The United States Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) criminal investigation division is intensifying its collaboration with foreign counterparts to identify individuals and entities evading Western sanctions. The agency is working with blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis and Ukrainian investigators to track Russians who may be using cryptocurrencies to conceal their assets amid financial restrictions imposed over Moscow’s
Bitcoin
After a period of high congestion, bitcoin miners have finally reduced the backlog of transactions. According to Bitcoin.com News, unconfirmed transactions have dropped from over 500,000 on May 7 to just above 300,000 on May 11. This indicates the beginning of the congestion-clearing process. Reduced Fees Statistics from mempool.io show that onchain fees on the
At the Sohn Investment Conference held in San Francisco in 2023, seasoned hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller raised concerns about the U.S. economy. While others may be optimistic about a “soft landing,” Druckenmiller predicts a “hard landing” instead. He cited the recent banking industry turmoil and the sharp drop in consumer spending as key factors
The 42nd ASEAN Summit was held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, on May 10-11, with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in attendance. The summit was chaired by H.E. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia, and the members of ASEAN include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The
Around a year ago on May 8, 2022, Tether’s market capitalization reached its all-time high of $83.279 billion. During this period, Terra’s stablecoin, Terrausd (UST), became unpegged from its $1 parity. This event resulted in a decline in Tether’s market valuation. Tether’s market cap hit a low of $65.36 billion on November 24, 2022, leading
A statement from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna during a visit to Paris last week. The two officials discussed the recent state visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to China, which both sides
China, one of the biggest economies in the world, has recently reported its lowest inflation numbers in over two years. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.1% year-over-year, which is a significant drop from the 0.7% registered in March. The decline in prices was
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned that a US default on its debt obligations could have severe consequences for both the American and global economies. During a press briefing, IMF Director of Communications Julie Kozack expressed concern over the current debt ceiling crisis that is taking place between the White House and Congress. She
The new BRC20 token economy, which is built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain, has experienced a significant surge in growth in the past five days. As of May 11, the total market valuation of the BRC20 token economy has reached $427 million, which marks a 53% increase since May 7. The number of BRC20
On Thursday, the Ethereum blockchain encountered a 25-minute halt in processing ETH transactions and achieving consensus. Ansgar Dietrichs, a researcher at the Ethereum Foundation, stated that the beacon chain had a brief period of non-finalization, which highlights the robustness of the chain. Despite the slowdown of blocks, transactions continued to be processed as usual. Prysmatic