Politics, Legal & Regulation

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

November 10, 2022 @ 11:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain Association announced that it has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple. This case, which is just one in a long line of SEC efforts to regulate by enforcement, highlights the SEC’s efforts “to cement and… Read More

November 9, 2022 @ 1:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Things are going from bad to worse for FTX, which was the second-largest crypto exchange in the world – just last week. Reports have filtered in that regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are “probing” FTX.us… Read More

November 8, 2022 @ 4:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following the news that Binance will acquire FTX.com due to liquidity problems, Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranking Republican member on the House Committee on Financial Services, has issued a statement that there is a need for Congressional action. McHenry has long been supportive of Fintech… Read More

November 8, 2022 @ 4:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Union has posted the “delegated regulation” regarding European Securities Crowdfunding Provider Regulation (ECSPR). The document supplements previous documents as the EU works towards all platforms operating under the new rules. In November 2020, the EU approved new regulation for investment crowdfunding allowing issuers… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 8:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech Galaxy, which claims to be the “industry-leading” financial innovation company, has become the first central bank regulated Open Finance platform in the MENA region “after receiving a license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), allowing the firm to operate as a regulated Third-Party… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 6:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

“We Lost. Sorry Everyone.” LBRY, issuer of digital asset LBC has lost its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission in a decision that some have described as a significant setback for the entire crypto sector. Back in 2021, LBRY was charged by the SEC with… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 3:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler is losing his Chief of Staff, Prashant Yerramalli. An announcement issued by the Commission indicates that Yerramalli will depart the SEC at the end of the year. Yerramalli served as the SEC’s Chief of Staff since Jan. 20, 2021, initially under… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US government has seized a “historic” amount of crypto in the form of 50,676 Bitcoin valued at $3.36 billion. The US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, has announced that the seizure was in relation to the Silk Road dark web fraud. James… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 10:51 am By JD Alois  |  

A report from last week indicates that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is pursuing “hundreds” of criminal investigations regarding crypto. According to Bloomberg, there has been a shift in recent years away from money laundering to people being paid in crypto, migrating it to fiat,… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 9:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The BIS Innovation Hub is launching a new project around central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols “as part of its 2022 work program.” Project Mariana “explores automated market makers (AMM) for the cross-border exchange of hypothetical Swiss franc, euro and Singapore… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation has launched a new section of the Commission’s website outlining the “fundamentals of capital raising.” One of the main missions of the SEC is to facilitate capital formation for both smaller and larger firms. The… Read More

November 7, 2022 @ 8:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now making the claim that all ETH transactions fall under U.S. jurisdiction due to the network’s high concentration of nodes within the country. If this claim is found to be accurate, we will very soon see a… Read More

November 5, 2022 @ 6:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed charges against the creator and promoters of the Trade Coin Club, which is described as a “global crypto Ponzi scheme.” According to the SEC, the alleged ponzi scam raised $295 million from more than 100,000 investors around… Read More

November 4, 2022 @ 3:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Polkadot’s native token DOT is no longer a security, according to the Web3 foundation. Polkadot said it has been working with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s FinHub on the process. The Web3 Foundation said that DOT has “morphed” from a security to software, perhaps accomplishing… Read More

November 3, 2022 @ 12:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Pat Toomey, the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and Representative Patrick McHenry have co-authored a letter addressed to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler demanding answers regarding “mismanagement” of the Commission, which were highlighted in a recent report by the SEC’s Office of Inspector… Read More

November 2, 2022 @ 11:04 am By JD Alois  |  

Hong Kong has publicly asserted its interest in digital assets or “virtual assets” in a statement issued by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau. The document states: “As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is open and inclusive towards the global community of innovators… Read More

October 31, 2022 @ 2:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

DBS, a top financial services group in Asia with a presence in 18 markets and based in Singapore, has announced an initiative to create a programmable digital Singapore dollars (DSGD). The project has the defacto approval of the Singapore government which recently indicated its support… Read More

October 31, 2022 @ 8:13 am By JD Alois  |  

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) CEO Nikhil Rathi delivered a speech last week that reflected upon the ever-changing regulatory environment. Rathi re-affirmed the FCA’s mission of fostering competition stating, “we will continue to embed competitiveness throughout our regulatory approach,” while noting this will not come to… Read More

October 30, 2022 @ 1:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently announced it will “establish an Office of Financial Technology early next year to bolster the agency’s expertise and ability to adapt to a rapidly changing banking landscape.” The Office of Financial Technology will “build on and… Read More