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Worldcoin fell by 15% after a report of an investigation in Hong Kong
Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner (PCPD) has reported concerns about Worldcoin for possibly violating regulations regarding the storage of biometric information.
The regulator's observer visited several work areas of Sam Altman's retinal scanning project .
“The PCPD entered six Worldcoin premises located in Yau Ma Thay, Kwun Tong, Wan Chai, Cyprusport, Central and Causeway Bay to conduct investigations. “It is concerned that the company’s operations in Hong Kong pose serious risks to personal data,” the statement said.
The PCPD added that the startup’s collection and processing of personal information may contravene Hong Kong regulations. The department opened an investigation “to protect the privacy of members of the public.”
The agency advised citizens to carefully consider several key issues before providing their biometric data. These include assessing the legitimacy of the process, understanding the scope and purpose of collection, and identifying the organizations that will receive personal information.
In addition, PCPD recommended that people be aware of the retention period of biometric data and learn about the security measures taken to their protection.
After reports of the start of an investigation, the rate of the WLD token decreased by 15% – from $2.67 to $2.25, according to CoinGecko.
In Argentina, tax requirements for cryptocurrency were canceled
The Argentine government canceled tax requirements for cryptocurrencies. Citizens of the country will not have to declare digital assets, local media report with reference to a statement by Interior Minister Guillermo Francos.
As the official noted, members of the government had disputes over certain points of the bill “On the Fundamentals and Starting Points of the Freedom of Argentines “.
Let us remind you that on December 27, a new bill was introduced for consideration by Congress. The authors of the document proposed introducing a tax of up to 15% on any undeclared crypto assets, the amount of which exceeds $100,000. Meanwhile, Congress was unable to reach a consensus on this issue, Francos said.
Finance expert Marcos Socaro noted, that simply storing cryptocurrencies in Argentina is not subject to tax. However, users have to pay fees on the income received from the sale of digital assets.
FTX abandoned the idea of relaunch
The FTX cryptocurrency exchange abandoned the relaunch of the platform and will undergo a liquidation process, thanks to which it plans to pay clients money. The company's lawyer Andy Dietderich said this in court, reports Reuters.
“FTX clients who can prove their losses will most likely get all their money back,” the exchange said in a statement.
Andy Diedderich said that for several months the exchange had been negotiating with potential investors, but none of them were willing to invest enough money to relaunch the platform.
The company also went to court with a request to obtain approval to determine the amount of debt every client. The judge said the amount of each claim would be determined based on how much funds users held on the day FTX filed for bankruptcy.
Against the backdrop of this news, the price of the FTT token fell sharply. At the moment, the token fell to $1.55, now it has risen to $2.13. This is evidenced by CoinMarketCap data.
UK police confiscated 61,000 BTC from scammers< /h3>
UK police have seized 61,000 BTC obtained as a result of investment fraud in China. This is reported by the Financial Times with a link to a court statement.
The report states that in 2018, UK law enforcement authorities seized four devices from fraudsters on which the first cryptocurrency was stored. Already in July 2021, the police discovered 61,000 BTC on them, then valued at 1.4 billion pounds sterling ($1.78 billion).
In January 2024, the trial of 42-year-old woman Jian Wen began, accused of involvement in laundering £5 billion.
“Wen is accused of helping to convert some of the bitcoins into cash, jewelry and other luxury items to disguise the real source of funds,” said Gillian Jones, a spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service.
The court said that the fraud was carried out by Yadi Zhang, whose real name was Zhimin Qian. Between 2014 and 2017, the woman stole about £5 billion from more than 128,000 investors. She subsequently converted the money into Bitcoin and traveled to London under a false name in 2017.
The jury was told that Zhang used Wen as a “front man” to hide the source of the stolen money that was used to buy Bitcoin. …,” the message says.
Wen did not deny that she was dealing with bitcoins, but the court must find out whether the woman knew that the proceeds were the result of fraud.
The volume of transactions in Solana reached a “multi-year high” in January
Transaction volume on the Solana network crossed $951 billion in January, which is a “multi-year high.” This is reported by The Block.
Compared to December 2023, this figure increased by 30%, then it amounted to $738.8 billion.
“The growth of activity on the blockchain significantly exceeds the levels observed in 2023 and throughout most of 2022. For example, in September 2023, the volume of transactions on the Solana network reached a minimum of $40 billion,” the message says.