Bitcoin News and Finance: What You Need to Know

Coinmena, the Bahrain-based cryptocurrency exchange, recently announced that residents of Qatar can now buy and sell cryptocurrencies on its platform. The cryptocurrency exchange claimed it is the first regulated digital asset exchange to open its platform to Qatari residents. Residents Can Now Connect Bank Accounts to Their Crypto Wallets The Bahrain headquartered cryptocurrency exchange, Coinmena, has become the first regulated digital asset exchange to offer its services in Qatar. According to a statement released by the exchange on May 19, Coinmena’s foray into Qatar means the country’s residents can now connect their bank accounts to their crypto wallets. This enables them to “deposit and withdraw funds directly and safely.” In a joint statement following the exchange’s latest foray into another Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market, Coinmena’s co-founders, Dina Sam’an and Talal Tabbaa said: We are delighted to become the first crypto exchange to offer our services in ...

Luxury watch manufacturer TAG Heuer announced it’s introducing online cryptocurrency payments for customers in the United States. The Swiss company provides the new payment option through a partnership with crypto payment processor Bitpay. Tag Heuer Partners With Bitpay to Offer US Clients Bitcoin Payments Designer and maker of luxury timepieces TAG Heuer is now accepting crypto for its high-quality products. Techniques d’Avant Garde (TAG), founded over a century and a half ago by Edouard Heuer in Switzerland, said this week that clients within the U.S. will be able to purchase its watches and accessories online with multiple coins. The company explained the move in a press release : With an increasing number of customers using or earning digital currencies regularly, TAG Heuer intends to be a key player in the imminent transformation of the e-commerce and retail spaces. The alternative payment method is facilitated by the crypto payment platform Bitpay. Buyers can spend a dozen...

Bitmex co-founder Arthur Hayes is not going to prison for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act. Instead, the former crypto exchange CEO has been sentenced to “six months of home detention and two years of probation.” Hayes has agreed to pay a fine of $10 million. Bitmex’s Arthur Hayes Sentenced The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that the founder and former CEO of cryptocurrency derivatives exchange Bitmex has been sentenced for violating the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Hayes pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in February. The DOJ states: Hayes, 36, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to six months of home detention and two years of probation. Hayes also agreed to pay a fine of $10 million dollars representing his pecuniary gain from the offense. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams explained that while building a cryptocurrency trading platform “that profited him millions of dollars,” Hayes “willfully defied U.S. law that requires businesses to do their part...

The chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says he is certain bitcoin and ether are commodities. He outlined how his agency is working with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the crypto sector, noting that “there are no customer protections right now in the crypto market.” Bitcoin and Ether Are Commodities ‘For Sure’ CFTC Chairman Rostin Behnam discussed the regulation of cryptocurrencies by the CFTC and the SEC in an interview with CNBC last week. The chairman was asked to comment on a bill in Congress that puts the SEC in charge of security tokens and the CFTC in charge of commodity tokens. “This is a little bit of an age-old issue between the CFTC and the SEC. We have a great relationship historically … Within this space, in my view, it makes sense for commodities to be regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and securities to be regulated by the SEC,” Behnam detailed. The CFTC boss noted that within the crypto...

A court of appeals in Russia has overturned a ruling by a regional court which allowed the blocking of the Tor Project’s website in the country. Due to violations during the initial proceedings, the case has been returned to the court of the first instance for another review. Roskomsvoboda Helps Cancel the Blocking of Tor Project’s Website in Russia Procedural violations, mainly the failure to summon the owner, have led to the canceling of the regional court’s decision to block torproject.org, Roskomsvoboda announced this week. The lawyers of the non-governmental organization working to protect the rights of internet users in Russia played a role in the case which has been sent back to the first instance court in Saratov region. The Tor Project’s website was blocked in December last year on the basis of a decision of the Saratov District Court from Dec. 18, 2017. The hearing in the appellate court, held online, was attended by Ekaterina Abashina from Roskomsvoboda’s legal team. Sin...