Politics, Legal & Regulation

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

November 17, 2022 @ 7:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Securities Commission of the Bahamas issued a statement that it has transferred all assets held by FTX Digital Markets Ltd., to a wallet controlled by the regulator. The Securities Commission said it took control of the assets under its powers as a regulator… Read More

November 17, 2022 @ 11:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt delivered the Autumn Budget today, and once again, there is a bundle of adjustments and announcements aiming to improve the UK economy that is struggling with high inflation, unsustainable energy costs, and a recession. The UK government has already… Read More

November 17, 2022 @ 9:23 am By JD Alois  |  

New FTX CEO John J. Ray has filed a declaration in support of Chapter 11 proceedings, completely slamming the utter incompetence of management in what was once the second-largest crypto exchange in the world. To quote the filing: “Never in my career have I seen… Read More

November 16, 2022 @ 8:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, Jeremy Allaire, CEO of Circle – issuer of a leading dollar-based stablecoin USDC, forwarded a letter to Congressional leaders urging action on stablecoin legislation, providing rules for the industry to develop with surety. Following the collapse of FTX and the collateral damage of… Read More

November 16, 2022 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The House Committee on Financial Services has announced a hearing on the failure of FTX and its affiliated entities. The announcement was bipartisan in nature as the current Chair of the Committee, Maxine Waters, was joined by Ranking Member Patrick McHenry in announcing the hearing… Read More

November 15, 2022 @ 5:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, testified in front of the Senate Committee on Banking today. In prepared testimony, the Acting Comptroller outlined his priorities for the bank regulator. In opening statements, the Chair of the Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown, took a… Read More

November 15, 2022 @ 12:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Division of Enforcement, has published its annual activity report for the fiscal year 2022. The Division of Enforcement is the largest section of the SEC and leverages the bulk of the agency’s budget. During the SEC’s fiscal year of… Read More

November 15, 2022 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

SPACs, or special purpose acquisition companies, boomed in 2021. This year, the story is rather different. According to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, through Q3 2022, there have been 78 SPAC initial public offerings (IPOs). This compares to 444 for the nine-month period… Read More

November 15, 2022 @ 9:19 am By JD Alois  |  

An initial filing pertaining to the Chapter 11 filing for FTX and affiliated firms has surfaced today. Filed yesterday by new leadership at FTX to manage the bankruptcy proceedings, the document notes there are over 100,000 creditors with claims – a number that can balloon… Read More

November 14, 2022 @ 4:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

The bankruptcy of FTX and many of its affiliated entities have pummeled all crypto markets. Many observers wonder if there is another shoe to drop. Meanwhile, crypto-associated firms continue to make announcements regarding any impact the collapse of crypto may have on their operations. It… Read More

November 14, 2022 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

  One of the key elements of online capital formation is the fact that geography is not as important. While traditional venture hubs, like the Bay area and New York City, continue to garner much of the activity in securities crowdfunding, expanding access to capital… Read More

November 14, 2022 @ 9:42 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a note from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), LedgerX LLC (dba FTX US Derivatives), has pulled its application to amend FTX’s Amended Order of Registration as a derivatives clearing organization to allow FTX to offer products that are not fully collateralized. The… Read More

November 13, 2022 @ 5:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

As details of the FTX collapse continue to emerge, criticism has turned into a pile-on in regard to Sam Bankman-Fried’s mismanagement of the crypto exchange and affiliated entities, including his hedge fund Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried is said to be in the Bahamas, where authorities are… Read More

November 12, 2022 @ 4:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hash Blockchain Limited, a member of the HashKey Group, a digital asset financial services group in Asia, has “received approval” from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) in order “to operate a virtual asset trading platform, under a Type 1 (dealing in… Read More

November 12, 2022 @ 3:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities Commission of The Bahamas (the Commission) took action “to freeze assets of FTX Digital Markets and related parties.” The Commission also “suspended the registration and applied to the Supreme Court of The Bahamas for the appointment of a provisional liquidator of FTX Digital… Read More

November 12, 2022 @ 3:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Russia proposes to discuss possible circulation of digital assets “at exchange trading, harmonization of approaches to their taxation with traditional financial instruments, conditions for acquiring digital assets by individual institutional investors, establishment of the accounting procedure for such investments, as well as… Read More

November 11, 2022 @ 10:59 am By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York Innovation Center (NYIC), and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have announced a partnership aimed at experimenting with Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to improve the efficiency of cross border wholesale payments using multiple currencies. The… Read More

November 11, 2022 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

In an action that should come as no surprise, FTX (International), along with its affiliated firms, including FTX.us and Alamada Research, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The news was revealed via Twitter in FTX’s main account. What was once the 2nd largest crypto exchange in… Read More

November 10, 2022 @ 2:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Ten years ago, a group of proponents published a document that outlined “A Framework for European Crowdfunding.” The document was widely distributed as individuals interested in online capital formation shared the framework, looking to garner support among policymakers to enable securities crowdfunding. The main authors… Read More