Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 12, 2023 @ 4:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital investment platform Mnaara has completed a US$500,000 pre-seed round funded by investors from the UK, US, Middle East and Singapore. The investment round will enable Mnaara “to grow its team and continue developing its Shariah-compliant investment solutions catering to the globally underserved mass-affluent market.”… Read More

August 12, 2023 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a settlement in its enforcement action against Bittrex as well as a foreign affiliate. Bittrex agreed to a total penalty of $24 million. As part of the settlement, Bittrex neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations,… Read More

August 11, 2023 @ 3:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Reports are indicating that Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder and former CEO of failed crypto exchange FTX, is back in jail as Judge Lewis Kaplan has revoked his bail. Bankman-Fried has been out on bail almost since his arrest. Apparently, the prosecutors involved in the case… Read More

August 11, 2023 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

ASIC (Australia Securities and Investments Commission) has filed suit against Active Super (LGSS Pty Limited), alleging “misleading conduct and misrepresentations to the market relating to claims it was an ethical and responsible superannuation fund.” According to ASIC, Active Super claimed to invest in assets that… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 9:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Federal Reserve has announced the creation of the Novel Activities Supervision Program that will be “risk-focused” and in addition to current regulatory processes. The Fed said the Program will focus on “crypto-assets, distributed ledger technology (DLT), and complex, technology-driven partnerships with nonbanks to… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 9:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bittrex has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding charges that it operated an unregistered securities exchange. Bittrex’s foreign operation, Bittrex Global GmbH has also agreed to settle similar charges. Bittrex has agreed to pay a total penalty of $24 million. As part… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 6:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

As the crypto-sphere knows, last month Ripple/XRP received a partial victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a court decision that determined that people who bought XRP could not reasonably expect Ripple to act to increase the price of XRP and the sales… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 1:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past March, Tron, BitTorrent, Rainberry, and founder Justin Sun were the target of enforcement action by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleging the offer and sale of unregistered “crypto-asset securities,” including Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT). Several “celebrity” promotions were entwined in the… Read More

August 10, 2023 @ 8:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Government of Ireland has submitted its own consultation on possible regulation of digital assets or crypto. The European Union has approved crypto asset regulation under MiCA. Ireland, part of the EU, is flexing its prerogative to present its own consultation on possible regulation or… Read More

August 8, 2023 @ 11:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The last couple of months have been anything but “dull” for the digital asset industry – enforcement actions, regulatory proposals, the first ever SPBD approval and, of course, the landmark Ripple decision, the team at tZERO recently noted. tZERO Group, Inc., which claims to be… Read More

August 7, 2023 @ 5:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Singapore is one of the most forward-thinking Fintech hubs in the world. Today, its top financial regulatory, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), has reaffirmed its support of Fintech and announced it will provide S$150 million to innovative firms over the next three years.  The… Read More

August 7, 2023 @ 9:55 am By JD Alois  |  

PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), a top publicly traded Fintech, has announced the launch of a dollar-based stablecoin. According to a company statement, PayPal USD or PYUSD is a fully backed digital asset that holds cash, short-term US Treasuries, and similar assets issued in partnership with Paxos, a… Read More

August 5, 2023 @ 3:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against online investment platform, eToro Aus Capital Limited, “regarding its contract for difference (CFD) product.” ASIC is alleging “breaches of design and distribution obligations and of eToro’s licence obligations to act efficiently, honestly and fairly.” The case… Read More

August 5, 2023 @ 2:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) on Friday (August 4, 2023) reportedly requested a judge to end the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) ongoing lawsuit that’s accusing the world’s biggest publicly-listed crypto exchange of violating applicable federal securities laws. As mentioned in a filing in federal court… Read More

August 4, 2023 @ 5:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tether, the issuer of the world’s most popular stablecoin – USDT, has posted that it has won a legal victory in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The case stems from a complaint filed all the way back in 2021…. Read More

August 4, 2023 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A married and aspiring rapper couple from New York City recently pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracies arising from the hack and theft of approximately 120,000 Bitcoin from Bitfinex, a global cryptocurrency exchange. Ilya Lichtenstein, 35, and Heather Morgan, 33, were arrested in February 2022… Read More

August 4, 2023 @ 6:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the Bank of England increased its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25%. The decision was anticipated by markets and follows the recent decision of the US Federal Reserve to increase rates as well. The Banks’ Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted 6… Read More

August 3, 2023 @ 3:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kenya’s interior ministry revealed on Wednesday (August 2, 2023) that it would be suspending the local activities of the crypto-related initiative Worldcoin as the nation’s authorities assess various risks to the public’s general safety. The initiative established by OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman was… Read More

August 2, 2023 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Eversheds Sutherland is representing an Ad Hoc Committee of Non-US Customers of FTX.com, aiming to protect non-US customers’ interests in the bankruptcy process of FTX. According to a statement from a representative of the Ad Hoc Committee, there are approximately 40 members representing about $2.5… Read More

August 2, 2023 @ 10:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, which claims to be the world’s largest virtual currency exchange, was expected to leave China behind when the nation officially made cryptocurrency trading illegal back in 2021. Two years later, clients have reported traded $90 billion worth of crypto-focused assets in China during a… Read More