Politics, Legal & Regulation

Policy and regulations impacting innovations in Finance.

Biggest Financial Promotion in History: SteelEye CEO Comments on Kim Kardashian’s EthereumMax Penalty, Tells SEC to Wake Up to Modern Market Manipulation

June 2021 Promotion by Kardashian has the potential of being viewed by 328 million followers in what many think may have been the “financial promotion with the single biggest audience reach in history.” There has been plenty of chatter about the US Securities and Exchange… Read More

CFPB Penalizes Small World Money Transfer for Money Transfer Violations

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has penalized Choice Money Transfer, dba Small World Money Transfer, for multiple violations of the Remittance Transfer Rule and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), according to public statement. The CFPB claims that it found the company did not… Read More

Legal: Top Attorneys Comment on Kim Kardashian’s Crypto Promotion Penalty Courtesy of the SEC

Yesterday, as was widely reported, well-known celebrity and influencer Kim Kardashian settled an enforcement action brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The infraction had to do with an Instagram post for EthereumMAX, the issuer of the EMAX token. The post, which was tagged… Read More

Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022 Introduced by Senator Hagerty

Pending digital asset legislation is piling up in the US House and Senate with some of these bills poised to move forward following the outcomes of the midterm elections. Last week, Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced the Digital Trading… Read More

Australia: Banking Institutions Asked to Serve Legit Fintech, Crypto, Remittance Firms

The government in Australia has noted that it would be issuing a formal response to a report advising banking institutions in the country of their duty to keep offering banking services to Fintechs, virtual currency trading platforms as well as remittance service providers. This, after… Read More

India: Directorate of Enforcement Freezes Crypto-Assets, as Part of Investigation Involving Gaming App

Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in India has reportedly frozen the cryptocurrencies WRX (utility token of WazirX) and USDT (Tether, an Ethereum token that is pegged to the value of a U.S. dollar) equivalent to Rs 47.64 Lakhs (appr. $58,000) “under the provisions ofthe Prevention of… Read More

Financial Stability Oversight Council Publishes Anticipated Report on Digital Assets and Affiliated Risks

The Financial Stability Oversight Council has published the expected Report on Digital Asset Financial Stability Risks and Regulation. According to the US Department of Treasury, the Council voted unanimously to approve the report in response to President Biden’s Executive Order 14067, “Ensuring Responsible Development of… Read More

CFTC Files Charges Against Digital Asset Derivative Platform Digitex and Founder

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed a complaint against Adam Todd and four companies he controlled – Digitex LLC, Digitex Limited, Digitex Software Limited, and Blockster Holdings Limited Corporation. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the CFTC… Read More

SEC Charges Canadian Software Engineers with Insider Trading

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced insider trading charges against two Canadian software engineers who reportedly “made $1.6 million by trading ahead of non-public, market-moving financial information.” According to the SEC’s complaint, from at least May 2018 to July 2021, Harpreet Saini… Read More

Financial Technology Association Hires New Head of Policy

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has hired a new Head of Policy and Government Relations, according to a release. The FTA has appointed Angelena Bradfield to help guide the association’s regulatory and legislative efforts. Bradfield previously was Senior Vice President for AML/BSA, Sanctions and Privacy… Read More

Kim Kardashian Settles with SEC for “Crypto Asset Security” Promotion, Pays $1.26 Million Penalty

Global influencer, celebrity, and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian has settled charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding allegations of promoting a “crypto asset security” without revealing she was paid for touting the digital asset on social media. The promotion took place in June of… Read More

First List of European Crowdfunding Platforms Under ECSPR Posted

In November of 2021, the European Union adopted new rules that allow securities crowdfunding platforms to raise capital across all member states. The move has been welcomed by the industry as it will remove national barriers enabling firms to raise up to €5 million across… Read More

CFPB Sues MoneyLion for Overcharging Servicemembers, “Trapping” Consumers in Costly Memberships

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued MoneyLion Technologies, an online lender, and 38 of its subsidiaries, “for imposing illegal and excessive charges on servicemembers and their dependents.” The CFPB alleges that MoneyLion “violated the Military Lending Act by charging more than the legally allowable… Read More

Crypto Pump and Dump. SEC Charges Arbitrade, Cryptobontix and Principles with Scheme Involving DIG

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges today in regard to an alleged crypto pump and dump scheme involving a digital asset DIG (Dignity). The SEC’s charges are against Arbitrade Ltd., a Bermudan company, and Cryptobontix Inc., a Canadian company, and their principals: Troy… Read More

Ripple: Judge Tells SEC to Hand Over Documents on Hinman Ethereum Speech, Once Again

While the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) keeps battling the courts, the courts keep telling the SEC to hand over the “emails and drafts” pertaining to the speech given by former SEC Corporate Finance Director William (Bill) Hinman discussing crypto in June of 2018. In… Read More

France: Autorité des Marchés Financiers and Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution, Caution Public on Unauthorized Crypto Derivatives

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR), have issued a statement warning the public about entities offering crypto derivatives and Forex investments without authorization. The regulators maintain a “black list” of websites that is periodically updated that… Read More

Retirement Savings Modernization Act Includes Alternative Assets for 401Ks, Includes Digital Assets, Private Securities and More

The Retirement Savings Modernization Act was introduced today by Senators Pat Toomey and Tim Scott, along with Representative Peter Meijer. The Act broadly expands the asset classes available to ordinary citizens for retirement accounts like widely utilized 401k plans. The legislation aims to help individuals better… Read More

Update on Reg CF Shows Over 300,000 Jobs Have Been Created, Women and Minorities Key Users

Investment crowdfunding under Reg CF (Regulation Crowdfunding) has emerged as a powerful legislative success, boosting economic growth and providing access to capital for early-stage firms in need of money. Created under the JOBS Act of 2012 – a bipartisan act of legislation, Reg CF has… Read More

European Commission Welcomes Joint Statement to Provide Accessible Remittance Services to Ukraine

The European Commission has welcomed a Joint Statement by EU and Ukrainian financial institutions “to provide access to affordable, accessible and transparent remittance services to Ukraine.” Today, remittances from Ukrainians in the EU are “a vital way of providing means of subsistence to their families… Read More

Crypto.com Obtains Regulatory Approval in France

Crypto.com, which claims to be one of the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platforms, announced it has been registered in France as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) following clearance from the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR)…. Read More

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