be required to fully comply with all applicable laws and regulations including federal know your customer, anti-money laundering and related laws and regulations.

Long has forged a technology partnership with an entity called Blockstream, and announced appointments to her leadership team.

We have assembled a team of all-stars who have significant experience in regulated financial institutions, Long said.

Hopes are that their venture can be operating by early next year, which could translate into 30 to 40 jobs in Wyoming for customer service and bank compliance, according to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. Long added that for those who feel a call to get involved in this emerging industry, now is the time to study up to get ready for a potential career move.

Other similar companies, including Kraken Digital Asset Exchange and Yen.io, are openly advertising full-time job openings in various locations around the state in anticipation of establishing bank charters.

Its likely several other states will be fast to follow Wyomings lead and open up to cryptocurrency banking. At this time, the state is serving as the benchmark for progress toward more progressive money management.

This is not the state of Wyoming trying to abandon the dollar, Kaufman said. We want to recognize the digital asset marketplace is growing, expanding and probably the way of the future. We want to enable this new, growing sector to be able to find a solution to problems, and we want them to find that solution here, in Wyoming.

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Wyoming: World's first to welcome cryptocurrency banks | Current Edition - Wyoming Business Report

The combined total trading volume in the cryptocurrency spot and futures markets amounted to approximately $8.8 trillion in the first quarter, according to two new industry reports. The amounts represent a massive 314% quarterly increase for futures trading and 104% for spot trading. Further, the correlation between spot market trading volume and bitcoins price in Q1 2020 was extremely low.

Two recently published reports from Tokeninsight have revealed the state of the cryptocurrency spot and derivatives markets in the first quarter of this year. For its Q1 2020 Cryptocurrency Spot Exchange Industry Research Report, the company studied more than 300 crypto spot exchanges. However, due to unreliable data from some small exchanges and the challenges of determining data authenticity, only 295 exchanges were included in the analysis, 41 of which were new platforms and 16 were decentralized exchanges. The report reads:

The total trading volume of the entire market in this quarter was 6.6 trillion US dollars, an increase of 104% [quarterly].

The actual volume shown in the report was $6.647 trillion. Although there is a wash trading volume, the industry continues to develop significantly, the report adds, noting that The correlation between market trading volume and bitcoin price is extremely low in Q1 2020.

In addition, the study found that bitcoins dominance had increased compared to last year. In the downward market, investors have insufficient confidence in non-mainstream cryptocurrencies, the report claims, asserting that Bitcoin will maintain its dominant position in the first half of this year.

The 279 centralized exchanges accounted for approximately $6.47 trillion of the total trading volume. There are still plenty of fake volumes in the emerging centralized exchanges, the report warns. Tokeninsight has rated the reliability of large cryptocurrency exchanges based on factors such as safety, operations, trading, experience, and terms of use. According to its evaluation, the top exchanges are Binance, Okex, Huobi Global, Coinbase Pro, and Kraken.

As for the 16 decentralized exchanges included in the analysis, the report shows that their combined trading volume reached $180 billion in the quarter, more than 90% of which were traded on Etherflyer.

Tokeninsight is a data and blockchain financial company founded in 2017. Its data, ratings and research reports are from more than 70 global data platforms, including Messari, Delta, Binance Info, Aicoin, and Huobi Info.

Another report by Tokeninsight, entitled 2020 Q1 Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange industry Report, details the state of the cryptocurrency derivatives market. The analysis included 12 derivatives exchanges, such as Bitmex, Okex, Huobi DM, Binance Futures, Deribit, Bitget, Binance JEX, FTX, Gate.io, BFX.nu, Bitz, and Kumex. The report describes:

In 2020 Q1, the total futures trading volume in the industry reached $2.1048 trillion, an increase of 314% from 2019 four quarters average.

Except for a slight decline in 2019 Q4, the trading volume of cryptocurrency futures has grown steadily in 2019; the total market turnover in 2020 Q1 is roughly 8x than 2019 Q1, the report emphasizes. Three major cryptocurrency futures contracts BTC, ETH, and EOS accounted for more than 90% of the total crypto derivatives market turnover in Q1 2020. BTC alone accounted for 78%.

The analysis also found that the correlation coefficient between cryptocurrency futures trading volume and spot trading volume fell to 0.31 from 0.76 in the previous quarter, suggesting that the futures market participants may have been relatively independent from the spot.

While the companys derivatives exchange industry report for the year 2019 shows that the cryptocurrency futures market turnover last year was about 20% of the spot, the percentage this year is expected to increase substantially. Noting that the total turnover of cryptocurrency futures has reached more than 33% of the spot in the first quarter, the report details:

It is expected that the futures trading volume for the year 2020 will be more than doubled the spot market Compared with the idea of cash is king in the current market conditions, the cryptocurrency futures industry is still developing rapidly.

The report also highlights that there are six exchanges with a total futures turnover exceeding $100 billion in Q1 2020: Huobi DM, Okex, Bitmex, Binance Futures, Bitget, and Bybit. Only Huobi DM and Okex had volumes above $400 billion. Meanwhile, Fully regulated exchanges have not developed significantly, with CME and Bakkt trading volumes of US$6.83 billion and US$1.51 billion, respectively, the report concludes.

What do you think about the rate at which crypto trading volumes are growing? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Tokeninsight

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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$8.8 Trillion Traded in Cryptocurrency Spot and Futures Markets in Q1: Reports | Markets and Prices Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

The coronavirus has had a major impact on just about every aspect of our lives; the cryptocurrency industry has been no exception. Businesses around the globe have been forced to embrace remote work amid an ongoing pandemic of Covid-19: staying connected is now more important than ever.

The Most Diverse Audience to Date at FMLS 2020 Where Finance Meets Innovation

This is why Finance Magnatesis thrilled to present COVID-19 & the Cryptosphere: Threats, Challenges, & Long-term Effects, a free, live webinar on Monday, May 4th, at 16.00 CET,featuring four leading experts from across the crypto industry. Sign up now to secure your spot before they run out.

This panel discussion an invaluable opportunity for you to gain valuable insight into the future of the cryptocurrency spaceyou dont want to miss this.

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Two of our panellists are leaders from companies that are members of the Libra Association, the organization that supports the development of Facebooks Libra network: Joe Lallouz, founder and chief executive of blockchain infrastructure firm Bison Trails, and Marc Bhargava, president and co-founder of cryptocurrency prime brokerage Tagomi.

The panel will also feature two experts from other prominent aspects of the cryptocurrency industry, including Zac Prince, chief executive of NYC-based cryptocurrency lending firm BlockFi, and David Gerard, author of Attack of the 50-Foot Blockchain andprominent cryptocurrency journalist and historian.

Each of these thought leaders will leverage their respective expertise in identifying the best way the industry can adapt to a post-corona world and re-imagine a new future. The panel will be moderated by Rachel McIntosh, cryptocurrency editor and podcast host at Finance Magnates.

This free event promises to be packed with valuable insight and commentary on the past impacts of COVID-19 and whats to come. Wed love for you to come and bring your questions, comments, and insights.

Join us: to sign up for the webinar, click here.

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Crypto Leaders on COVID-19: Join us for a Free Live Webinar Monday, May 4th - Finance Magnates

On April 29, Cointelegraph participated in a fireside chat event organized by the Webit Foundation. The panel, with the title of Can blockchain be a solution for the upcoming economic crisis, featured Roger Ver from Bitcoin.com as the main speaker.

Like all events during the Coronavirus pandemic, the panel was held virtually, with its participants dialing in via video conference. The talk was hosted by Dr. Plamen Russev, executive chairman of Webit Foundation. The chat featured Roger Ver, Bitcoin.coms executive chairman, and Kristina Lucrezia Cornr, managing editor at Cointelegraph, as a Q&A moderator.

Vers answers at the panel can be summarized as a deep belief in freedom and libertarian economics. He believes these ideals to be the answers to the crisis at hand. He also focused on censorship an issue that has regained relevance amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

Ver was greatly disturbed by the harsh censorship policy enacted by Youtube in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He cited an example of two doctors who made statements going against the mainstream narrative behind the pandemic, and whose video was deleted a few days after it was published.

The policy is allegedly the culprit behind a new wave of bans to crypto content creators, which recently hit high-profile influencers like Tone Vays and Crypto Lark.

Ver explained his view against censorship:

I think the solution to people saying crazy or wrong things is other people being able to rebut those things, not massive censorship.

When discussing censorship, Ver also threw several jabs against the Bitcoin community, and said that his biggest regret throughout the years was not being even louder when speaking out against censorship in the cryptocurrency community.

This refers to 2015, when the moderators of the /r/Bitcoin Reddit forum began censoring any discussion relating to Bitcoin XT a proposal for larger blocks in Bitcoin (BTC) that can be considered as the ideological ancestor to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).

Ver holds a utilitarian view of the purpose of cryptocurrency, focusing heavily on its use as a censorship-resistant payment system. He emphasized that it is free trade that creates wealth in the world, while the lockdowns destroy the ability to trade freely and thus, the economy. He also considers the multi-trillion dollar stimulus package to be theft of a similar nature to counterfeiting money.

Cryptocurrency, as the freest form of money, would be the best tool to escape the governments excessive control, according to Ver. But he also believes that it can only happen when cryptocurrency is used for payments, which is something that Bitcoin is no longer useful for, he claimed:

The sad part about what everybody is calling Bitcoin today, it doesnt have those characteristics that made the early investors and adopters so excited about it early on. Most of those people are now working on things like Bitcoin Cash or Ethereum.

He claimed that most of its current supporters are either speculators betting on future speculation, or people who still didnt figure out that the project is no longer trying to be cash for the world.

You can check out the full panel by clicking on this link.

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Bitcoin Is Not Cash For the World: Recap of Webit Fireside Chat with Roger Ver - Cointelegraph

As people all over the world are spending more and more time online in 2020, digital industries like cryptocurrency are becoming a hot topic again. Plenty has been happening in the Crypto world during the first quarter of 2020, Bitcoin is surging in value again, having hit $8.1k this spring, displaying this seasonal rise in value for the fifth year in a row. Meanwhile, Ripple has begun potentially cutthroat proceedings against Google, after YouTube allegedly ran adverts for fake XRP giveaways across its platform.

On a lighter note, crypto-focused gaming is finally becoming a thing, with gamers across the world realising the potential of blockchain-based games and crypto gaming tournaments. Heres a summary of the major developments so far this year, which could indicate the way things will go in this sector for the rest of 2020 and beyond.

So far this month theres been a significant rise in the number of people playing games online, leading to MMORPGs like World of Warcraft to up its quality to meet the demand. Theres also been a notable increase of gamers playing blockchain games and platforms.

Microsoft Azure, the blockchain-friendly cloud service that enables developers to run networks on applications like the Xbox app has confirmed record-high levels of latency, confirming that more users than ever are accessing the app to stream games (blockchain ones included).

Indie games have experienced a surge in interest in April too. The Mad Max-esque War Riders game built on blockchain has seen a 70% increase in new users alongside longer average gaming times, as well as TSB Gamings The Sandbox Cryptovoxels.

This is leading industry experts to ponder whether blockchain gaming is sustainable on a mainstream scale, although many are inclined to believe that the tech we have available at present is able to meet the demand. Its clear, however, that the blockchain gaming sector will need to diversify and build engaging games that can stand up equally against their video game equivalents.

Pre-2020, Crypto didnt play a particularly significant role in the development of eSports, despite seeming a natural fit for this emerging gaming sector. Coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum have begun to be accepted as payment methods for eSports betting, but in 2020 the first ever Bitcoin based online eSports tournament was finally launched by Magic Internet Gathering (MINTGOX).

Earlier in April, MINTGOX hosted a Lightning-enabled live gaming tournament as part of a wider crypto/VR weekend conference in collaboration with Zebedee, Lightning Labs, Bitcoin 2020, and THNDR games. Matches were run for a total of three online games, and even featured a VR panel hosted by Bitcoin enthusiast Udi Wertheimer.

One of the games featured was Raiki, a fighting game on the rise, and entry was open to any player of any level providing they had a Lightning-enabled crypto wallet. Both the gamers themselves and audience members were able to generate satoshis, and influence the individual matches with strategically dropped power-ups.

The virtual conference itself wasnt without issues, but according to Zebedee CEO Simon Cowell the eSports portion of the event only suffered from lag, which is something that can affect any eSports tournament. With a total of 100 gamers competing and generating nearly 1,000 transactions on the Lighting network, Cowell feels justified in calling the first event a success and plans to run them on a monthly basis moving forward.

Finally, one of the original video game pioneers, Atari has chosen to embrace crypto this year. The Atari Group and its partner, ICICB, revealed a somewhat bizarre three-strand focus for 2020: the Atari Token cryptocurrency, a gaming platform incorporating the currency, and (of all things) the development of a music game based on the back catalogue of the world-renowned artist AVICII.

Atari choosing to focus two of its initiatives on crypto indicates just how seriously major gaming manufacturers are now taking the tech, but whether or not the group will be able to achieve the same levels of success as it did with Pong and PacMan during its console heyday remains to be seen. First, however, theres some housekeeping to be done in the form of finally gettingits much-anticipated Atari VCS console shipped out to the patient crowdfunders who helped ensure its development with the $3 million they collectively paid out. The VCS has been plagued with a rocky development process and now, given the current global situation, its on an indefinite hiatus after last months release was cancelled.

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The Impact of Cryptocurrency on Gaming in 2020 - Coindoo