Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 18, 2024 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Deepfakes are a growing concern. As technology improves and AI services proliferate, it is getting easier for bad actors to create completely bogus content that intends to dupe the unsuspecting. Today, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has issued a warning to the public to… Read More

January 17, 2024 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed Daniel Godfrey as chair and Julia Dreblow as vice-chair of a new working group focused on building capability in sustainable finance across the financial advice sector. The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association (PIMFA) will “provide… Read More

January 16, 2024 @ 12:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly willing to postpone the Terraform Labs trial for Do Kwon‘s extradition. The SEC agreed to the delay of the civil trial against Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon for allegedly carrying out a $40 billion… Read More

January 16, 2024 @ 8:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

USDC issuer Circle‘s CEO Jeremy Allaire thinks that there’s a ‘very good chance’ that the US passes stablecoin laws this year. The CEO of Circle, the Fintech firm behind the widely-used stablecoin USDC, is seeing a good chance that laws for stablecoin issuers such as… Read More

January 15, 2024 @ 4:13 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

This past week the American Fintech Council testified before the Washington State House Committee on Consumer Protection and Business, recommending amendments to proposed legislation. CEO Phil Goldfeder, a former member of the New York State Assembly, appeared in Olympia to urge legislators to amend legislation… Read More

January 15, 2024 @ 11:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Paul Grewal, the Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), says that it’s the US Congress’ job to make the laws and set the regulatory boundaries “for each of our federal agencies.” Paul Grewal from Coinbase points out that the CFPB is no exception, and recently the… Read More

January 15, 2024 @ 11:39 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, Circle, a stablecoin issuer, announced the receipt of a conditional registration as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) or ‘Prestataire de Service sur Actifs Numériques’ (PSAN)) with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF). When the approval was announced, Jeremy Allaire, co-founder and CEO… Read More

January 15, 2024 @ 8:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

FINRA published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report, formerly known as the Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program. The report provides member firms “with key insights and observations from recent activities of FINRA’s regulatory operations to use in strengthening their compliance programs.”… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

David Carlisle, the Vice President of Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Elliptic, noted that on January 10, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) undertook the landmark step of approving 11 spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs). David Carlisle, who brings a wealth of experience… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 5:42 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das refuted claims that new digital lending guidelines would hinder fintech growth, asserting instead that investor confidence in the sector has risen since their implementation. Speaking at the Mint BFSI conclave in Mumbai, Das highlighted the positive impact… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 3:52 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has initiated a significant step towards refining the regulatory framework for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs) by proposing amendments to the NBFC (Establishment & Regulations) Rules of 2003. This move, aiming to modernize and streamline the sector, invites… Read More

January 14, 2024 @ 11:12 am By JD Alois  |  

As part of New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the Union address, “sweeping consumer protection” was unveiled for buy now pay later (BNPL) providers. The Governor seeks to amend New York’s consumer laws to boost protections against practices deemed to be “unfair” while establishing… Read More

January 13, 2024 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) experienced an embarrassing breach of security when its X (formerly Twitter) account was hacked. The perpetrators took the opportunity to announce the approval of Bitcoin ETFs one day before the SEC intended to announce it publicly. In the following… Read More

January 13, 2024 @ 11:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris has announced that Genesis Global Trading, Inc. will “pay an $8 million penalty to New York State for compliance failures that violated DFS’s virtual currency and cybersecurity regulations and left the company vulnerable… Read More

January 12, 2024 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The Biden Administration has not been known for embracing Fintech innovation and, in the past couple of years, has become more hostile towards digital assets in general. One aspect the Biden Administration is pursuing that may undermine crypto is the digital asset mining energy excise… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 6:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren has taken to X to express her displeasure with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to approve eleven Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These funds started trading today after being approved yesterday, experiencing solid trading demand. Warren, a policymaker who is no fan… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 5:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee has announced the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled: “Oversight of the SEC’s Proposed Climate Disclosure Rule: A Future of Legal Hurdles.” The hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 10 AM… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 5:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges against the CEO of Future Fintech Group (Nasdaq:FTFT). The Future Fintech Group is a financial and digital technology service provider that says it conducts asset management, brokerage, and investment banking services in Hong Kong, operates a… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 11:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bankrupt crypto lending platform Celsius recently filed its intent to claw back a number of pre-bankruptcy withdrawal requests. The struggling cryptocurrency lender formally submitted an intent to claw back certain funds from clients that withdrew $100,000 or more during the 3 months prior to Celsius… Read More

January 11, 2024 @ 10:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published experimental statistics on Distributional Wealth Accounts (DWA) to provide quarterly and timely household distributional information that is consistent with the national accounts. The new data have been developed to “support the ECB’s 2021 monetary policy strategy, which aims… Read More