Tether halted Bitcoin mining in Uruguay, reportedly dismissing 30 staff amid increasing energy costs and a $4.8 million debt dispute with state power firm UTE. Tether, issuer of USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, has halted Bitcoin mining operations in Uruguay because of rising energy costs. “We can confirm that we have paused operations in Uruguay,” a Tether spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Friday, adding that the company remains committed to its long-term projects in Latin America. The confirmation came weeks after Tether denied reports that it planned to exit the country following a $4.8 million debt dispute with a state-owned electricity provider in September. Read more
Turkmenistan has passed a sweeping crypto law that legalizes the industry but tightly controls it through licensing and the potential use of state-run ledgers. Turkmenistan has approved a sweeping law to legalize and tightly regulate the cryptocurrency industry, marking a major policy shift for one of the world’s most closed economies. According to a Nov. 28 report from local news outlet Business Turkmenistan, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed a law regulating the crypto industry. The new law, which will come into force in 2026, establishes licensing, know-your-client, Anti-Money Laundering, and cold storage requirements for crypto exchanges and custodial services, and prohibits credit institutions from providing crypto services. The state can also stop, void and force a refund of token issuances. Read more
Economist Saifedean Ammous sparked fierce debate on social media by questioning the importance of privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Zcash vs. Bitcoin. Bitcoin advocate Saifedean Ammous ignited a lively debate between Bitcoiners and privacy advocates by questioning the perceived importance of privacy as a key characteristic of money in an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph. “This is the question. How much demand is there for money that does not get debased versus how much demand is there for money that allows you to maintain your privacy?” Ammous said. Ammous, the author of “The Bitcoin Standard,” described Zcash as a “shitcoin” and raised concerns about the initial launch of the project, which involved a trusted setup ceremony in 2016 to generate the cryptographic parameters for its privacy features. Read more
Bitcoin needs to regain momentum with higher trading volumes for BTC to clear the next big hurdle at $92,000-$95,000 and return to new all-time highs. Bitcoin’s (BTC) relief rally to $91,000 appears to be cooling, but analysts say the short-term trend for BTC “remains up.” Key takeaways: Bitcoin must next take out immediate resistance between $92,000 and $95,000. Read more
The crypto industry rushed to the aid of Hong Kong residents who suffered the city’s most devastating fire in 80 years, claiming the lives of at least 128 people. Some of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges and Web3 companies have pledged millions of dollars to support victims of the deadly fire at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Hong Kong’s Tai Po District, highlighting the sector’s growing role in real-world relief efforts. Three centralized crypto exchanges (CEXs) have publicly pledged to donate $24.78 million Hong Kong dollars ($3.19 million) to aid the victims of the devastating fire, which claimed the lives of at least 128 residents. The donations included $1.5 million from Bitget exchange, $1.28 million from Binance, and about $256,000 from KuCoin exchange. Read more
Wemade’s new GAKS alliance brings Chainalysis, CertiK and SentBe together to support a compliant KRW stablecoin mainnet after multiple setbacks. Blockchain gaming company Wemade is pushing for a Korean won-based stablecoin ecosystem, forming a Global Alliance for KRW Stablecoins (GAKS) with Chainalysis, CertiK and SentBe as founding partners. Wemade announced that the alliance will support StableNet, a dedicated mainnet for Korean won-backed stablecoins, with publicly released code and a consortium model that aims to meet institutional and regulatory requirements. Within the partnership, Chainalysis will integrate threat detection and real-time monitoring, while CertiK will handle node validation and security audits. Read more
Licensed by Austria’s Financial Market Authority, KuCoin EU can operate across 29 EEA countries, excluding Malta. Major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is the latest company to secure a license under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework. KuCoin’s European arm, KuCoin EU, secured a MiCA license from the Financial Market Authority of Austria, the company said in a statement shared with Cointelegraph on Friday. The authorization allows KuCoin EU to offer crypto asset services across 29 countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), excluding Malta, according to the exchange’s representatives. Read more