Prices as of 4 p.m. EST

President Joe Biden tapped former Ripple (XRP) advisory board member Michael Barr to lead the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), succeeding Brian Brooks. Ripple conducted one of the largest unregistered securities offerings in crypto history, according to the SEC. Barr was advising Ripple in 2015 and subsequently left on an undisclosed date. He did not have executive powers at the company, nor is it known what he advised Ripple to do or to not do regarding its ICO.

Otherwise well-credentialed:

• The Wall Street Journal first broke the news that President Biden would nominate Barr.
• Barr helped ex-President Barack Obama's administration devise banking regulations, which are now known as the Dodd-Frank Act.
• Barr would replace Brian Brooks, who acted as Coinbase crypto exchange's chief legal officer before becoming the OCC on May 29, 2020.
• Barr joined Ripple's board of advisers in 2015.
• A Ripple spokesperson confirmed that Barr is no longer a member of that board, but did not immediately respond to Coindesk's inquiry regarding when he departed.

President Joe Biden signed orders to delay pending regulations, extending the review period for the U.S. Treasury's proposed "unhosted crypto wallet rule" by 60 additional days. The extension froze all agency rulemaking, including former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's proposal to extend FinCEN's Travel Rule reporting obligations.

More:

• The memorandum from the president’s Chief of Staff postpones the effective dates of agency rulemaking by 60 days.
• Large cryptocurrency stakeholders submitted complaints last month because, if passed, the rule would require exchanges to collect and transmit personal information in accordance with FinCEN's Travel Rule to unknown and unhosted wallets.

Incoming U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen promised to "consider the benefits" of cryptocurrencies. The former Federal Reserve Chair has been critical of digital assets, noting their disproportionate use by cybercriminals and terrorists.

Her written response:

• Senators interviewed Yellen earlier this week as part of confirmation hearings prior to her appointment as Treasury Secretary.
• In a written response to senators' follow-up questions, Yellen admitted that cryptocurrencies and digital assets could have "benefits" and sees "the potential they have to improve the efficiency of the financial system."
• She vowed to "encourage their use for legitimate activities while curtailing their use for malign and illegal activities"
• Yellen also said that her work as Treasury Secretary will create "an effective regulatory framework for these and other fintech innovations."

Russia's Sberbank has applied to Russia's central bank to register a blockchain platform for a native token, Sbercoin.

• Russia's largest retail bank could become a licensed digital assets issuer.
• If approved, it could issue its own stablecoin to corporate clients.
• According to a written response to Coindesk, "This stablecoin will allow companies to use smart contracts on Sber's platform based on the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain."
• The platform could also tokenize "both material goods and fiat money on this platform," according to Sberbank's press office.

Bit Digital (NASDAQ:BTBT) called fraud allegations by J Capital Research "false accusations." A pennystock just 12 months ago, its share price has subsequently rallied over 5,000%.

More:

• The New York-headquartered bitcoin mining company published its response on Jan. 20, 2021, to fraud accusations launched by J Capital Research.
• J Capital Research, an intelligence and research data provider, published a report on Jan. 11 alleging that Bit Digital is a fraudulent, peer-to-peer scam that has duped investors out of at least $42M. 
• The whereabouts of key executives, including former Chairman and CEO Zeng Erxin, are unknown.
• Bit Digital is a mid-cap stock with a market capitalization of just $843M as of the time of publication.
• J Capital Research claims that Bit Digital replaced Lio Xiaohui in September 2020 due to criminal enforcement measures, along with the company's ex-CFO, Leng Jing.
• Bit Digital started as a car rental business, and now operates a bitcoin mining business that previously created a cryptocurrency, XMAX (XMX).

QUICK HITS:

• How are companies deciding on privacy management solutions in 2021? This eGuide breaks it down.*
• SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of Japan's SBI (8473.T), launched a cryptocurrency lending service called VC Trade Lending. Currently supporting bitcoin only, the announcement suggests that SBI VC Trade will add Ripple (XRP) and Ethereum (ETH) soon.
• Switzerland-based Gazprombank, which received approval from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority to conduct some cryptocurrency-related activities, executed its first transaction. (Gazprom, a Russian energy company, owns Gazprombank whose Swiss branch launched an array of bitcoin services.)
• A Lithuanian news outlet has reported the sale of seized cryptocurrencies by the State Tax Department. Officials confiscated bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Monero (XMR) in February 2020 ⏤ now liquidated by the inspectorate for proceeds of $7.5M.
• The MrbMiner cryptocurrency miner group has been linked to an Iranian software firm.
• Russian cryptocurrency exchange Livecoin is shutting down after a cyberattack compromised its infrastructure and exchange rate system. As hackers manipulated markets in late December 2020, a tiny number of bitcoin traded at $500,000 on Livecoin.
• Bullish on Bitcoin? Start earning daily interest on it with Nexo's banking on crypto.*

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