News Updates November 21, 2022

1.This Is What Pushed Bitcoin Below $16,000 Threshold: Santiment. The most recent Bitcoin plunge has surprised the majority of market participants, considering the fact that most of the dust settled after the FTX catastrophe. However, the first cryptocurrency is still having trouble keeping up with the selling pressure, and the reason has already been described by Santiment. According to the analytical firm, the plunge to $15,800 for the first time in two years was caused by FUD due to the lack of trust in centralized exchanges that accelerated after the FTX drama.Most investors in derivatives markets are liquidating their positions to withdraw remaining funds and deleverage their portfolios. Such a large spike in selling pressure at a time when the whole market is experiencing issues with liquidity is the perfect way to push the price of the first cryptocurrency to values unseen for years. This thesis is also confirmed by the spike in address activity that usually happens during a large exchange outflow period when investors move holdings from third parties to self-custody. The opposite of this process usually happens when the market is rebounding and traders move their funds back on trading platforms to use leverage and maximize their profits, or gain exposure to alternative assets.

The most likely scenario from here is the continued stagnation of the market due to the lack of liquidity and fresh inflows. According to CoinShares' data, institutional investors still avoid exposure to digital assets. The situation is unlikely to change until the stretch monetary policy in the U.S. prevails and investors abstain from additional risk exposure. At press time, Bitcoin is trading at  $16,000 and losing 1.5% of its value in the last 24 hours.

2. JPMorgan To Provide Bitcoin Exchange, Transfer And Payment Services Via Its Newly Approved Trademark

JP Morgan is set to provide Bitcoin exchange services through its newly-approved trademark, “JP Morgan Wallet.”

America’s largest bank by total assets, JPMorgan Chase, is set to deliver bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange services and related offerings to the public through the trademark “JP Morgan Wallet” which was recently registered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The USPTO approved the trademark application from JP

Morgan on November 15, as revealed in a document provided by notable trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis. Kondoudis disclosed the development on Twitter.

“J.P. MORGAN WALLET is now a registered trademark for:

Virtual currency transfer + exchange

Crypto payment processing

Virtual checking accounts

Financial services

The USPTO granted the JPMORGAN application on Nov 15,” Kondoudis revealed in a tweet Monday.

J.P. MORGAN WALLET is now a registered trademark for:

▶️ Virtual currency transfer + exchange

▶️ Crypto payment processing

▶️ Virtual checking accounts

▶️ Financial services

Information from the document reveals that, under the trademark, JPMorgan will be providing crypto-focused services related to digital asset exchange and payment processing. Some of these offerings include:

Providing services relating to cryptocurrency transfers on a blockchain.

Cryptocurrency exchange services.

Cryptocurrency payment processing services include processing crypto payments through credit and cash cards.

Processing cross-border payments by handling foreign exchange settlements in different currencies across several borders.

Services that involve the creation and management of virtual checking accounts.

As the internet transforms the world into a global village, individuals across several countries have a greater desire to make transnational payments. Cryptocurrencies present a seamless and effective way to make these payments. Several top entities, such as JPMorgan, are looking to leverage this, evidenced in the introduction of its J.P. Morgan Wallet initiative.

reveals that, under the trademark, JPMorgan will be providing crypto-focused services related to digital asset exchange and payment processing. Some of these offerings include:

Providing services relating to cryptocurrency transfers on a blockchain.
Cryptocurrency exchange services.
Cryptocurrency payment processing services include processing crypto payments through credit and cash cards.
Processing cross-border payments by handling foreign exchange settlements in different currencies across several borders.
Services that involve the creation and management of virtual checking accounts.

3. G20 Leaders, Including Joe Biden: Crypto Needs To Be ‘Subject to Robust Regulation’.

Last week, at the 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit, which was held November 15-16, 2022 in Bali, Indonesia, the world leaders present made a joint declaration that had some interesting things to say about the “crypto-assets ecosystem”.

In a joint declaration released by the White House on 16 November 2022, the G20 Bali leaders had this to say about crypto:

“We welcome ongoing work by the FSB and international standard setters to ensure that the crypto-assets ecosystem, including so-called stablecoins, is closely monitored and subject to robust regulation, supervision, and oversight to mitigate potential risks to financial stability. We welcome the FSB’s proposed approach for establishing a 

comprehensive international framework for the regulation of crypto-asset activities based on the principle of ‘same activity, same risk, same regulation’.

“We welcome the FSB consultative report on the review of its high-level recommendations for the regulation, supervision and oversight of “global stablecoin” arrangements. We also welcome the FSB consultation report on promoting international consistency of regulatory and supervisory approaches to crypto-assets activities and markets. It is critical to build public awareness of risks, to strengthen regulatory outcomes and to support a level playing field, while harnessing the benefits of innovation.

“We welcome the final guidance by the BIS CPMI and IOSCO which confirms that the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures apply to systematically important stablecoin arrangements. We welcome the FSB consultative report on achieving greater convergence in cyber incidents reporting, and look forward to the final report. We welcome the results of the second phase of the Data Gaps Initiative (DGI-2) and will continue to work with partners in addressing the identified remaining challenges.

“We welcome the workplan on the new Data Gaps Initiative (DGI) prepared by the IMF, FSB and the Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG) in collaboration with participating members. We ask the IMF, the FSB and the IAG to begin work on filling these data gaps and report back on progress in the second half of 2023, noting that the targets are ambitious and delivery will need to take into account national statistical capacities, priorities, and country circumstances as well as avoiding overlap and duplication at international level.

4. UK May Need Digital Pound, Bank of England's Jon Cunliffe Says
The deputy governor said FTX's collapse highlights the need for more oversight of digital assets.

Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor at the Bank of England (BoE), said the U.K. may need a digital British pound as he discussed whether the collapse of crypto exchange FTX would influence the country's decision to issue a government-controlled digital currency.
Although he initially thought there was no connection between the FTX debacle and the central bank's work on a central bank digital currency, Cunliffe said on Monday that he understands the concerns.

"Over the past few days, I have had a few comments both to the effect that the collapse of FTX shows that we need to get on and issue a digitally native pound – and to the effect that FTX shows that we do not need do so," Cunliffe said at a conference at the Warwick Business School in Coventry, England.

5. S.Korean FSC Necessitates Compensation for Crypto Firms’ Misconduct.

It had been reported that the Financial Service Commission (FSC) of South Korea issued a notice regarding the necessity of digital asset exchanges to compensate the customers’ losses and to pay penalties for the sudden suspension of withdrawals.

The consent of FSC was in response to the Digital Asset Basic Act proposed by the Conservative Party that was initially supposed to be implemented by 2023.

Previously, on November 1, FSC initiated the procedures to safeguard crypto investors. However, it had been mentioned in the proposal that as introducing a new wider security framework in the crypto space needs more time, the system would be implemented completely by the next year.

Kim Joo-hyun, the Chairman of FSC, while commenting on the advantages of the Digital Asset Basic Act, told:

“In cooperation with the National Assembly, we will actively support the establishment of a regulatory system for virtual assets that balances innovation through new technologies such as blockchain, consumer protection, and financial stability”.

Currently, the proposal necessitates the exchanges to have a separation in the user deposits and their operational funds. Also, the platforms were asked to prepare a register for the users’ digital asset properties.

However, with the release of the current report, it had been clear that the FSC had taken relevant steps to secure crypt customers and thereby facilitate the smooth functioning of the industry.

Furthermore, FSC would be given the complete authority to interfere and seize the crypto firms that violate any of the terms of conduct issued by the officials.

6. Kaspersky Warns Against NFT Scams Amid Qatar World Cup 2022.

According to Kaspersky, a multinational cybersecurity and privacy organization, several scammers and fraudsters are taking advantage of football fans’ excitement for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

The cyber security firm discovered that the phishing site employed a variety of devious tactics to acquire user data. The first fraudulent scam they discovered was the sale of Qatar 2022 World Cup tickets, among other maneuvers.

Kaspersky’s cybersecurity expert, Olga Svistunova, in a press release received on Monday, shared the following:

"We see how cybercriminals are trying to get the most out of the event and exploit as many as possible, including the increasing number of NFT scams related to the World Cup"

Accordingly, the possibility of ticket fraud for the Qatar 2022 World Cup increased because the event’s organizers sold tickets online. Secondly, awarding presents and prizes was the second fraud scheme discovered.

During this time, the scammers were discovered to be taking advantage of the popularity of NFTs and crypto assets to commit fraud in the name of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Bets on event matches with crypto-currency awards or NFT digital artwork are employed as a strategy.

Victims are prompted to input crypto wallet information as well as reasons for reward transfers.