Summary
- The Blockchain Association has filed an amicus brief to support a CoinCenter case defending the coin mixer Tornado Cash.
- Kristin Smith, CEO of the Blockchain Association, stated that punishing the tool itself simply because it can be used by anyone is contrary to values of the U.S.
- Marisa Tashman Coppel, Policy Counsel for the Blockchain Association, argued that OFAC could not legally sanction software such as Tornado Cash.
Russia’s Rosbank Starts Offering Cross-Border Crypto Payments Despite Nationwide Ban
Despite Russia’s nationwide ban on cryptocurrency payments, its state-owned bank Rosbank has announced plans to offer cross-border crypto payments. The move comes as a surprise given Russia’s stance on cryptocurrencies and is likely to stir up a lot of debate within the industry. The new service will allow customers in Russia and other countries to make payments using bitcoin and other digital currencies. This means that users will be able to send money internationally without having to go through traditional banking channels or use fiat currency. It also opens up the possibility for users in other countries to use cryptocurrencies for international payments. The service will be available starting from July 2021 and is expected to make international payments much faster and cheaper than they currently are.
Kakarot zkEVM Secures Backing From StarkWare, Vitalik Buterin In Pre-Seed Round
Kakarot zkEVM, a privacy-focused smart contract platform based on zero-knowledge proofs technology, recently secured backing from top investors like StarkWare and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in its pre-seed round. Furthermore, Kakarot’s team of developers includes engineers from blockchain startups such as Dfinity and PrivateKey Ventures. With this backing from prominent investors and experienced engineers, Kakarot aims to build a privacy preserving smart contracts platform where transactions remain confidential while still being able to leverage Ethereum’s public chain ecosystem. Additionally, Kakarot also intends on exploring ways of integrating their platform with existing decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols so that users can take advantage of DeFi’s benefits while maintaining their privacy at all times.
China Publishes National Blockchain Standard
China recently published a national blockchain standard which outlines key requirements for organizations seeking certification in order to use blockchain technology within their operations or services. According to China’s Ministry of Industry & Information Technology (MIIT), these standards are designed “to guide industry self-regulation activities so as to promote healthy development of related industries.“ These standards cover topics such as data format standards for digital assets stored in blockchains; consensus algorithms; security protocols; network architecture; performance requirements; application scenarios; user authentication mechanisms; system scalability requirements; system interoperability requirements etc., among others topics related with blockchain technology deployment across different industries in China.