Politics, Legal & Regulation

Policy and regulations impacting innovations in Finance.

UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Outlines Concerns in Markets for AI Foundation Models

The CMA has outlined 3 key risks to effective competition on AI Foundation Models and has set out plans for further action in the market. The move from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) follows its initial report on AI Foundation Models (FMs) last year…. Read More

UK Watchdog Calls for New Industry Body to Enhance Consumer Credit Ratings System

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has called for the establishment of a new industry body to enhance the functioning of Britain’s “highly concentrated” consumer credit ratings market, which it says is currently not serving consumers well, Reuters has reported. The consumer credit ratings market,… Read More

SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee Schedules Next Meeting

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC), has scheduled its next meeting for May 6, 2024. As of today, the agenda has not been released. At the last meeting in February, the SBCFAC discussed multiple topics of interest, including a… Read More

Five Investment Advisors Penalized by the SEC for Alleged Violations of Marketing Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has penalized five individual investment advisors for allegations of violating marketing rules. According to the SEC, each entity has settled the charges and agreed to pay $200,000 in combined penalties. The five firms are as follows: GeaSphere LLC Bradesco… Read More

Uniswap Founder Hayden Adams Shares Comments After Receiving Wells Notice from SEC

Hayden Adams, founder of Uniswap, confirmed on April 10, 2024 that Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Hayden says he is not surprised but just “annoyed, disappointed, and ready to fight.” Today @Uniswap Labs received a Wells… Read More

SEC Schedules Annual Small Business Forum

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC), Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has scheduled the 43rd Annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation. This gathering will occur with three virtual sessions April 16-18 from 1-2:30 p.m. ET. Several years ago, these… Read More

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo Points Finger at Crypto and Illicit Activity, Asks Congress for More Power to Address

Yesterday, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo testified before the Senate Banking Committee. In prepared testimony, Adeyemo called out digital assets—or crypto—and stated that bad actors are using these assets for nefarious activities. Adeymo said: “As we take steps to cut terrorist groups and… Read More

Crypto.com Dubai Entity Obtains Full Operational Approval from Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)

Crypto.com, which claims to be “trusted” by more than 80 million customers worldwide and the industry leader in regulatory compliance, security and privacy, announced that its Dubai entity, CRO DAX Middle East FZE, has “received full operational approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA)… Read More

Crypto Market May Approach $5T in Total Value By End of 2024 Due to Positive Ecosystem Developments, Ripple CEO Predicts

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently stated that he thinks the combined value of the crypto-assets market may double this year. As reported by CNBC, the Ripple Chief Executive has cited the approval of the US spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETFs) as well as the… Read More

Jury Finds Terraform Labs and Do Kwon Guilty of Crypto Fraud, SEC Director Calls for Compliance

Following a nine-day trial, a jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has found Terraform Labs PTE Ltd. and its former CEO, Do Kwon, guilty of defrauding investors in crypto asset securities. The verdict comes after the Court’s… Read More

CFPB Says Gaming Marketplaces Put Personal Data at Risk Due to Financial Info

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) says the increase in financial transactions in the gaming world is putting users’ information at risk. The agency claims that gaming platforms are not benefitting from the protections of federal law. The CFPB states that it has received consumer… Read More

Digital Assets focused Custodia Bank Aims to Fight for US Federal Reserve Master Account

Wyoming-based digital asset bank Custodia will continue its efforts to obtain access to a Federal Reserve master account. Wyoming is a digital asset-friendly jurisdiction. A Federal Reserve master account is an account in which a Reserve Bank allows banks or credit unions to use the… Read More

House Financial Services Committee Schedules Hearing on SEC’s Troublesome Climate Disclosure Rule

The House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent rule change that requires public firms to disclose climate impact. The new ESG-type rules have been controversial at best, with some lambasting the Commission as becoming the Securities… Read More

Digital Securities Draft Guidance Revealed by UK FCA, Bank of England: Digital Securities Sandbox Nears

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While everyone understands that securities will inevitably become digital, policymakers have been slow to provide an ecosystem to support the nuances intrinsic to the transition from analog. Eventually, digital securities will become the dominant sector of digital assets, and clear-cut rules are needed. Today, the… Read More

National Securities Commission in Argentina Introduces Registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs)

The South American country of Argentina has announced key updates related to digital assets. Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV)  has implemented the Registry of Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). The LatAm based nation has some of the highest levels of crypto adoption globally so this… Read More

SEC Posts Final Judgement Pertaining to GA Investors and Fraud that Involved Crypto

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published the final judgment regarding GA Investors, which is said to have operated dozens of fraudulent websites, including GA-Investors.org. The final judgment was entered by default and includes a demand for GA Investors to pay more than $1.1… Read More

Investment Crowdfunding : Companies That Raised Money Using Reg CF Are Not Filing their Form C-AR

Reg CF or Regulation Crowdfunding is a securities exemption that allows a company to raise up to $5 million from both Accredited and Non-Accredited investors. To pursue a Reg CF offering, a company must file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The documents… Read More

Monetary Authority of Singapore Launches COSMIC Platform to Combat Money Laundering

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched COSMIC, the first centralized digital platform to facilitate sharing of customer information among financial institutions (FIs) to combat money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) globally. The Financial Services and Markets (Amendment) Act 2023… Read More

SEC Posts Final Judgment on Coinspark, FLiK ICOs

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted that it has obtained a final judgment against defendants Ryan Felton, FLiK, and CoinSpark. The SEC had previously charged the defendants in 2020 for two initial coin offerings (ICOs) that were deemed to be fraudulent. Felton, FLiK,… Read More

US Judge Says Federal Reserve Does Not Have to Provide Custodia Bank with Master Account

According to a ruling by a judge this past Friday (March 29, 2024), the US Federal Reserve will not be required to provide Wyoming-based digital asset bank Custodia access to a master account. Federal Reserve Banks are able to determine if they should issue master… Read More

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