Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has said it will reimburse the nearly $600,000 lost by users affected in a major security breach last week after a former Ledger employee suffered a phishing attack.

The UK government has said it’s set to keep on working with the financial services and technology sectors to develop necessary legislation as it moves to become a leading cryptocurrency industry hub.

Prominent fintech firm Ripple has officially been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), allowing the firm to offer a range of digital asset services in the country.

Top stories in the Crypto Roundup today:

• Crypto Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger to Refund Crypto Hack Victims
• UK Government to Launch Digital Securities Sandbox
• Central Bank of Ireland Approves Ripple as a Virtual Asset Service Provider
• Stablecoins Add the Largest Monthly Supply Since Feb 2022

Crypto Hardware Wallet Maker Ledger to Refund Crypto Hack Victims

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger has said it will reimburse the nearly $600,000 lost by users affected in a major security breach last week after a former Ledger employee suffered a phishing attack.

The attacker managed to infiltrate the GitHub library of a key blockchain tool from Ledger, Connect Kit, which facilitates the connection between decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol and hardware wallets. The attack’s effects were widespread and hit protocols including Sushi, Lido, and MetaMask.

Ledger is set to reimburse all affected users, including those who aren’t Ledger customers. The firm is also moving to update its hardware wallets, as it plans to discontinue blind signing, where users are able to sign a blockchain transaction without seeing the full details.

Moving forward, Ledger is working with decentralized applications to allow clear signing, enabling users to review and verify transaction details before approving them.

UK Government to Launch Digital Securities Sandbox

The UK government has said it’s set to keep on working with the financial services and technology sectors to develop necessary legislation as it moves to become a leading cryptocurrency industry hub.

This initiative includes the creation of a Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS), a project that has received positive feedback from a July consultation conducted by the Treasury.

The DSS is designed to allow companies to test new products with actual customers under regulatory oversight. Respondents to the Treasury’s consultation noted there’s a need for the rules within the sandbox to remain flexible, and asked for clearer guidance regarding tax implications within it.

The DSS, will fall under the joint supervision of the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, according to draft legislation, and will allow businesses to test the blockchain technology that powers crypto to digitize or tokenize traditional securities.

The UK government plans to include debt, equity, and money-market instruments within the sandbox’s scope.

Central Bank of Ireland Approves Ripple as a Virtual Asset Service Provider

Prominent fintech firm Ripple has officially been approved by the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) as a virtual asset service provider (VASP), allowing the firm to offer a range of digital asset services in the country.

The central bank’s VASP register shows that Ripple’s services include executing digital asset transactions on behalf of individuals or legal entities, facilitating crypto-to-fiat currency exchanges, enabling trading between different cryptocurrencies, and providing custody services for digital assets.

The approval sees Ripple join a number of cryptocurrency entities on the Central Bank of Ireland’s VASP register, including Moonpay, Gemini, Coinbase, and Zodia Custody.

This milestone is a strategic move for Ripple, as it positions the company to provide crypto services across the European Economic Area after the upcoming implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) across Europe.

Stablecoins Add the Largest Monthly Supply Since Feb 2022

The total market capitalization of the stablecoin sector rose 3.43% to $128 billion in November in the largest monthly supply rise since February 2022. The trend appears set to continue into December, with the market capitalization of stablecoins experiencing a slight rise of 0.17%, reaching $129 billion as of December 18th.

Despite this growth, the market dominance of stablecoins decreased to 8.07% in December, hitting its lowest point since December 2021 even as stablecoin trading activity experienced a boost of 56.2% in November to $782 billion on centralized exchanges.

Dig deeper into the stablecoin sector through CCData’s latest Stablecoins & CBDCs report

State of the Crypto by Top Tier Exchange Volume

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