Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 30, 2023 @ 8:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indicted FTX crypto exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is reportedly expected to plead not guilty this Thursday to the latest US criminal charges. These new charges include allegedy conspiring to violate campaign finance guidelines and even attempting to bribe Chinese officials. As first reported by… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Smart contracts will reportedly have to include a “kill switch” under an update of the European Union’s (EU) Data Act which was recently released by the bloc’s member states on Monday (March 27, 2023). The European Union’s Council, which is focused on representing national governments,… Read More

March 29, 2023 @ 11:35 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the crypto exchange beaxy (beaxy.com) and its executives with operating an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. The SEC states that it has also charged the founder of the platform, Artak Hamazaspyan, and Beaxy Digital, Ltd.,… Read More

March 29, 2023 @ 9:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Federal regulators will return to Capitol Hill today to continue the discussion on the events that led up to the failure of multiple banks at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. Yesterday, regulators testified in front of the Senate Banking Committee. While little… Read More

March 28, 2023 @ 5:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The French national financial prosecutor’s office (Parquet Financier National – PFN) announced today that it has engaged in multiple search operations at five banking and financial services firms located in Paris and La Defense (a suburb of Paris). According to the prosecutor, the actions are… Read More

March 28, 2023 @ 9:49 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed an enforcement action against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ). The lawsuit comes as no surprise to industry followers as Binance is the largest crypto exchange globally and represents a fat target for regulators. The… Read More

March 28, 2023 @ 9:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the US Senate Banking Committee will meet to discuss the recent calamitous events in the banking sector. Multiple banks have experienced bank runs, and several have been taken over as these firms fell prey to poor management in regard to interest rate risk, and… Read More

March 27, 2023 @ 3:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto appears to have chosen an unlikely supporter in its ongoing struggle against oversight by the US Securities and Exchange Commission: an ex- Coinbase worker who was convicted of allegedly engaging in insider trading. This, according to a recent report by the WSJ. Ishan Wahi,… Read More

March 27, 2023 @ 12:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed charges against Binance, founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao (known as CZ), and former Chief Compliance Officer Samuel Lim with “numerous violations” of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and other regulations. Filed in the U.S. District Court for… Read More

March 26, 2023 @ 10:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act was introduced last week as a bipartisan act of legislation. The bill seeks to clarify and affirm that blockchain developers and service providers do not custody consumer funds, a realm that is currently opaque. This is the 4th time that… Read More

March 26, 2023 @ 3:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

After months of litigation, Celsius recently revealed it has reached an agreement with the Custody Ad Hoc Group and the UCC on a Settlement that reportedly “returns most digital assets in the Custody Program to account holders who opt in to the Settlement.” Custody users… Read More

March 24, 2023 @ 8:09 am By Omar Faridi  |  

  After trying to evade law enforcement for around six months, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon has now been taken into police custody in Montenegro. Kwon and Terraform Labs were responsible for TerraUSD, an aspiring algorithmic stablecoin, and sister crypto Luna, which collapsed last year… Read More

March 23, 2023 @ 7:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

As part of the deal to reanimate Credit Suisse, Swiss regulators cut a deal with UBS that included writing down the AT1 bonds to zero. Holders are not pleased. In light of the “numerous inquiries,” Swiss regulator FINMA has issued a statement on wiping out… Read More

March 23, 2023 @ 10:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the only publicly traded digital asset exchange, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), announced that it has received a Wells Notice from the SEC indicating there is a high possibility of an enforcement action. Coinbase criticized the move by the SEC, stating that it has attempted to engage with the… Read More

March 23, 2023 @ 10:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has increased its Bank Rate by 25 basis points, echoing the move by the US Federal Reserve, which did the same yesterday. Unlike the Fed, the vote was not unanimous in a 7-2 majority decision. The MPC said… Read More

March 22, 2023 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) has posted a statement indicating it has received a Wells Notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). A Wells Notice is effectively a heads-up that the SEC is conducting an investigation for any potential infractions. While not a definitive indicator of a looming… Read More

March 22, 2023 @ 4:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Eight Influencers Charged for Promotion of Digital Assets: Lindsey Lohan, Jake Paul, DeAndrew Cortez Way (Soulja Boy), Austin Mahone, Michele Mason (Kendra Lust), Miles Parks McCollum (Lil Yachty) Shaffer Smith (Ne-Yo), Aliaune Thiam (Akon).   The Securities and Exchange Commission has posted another digital asset… Read More

March 22, 2023 @ 4:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

As widely predicted by market followers, the US Federal Reserve increased benchmark rates by 25 basis points. Not too long ago, prognosticators were vacillating on whether the March meeting would increase rates by 50 bps or 25 bps. The recent bank crises caused the financial… Read More

March 22, 2023 @ 9:26 am By JD Alois  |  

As the US stumbles in crafting bespoke regulation for digital assets, Circle, the issuer of dollar-based stablecoin USDC, has applied to be regulated in France. France crafted digital asset regulation some years ago in an attempt to provide clarity for firms looking to offer crypto…. Read More

March 21, 2023 @ 10:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, widely expected to enter the presidential race in the coming months, is aiming to put a stop to central bank digital currency (CBDC) being utilized in his state, and all of the United States for that matter. “Central Bank Digital Currency… Read More