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Crypto mining operation Core Scientific has announced a partnership with Foundry, a financing and advisory company for the mining space.

The financing deal between the two firms enables as much as $23 million to be tapped, per a press release. The funds will be used to purchase mining equipment for itself as well as for clients. In essence, Core Scientific plans to use Foundry’s financing to grow its fleet of mining hardware.

“Foundry’s investment will allow Core Scientific to continue expanding in North America while providing more hashpower to our existing and future clients,” said Kevin Turner, CEO of Core Scientific, in a statement. “This is a partnership between two of the biggest names in the mining industry and will further establish North America as a leading destination in the mining space.”

Of the $23 million in financing, Core Scientific received $12 million for mining equipment and the remaining $11 million is for the mining equipment of Core Scientific’s clients.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

The French Ministry of Finance has formally unveiled stringent know-your-customer requirements for crypto transactions. 

According to a new document released by Minister Bruno Le Maire, virtual asset providers (VASPs) in France will now have to prohibit anonymous crypto accounts.

The Block first reported the impending move on Tuesday. Sources indicated that exchanges would face higher KYC standards as part of a crackdown on anonymity in the space. Now, even crypto-to-crypto transactions will fall under KYC requirements.

The order was presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, according to a tweet from Le Maire. The attached announcement referenced recommendations from the Financial Action Task Force, the G7 and the G29 as influencing its decision to firm up requirements. 

Sources previously told The Block the decision was related to recent terrorist attacks on France, which Le Maire’s announcement also references. French police previously arrested nearly 30 people who allegedly used cryptocurrency to fund Islamist extremism in Syria. 

In addition to KYC measures, sources told The Block that regulation requiring registration for crypto-to-crypto exchanges is on the way.

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

A new guide by blockchain analytics firm Elliptic claims more than 13% of all funds in bitcoin garnered from criminal activity are being laundered through privacy wallets.

The guide, entitled “Financial Crime Typologies in Cryptoassets,” looks at over 35 so-called “financial crime typologies” that involve the use of cryptocurrencies, including the increasing use of mixers as a means of laundering digital assets. 

Mixing services generally work by “mixing” the crypto funds of multiple users before redistributing them, making it more difficult to track the source of funds on the blockchain. Although these services have been around for a while, they’ve recently come under fire for the roles they’ve played in recent high-profile crimes, including the $4.2 billion PlusToken Ponzi scheme and the $280 million KuCoin exchange hack.

According to the report, CoinJoin transactions have presented a safer alternative, whereby funds from multiple users are mixed in a single transaction, rather than by combining funds in a mixer controlled by someone else.

The disadvantage of this method, according to the report, is that it can be difficult to find other parties to be involved in these transactions. Privacy wallets like Wasabi Wallet make things easier by connecting and carrying out CoinJoin transactions for users.

Source: Elliptic

According to the report, criminals have moved from traditional mixers to privacy wallets over the past four years, At least 13% of laundered funds in bitcoin being sent through privacy wallets in 2020, a two percent increase from 2019.

“This year’s 13% of all proceeds of crime represent over $160 million in bitcoin from darknet markets, thefts and scams being laundered through privacy wallets,” the report states. 

© 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

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