The Lead BLock
News Node
A curated selection of headlines and news from around this multiverse—including deals, developments and other disruptions in DeFi.
Taiwan to Introduce New Digital Currency Laws in September: Report
New Ruling in SEC’s Coinbase Insider Trading Lawsuit Comes as a Blow to the Crypto Industry as Judge Finds Secondary Token Sales were Securities
US EIA Could Request Bitcoin Power Use Survey under Longer Timeline
UK Law Enforcement Will Soon Have More Power to Seize Crypto Assets
Indonesia’s Crypto Watchdog Pushes for Friendlier Taxes as Regulatory Overhaul Looms
Bitcoin Funds Pull In Money at Record Pace
Crypto Exchange Gemini to Return $1.1 Billion to Customers in Regulator Settlement
How ETFs and Institutions are Driving the Surge in Bitcoin Prices
Hong Kong's Largest Bitcoin ETF Assets Up Five-fold since October
Banks Should be Managing Risks from Fintech Partnerships, Regulator Says
IRS Hires Former Binance.US Exec to Beef Up Crypto Expertise
'Congress Needs to Act' on Crypto Regulations, CFTC Chair Behnam Tells Lawmakers
Grayscale Introduces a Crypto Staking Fund
Select Events
Mayer Brown Partner Castelluccio Speaks at the Crypto Valley Association Meeting
On February 26, Mayer Brown partner Joe Castelluccio presented to the Crypto Valley Association (Switzerland) on the subject of recently-approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Commissioner Johnson Delivers Keynote Address at New York City Bar Emerging Technologies Symposium
On February 23, FTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson delivered a keynote address at the New York City Bar Emerging Technologies Symposium discussing building a regulatory framework for AI in financial markets.
Learn the Lingo
Hash/Cryptographic Hash Function
A hash is an encrypted string of alphanumeric characters that registers a unique place on a blockchain. The string of alphanumeric characters has a fixed length and structure, generated when an input string of any length—such as a block of transactions on a blockchain—is run through a mathematical algorithm, called a cryptographic hash function.
Hashing is performed by the nodes of a blockchain and is a one-way function—if you input the same data, you will arrive at the same unique string, but you cannot reverse the function and decipher the input data based on the hash.
While hash functions have been used in cryptography for decades, they are used in blockchains for a number of key purposes, including to derive addresses for users, to keep track of particular transactions, to store large amounts of data more economically and, importantly, to connect blocks in a blockchain (i.e., each block contains a hash of the previous block). Different blockchains may use different hashing algorithms—Bitcoin, for example, uses the SHA-256 hash algorithm.
Writing on the Wall, Translating ‘Crypto’ Terms with Mayer Brown
From Airdrop to Wrapped Token, our illustrated glossary, “Writing on the Wall, Translating Securities with Mayer Brown,” has been updated with additional digital assets and cryptocurrency terms. Check out our “featured” list for the crypto terms and the full list of terms.
