Blockchain & Digital Assets

September 8, 2023 @ 5:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has ordered that Jacob Orvida, a Utah man, pay restitution and a penalty of $2.5 million for allegations of fraud in a leveraged Bitcoin ploy. According to the CFTC, Orvida solicited investors to join a commodity pool to trade… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 4:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TaxBit, the end-to-end modern tax and accounting solution for the digital economy, announced its AI-enabled rules engine “to empower businesses dealing with cryptocurrencies to streamline their accounting processes.” As the global cryptocurrency market surpasses a market capitalization of over $1 trillion, businesses “face mounting challenges… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 4:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HAYVN, a digital asset-focused financial institution delivering Payments, Trading, Custody, Asset Management and Research, announced a partnership with crypto hardware manufacturer, Ledger. The partnership will see HAYVN “provide safe and robust off-ramping rails to users of Ledger’s Ledger Live service.” Ledger Live allows users “to… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 3:22 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Blockchain forensics firm CipherBlade this week announced a collaboration with MacNerd, a blockchain technology and software development company. The union will focus on bolstering crypto security and investigation services. CipherBlade said it has recovered millions of dollars in stolen cryptocurrency. The company looks forward to accessing MacNerd’s technical… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 12:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ripple, creator of XRP, has announced the acquisition of Fortress Trust, a regulated entity that provides custody and other services in regard to digital assets. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Ripple was an investor in Fortress during its seed funding round in 2022…. Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 11:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, which claims to be a pioneer in providing top-tier security tools and services for Crypto Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF), Transaction Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Transaction Tracking, is pleased to announce the signing of an industry-academia joint MOU with Hoseo University’s Department of… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 10:33 am By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered at the Annual Fintech Conference in Philadelphia, US Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr spoke about the Fed’s role in supporting innovation. Barr noted that not that long ago, cash in trucks was the preferred method of moving… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced charges targeting three DeFi, or decentralized finance, operations yesterday. These included Deridex, ZeroX, and Opyn. The CFTC alleges the offering of illegal derivatives trading. The CFTC charged Deridex and Opyn with failing to register as a swap… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 8:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against Linus Financial, Inc. for failing to register the offers and sales of its retail crypto lending product, the Linus Interest Accounts. The SEC decided against having Linus pay penalties as the company took “prompt remedial actions”… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 8:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

evolutionQ, a quantum-cybersecurity company, is pleased to announce a contract to contribute to a Bank of Canada research project involving quantum-safe cybersecurity technologies for greenfield digital currencies. This work highlights the commitment of evolutionQ “to understanding the risk posed by quantum computers to emerging financial… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 4:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee has announced a hearing on the digital dollar or Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), held by the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology (Fintech), and Inclusion. Scheduled to take place on Thursday, September 14 at 2PM ET, the hearing is… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Multiple reports have indicated that Ryan Salame, a former FTX executive, has pleaded guilty today in Federal Court for his activities surrounding the failure of FTX, which saw billions of dollars lost. Salame was at one point the co-CEO of the FTX subsidiary that operated… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 3:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

At a speech delivered to the pro-market Cato Institute, CFTC Commissioner Caroline Pham has called for a Regulatory Sandbox. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) pioneered the Sandbox concept. The approach was to allow innovative Fintech firms to test products and services under the watchful… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 11:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Qualification to Impact Crowdfunding, Digital Assets. The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de Régulation Professionnelle de la Publicité (ARPP) have partnered on the “Responsible Influence Certificate” designed to create a seal of approval for social media influencers. The AMF says the partnership… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 11:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s cryptocurrency crackdown continues as Weibo has reportedly banned around 80 crypto influencers. Weibo’s management stated that these decisions were made in order to comply with domestic regulatory requirements, which aim to discourage speculation, trading, and promotion of digital currencies. The Beijing-headquartered company said that… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 9:59 am By JD Alois  |  

The Canadian Securities Administration (CSA) has published its year in review, and one of the sectors discussed is crypto. The CSA is the association that represents all of the country’s securities regulators, which operate largely independently of one another based on the province or territory…. Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has indicated its willingness for a certain amount of leeway for registered crypto firms to adhere to forthcoming rules. The regulator says that registered or authorized firms may “apply for flexibility”  on implementing a cooling off period when other… Read More

September 6, 2023 @ 9:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Mirae Asset Securities, an investment firm and brokerage with more than $500 billion in AUM, has chosen Polygon to pursue digital securities or asset tokenization. According to a note from Mirae, the Mirae Asset Security Token Working Group is working to build the infrastructure for… Read More

September 6, 2023 @ 9:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Uldis Tēraudkalns, CEO of Nexpay, a fintech scale-up providing business banking solutions for digital companies, recently shared his views and insights with CI. Licensed by the Bank of Lithuania and operating across Europe, Nexpay reportedly processes over €2.5 billion annually and has helped over 600… Read More

September 6, 2023 @ 4:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

State lawmakers in Wyoming have reportedly passed 28 different blockchain-related bills since the year 2019. However, cryptocurrency revenue has been quite limited, even though there have been several different initiatives that were introduced. As covered, crypto VC investments have also shifted towards infrastructure development and… Read More