| Bitcoin | $33,883 | 7 day: +0.7% | | Ethereum | $1,328 | 7 day: -3.6% | | All crypto | $1T | 7 day: +2.3% | | Bitcoin dominance | 62.6% | 7 day: -0.7% | Prices as of 3:30 p.m. EST
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CipherTrace published its 2020 cryptocurrency crime and anti-money laundering (AML) report. Crypto crimes cost the industry at least $1.9B last year. Half of all 2020 crypto hacks were of DeFi protocols, according to CipherTrace. Key findings: - According to CipherTrace's detailed report, out of all significant criminal activities, hacks, and exit scams, decentralized finance (DeFi) saw the most number of thefts. The year was "overrun by dozens of DeFi related hacks and scams," forensic analysis revealed.
- DeFi security incidents often involve liquidations of the entire DeFi pool, crashing the value for tokenholders.
- CipherTrace discussed WoToken at length, which defrauded its investors out of $1.1B in a Ponzi scheme (amounting to 58% of 2020's major crime).
- WoToken operators included people related to 2019's PlusToken scam, one of crypto's largest exit scams ($2.9B).
- KuCoin's $281M hack was also a notable event.
- CipherTrace noted the widely-discussed rule changes proposed by FinCEN to record information for crypto transfers to private (unhosted) crypto wallets. FinCEN recently announced an extension of the comment period on its proposed change.
CipherTrace 
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 CEO of Visa (NYSE:V) Al Kelly said that the company is looking into the possible uses of blockchain technology to process traditional money. Kelly also noted that regulated cryptocurrencies are becoming safer, more useful, and more applicable to Visa's business during a recent earnings call. More: - During the payments processing giant's quarterly earnings call, Kelly expressed intention to integrate virtual currencies like bitcoin into Visa's payments network.
- The Jan. 28 call included Kelly's comment concerning cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as "digital gold," and a strategy to work with wallets and exchanges to enable crypto purchases using Visa credentials.
- Kelly confirmed that digital currencies backed by fiat-stablecoins could be applicable for global commerce, as well.
Coindesk
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Ripple has filed its first answer to the SEC's complaint in court. The SEC charged Ripple and two co-founders for conducting an unregistered securities offering. Ripple has made numerous counterclaims, opening with an assertion that the SEC conjured a "legal theory" without "statutory mandate nor congressional authorization." Ripple's answer: - The filing is replete with name-calling, referring to the SEC's lawsuit as "sprawling," ill-conceived," "convoluted," "unprecedented," "overreaching," and a "stretch beyond all sensible recognition."
- The defense claims that "Ripple has never offered or sold XRP as an investment."
- Ripple also claims that it never held an ICO at all.
- The company added that it "never explicitly or implicitly promised profits to any XRP holder."
- Ripple argues that the suit "mischaracterizes, misunderstands or ignores the economic realities of XRP," noting that the currency is "entirely open-source, decentralized operates on an enormous scale" outside of Ripple's control.
- We have covered the Ripple-SEC battle in many prior editions of Inside Cryptocurrency.
Law360
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A lawsuit against Israeli crypto entrepreneur Moshe Hegog has been dismissed by a U.S. judge. - Israeli businessman Moshe Hegog successfully won his motion to dismiss last Friday when a U.S. judge threw out a case brought by an investor who bought tokens for his predictions platform Stox.
- Seattle-based investor Sean Snyder sued Hogeg and STX Technologies (Stox) in late 2019.
- Snyder had bought STX tokens on the platform to make predictions, and later sold them at a loss of nearly $500,000.
Coindesk
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 Shanghai Beijing and Shanghai companies are increasing their tests of the central bank's digital yuan. - China's biggest cities continue to launch pilots and promote tests of the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- According to Chinese state media outlet Global Times, Beijing's mayor said the country's capital will develop "demonstration zones" for CBDC fintech and professional services during 2021.
- U.S. think tank Center for New American Security has updated its view of China's CBDC, including policy recommendations for U.S. officials in the event of an international CBDC conflict.
- The Bank of International Settlements noted recently that 86% of its 65 central bankers were at least considering digital-first fiat, up from 80% last year.
Coindesk
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- Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk said that in his perspective, "bitcoin is a good thing." He admitted that he was late in supporting crypto during a late-night chat on Clubhouse, a social audio app, which resulted in a rally in bitcoin's price on Jan. 29.
- The Government of India is planning to introduce a law to prohibit private cryptocurrencies and install a framework for an official digital currency to be issued by the Reserve Bank.
- Bank of Italy Governor Ignazio Visco says the European Central Bank (ECB) is exploring the possibility of launching the digital euro on the existing Target Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system, which already offers pan-European, real-time fund transfers.
- The Governor of Ireland's central bank Gabriel Makhlouf said it is the ECB's role to protect consumers. He warned that bitcoin investors could "lose all their money."
- The Government of Ukraine has awarded a construction contract to build a crypto mining operation to the 2.6 Gigawatt Rivne nuclear power facility.
- The Block Crypto researchers reported that UniSwap's (UNI) decentralized exchange reached $30B in total volume during Jan. 2021, double the previous value of $15B in Dec. 2020.
- Investors in blockchain startup Axoni's $31B Series B follow-on round include Deutsche Bank, Intel Capital, Swiss bank UBS; as well as existing investors Citi, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Wells Fargo. An investor from Deutsche Bank said Axoni's blockchain services could save capital markets "billions of dollars."
- Crypto lending platform BlockFi has submitted a registration form for its BlockFi Bitcoin Trust to the SEC.
- Bitwise Investments has rebalanced its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund and added decentralized finance protocols Uniswap (UNI) and AAVE (AAVE), replacing Cosmos (ATOM) and Cardano (ADA).
- Binance Research has released its glowing 2021 Global Crypto User Index with data from 61,000 crypto users, finding near-unanimous confidence in cryptocurrencies (97%), with more than half (52%) suggesting that crypto investing is a means of income, including 15% who say crypto is their primary source of income.
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 |  | Curated by Associated Press fanboy, eye-strained news terminal watcher, and bitcoin follower since $1, Aaron Wise. Temporarily listening to news squawk boxes in Florida while awaiting the construction of cryptopia. |  | | Editor | Charlotte Hayes-Clemens is an editor and writer based in Vancouver. She has dabbled in both the fiction and non-fiction world, having worked at HarperCollins Publishers and more recently as a writing coach for new and self-published authors. Proper semi-colon usage is her hill to die on. | |
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