Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 20, 2025 @ 3:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

While Republicans are celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the US, at least one Democrat is ignoring the festive atmosphere in the nation’s capital to lambast the new President. Representative Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 10:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has recently announced that, based on its preliminary results, it filed 200 total enforcement actions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ran from October through December 2024, including “118 standalone enforcement actions.” The Division filed a… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin bulls are on today as BTC nears $110,000 on the day of the Presidential inauguration. Today, at 12 noon ET, Donald Trump will become the 47th President after serving as the 45th President in an unprecedented return to office following four difficult years under… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Equifax, the nationwide consumer reporting agency, for its failure to conduct “proper investigations” of consumer disputes. The CFPB found Equifax (allegedly) “ignored consumer documents and evidence submitted with disputes, allowed previously deleted inaccuracies to be reinserted… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 7:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Stablecoin issuer Circle has reportedly submitted its response to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) consultation on technical advice for standard formula capital requirements for making investments in crypto-assets. Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 4:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is operational as of today. DORA aims to harmonize the rules regarding digital operational resilience that apply to financial services firms like banks and more. DORA seeks to improve the incident reporting methodology with a single network which should… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that it had settled charges against Digital Currency Group Inc. (DCG), and Soichoro “Michael” Moro, the former CEO of DCG’s now-defunct subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital LLC. The settlement entails the payment of a civil penalty of $38.5 million. The… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 11:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Cynthia Lummis has sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) telling the regulator not to destroy any information concerning the agency’s attempt to undermine digital asset innovation. It has been widely reported that the FDIC used its power and influence to… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 11:24 am By JD Alois  |  

MiCA, or markets in crypto markets regulation, aims to create bright-line rules in Europe to enable digital asset innovation. While not regulating digital securities, MiCA covers just about everything else, including stablecoin regulation. The EU wants to encourage the development of new products and services… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 10:57 am By JD Alois  |  

China state-affiliated entities have been hacking both public and private organizations in the US for years now. This is part of China’s goal to usurp the US as the world’s top superpower.  In an embarrassing revelation, the US Department of Treasury was hacked, including, apparently,… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 8:40 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) telling them to modify rules designed to address custodial deposits. The letter was sent in response to proposed rulemaking on the accounts. The FTA says it supports the FDIC’s… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 7:39 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported “record-breaking” enforcement actions in 2024, while the value of fines issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) more than tripled year-on-year, according to SteelEye’s annual fine tracker. To create its annual… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 6:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an appeal against a US federal judge’s decision in its partially unsuccessful case against enterprise blockchain firm Ripple Labs, a move that has been heavily criticized by Ripple’s chief legal officer. In a Jan. 15 filing… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 5:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Scott Bessant, incoming President Donald Trump’s selection to become the Secretary of the Treasury, is not supportive of a CBDC or central bank digital currency. A graduate of Yale, Bessent is a hedge fund manager who worked for George Soros at one time, but today,… Read More

January 16, 2025 @ 8:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has shared that it has settled with crypto lender Plutus Lending, LLC by paying a civil penalty of $1.65 million. According to the SEC, Plutus, doing business as Abra, offered a retail crypto asset lending product, Abra Earn –… Read More

January 15, 2025 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representative French Hill, the new House Financial Services Committee Chairman, has announced a new entity: the Monetary Policy, Treasury Market Resilience, and Economic Prosperity Task Force. Representative Frank Lucas (OK-03) will lead the new Task Force. Hill said the reason for the Task Force was… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 9:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk, a move that some will undoubtedly label as politically motivated. Musk, according to the SEC, failed to file a beneficial ownership report in a timely manner when he acquired 5%+ of Twitter – now X…. Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 9:12 am By JD Alois  |  

Capital One is probably best known for its pithy commercials featuring Jennifer Garner asking, “What’s in your wallet.”  Unfortunately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) believes that Capital One has been cheating its customers, thus questioning if consumers should keep Capital One as a credit… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 8:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England and HM Treasury are in the design phase for the creation of a digital pound or central bank digital currency. A consultation paper outlined the framework as a precursor to a possible digital currency. The update by the Bank is said… Read More

January 14, 2025 @ 8:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) won a minor victory in court regarding its ongoing legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal shared via X that the Third Circuit Court has chastised the SEC for its denial of rulemaking – something… Read More