Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 31, 2022 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, has posted the calendar for September hearings with several topics of note on the list. On Tuesday, September 20 at 10 a.m. ET, the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy will meet… Read More

August 31, 2022 @ 3:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has issued a warning to investors regarding “investment scams and frauds offered in the unregulated metaverse.” The NASAA advisory states that the metaverse may offer investment opportunities, including virtual real estate, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other businesses. But… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 9:32 pm By Agnes Beatrice Gambill West  |  

Lately, there has been a flurry of ethics rules, advisory opinions, and proposed legislation to curtail government employees and their family members from freely trading cryptocurrencies. While the purpose of this clampdown is justifiable — eliminating conflicts of interest and insider trading — excessively limiting participation in something so… Read More

August 29, 2022 @ 12:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

MAS Supports Digital Asset Innovation, No Ban on Crypto Trading but Seeks to Limit Retail Access Singapore is a top global Fintech hub and the leading Asian center for innovation in financial services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has long aided the digitization of… Read More

August 28, 2022 @ 7:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 17, 2022, Binance and the Securities and Exchange Regulator of Cambodia (SERC) held a workshop designed “to deepen SERC officials’ understanding of the digital asset space.” Binance has once again “reaffirmed its commitment to establishing productive collaborations with SERC and sharing its vast… Read More

August 27, 2022 @ 5:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Abu Dhabi Blockchain and Virtual Assets Committee (ADBVAC) held its first meeting, “under the chairmanship of H.E Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Chairman Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), to discuss strategy for blockchain and… Read More

August 27, 2022 @ 3:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fenergo, which claims to be the leading provider of digital solutions for client lifecycle management (CLM), released its half year annual findings on global financial institution enforcement actions which “show the total value of penalties have fallen by a quarter (25%).” In the first half… Read More

August 26, 2022 @ 10:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued an advisory cautioning the public on the rise of “Finfluencers.” NASAA is the association that represents state and provincial financial regulators. It also lobbies on behalf of state authority over securities and providers. Finfluencers… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 8:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several days ago, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler took to the pages of WSJ.com to reflect on crypto markets and regulations. This has been a hot topic for several years now as clear-cut rules by regulators still don’t quite exist. Chair Gensler is of the opinion… Read More

August 24, 2022 @ 4:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has published a draft strategic plan for the 2022 to 2026 fiscal years. The plan targets three goals: Protect working families against fraud, manipulation, and misconduct; Develop and implement a robust regulatory framework that keeps pace with evolving markets,… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The sanctioning of open source crypto mixer Tornado.cash has generated much scrutiny and questions about the legality of a governmental entity punishing code. On August 8th, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the crypto mixer, citing occurrences… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 4:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The IDB Group and Colombia’s Davivienda Bank have completed the first blockchain-based bonds in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDG Group includes the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest and IDB Lab.  Davivienda Bank, part of Grupo Bolívar, is the second largest bank by gross… Read More

August 23, 2022 @ 8:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Citigroup Global Markets Limited £12,553,800 “for failing to properly implement the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) trade surveillance requirements relating to the detection of market abuse.” By failing to properly implement the MAR trade surveillance requirements, Citigroup Global… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 4:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Commission of Korea has issued a warning to 16 unregistered “Virtual Asset Service Providers” or VASPs – the term utilized by the FATF for crypto exchanges. According to a statement by the Commission, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU) has notified 16… Read More

August 22, 2022 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a unique Cease and Desist statement telling five crypto firms to stop making misleading claims regarding deposit insurance. According to the FDIC, these five firms were each the recipient of a C&D letter: Cryponews.com Cryptosec.info SmartAsset.com FTX.US… Read More

August 21, 2022 @ 9:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Australian government has announced that work is “underway on crypto asset reforms” as it aims to regulate digital assets better. In a statement by the Treasury, jointly delivered by the Honorable Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer and the Honorable Dr. Andrew Leigh MP,  Assistant Minister… Read More

August 21, 2022 @ 9:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has posted its Corporate Plan, which seeks to chart its course over the next four years. As one may anticipate, it is heavy on tech-related items, including crypto or digital assets. Joseph Longo, Chair of ASIC, states in… Read More

August 20, 2022 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), staff of the Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, posted a warning about private placements under Reg D, including 506c and 506b, as well as Rule 504. Reg D is an exemption that is widely utilized… Read More

August 19, 2022 @ 8:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Arf, the global settlement banking platform for licensed money service businesses, announced that it has been “granted the approval of the Financial Services Standard Association (VQF) through Arf’s entity in Zug, Switzerland.” Arf’s VQF membership assures its compliance “with the Swiss Anti-Money Laundering and Countering… Read More

August 19, 2022 @ 4:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC), is telling the Commission to help SPACs [Special Purposed Acquisition Companies] work – not shut them down by over-regulating. Posted last month, in a letter to Chairman Gary Gensler, the SBCFAC stated:… Read More