Cryptocurrency news outlet CCN.com (formerly CryptoCoinsNews) has U-turned on its abrupt decision to shut down, staff confirmed in an article on June 12.

CCN, which on Monday published a warning that it would cease operations immediately over an ongoing Google indexing debacle, says it is still working to understand changes in its online visibility.

As Cointelegraph reported, an update to Google’s algorithm allegedly produced an instantaneous 70% drop in traffic for CCN, with executives subsequently saying they had no choice but to abandon the project.

Now, support from Google has apparently changed the plans for a total shutdown, thanks to further unanticipated behavior from algorithms, which are reportedly flagging articles under CCN’s old CryptoCoinsNews identity.

“While we’ve been working in the dark, trying to get to the bottom of our massive visibility drop on Google, a friendly helper in Google’s forum mentioned that ‘CryptoCoinsNews.com’ — our previous domain — is reappearing in Google searches,” Wednesday’s update, written by CCN Markets director Jonas Borchgrevink, states.

Borchgrevink adds:

“That was a massive surprise for us as I personally requested a domain name change in 2017 from CryptoCoinsNews.com to CCN.com. Since that change, ‘Cryptocoinsnews.com’ was effectively absent on Google. Now it’s back and is inexplicably using recent 2019 articles from CCN.com. This is abrupt and confusing.”

Commentators had also claimed that all cryptocurrency media sites except one — Bitcoinist — had suffered as a result of Google’s update. However, Cointelegraph’s traffic was not actually affected by the Google Core Updated as previously reported.

The latest events do not guarantee a full return, the publication added, and attempts to correct the initial drop continue. CCN’s initial announcement of their closure had also noted that they would be moving the CCN team to HVY.com, a news platform for journalists.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ccn-casts-doubt-on-shutdown-plans-as-google-appears-to-correct-visibility

Cryptocurrency exchange Liquid will be the first to host encrypted messaging app Telegram’s Gram tokens when they go on public sale, a press release confirmed on June 11.

Telegram, which has not provided an official statement on the move, became the focus of international attention last year when it held a private initial coin offering (ICO) for Gram, which raised $1.7 billion for its Telegram Open Network (TON) project.

At the time, it was thought no public phase would follow, but the largest Gram holder organization, Gram Asia, will now offer an undisclosed number before a full sale in October.

“We share the vision for a more secure and open value transfer system in order to enable the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies,” Liquid CEO, Mike Kayamori, commented in the press release. He added:

“The TON Blockchain infrastructure can help enhance Telegram's current capabilities as a peer to peer network of value, with the launch of their cryptocurrency light wallets for Telegram's highly engaged user base."

The requirements for participation in the initial public sale are stringent. A raft of countries’ citizens are excluded for regulatory reasons, while grams will not in fact be tradeable, instead held in stablecoin USDC until October.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/liquid-cryptocurrency-exchange-to-host-public-phase-of-telegram-ico

Coin Center — a nonprofit research and advocacy center focused on crypto-related public policy issues — has urged Her Majesty’s Treasury not to over-broaden the scope of the United Kingdom’s anti-money laundering/counter terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regulations.

The development was revealed in an official Coin Center news release published on June 10.

Coin Center’s central concern regards HM Treasury’s plans to ostensibly “impose data collection and reporting requirements on not only cryptocurrency developers, but all open-source software developers and others who facilitate the peer-to-peer exchange of cryptoassets,” as the news release states.

The advocacy center outlined its position in detail in a comment letter, submitted to HM Treasury on June 7, which addresses the government’s planned transposition of the European Union (EU)’s Fifth AML Directive (AMLD5) into national law.

In its comment letter, Coin Center argues that HM Treasury is expanding the basic framework of AMLD5 with its own additional provisions that go beyond the minimum that would be required to harmonize the U.K’s financial surveillance policy with the EU’s directive.

The center strongly urges that the U.K. instead seek parity with the approach of the United States. Coin Center cited the recent interpretive guidance released by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in regard to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and crypto assets as a benchmark for HM Treasury.

FinCEN’s interpretation, as Coin Center notes, only brings persons who have “independent control” over another person’s crypto assets under the purview of the BSA, excluding those that merely enable exchange or transmission — for example, open source software developers, multiple-signature service providers, and decentralized exchange facilitators.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-advocacy-center-says-proposed-uk-aml-regulations-violate-privacy-rights

The Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra,  a federal subject of Russia, will launch a blockchain-enabled tourism platform, major state-owned media outlet Tass reported on June 7.

Per the report, during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum this week, the general director of the region’s development fund, Roman Genkel, signed an agreement with Alexander Borodich, the CEO of blockchain startup Universa, to launch the platform.

According to a blog post from Universa on June 7, the system will enable tracking public spending and investment to ensure transparency. The company claims:

“Tagging the money using distributed ledger technology will protect government grants and investments against misuse.”

The firm will also reportedly develop the platform to support multiple languages, with the overall goal of connecting all participants in the tourism ecosystem — suppliers of tourist products and services, transportation, accommodation and catering providers, investors and tourists themselves.

As Cointelegraph reported at the time, Russia’s Federal Agency for Tourism head, Oleg Safonov, claimed that blockchain technology has the capability to transform the country’s tourism industry in November 2017.

In March last year, news broke that Dubai is launching a virtual business-to-business tourism-specific marketplace using blockchain as part of its Dubai 10x initiative “to be 10 years ahead of other world cities.”

Also during the Economic Forum this week, the head of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft stated that the company has not ruled out the possibility of paying for oil using cryptocurrencies in the future.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/russian-region-yugra-to-launch-blockchain-enabled-tourism-platform

Multiple sources are expecting Facebook to launch its stablecoin on June 18, IT and fintech magazine TechCrunch reported on June 6.

Citing people familiar with the plans, the publication added strength to existing suggestions from both within and outside the company that its secretive cryptocurrency project would appear this month.

Previously, rumors had suggested it would be 2020 before Facebook made a commitment to bring its product, which should focus on remittances, to market.

“It’s currently scheduled for a June 18th release of a white paper explaining its cryptocurrency’s basics,” TechCrunch states.

That date had also come from Laura McCracken, Facebook’s Head of Financial Services & Payment Partnerships for Northern Europe, who said in an interview with German finance magazine Wirtschaftswoche this week the stablecoin would not only involve a U.S. dollar peg.

“The value of Facebook Coin will be secured with a basket of fiat currencies,” she told the publication.

Facebook has caused an industry-wide stir with its noises about entry into the payments sector. Not just the social media platform, but sister companies WhatsApp and Instagram would also participate, executives said.

Criticism of such projects nonetheless remains, most recently coming from U.S. ratings agency Weiss Ratings, which in a dedicated blog post claimed tech firms’ ultimate goal was not to broaden the appeal of cryptocurrency, but to take business away from the banks.

“Longer term, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are now in a long-term bull market. And one key reason is their powerful potential to truly disrupt the financial system as we know it today,” developer Juan Villaverde wrote.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/facebook-sources-say-that-stablecoin-white-paper-will-come-on-june-18

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has stated that he does not know what bitcoin (BTC) is, and endorsed the suspension of a project that would create a crypto for indigenous people to use,.

Bolsonaro supported the Minister of Women, Family and Human Rights, Damares Alves in the termination of a project worth 44.9 million Brazilian reals ($11.5 million) between the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) and the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), which promoted the creation of a cryptocurrency for indigenous people to use. Bolsonaro delivered his comments during an interview with Ratinho's SBT show on June 4.

After saying that the Minister acted properly in blocking the project that "wanted to teach the Indian to use bitcoin," the president was asked by a show participant if he knew what bitcoin was. Bolsonaro replied:

"I do not know what bitcoin is."

Shortly after the speech, Bolsonaro rectified his statement and said that bitcoin was a "virtual currency." The project offered by FUNAI and the UFF will purportedly neither receive financing and support, nor integrate bitcoin.

Over his career, Bolsonaro has made several controversial statements regarding indigenous people in Brazil, and promised to roll back protections on their lands.

As previously reported, the government suspended the indigenous crypto project in early January claiming that the contract was issued improperly and lacked technical analysis, such as a detailed description of the project. The contract was signed directly between FUNAI and UFF, instead of through a legal bidding process. Moreover, the government said that the contract had been approved too quickly and entailed considerable expenditure.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/president-of-brazil-jair-bolsonaro-i-do-not-know-what-bitcoin-is

Mark Karpeles — the former CEO of the now-defunct bitcoin (BTC) exchange Mt. Gox — has revealed he will serve as the chief technology officer of a new Japan-registered blockchain technology firm. The news was reported by Japanese daily newspaper The Mainchi on June 5.

Speaking at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan earlier today, Karpeles reportedly declared his intention to make the country a global leader in blockchain technology by undertaking his new role as CTO of the new Tokyo-based firm, Tristan Technologies Co.

Tristan Technologies reportedly plans to design a new, secure blockchain-powered operating system that would be significantly faster than other systems currently in use. In his remarks to reporters, Karpeles declared:

"My love for Japan has not changed. Japan used to be engineering superpower in terms of its PCs but right now, taking the cloud for example, it's the U.S. that dominates. But I still believe in the potential Japan has and I would like to develop that."

As The Mainchi outlines, Karpeles — whom the paper characterizes as a computer prodigy with a penchant for manga and gaming — moved to Japan in 2009, acquiring the Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange site in 2011.

In the aftermath of Mt. Gox’s hack and its subsequent collapse in early 2014, Karpeles was arrested in 2015. The much-publicized incident had led to the loss of 850,000 BTC, valued at roughly $460 million at the time.

According to The Mainchi’s report, Karpeles has pitched his new venture with Tristan as starting from zero, and has affirmed his belief in blockchain’s potential to innovate cashless payments, cloud solutions and establish the new field of smart contracts. However, when asked whether he himself held any cryptocurrencies, he reportedly said no, claiming they carry high risks.

As Cointelegraph reported in December, Karpeles pleaded not guilty to prosecutors’ charges of allegedly embezzling approximately 340 million yen (around $3 million) from Mt. Gox and manipulating the exchange’s ledgers to inflate its cash balance.

In March, the former CEO was acquitted of embezzlement charges but found guilty of tampering with financial records. Specifically, he was charged with having combined his personal finances with those of the exchange in order to conceal the platform’s losses to hackers. As recently reported, the erstwhile CEO is now appealing his conviction.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-mt-gox-ceo-mark-karpeles-to-serve-as-cto-of-new-japanese-blockchain-venture

Global peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchange LocalBitcoins has officially confirmed the removal of trading in local fiat currencies, the firm announced in a tweet on June 4.

As previously reported, the Finland-based exchange silently removed cash trading on June 1, which immediately caused some outrage in crypto community.

In the official statement, LocalBitcoins noted that its liabilities are determined by the Act on Detecting and Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which requires the exchange to follow certain sanctions.

LocalBitcoins wrote:

“In order to adapt to the current regulatory environment, we had to reconsider our policy on local cash trades as well as on geographical areas where our service is available, among other platform features. As a consequence, advertisements in the cash category (i.e. local cash trades) were disabled in our platform on Saturday 1st June.”

The move comes on the heels of the news that LocalBitcoins will soon become monitored by the Financial Supervisory Authority of Finland, as the Finnish government passed new legislation for crypto assets earlier this year.

In late May, LocalBitcoins banned Iranian users from using its platform, a move reportedly prompted by the rules of the European Union.

Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC) has seen a notable decline since June 1, with its price having plunged below the $8,000 threshold earlier today after breaking $9,000 last week

https://cointelegraph.com/news/localbitcoins-confirms-removal-of-local-cash-trades