Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is, according to the Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder, the focus of an “active and ongoing” investigation by the Caribbean nation’s authorities.

One of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinsquare, has confirmed it suffered a data breach that affected users’ personal details, but has assured that customer assets are “secure in cold storage and not at risk.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the global financial payment system and called for an independent and blockchain-based settlement network while speaking at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• FTX Under ‘Active’ Criminal Investigation
• Canadian Crypto Exchange Coinsquare Suffers Data Breach
• Russia’s President Calls for Blockchain-Based International Payment System
• Who Created USDC?

FTX Under ‘Active’ Criminal Investigation

Bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX is, according to the Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder, the focus of an “active and ongoing” investigation by the Caribbean nation’s authorities.

In a statement delivered live on the Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister, Pinder explained that the “affairs of FTX Digital Markets” are under scrutiny from both “civil and criminal authorities” as these work with a “number of specialists and experts and will continue to do so as the need arises."

Bahams’ Attorney General added:

"The Securities Commission, our financial intelligence unit, and the financial crimes unit of the Royal Bahamas Police Force will continue to investigate the facts and circumstances regarding FTX's insolvency crisis and any potential violations of Bahamian law.”

He also said that the relevant Bahamian authorities would try to hold toaccount companies or individuals which are found to have committed any wrongdoing during the investigation. On November 12, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas ordered the transfer of all FTX Digital Markets assets to a wallet it owned for “safekeeping.”

Canadian Crypto Exchange Coinsquare Suffers Data Breach

One of Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinsquare, has confirmed it suffered a data breach that affected users’ personal details, but has assured that customer assets are “secure in cold storage and not at risk.”

The exchange emailed customers over the weekend to report a “data incident” in which an unauthorized third party accessed a customer database containing personal information. Per the email, the breach exposed “customer names, email addresses, residential addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, device IDs, public wallet addresses, transaction history, and account balances.”

The email adds that no passwords were exposed and there’s “no evidence any of this information was viewed by the bad actor.” The exchange suspended activities on its platform after first discovering the breach last week, triggering speculation of potential liquidity issues.

Coinsquare reiterated that “100% of client funds are safely held in cold storage and are not used for business activities.”

Russia’s President Calls for Blockchain-Based International Payment System

Russian President Vladimir Putin has criticized the global financial payment system and called for an independent and blockchain-based settlement network while speaking at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow.

During the event, organized by the largest Russian bank Sberbank, Putin said:

“The technology of digital currencies and blockchains can be used to create a new system of international settlements that will be much more convenient, absolutely safe for its users and, most importantly, will not depend on banks or interference by third countries.”

Russia’s president added he is confident that “something like this will certainly be created and will develop because nobody likes the dictate of monopolists, which is harming all parties, including the monopolists themselves.”

Who Created USDC?

The cryptocurrency is an open-source project that anyone can view and contribute to and is managed by the Centre consortium, which was co-founded by fintech firm Circle and Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton oversees the segregated accounts with regulated U.S. financial institutions that hold the cryptocurrency’s reserves, held in dollars and dollar-denominated assets. In USDC’s case, these dollar-denominated assets are short-term U.S. Treasury securities.

How Does USDC Remain at $1?

Because USDC is a fully collateralized stablecoin backed by dollar-denominated assets and allows token holders to redeem USDC tokens for dollars, it can almost be seen as a digital version of the U.S. dollar.

Investors can initiate a transaction to buy USDC using fiat currency, with the fiat currency they send over being deposited at a U.S. financial institution, while USDC tokens in the same nominal value are minted. If the USDC is redeemed for the fiat currency, the tokens are burned and the dollars are transferred to investors’ bank accounts, according to USDC’s whitepaper.

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