Monthly Archives: June 2021

Stanford announces 2021 Cuthbertson, Dinkelspiel and Gores awards – Stanford Today – Stanford University News

Posted: June 2, 2021 at 5:40 am

By Kathleen J. Sullivan

Stanford has announced the winners of the 2021 university awards honoring faculty, students and staff for exceptional service, distinctive contributions to undergraduate education and excellence in teaching.

Last week, President Marc Tessier-Lavigne personally congratulated each of the nine winners during phone or video calls.

The nine winners will be publicly recognized on June 13 at the Commencement Ceremony for the Senior Class of 2021. The in-person ceremony, which will be livestreamed, will take place at 9:30 a.m. (PDT) in Stanford Stadium.

Stanford remains committed to holding a future in-person 2020 graduation ceremony, which will publicly recognize the 2020 winners of the Cuthbertson, Dinkelspiel and Gores awards announced in March 2021. The ceremony was delayed due to the pandemic.

TheKenneth M. Cuthbertson Award for Contributions to Stanford University, which recognizes extraordinary contributions to the achievement of the universitys goals, is open to all members of the Stanford community. This years winners are Jan Barker-Alexander and Thomas Fenner.

Jan Barker-Alexander (Image credit: Sean McKibbon)

Jan Barker-Alexander, assistant vice provost for inclusion and community, and executive director of the Centers for Equity, Community and Leadership, and the Offices of First Generation and/or Low-Income Programs and for Military-Affiliated Communities, was honored for her empathy, love and tireless devotion to advocacy for Black, underserved and historically marginalized students and community members.

Barker-Alexander, who is the resident fellow (RF) of Ujamaa House, was commended for her transformational leadership of the undergraduate residence, which focuses on the histories, issues and cultures of the Black diaspora. In Fall 2020, the Ujamaa RF position became the first-ever endowed position in residential education and was named in her honor.

She was also honored for her visionary work in establishing important programs to promote diversity, including revamping the Ernest Houston Johnson Scholars Program, which is named after the first Black student to graduate from Stanford in the pioneer Class of 1895. The program exposes first-year students to research opportunities, faculty-led projects and guidance on the professoriate as a career option, with the ultimate goal of building the pipeline to academia.

Barker-Alexander was also commended for supporting students in their principled activism.

Thomas Fenner (Image credit: Courtesy Thomas Fenner)

Thomas Fenner, deputy general counsel in the Office of the General Counsel, was honored for his ability to build warm and engaging rapport, even while navigating delicate and difficult legal and ethical considerations.

He was commended for his remarkable memory and his mastery of the intricacies of the law and for his strong sense of empathy, which fuels his efforts to achieve positive outcomes.

Fenner was also honored for his deep institutional knowledge and his constant dedication to the universitys mission.

TheLloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for Distinctive Contributions to Undergraduate Education recognizes distinctive and exceptional contributions to undergraduate education or the quality of student life at Stanford. This years winners are Lisa Hwang, Jennifer Rolen, Chloe Stoddard and Constanza Hasselmann.

Lisa Hwang (Image credit: Courtesy Stanford Engineering)

Lisa Hwang, senior lecturer in chemical engineering in the School of Engineering, was honored for her tireless efforts in advocating for, supporting and fostering community between educators and students on campus through course re-design and professional development for faculty.

She was commended for her remarkable leadership in modernizing the departments curriculum with an emphasis on active learning and inclusive learning practices.

Hwang was also honored for her instrumental work in developing online lab courses during the pandemic to ensure a meaningful learning experience for students.

She was also commended for showing great personal dedication to investing in others, through mentoring and advising hundreds of undergraduates and junior faculty, and training teaching assistants.

Jennifer Rolen (Image credit: Stefanie Ky)

Jennifer Rolen, assistant dean and associate director of the First Generation and/or Low-Income (FLI) Office, was honored for developing, supporting and nurturing the FLI community and valuing diversity across our community.

She was commended for fostering strong relationships with students, often guiding and supporting them through difficult challenges.

Rolen was also honored for her tremendous contributions to the Stanford FLI Conference, which has been attended by hundreds of students and administrators over the past four years.

She was also commended for her thoughtful engagement with student leadership to spread the ethos of pride and the FLI identity, both at Stanford and beyond.

Chloe Stoddard (Image credit: Therese Santiago)

Chloe Stoddard, a candidate for a bachelors degree with honors in international relations, with a minor in human rights, in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was honored for her commitment to gender equity on campus, co-founding Stanford Womxn in Law, the Stanford Womens March and the Student Advisory Board on Sexual Violence Prevention.

She was commended for her thoughtful and purposeful leadership, which demonstrates an innate ability to create movements and organizations that are intentionally inclusive and uplifting.

Stoddard was also honored for forging a partnership between Habla and Stanford Womxn in Law to better serve workers at Stanford in need of legal support and advocacy. Habla is a community-engaged learning organization in which students teach English as a second language to native Spanish-speaking workers on campus.

She was also commended for her dedication to multi-faceted and interwoven approaches to activism, resulting in changes to sexual harassment and assault education curriculum and more comprehensive sexual violence response training for residential staff members.

Constanza Hasselmann (Image credit: Courtesy Constanza Hasselmann)

Constanza Hasselmann is a candidate for a masters degree in sustainability science and practice in the School of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences, and a candidate for a bachelors degree with honors in sociology, with a minor in human rights, in the School of Humanities and Sciences.

Hasselmann was honored for founding the Public Interest Technology Lab at Stanford, which hosts events and engages in advocacy to encourage thoughtful innovation with a focus on recruitment, racial justice and bridging disciplines.

She was commended for her tremendous contributions to the creation of Computer Science 184, including recruiting students, designing course curriculum and building the case for course approval.

Hasselmann was also honored for her tireless advocacy for student participation in the activities of the Ethics, Society and Technology Lab.

TheWalter J. Gores Awardrecognizes undergraduate and graduate teaching excellence. This years winners are Justin Du Bois, Guosong Hong and Emily Schell.

Justin Du Bois (Image credit: Courtesy Justin Du Bois)

Justin Du Bois is the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and professor, by courtesy, of chemical and systems biology in the School of Medicine.

He was honored for his steadfast dedication to his students, often staying after class to discuss material and create intensely detailed lecture notes, in addition to weekly tutorials, problem sets and review sessions.

Du Bois was commended for bringing his passion and enthusiasm into the classroom by showcasing the importance of chemical concepts to human life and disease, and for his distinctive approach to learning, including a willingness to sacrifice less-important content to ensure a strong grasp of the core material.

He was also honored for putting in hundreds of hours beyond the call of duty to dramatically improve the educational experience of his students.

Guosong Hong (Image credit: Courtesy Guosong Hong)

Guosong Hong, assistant professor of materials science and engineering in the School of Engineering, was honored for his broad knowledge, extensive experience and sharp insights in the field of neurotechnology.

He was commended for creating engaging, well-organized course content that inspires students imaginations and aspirations and draws students from across many different disciplines.

Hong was also honored for his caring, personable treatment of students, which epitomizes the intellectual excitement and sense of engaged community that Stanford is known for.

He was also commended for his scientific multilingualism and his keen ability to lay the necessary groundwork for relevant biology and neuroscience concepts in a comprehensive way for all his students.

Emily Schell (Image credit: Courtesy Emily Schell)

Emily Schell, a doctoral candidate in developmental psychological sciences in the Graduate School of Education, and a minor in psychology in the School of Humanities and Sciences, was honored for her thoughtful dedication to her students, often curating educational and personal support systems to fit individual needs.

Schell was commended for deploying innovative strategies to create an environment that encourages questions, uplifts responses and offers additional resources and office hours for her students.

She was also honored for her contagious passion for service learning, which inspires students to connect their academic learning with real-world problems that need solutions.

Schell was also commended for her effective collaborations with other graduate students and faculty in adopting new technologies and student-centered pedagogy.

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New proposals to support rapid and safe rollout of fusion energy – GOV.UK

Posted: at 5:40 am

A new report published today (Tuesday 1 June) has set out how the UK can support the rapid and safe introduction of fusion energy as the technology develops.

Produced by the Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC), an independent expert committee which identifies regulation required to foster technical innovation, the report makes recommendations on how fusion energy should be regulated in light of its inherently lower risk than nuclear alternatives.

Fusion is the process that powers the sun. A fusion power plant would combine hydrogen atoms to generate energy without giving off the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. The UK hopes to deliver the worlds first prototype fusion power plant, STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), by 2040.

The RHC report states that innovation-friendly regulation will allow the technology to be rolled out quickly and safely, boosting the confidence of both the public and investors.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:

Fusion energy has enormous potential, offering an inexhaustible source of zero-carbon energy and helping us to cement the UKs position as a science superpower.

Todays report helps put the foundations in place to deliver the worlds first prototype fusion plant by 2040 and ensures we can capitalise on the exciting innovation taking place right here in the UK.

Focusing on the STEP programme announced in October 2019, the report recommends the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency lead on developing current regulations and putting the best framework in place for the technology to flourish.

Due to the lower risk associated with fusion that with nuclear fission, the report recommends that the current regulatory approach, led by HSE and the Environment Agency, is the most appropriate framework and that the more stringent regulations applied to nuclear energy would be disproportionate.

To ensure the target of delivering a fusion plant by 2040 is met, the report also recommends the government consults with business and the public on its plans for fusion energy in summer 2021 and begins a public awareness programme to increase understanding of the topic. Additionally, it advises that a joint guidance document is produced by EA, HSE and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to provide further clarity and ensure confidence in the technology.

Following the publication of the report, the government has today confirmed that it will launch a consultation on fusion energy regulation later this year, allowing industry and the public to have their say. The government has published an interim response to the RHC report and will respond to the report in full in early 2022 after its consultation.

Fusion is currently regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in England. Legislation which determines environmental protection regulation for fusion apply in England only and is enforced by EA. Regulators in each of the other nations in the UK have the responsibility for carrying out this same function. Health and Safety regulation, currently enforced by HSE, applies across Great Britain but is devolved in Northern Ireland where the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland have responsibility.

The Regulatory Horizons Council (RHC) is an independent committee, sponsored by the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), that identifies the implications of technological innovation. It provides government with impartial, expert advice on the regulatory reform required to support its rapid and safe introduction of new technologies.

It was set up further to recommendations from the governments white paper on Regulating for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and started the fusion energy regulation report in September 2020, alongside other reports on genetic technologies, medical devices, and remotely piloted aircraft systems. It has recently selected the areas of work it will cover later this year, which are pro-innovation regulatory principles, neurotechnology, AI in healthcare, and hydrogen.

Fusion energy research aims to bring the power source of the stars down to earth to give us low-carbon electricity for millennia to come. When light nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus, they release bursts of energy. This is the opposite of nuclear fission the reaction that is used in nuclear power stations today in which energy is released when a nucleus splits apart to form smaller nuclei. For additional detail on fusion energy please consult the UKAEAs Fusion in brief guide.

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Cryptocurrency Ban: Unworkable and Unwise – The Wall Street Journal

Posted: at 5:39 am

Regarding Lee Reinerss Ban Cryptocurrency to Fight Ransomware (op-ed, May 26): Emulating the Chinese governments approach to cryptocurrencies is misguided, impractical and un-American. As Mr. Reiners concedes, banning anything runs counter to the American ethos, a statement that encapsulates the open approach to new technology that we, as a country, have often pursued. While it is unfortunate that Mr. Reinerss proposed ban mimics the Chinese approach, it is also technically impossible. Open blockchain networks run on open-source software, meaning the government couldnt enforce a ban on digital assets without shutting down the entire internet. We doubt such a solution would have much of a durable constituency on Capitol Hill or in the White House.

Indeed, what sort of signal would banning this censorship-resistant financial system send to the billions of people living under authoritarian regimes? One timely example undermines Mr. Reinerss assertion that cryptocurrencies are used only by speculators and criminals. According to the Human Rights Foundation, Belarusians have used bitcoin to defy Alexander Lukashenkos regime by sending more than $3 million in unstoppable money directly to striking workers, who then convert it to local currency in peer-to-peer marketplaces, helping to support protests against the countrys dictatorship.

Another more local example shouldnt escape our view: Mr. Reinerss Global Financial Markets Center openly solicited, until May 26, donations in several cryptocurrencies. If a well-regarded think tank focused on the future of the worlds financial systems deems crypto donations worthy, perhaps Mr. Reiners should look closer to home for worthwhile use cases.

Kristin Smith

Executive Director

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Bitcoin ($BTC USD) Vs Ethereum ($ETH): Which Cryptocurrency Price Is Better? – Bloomberg

Posted: at 5:39 am

Follow us @crypto for our full coverage.

The relative resilience of Ether in Mays cryptocurrency rout has put the spotlight back on the idea that the second-largest digital token could one day overtake Bitcoin by market value.

Right now the largest virtual currency is more than twice as big as Ether but the gap narrowed by about $350 billion in May, courtesy of one of Bitcoins worst drops and a smaller retreat in Ether. Fans of Ether cite its popularity for blockchain-based financial services and digital collectibles, as well as an ongoing upgrade to boost the efficiency of the affiliated Ethereum network.

Ether will likely exceed Bitcoin at some point in the future, as Ethereum will be superior when it comes to innovation and developer interest, said Tegan Kline, co-founder of blockchain software company Edge & Node. But she also said that investors should be allocating capital to both tokens.

The speed of change in the crypto sector makes prognostication perilous. Even so, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists and star investor Cathie Wood are among those who highlighted Ethers potential recently. More broadly, interest in virtual currencies has expanded out beyond Bitcoin, whose share of $1.6 trillion in total crypto market value is down to 42% from about 70% going into 2021, according to data from CoinGecko.

In a report last week, Goldman commodity strategists Mikhail Sprogis and Jeff Currie wrote that Bitcoins first-mover advantage appears fragile, adding theres a high chance it will eventually lose its crown as the dominant digital store of value to another cryptocurrency with greater practical use and technological agility.

They said Ether seems the most likely candidate to surpass Bitcoin, while adding the rider that such an outcome is far from certain. Ethers annual supply growth is capped, they said, aiding its credentials as a store of value.

Pat LaVecchia, chief executive of crypto broker Oasis Pro Markets LLC, argues Ether is starting to be viewed as a better growth story for the long term.

Bitcoin is down some 37% in May, one of its worst monthly retreats on record, while Ether has shed about 11%. The largest token retreated 1% to $35,750 as of 8:27 a.m. in London. Ether was little changed at $2,447. Virtual currencies have been under pressure after Elon Musk criticized Bitcoins energy profile and China stepped up regulatory rhetoric.

For some, Bitcoin will fend off rivals to stay in top spot, not least because of the sheer amount of attention it gets. For instance, Andrew Kiguel, chief executive of Tokens.com, argues Bitcoin has the best outside validation signals given how institutions and tycoons like Musk keep talking about it.

Bitcoin will still remain king of the cryptos, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp. Bitcoin had too big of a lead for Ethereum to catch and has one major advantage, a fixed supply of only 21 million coins.

Ether is up more than 900% over the past year, exceeding Bitcoins 275% climb. Given the huge gains, the debate on what crypto insiders call the flippening -- a future where Ethers value overtakes Bitcoin -- will likely stay alive for a while yet.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

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Cryptocurrency expert says Bitcoin, Stablecoin payments will be accepted by more businesses – Fox Business

Posted: at 5:39 am

Voyager Digital CEO Steve Ehrlich on whether more companies will accept crypto.

More companies will accept cryptocurrency as payment, especially Bitcoin and Stablecoin, Voyager Digital CEO Steve Ehrlich told FOX Business Maria Bartiromo on "Mornings with Maria" Tuesday.

MIAMI TO HOST LARGEST CRYPTOCURRENCY CONFERENCE IN HISTORY

STEVE EHRLICH: I think there's going to be more, you know, more companies accepting crypto. I think one of the other things are Stablecoins there, and I think there will be more companies accepting Stablecoins as the first step then they will start accepting Bitcoin.

That's a growing population. Us at Voyager, we're already seeing that as our business caters to small and mid-sized businesses as well as retail consumers.

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Those small mid-sized businesses want to accept USDC Stablecoin, they want to accept Bitcoin and they want to hold some of their Treasury in both of them because you can earn interest on those as well as use them in everyday payment.

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Top Cryptocurrency Prices Today: Cardano, Ethereum, XRP gain up to 6% – Economic Times

Posted: at 5:39 am

New Delhi: Major crypto market tokens regained their initial gains on Monday. The cuts in daily prices have been marginal, but tokens including Cardano, Maker and XRP gained up to 10% per cent in the last 24 hours.

Prices of nearly all crytos tumbled after China Banking Association recently warned member banks of the risks associated with digital currencies. Murmurings of tighter regulations on digital tokens have put pressure on them. Despite such a massive crash, investors and traders continue to be bullish about cryptos.

Cryptocurrency market has been less volatile of late but major digital tokens are down by a third this month, weighed by growing regulatory pressures on the sector. Many digital currencies are trading at half of their peak after gaining in the beginning of this year.

Back home, leading domestic banks are clamping down on customers using bank accounts for cryptocurrency transactions. Major lenders such as HDFC Bank and State Bank of India have sent official notices to customers warning them of curbs, including permanent closure of accounts.

The move comes after the 'informal' diktat by RBI issued last week asked banks to stop dealing with cryptocurrency exchanges. The move has seen major backlash from crypto exchanges and traders.

"The weekend was pretty steady with most major currencies moving northwards. We will see this behaviour continue as markets consolidate further and money in the ecosystem evens out. Over the next few days, we will see bitcoin dominance dip and most of that money to flow into Altcoins like ETH and BNB", said Edul Patel, CEO & Cofounder, Mudrex

Crypto prices as of 09:50 IST (Source: coinmarketcap.com)

The cryptocurrency is based on the Bitcoin (BTC) protocol but differs in terms of its hashing algorithm, hard cap, block transaction time along with a few other technical factors. LTC currently has a block time of just under 2.5 minutes and very low transaction fees, which makes it suitable for micro-transactions and POS payments.

Today, Litecoin is one of the most widely accepted cryptocurrencies, and more than 2,000 merchants and stores now accept LTC across the globe.

Technically, LTC, on the four hourly time frame, made a Hammer pattern (trend reversal pattern) at the support level of $117.58 and the prices started moving upwards making Higher Top Higher Bottom formation up to the resistance level of $208.98. Post this, the asset is consolidating and trading in a range from $160 to $200. Hence, breakouts on either side will further decide the trend of the asset.

Key levelsSupport: $117 and $155Resistance: $220 and $247

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Miami to host largest cryptocurrency conference in history – Fox Business

Posted: at 5:39 am

New York Stock Exchange President Stacey Cunningham on todays markets, the reopening economy, cryptocurrencies and potential higher taxes under the Biden administration.

Miami is hosting the largest-ever cryptocurrency conference this week in a sign that what was once dismissed as a passing fad is now going mainstream.

The conference, which runs from June 3 to June 5 at the Mana Convention Center in Miamis Wynwood neighborhood, brings a host of reputable attendees including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who has said he wants to make the city a crypto hub.

Financial data analysis graph showing global market trends. Selective focus. Horizontal composition with copy space. (iStock)

The conference was originally scheduled to run from April 30 to May 1 in Los Angeles but was changed to Miami amid concerns of Californias strict COVID-19 policies. The date was also changed back to allow time for the second wave of the virus to pass and allow vaccines to roll out.

BITCOIN CONTENDS WITH BIGGEST MONTHLY DROP ON RECORD

Conference organizers expect upwards of 50,000 attendees.

Though still small compared to its west coast counterparts, Miami has emerged as a major tech hub in recent years. The Wynwood neighborhood, in particular, has become a hub for arts, technology, and innovation.

Mayor Suarez told Fox Business in January he is looking into allowing citizens to pay taxes and fees to the city in bitcoin.

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"We want to be one of the most crypto-forward and technological cities in the country," he said. "So we're looking at creating a regulatory framework that makes us the easiest place in the United States to do business if you're doing it in cryptocurrencies."

Fox Business Catie Perry contributed to this report.

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RBIs clarification on cryptocurrency: What it means for investors in India – India Today

Posted: at 5:39 am

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday came out with an important clarification on cryptocurrency trade. The central bank said that banks cannot refer to its April 2018 circular to caution their customers against trading in cryptocurrencies.

The central bank said such references to its earlier circular by banks are not in order as it was set aside by the Supreme Court on March 4, 2020.

As such, in view of the order of the Honble Supreme Court, the circular is no longer valid from the date of the Supreme Court judgement, and therefore cannot be cited or quoted from, the RBI statement said.

Though the central banks statement is objective, it does give an indication that the stance towards cryptocurrencies is softening in India.

It comes at a crucial time as the government is in process of framing rules to either ban or regulate cryptocurrency trade in the country; the latter option is a preferred choice of most crypto traders and exchanges operating in the country.

Read | Cryptocurrency prices today: Bitcoin inches closer to $37,000, Ether rebounds sharply

RBIs clarification will directly help crypto exchanges that have been facing a lot of bottlenecks in their negotiations with banks. Nischal Shetty, founder and CEO, WazirX, had recently told IndiaToday.in about banking hurdles with respect to crypto trade.

Nischal Shetty has welcomed RBI's statement and said it is a positive development for the entire crypto sector in India. He said banks will now have more clarity in dealing with crypto exchanges.

On Twitter, Shetty said, Its amazing to see RBI clarifying and helping solve uncertainty for Crypto in India. There are over 1.5 crore Indians in Crypto. This news has brought joy and confidence to everyone in the sector. Lets continue to build the Indian crypto ecosystem.

The RBI also asked banks and other regulated entities to carry out customer due diligence processes in line with regulations governing standards for KYC, anti-money laundering, combating of financial terrorism and obligations of regulated entities under PMLA, 2020 in addition to ensuring compliance with relevant provisions under FEMA for overseas remittances.

This, too, is a welcome move according to WazirXs Nischal Shetty as all exchanges providing cryptocurrency trade services to customers are up to date with all regulations.

RBIs statement is important as it is another indication that the government is looking to soften its stance on cryptocurrency trade and go for regulation rather than a ban. A few days ago, a report indicated that the government is planning to set up a new expert committee to re-examine all aspects of crypto trade.

An earlier committee headed by former finance secretary Subhash Garg in 2019 recommended a blanket ban on cryptocurrency trade. However, many within the government now feel that the suggestions of the committee have become outdated.

Given the recent developments, many crypto investors and exchanges feel that the government may not go for an outright ban on virtual coin trade in the country.

Earlier in March, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) had asked companies to declare their cryptocurrency investments and was viewed as another indication that the government may consider the option to regulate cryptocurrency trade. Even Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier told India Today that the government will not shut all options on cryptocurrencies.

Combining all these developments with the growing popularity of cryptocurrency trade in India, it is a high possibility. Regulating virtual coin trade instead of a complete ban could be the preferred choice of the government in view of the evolving circumstances.

Also Read | RBI clarification on Bitcoin and cryto trading, here are 5 key takeaways

A Business Standard report quoting sources in the RBI said allowing banks to carry out due diligence for crypto investors and users amounts to legitimising trading in the country.

They could have stopped after the first paragraph which said the April circular is no longer valid. But RBI went on to permit banks to carry out due diligence for crypto customers like any other legitimate activities that are allowed for the banks, a source quoted in the report said.

After the RBIs statement, people from the crypto domain say the central bank has cleared its stance on virtual coins and this will help make the industry stronger.

They also said that the cryptocurrency sector now needs a concrete set of guidelines from the government that will help in better regulation. For instance, there is a regulatory framework needed for taxing cryptos.

While creating a solid framework for cryptos will need more time, RBIs clarification is a big step in that direction.

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SEC Sues Cryptocurrency Promoters Over Deal That Raised $2 Billion – The Wall Street Journal

Posted: at 5:39 am

WASHINGTONRegulators sued a group of cryptocurrency promoters who helped raise over $2 billion from investors with the promise of 40% monthly returns, in one of the largest cases ever brought over digital assets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday sued five individuals in Manhattan federal court over their promotion of BitConnect. The SEC said the men violated laws that required them to register as brokers and ran afoulof other investor-protection rules. It didnt accuse them of fraud.

The SECs lawsuit seeks to have the defendants give back the money they made and to pay civil monetary penalties.

BitConnect was a digital asset created in 2016 and sold in exchange for bitcoin, the worlds most valuable cryptocurrency. BitConnect told investors it would profitably trade their bitcoin using an automated trading bot and required the currencyto be locked up for terms ranging from four to 10 months, according to the SECs lawsuit. BitConnect eventually lost 92% of its value, and investors lost all or nearly all of their funds in the lending program, the SECs lawsuit said.Thousands invested in BitConnect.

The SEC sued BitConnect promoters Trevon Brown of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Craig Grant of Kissimmee, Fla., Ryan Maasen of Tulsa, Okla., and Michael Noble of Pacific Palisades, Calif. Regulators also sued Joshua Jeppesen of East Falmouth, Mass., who allegedly was a liaison between BitConnect and the promoters. Mr. Jeppesen also represented BitConnect at conferences and other events.

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3 Cryptocurrency Stocks That May Not Rebound Soon – Benzinga

Posted: at 5:39 am

As cryptocurrency melts down, the stocks of many crypto-related companies have followed. For some of them, significant resistance has formed above current trading levels. This could keep a top on them, at least in the short run.

They include Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA), SOS Limited (NYSE:SOS), and BIGG Digital Assets Inc. (OTC:BBKCF).

See Also: Report Shows Over $2B Worth Of Bitcoin Bought During The Dip

The $28.75 level was support for Marathon Digital. Support levels can convert into resistance and that could happen here.

Many of the investors who paid $28.75now regret their decision because the price is lower. A number of these investors decide to sell, but they're reluctant to take a loss.

As a result, they place their sell orders at their buying price. In this case, it's $28.75. If there are enough of these sell orders, it will form resistance.

The $3.90 level was support for SOS. Now it is a resistance level.

For BIGG the resistance is at $1.80. Sellers at this level have kept a top on the price for a month.

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