The environmental effects of cryptocurrency mining are hotly debated. One can find articles arguing that the energy consumption of mining cryptocurrencies is not dangerous for Earth’s climate, but one can find just as many articles arguing that the energy used for mining cryptocurrencies will wildly exacerbate global warming and climate change. Yet at the highest level, according to the University of Cambridge’s Center for Alternative Finance, “there is currently little evidence suggesting that Bitcoin directly contributes to climate change. Even when assuming that Bitcoin mining was exclusively powered by coal — a very unrealistic scenario given that a non-trivial number…

Last month represented a major breakthrough for the future of the cryptocurrency economy: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) approved the conversion of Anchorage Trust Company, chartered in South Dakota, to become Anchorage Digital Bank National Association, a federally chartered trust company. Anchorage’s receipt of this national trust charter represents a critical milestone for the crypto industry in that Anchorage is now the first federally chartered digital asset bank in history. As a federally chartered bank with fiduciary powers, Anchorage unambiguously meets the requirements set forth by the definition of a qualified custodian under federal law. In…

Today, the Blockchain Association submitted a comment letter urging the Department of Treasury (Treasury) to extend the comment period for its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) entitled “Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets.” In addition to the comment letter, the Association’s counsel, former Solicitor General Paul Clement, sent a letter to Secretary Mnuchin requesting a deadline extension.

In its comment, the Association argues both that the NPRM is procedurally defective and that Treasury should extend the comment period for the NPRM to at least 60 days so that the public can provide substantive and meaningful…

With the SEC ending its long battle with Kik, the Blockchain Association is optimistic about the ability of the crypto industry to move forward and continue innovating.

The SEC and Kik settled their yearlong lawsuit this fall, following a summary judgment decision by a district court in New York. Kik agreed to pay a $5 million fine and to notify the SEC in advance of certain activities. …

On Friday, the Blockchain Association responded to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Federal Reserve’s notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would lower the Travel and Recordkeeping rules’ compliance thresholds to $250 for transactions involving non-U.S. jurisdictions. The Association urged the agencies to reconsider this NPRM, the adoption of which would place a substantial burden on regulated financial institutions — especially virtual asset service providers and smaller firms — while undermining individual users’ privacy.

In addition, the Association maintained that the agencies did not provide sufficient evidence that adopting the proposed changes would materially benefit anti-money laundering or combatting…

Today, the Blockchain Association published a report for policymakers that explains the fundamental role of self-hosted wallets in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and why they are important to the future of free societies. The report is divided into two sections: The first section describes what self-hosted wallets are, their role in the digital asset ecosystem, and the current regulatory framework for managing digital asset transactions involving self-hosted wallets. The second section argues that imposing restrictions on individuals’ ability to use self-hosted wallets would be misguided.

Self-hosted wallets allow individuals to engage in transactions over the internet on a peer-to-peer basis, meaning…

How Filecoin helps make the case for cryptocurrencies in Washington, D.C.

Recent government antitrust action against Google highlights what many in the tech world feel: certain companies have much too much control over how we conduct our business online. Sometimes this concern is mitigated by focusing on the benefits of Big Tech’s growing power: cost, ease of use, and lessening the cognitive burden of consumers. And whereas the U.S. government has recently taken a long-anticipated step towards questioning the power of Google (and perhaps other big companies, in the future), this action may take years to filter down to the lives of the everyday consumer. However, there are projects, particularly in…

Depending on the proof-of-stake network, individuals staking their stokens (“stakers”) may (1) stake their own tokens; (2) delegate their right to validate transactions while keeping custody of the tokens; or (3) both delegate this right and transfer custody of the tokens for staking. Validating new transaction blocks earns stakers rewards in the form of created tokens. Delegating is meant to increase member participation by allowing for specialized services, known as staking service providers, to perform the staking function on behalf of individuals. …