Politics, Legal & Regulation

September 23, 2022 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the tax authority of the US, has received a Court Order to be able to summons records pertaining to US taxpayers who may have failed to report and pay taxes on crypto transactions. According to the Department of Justice… Read More

September 23, 2022 @ 4:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Stability Oversight Council held a meeting today, and part of the discussion revolved around digital assets. In the readout, the Council noted that Treasury staff provided an update on digital assets and the report that is being prepared following the recent Executive Order on… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 10:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed and settled charges against bZeroX and founders Tom Bean and Kyle Kistner. The CFTC alleges that respondents illegally offered leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets. The CFTC states that the activity can only be… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 6:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several weeks back, the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) met and discussed secondary transactions for securities issued under Regulation A (Reg A+) as well as Reg CF. Private securities must adhere to various rules for investors to sell a holding creating hurdles… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 4:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several House Republicans have sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler challenging his authority to demand climate disclosure reports from firms as well as other proposed rules, including ESG ambitions and areas like SPACs. Republican members of the House, including the top Republican on… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 4:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK government has introduced new legislation that is described as a move to counter those who abuse the UK’s open economy via money laundering or simply hiding ill-gotten gains. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill is currently in Parliament, where it is scheduled… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 10:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a civil injunctive action against James Arthur McDonald, Jr. The SEC noted that McDonald was previously a guest commentator for CNBC – the leading financial news network. The charges were filed against McDonald and his SEC-registered investment… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD), a social trading platform providing access to both traditional securities and crypto, is seeing a bump in its share price as chatter indicates that the practice of Payment for Order Flow – will remain in place. Robinhood promotes is a fee trading service… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has raised interest rates by 50 basis points – the biggest leap in many years. The move by the BoE follows the US Federal Reserve’s anticipated 75 bps rate increase. The Bank of England said it maintains resolve to fight inflation… Read More

September 22, 2022 @ 12:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Binance, the global blockchain services provider, has received the Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), following the issuance of its provisional license in March 2022. The MVP license “means that Binance can offer an approved range of virtual asset-related… Read More

September 21, 2022 @ 3:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

During the House Financial Services Committee hearing on Megabanks today, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon was asked about his opinion on blockchain technology. Dimon said he was not a skeptic when it comes to blockchain, smart contracts, Defi, etc., these are real things in which… Read More

September 21, 2022 @ 12:18 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announces the licensing of two payment financial technology companies, including: Arab Sea Financial Company and Fatoraah in order to provide Payment services for e-commerce. This brings the total number of payment companies licensed by SAMA “to 21 companies, in addition… Read More

September 20, 2022 @ 5:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

As was previously announced the House Financial Services Committee will be holding a hearing tomorrow (September 21st) entitled “Holding Megabanks Accountable: Oversight of America’s Largest Consumer Facing Banks.”  The largest banks in the US will each have CEOs participating in the hearing, including: Jamie Dimon,… Read More

September 20, 2022 @ 2:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve is meeting this week to determine interest rates and the odds on favorite is for a 75 basis point increase to the benchmark rate. While it could go higher – perhaps 100 bps – most market observers believe 75 bps is already… Read More

September 19, 2022 @ 3:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy will convene a hybrid hearing entitled, “Under the Radar: Alternative Payment Systems and the National Security Impacts of Their Growth.” According to the hearing memo, alternative payment systems can operate independently… Read More

September 19, 2022 @ 3:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it has issued a Cease & Desist against Sparkster Ltd., and its CEO Sajjad Daya for offering unregistered digital asset securities. According to the SEC’s complaint, the SPRK token offering took place from April 2018 through July 2018,… Read More

September 19, 2022 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) is scheduled to hold a meeting this week, on September 21st. The agenda of the meeting has just been released. The meeting will focus on four panels including: Human capital management labor valuation and performance data; 10B-1 position reporting; 13D… Read More

September 19, 2022 @ 10:04 am By JD Alois  |  

It has been widely reported that the European Central Bank (ECB), has selected Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) alongside CaixaBank, Worldline AS, Nexi SpA, and EPI, to participate in a prototyping exercise as part of a review of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or digital Euro. The… Read More

September 17, 2022 @ 10:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Russia and market participants “launched the testing of the digital ruble platform and successfully completed the first digital ruble transfers between individuals.” The creation of a prototype of the digital ruble platform was “finished in December 2021.” Twelve banks announced their readiness… Read More

September 17, 2022 @ 5:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

FTX Europe announced that it has received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), to operate “as a Cyprus investment firm (CIF) allowing the Company to fully own the local investment firm it previously acquired.” Patrick Gruhn, Head of FTX Europe, commented: “After… Read More