Law & privacy

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February 14, 2020 HOLIDAY NOTICE: Blockchain Bites will publish next on Tuesday, Feb. 18. Happy Presidents Day to our US readers. And Happy Valentine's Day to all. _________________________________________________________________ ILLEGAL MIXING: After Larry Harmon's arrest for allegedly participating in a money-laundering conspiracy worth more than $300 million in cryptocurrency, the Department of Justice has said mixing, the process of obfuscating transactions on a blockchain, is illegal. “This indictment underscores that seeking to obscure virtual currency transactions in this way is a crime," Brian Benczkowski, a DOJ Assistant Attorney General, said. Full story $1M MINIMUM: Cryptocurrency investment firm Polychain Capital is raising $200 million for a second fund aimed at venture investing, that’s $25 million more than its first fund. According to an investor slide deck obtained by CoinDesk, the new fund opened at the beginning of 2020 and is accepting minimum investments of $1 million for up to three years. Full story TOUGH TALK: Tensions with Iran may be behind U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s cryptocurrency compliance comments on Wednesday. The New York Times reported the Trump administration “has expressed growing concern” that this technology is being used to “evade American sanctions on countries like Iran.” Full story SMALLER GALAXY: Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency merchant bank founded by Michael Novogratz, has laid off 13 people, roughly 15 percent of its workforce, sources said. The layoffs occurred across the board in early January, though all of the New York-based firm's business divisions were left intact. Full story BLACK SWANS: The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence is advertising for a post-doc researcher to study what would happen if the U.S. dollar lost its status as the world’s reserve currency. The agency said the research – the first of its kind for the intelligence community’s post-doc program – could help the U.S. prepare for “black swan” events that would threaten the dominance of the dollar. Full story NEW SERIES: CoinDesk Research has launched Monthly Reviews, which feature a series of charts that reveal insight into institutional participation in crypto assets and adoption of fundamental user narratives. Download January’s for free here. GOLDEN PROSPECTS? Bitcoin’s short-term and long-term daily moving averages look likely to converge soon, forming a golden cross, a bullish pattern not seen for nearly 10 months. Based on historical data, that could springboard the recent rally to new highs. That said, there are still some signs of overbought conditions, indicating buyer exhaustion, which could produce a pullback. Full story   MAJOR IMPLICATIONS: With bitcoin holding above $10,000, CoinDesk senior reporter Leigh Cuen joins Markets Daily to discuss the developments and implications in the case alleged against Larry Dean Harmon. Harmon’s case before the DOJ raises pressing questions about developer liability and the future of privacy-concealing transactions in the crypto industry. Listen in WHO WON #CRYPTOTWITTER   Copyright © 2020 CoinDesk, All rights reserved.  Our mailing address is:  250 Park Avenue South New York, NY, 10003, US  Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list