OTC’s Weekly Retrospect 27/06–01/07/2022

Each week we bring you a round-up of the most important Bitcoin and virtual asset-related stories making waves in the cryptosphere.­­­­

Major news stories this week;

1. Goldman Sachs said to raise US$2B for Celsius assets: report
2. EU agrees on landmark regulation to clean up crypto ‘Wild West
3. UK Government Backtracks on Unhosted Wallet Data Collection Proposal
4. SEC Chair Seeks Formal Deal With the CFTC for Crypto Regulation
5. Harmony Hit by $100M Hack in Latest Exploit of Cross-Chain Bridges

Story Summaries;

1. The U.S. investment bank is looking to raise the money to buy up distressed assets from the troubled crypto lender, a Fortune report said. A deal would allow investors to buy up Celsius Network’s assets at “potentially big discounts” if the crypto lender files for bankruptcy.
2. EU officials on Thursday secured an agreement on what is likely to be the first major regulatory framework for the cryptocurrency industry. The move came a day after the three main institutions finalized measures aimed at stamping out money laundering in crypto.
3. The government said it didn’t make sense to require all senders of funds to private crypto wallets to collect recipients’ identification details. Based on the feedback received, the Treasury does not think it would make sense to create a data collection rule for unhosted, or private, wallets, it said.
4. SEC Chair has been pressing for control over the regulation of crypto trading, which a new bill seeks to entrust entirely to the CFTC. US (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler has sought a formal cooperation between financial agencies to regulate the crypto assets effectively.
5. On June 23, Harmony, a Layer 1 blockchain, said it identified an exploit worth roughly $100M targeting its Horizon bridge. The Harmony team has begun working with “national authorities and forensic specialists” to identify the hacker and attempt to retrieve the stolen funds.

And that’s a wrap on the weeks news! As always, have a great weekend and Happy Friday!