Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 26, 2022 @ 4:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled actions against two Arizona-based Fintechs ZipRemit and Lendaily. The SEC that final judgments have been entered against the two firms along with CEO Gary Prior. Without admitting or denying the allegations of the amended complaint, Pryor, ZipRemit,… Read More

January 25, 2022 @ 10:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at HYPR reveals that they’re pleased to confirm that they’ve successfully completed SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 compliance and audit initiatives “along with obtaining ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 compliance certifications.” As noted by its management, HYPR allows customers to finally… Read More

January 25, 2022 @ 8:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Committee on Financial Services has posted the February hearing schedule and digital assets are on the list. According to an email from the Committee on February 8, 10 AM ET, a hearing will be held entitled “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance:… Read More

January 25, 2022 @ 10:44 am By JD Alois  |  

The Biden administration is planning to roll out a proposal for crypto regulation as soon as next month, according to reports. The White House’s policy push is expected to be accompanied by legislative proposals emerging from Congress as the Executive and Legislative branches work to… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 11:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, one of the leading blockchain and crypto infrastructure providers, is pleased to confirm that it has officially joined the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), a nonprofit corporation primarily focused on identifying, validating, mitigating, and neutralizing cybercrime threats. Binance reports that it’s the first… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 6:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, has sent a public letter to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, requesting they work together to allow digital assets to “flourish.” Both Representatives have recently issued public statements… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 5:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Russia has published a consultation paper on “Cryptocurrencies: Trends, Risks and Regulation.” The central bank has published an executive summary which is available in English. According to the bank, Russian citizens are currently transaction around $5 billion in crypto per year. Meanwhile,… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 2:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at digital assets firm Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), has shared an update titled, Proof of Alignment, which explains what the company has done to align themselves with their clients and what they’re planning to do next. As noted by Grewal, Coinbase… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 10:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again denied an attempt to list a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). In a filing last week, the SEC outlined its justification “disapproving a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the First Trust SkyBridge… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 6:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong’s leading virtual bank ZA Bank has reportedly expanded its footprint into investment business as the first local digital-only bank to be “licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for Type 1 regulated activity (dealing in securities).” As mentioned in an update shared… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 2:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the US Federal Reserve issued a discussion document on the possibility of a central bank digital currency or CBDC. Like many central banks around the world, the Fed is considering if a digital dollar will be a positive step or a negative… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 1:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New York City’s new Mayor Eric Adams has been criticized for using of his public office in an attempt to promote the cryptocurrency sector. An upstate New York environmental group, called Seneca Lake Guardian, has stated that creating and managing virtual currency tends to consume… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Luxury brand Hermès has reportedly decided to sue an artist for selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Birkin bags. The lawsuit has been filed after the artist earned $42,000 for a virtual rendering of the high-fashion accessory in December of last year. Hermès submitted its complaint… Read More

January 21, 2022 @ 6:12 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have responded to a recent spike in SMS phishing scams by introducing stricter security measures, they announced this week. The MAS said it expects all financial institutions to have “robust measures”… Read More

January 20, 2022 @ 9:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled with tZERO ATS for transgressing certain rules. An ATS, or alternative trading system, is similar to an exchange as approved operators may facilitate trading of securities. According to the SEC, tZERO ATS must cease and desist from committing… Read More

January 20, 2022 @ 3:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Federal Reserve has published a discussion paper on central bank digital currencies or CBDCs. The consultation paper has long been anticipated from the central bank. The discussion paper summarizes the current state of the domestic payments system and discusses the different types of… Read More

January 18, 2022 @ 5:56 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today took steps to effectively ban the advertising of cryptocurrencies to the general public. The guidelines cover payment institutions, banks and other financial institutions, as well as applicants under Singapore’s Payment Services Act. Services included in the directives are… Read More

January 18, 2022 @ 5:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against Paul A. Garcia of Severance, Colorado, for allegedly stealing approximately one-quarter of investor funds raised for Gold Hawgs Development Corp. Gold Hawgs reportedly sought to develop a gold hawg token that would be backed… Read More

January 16, 2022 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Open Banking is four years old now, however, the team at TrueLayer asks “who’s using it, how is it benefitting consumers and what’s next?” TrueLayer writes in a blog post that the updated Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force “on 13 January 2018, introducing… Read More

January 15, 2022 @ 8:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered digital asset bank, has shared survey results that show OCC approval “gives Americans greater confidence in cryptocurrency.” The team at Anchorage Digital writes in a blog post that as the volume of conversation around cryptocurrency and digital assets continues… Read More