Politics, Legal & Regulation

April 3, 2023 @ 4:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged beaxy with operating as a national securities exchange minus the authorization to do so. The SEC filed charges against founder beaxy Artak Hamazaspyan, and his company Beaxy Digital, Ltd., for raising $8 million in an unregistered… Read More

April 3, 2023 @ 2:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Surging oil prices are likely to mean higher interest rates “for longer as the price rally adds to inflationary pressures,” warns the CEO of an independent financial advisory, asset management and fintech organization. The warning from deVere Group’s Nigel Green comes as the price of… Read More

April 3, 2023 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

The spectacular collapse of Wirecard, once Germany’s largest Fintech, still reverberates within the country. While different pieces and parts have been sold off to various firms, the collateral damage continues, and new information continues to emerge. Today, EY – once the auditor of Wirecard, has… Read More

April 3, 2023 @ 1:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recently became the 43rd state to pass legislation authorizing remote online notarization (RON). Signed into law by Governor Maura Healey and effective on January 1, 2024, the legislation expands access “to online notarization — and the Notarize platform — to all… Read More

April 2, 2023 @ 6:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Beginning on April 6, 2023, early-stage private firms will be able to tap into an improved Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), one of several tax policies aimed at supporting entrepreneurship and early-stage firms in the UK. The popular program is a positive for both investors… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 5:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has created the Office of Financial Technology (Fintech). At the same time, the OCC has appointed Prashant Bhardwaj to lead the office as Deputy Comptroller and Chief Financial Technology Officer. This is not the first time… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 5:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted a notice that on March 15, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment against Defendants John and sister JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale ordering permanent injunctions, disgorgement with interest, and… Read More

March 30, 2023 @ 11:11 am By JD Alois  |  

Do Kwon is expected to stand trial in Montenegro before facing charges in other interested jurisdictions. Kwon is the founder and CEO of Terraform Labs, the crypto company that created TerraUSD and LUNA. TerraUSD was an aspiring algorithmic stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. The… Read More

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