The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued Larry Dean Harmon, the founder of defunct cryptocurrency mixer Helix, for failing to pay a civil penalty of $60 million since his indictment in 2020. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. According to the filing, the...Read More
On October 20, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced the launch of the first metaverse. The organization unveiled the news during the 90th anniversary of its General Assembly in India. According to the release, the Interpol metaverse allows users worldwide to access Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France. Visitors to the metaverse will be able...Read More
FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) posted a draft of a set of standards to create clarity and protect customers as the US awaits full federal regulatory regimes. While highlighting the significance of regulatory oversight and customer protection, SBF said there needs to be an open economy where peer-to-peer transfers, code, validators, etc., are presumptively free....Read More
On October 19, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused two Venezuelan citizens and five Russians of using cryptocurrencies to launder money for Russian oligarchs by selling oil barrels from sanctions-hit Venezuela. According to the press release, the defendants smuggled millions of barrels of oil to Russia and China, laundering “tens of millions of...Read More
It appears that U.S. lawmakers have bigger fish to fry as stablecoin and crypto regulations remain on the back burner. During a financial conference on Oct. 18, representative Jim Himes said that the bill will not happen this Congress due to upcoming elections. “It’s probably not happening in early 2023,” Himes said as frustrations mount...Read More
A day after Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about her plans to work towards a tech-driven regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies under the aegis of G20, industry leaders offered mixed reactions to her statements. Sitharaman spoke about crypto regulations to reporters on the sidelines of the fall meetings at IMF, World Bank, and G20...Read More
Bloomberg reported that the CFTC and SEC are investigating Three Arrows Capital. The US regulators want to understand whether the Singapore-based cryptocurrency hedge fund violated some rules and laws that hedge funds must comply with. Sources interviewed by Bloomberg hinted that U.S. regulators seem to think 3AC could have been misleading clients about the strength...Read More
The Texas State Securities Board – the region’s securities regulators – is investigating FTX and its boss, Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), over whether some of its crypto offerings violate state law. As reported by Bloomberg on Monday, the regulator has taken specific issue with the company’s yield-bearing crypto accounts, which may constitute unregistered securities offerings. As...Read More
Changpeng Zhao (CZ) – CEO of Binance – called out a Reuters journalist on Monday over a handful of “accusations” they’ve made against the exchange over the past several months. The executive said the reporter has written several articles about Binance based on anonymous sources, and that they recently crossed into “indefensible territory” with their...Read More
The lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament – Mazhilis – reportedly greenlighted new bills that aim to establish appropriate rules in the local crypto sector. They will require miners to create authorized entities, register with the regulators, and continue being subject to taxation. Solving the Problem With ‘Gray Miners’ Despite being a global leader in cryptocurrency...Read More
The Bitcoin-loving billionaire Michael Saylor has spent months pushing for rule changes surrounding cryptocurrencies and their accounting procedures. On Wednesday, was finally granted his wish.The Financial Accounting Services Board (FASB) has agreed to adopt fair value accounting procedures for digital assets. This will theoretically make assets like Bitcoin more attractive for companies to hold on...Read More
Cryptocurrencies are supposed to be censorship resistant… Cryptocurrency exchanges, not so much. Bittrex found this out the hard way after a record fine imposed by the U.S. regulators. On October 11, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced that Bittrex, a Washington-based...Read More
Yuga Labs – the team behind the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection – is now under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The commission is examining whether the company violated securities laws by issuing certain NFTs, or through their newly launched crypto token ApeCoin. SEC Versus NFTs A person unfamiliar...Read More
The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation passed in the European Council on October 5th. The development is a significant step toward bringing a consistent legislative landscape to the continent that has been, so far, fragmented. The text of the laws was signed off by the representatives of the bloc’s member governments in the EU’s Council....Read More
In a new report, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a regulatory panel comprising leading financial regulators, identified areas in crypto regulation with: limited oversight of the spot market for tokens that are not securities; opportunities for regulatory arbitrage, or benefit favorable rules; if crypto firms should be allowed to integrate multiple services traditionally offered...Read More
California’s regulator has targeted 11 crypto-related entities which allegedly violated the state’s securities laws. The watchdog also claimed that their business model was in the manner of a Ponzi or pyramid scheme. The Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI), in an announcement on Tuesday, stated that while all the accused companies offered unregistered securities...Read More
For several years now, Binance has played an important role as the big brother of the crypto industry by assisting in the recovery of funds from users who have been victims of theft, scams, or hacks. But now, they are aiming higher with an e-crime training program. On September 27, Binance announced the official launch...Read More
The financial technology company – Revolut – received regulatory approval from the UK’s top financial watchdog (the FCA) to offer cryptocurrencies to local consumers. A few weeks ago, the regulator argued that the firm needs to improve its internal structure and auditing process to obtain such a license. The FCA Finally Said ‘Yes’ The European...Read More
The California-based cryptocurrency exchange – Coinbase – reportedly appointed at least four Wall Street traders and established a group to use the company’s own funds to trade cryptocurrencies. Undisclosed members of the platform described the activity as “proprietary” trading. On another note, the company received regulatory approval from the Dutch Central Bank to start providing...Read More
The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – obtained a minimal viable product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The authorization enables the company to start providing a range of digital asset services to qualified retail and institutional investors in the region. Prior to that, Dubai’s watchdogs awarded Binance with a license...Read More
The top financial regulator in the United Kingdom – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – reportedly said that the cryptocurrency platform FTX does not have the necessary license to provide products or services in the country. The trading venue has been on a roll in the past several months, despite the market declines. Earlier this...Read More
The Biden administration issued its first-ever paper on cryptocurrencies and how the asset class should be regulated within the nation on Friday. While some believe the guidelines require more clarity, Binance’s CEO asserted that the framework is a significant recognition of itself, and his company aims to work with global watchdogs. After issuing a few...Read More
In a series of reports, the Joe Biden administration on Friday has offered its response to the President’s executive order on cryptocurrencies – Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets – issued earlier this year, media reports said. Here is all that you need to know about the Biden administration’s Friday reports: The Joe Biden administration has...Read More
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) prohibited domestic cryptocurrency entities from providing staking and lending services to clients. The ban aims to protect traders and the public from risks related to such activities. The South East Asian country has been active on the digital asset scene lately. At the beginning of the year, the local...Read More
On September 13, the U.S. Treasury Department published a guide with a series of steps for U.S. citizens to follow in order to withdraw their funds from Tornado Cash. Tornado Cash was a mixing service shut down on August 8 by the U.S. Treasury Department. This happened after investigations showed that the platform was used...Read More
HashKey Capital Limited – the investment arm of the finance company HashKey Group – received approval from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) to manage a portfolio of 100% digital assets. The regulatory green light doubled down on the pro-crypto stance that the special administrative region of China has displayed recently. Not long ago,...Read More
The U.S. Department of Justice released a statement on September 12 reporting that Nikhil Wahi, brother of ex-Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi, pleaded guilty to committing cryptocurrency wire fraud using insider information sourced from his brother. Per the release, Nikhil Wahi faces up to 20 years of possible jail time. In addition, he will have...Read More
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has released a report examining the connection between distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and climate change. The office determined that crypto’s relationship with the environment is a mixed bag. While acknowledging the positive impact that mining can have on grid stability and renewable development, it can...Read More
Blockchain Australia – an industry body representing Aussie businesses and individuals participating in the crypto industry – announced the appointment of Laura Mercurio as its next Chief Executive Officer. She has a rich experience in the financial field, working previously for BlackRock, Deutsche Bank, and Citigroup. Recently, numerous other individuals who were part of monetary...Read More
The Australian Federal Police – an independent agency responsible for investigating crime and protecting the country’s national security – reportedly formed a new cryptocurrency unit. The goal is to detect criminals who use digital assets in their activities, such as money launderers, and bring them to justice. Applying strict regulations on the digital asset sector...Read More
