Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) had a plan for crypto wallet service regulation on its meeting agenda for a recent gathering of its crypto study group, bitcoin.com reported. As it stands, crypto wallet providers aren’t currently treated the same way as cryptocurrency exchanges as they do not engage in cryptocurrency trading. Instead, these providers transfer and manage digital currencies. According to the report, the plan homes in on service providers as opposed to manufacturers or developers of wallets. Some of the regulatory measures could be financial audits and internal controls, among others. At the same time, the group reportedly talked about wallet risks such as wallet failures and cyber attacks.
In other news, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in a press release on Friday (November 16) that two issuers of initial coin offerings (ICO) have agreed to settle with the agency. The issuers have agreed to register their tokens as securities, pay penalties, give the commission periodic reports and return funds to investors. In a press release, the agency said that both issuers had their ICOs following a DAO Report of Investigation that warned that the offerings can be securities. SEC Enforcement Division Co-Director Stephanie Avakian said in the press release, “These cases tell those who are considering taking similar actions that we continue to be on the lookout for violations of the federal securities laws with respect to digital assets.”
On another note, Twitter claims that scammers used a third-party app to send bitcoin scam links via verified accounts of companies like Target, TheNextWeb reported, but it did not identify the app. The report also said that Target had hinted that attackers had gotten into its Twitter account when the company was hit with its scam, but the retailer later said that the scammers used an app from a third party that had permission to make posts for the company. TNW said that the news that the hackings came via an app from a third party “explains how the attackers managed to run the Bitcoin giveaway scam at such a large scale — and in such an organized manner.”
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