Politics, Legal & Regulation

February 7, 2025 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Acting Commodities Futures and Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Caroline Pham has issued a statement defending herself against claims made in a Bloomberg article. Pham was appointed Acting Chair as the Trump Administration took over the federal bureaucracy. In the minority during the Biden Administration, now… Read More

February 6, 2025 @ 3:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Acting CFTC Chairman Caroline D. Pham says there will be no more “regulation by enforcement.” This term has been widely utilized to describe regulatory activity in financial services during the Biden Administration. More specifically, the rise of digital assets created policy hysteria with the government…. Read More

February 6, 2025 @ 3:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, Congress is busy holding hearings on Debanking and other nefarious actions taken by federal regulators targeting the digital asset sector during the Biden Administration. Crypto firms have struggled in the US to gain regulatory clarity from the government, which sought to undermine crypto… Read More

February 6, 2025 @ 11:30 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has cut benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 4.5%, a move anticipated by markets. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England holds a similar target as the US of achieving a 2% inflation rate. In Q4 2024,… Read More

February 5, 2025 @ 6:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Federal Reserve is supposed to be an apolitical entity independent of the federal government seeking to achieve its low inflation and full employment mandate. The Fed also has oversight over the banking system as it aims to ensure a safe and secure banking… Read More

February 5, 2025 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representatives Bryan Steil and Dusty Johnson have introduced a House resolution voicing support for digital assets. Digital assets, or crypto, cover a broad range of assets, including digital securities and commodities, stable assets, or assets with other types of value. The Resolution states: Whereas entrepreneurs… Read More

February 5, 2025 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

In advance of the Senate Banking Committee hearing on the nefarious debanking movement by the federal government, Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital bank, has shared its experience in prepared testimony. Today, Anchorage founder and CEO Nathan McCauley will testify how Anchorage became persona non-grata… Read More

February 4, 2025 @ 5:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

Newly appointed Crypto and AI Czar David Sacks held a press conference today as part of the week one objectives of President Donald Trump. Sacks took to the podium and lambasted the last four years of persecution and prosecution under the Biden Administration, which included… Read More

February 4, 2025 @ 12:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, Rohit Chopra was booted from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and replaced by acting CFPB Director, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.  The CFPB has been a controversial bureaucracy from its inception, and some supporters of Fintech innovation have chafed at the… Read More

February 4, 2025 @ 9:59 am By JD Alois  |  

A growing number of firms are choosing to incorporate or move their state of incorporation to other states besides Delaware, at least if you believe comments on social media. It appears that Nevada and Texas are on the rise as Delaware has lost some of… Read More

February 3, 2025 @ 1:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent is picking up another leadership role as President Donald Trump named Bessent Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). As Bessent steps in, Rohit Chopra, the Director under the Biden Administration, is now without a job. Bessent… Read More

February 3, 2025 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been criticized in the past for being overly aggressive in its enforcement actions. It should come as no surprise that regulators are going to regulate, and the SEC sometimes appears to be a hammer looking for a nail… Read More

February 2, 2025 @ 6:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ASIC has recently written to superannuation trustees urging them to strengthen anti-scam practices, or risk ex”posing members to harm.” The open letter, which is reportedly signed by ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant, outlines their guidance for superannuation trustees in “preventing, detecting and responding to scams and… Read More

January 31, 2025 @ 1:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement pertaining to an enforcement action against global Fintech Wise. The action arrived with a $2.5 million penalty for the firm. The CFPB claims that Wise failed to serve consumers sufficiently as it misled US customers… Read More

January 31, 2025 @ 11:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is pursuing rules that aim to make it easier for listed companies to issue bonds and investors, including smaller ones, to invest in these assets. The FCA explains that it would like to encourage listed firms to issue bonds… Read More

January 30, 2025 @ 5:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

UK-based Fintech Wise (LON: WISE) has been penalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Wise has been ordered to pay $2.5 million for claims of failing to provide disclosures to consumers. The $2.5 million is split between $450,000 in redress for impacted individuals and… Read More

January 30, 2025 @ 3:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) will meet next month on February 25th. This Committee is tasked with advising the Commission on issues and policies impacting smaller firms while making recommendations on how to improve the ecosystem. Today, the SBCFAC released the… Read More

January 30, 2025 @ 1:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several years back, the European Union approved the European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR), which enabled issuers to raise funds across all EU member states. Under the rules, an issuer could raise up to €5 million for an offering listed on a regulated securities crowdfunding… Read More

January 29, 2025 @ 9:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent case involving Frank Richard Ahlgren III, a Texas resident, has marked a significant milestone in the realm of cryptocurrency taxation, according to an update from Chainalysis. Chainalysis noted in a report that in December 2024, Ahlgren was sentenced to two years in prison… Read More

January 29, 2025 @ 3:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

There was little new today emerging from the US Federal Reserve announcement as it decided to hold rates steady, matching market expectations. The Fed decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4-1/4 to 4-1/2 percent. The FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee]… Read More