Politics, Legal & Regulation

November 28, 2022 @ 11:24 am By JD Alois  |  

BlockFi has filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in the US courts. The news has been widely rumored in the last few weeks as BlockFi’s destiny had been tied to the future of FTX, a crypto firm that filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. In… Read More

November 28, 2022 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

BVNK has reportedly gained a UK Electronic Money Institution (EMI) Licence via the acquisition of System Pay Services Limited (SPS Ltd). SPS has held an EMI license authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) since 2020. The deal was approved by the FCA. BVNK is… Read More

November 27, 2022 @ 11:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Investor Advisory Committee (IAC), has scheduled its next meeting for December 8, 2022. The IAC was created under the Dodd-Frank Act and holds a mission to protect investor interests but has tended to overweight investor protection over investor access… Read More

November 26, 2022 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK and Singapore have agreed a new MoU “boosting fintech trade and cooperation at their 7th Financial Dialogue in Singapore.” The UK and Singapore agree a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) “on the UK–Singapore FinTech Bridge to remove barriers to fintech trade and boost cooperation.”… Read More

November 25, 2022 @ 4:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sygnum, which claims to be the world’s first digital asset bank and first Swiss bank to open a hub in the metaverse, leverages its oversubscribed USD 90m Series B “to expand internationally into Abu Dhabi’s high-growth crypto-hub.” In addition to this, Sygnum is further strengthening… Read More

November 25, 2022 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published its final Guidelines on the use of remote customer onboarding solutions. These Guidelines “set out the steps credit and financial institutions should take to ensure safe and effective remote customer onboarding practices in line with applicable anti-money laundering… Read More

November 23, 2022 @ 3:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published its Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2022 to 2026, The high-level document is required under the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. The brief outline declares three goals: Protect the investing public against fraud, manipulation,… Read More

November 23, 2022 @ 10:32 am By JD Alois  |  

Warwick Business School held an event in recent days that discussed central bank digital currency (CBDCs), according to a note from the school. The Gillmore Centre Policy Forum heard Antoine Martin, a Senior VP of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, where… Read More

November 23, 2022 @ 9:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and a longtime crypto-skeptic, has published an Op-Ed on WSJ.com, slamming the crypto industry and warning that crypto is poised to destroy the economy. The opinion follows a series of prominent crypto platform failures topped… Read More

November 22, 2022 @ 11:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is worried about investment apps that are designed to encourage trading. The regulator issued a statement and report yesterday, warning securities trading firms that offer apps to review the design of these services that are crafted to boost trading leveraging… Read More

November 22, 2022 @ 9:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Democrat members of the Senate Banking Committee have sent a letter to SoFi (NASDAQ:SOFI) inquiring about its activities in regard to digital asset trading. At the same time, the Senators have forwarded a letter to three bank regulators, the Office of the Comptroller of the… Read More

November 21, 2022 @ 5:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the US Department of Treasury published a report entitled Assessing the Impact of New Entrant Non-bank Firms on Competition in Consumer Finance Markets. The report was delivered to the White House Competition Council. The 128-page document informed the White House that Fintech firms… Read More

November 21, 2022 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a statement addressing the bankruptcy of FTX, saying it would like to address some questions and “misconceptions.” Singapore is recognized as the top Fintech hub in Asia and is generally viewed as digital asset friendly. That being… Read More

November 21, 2022 @ 11:20 am By JD Alois  |  

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has issued a warning on trading crypto assets as they may not be suitable for some investors, “in particular retail investors.” The CSA noted that crypto tends to be a highly volatile asset. The CSA also cautioned that there are… Read More

November 20, 2022 @ 7:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

FTX Trading and the over 100 affiliated entities posted a release yesterday updating on the bankruptcy process. FTX filed for bankruptcy on November 11th following a run on the bank where the company was unable to fulfill redemption requests. It has been widely reported that… Read More

November 20, 2022 @ 4:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Autumn Statement delivered by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, last week included some grim news – including the declaration that the UK economy is in a recession. Fiscal sobriety was the message, a sharp turn from the mini-budget under Truss that caused… Read More

November 20, 2022 @ 12:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority has publicly censured Mohammad Ataur Rahman Prodhan, the former Chief Executive Officer of Sonali Bank (UK) Limited (SBUK) “for anti-money laundering (AML) failings.” Prodhan was “the senior manager at SBUK with responsibility for the establishment and maintenance of effective AML systems… Read More

November 18, 2022 @ 4:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Josh Hawley has sent a letter addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam, demanding all correspondence between the three federal entities and the Democrat party. Following the bankruptcy of FTX –… Read More

November 18, 2022 @ 3:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced administrative proceedings against American CryptoFed DAO LLC. The company is based in Wyoming and was established under the state’s DAO law in July 2021. The Order, available here, outlines the interaction between American CryptoFed and the SEC…. Read More

November 18, 2022 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory agenda during the current leadership has changed little since it was first revealed in 2021. One item that has been near the top of the list is Reg D “improvements,” including an update to the Accredited Investor definition. Regulation… Read More