Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 16, 2022 @ 2:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financial Technology Association (FTA) CEO Penny Lee has published an Op-Ed on Buy Now-Pay Later (BNPL) services a Fintech service that has suffered from “misinformation.” BNPL services are frequently at the point of sale when a purchaser is given the option for credit to pay… Read More

March 16, 2022 @ 9:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the United Kingdom’s financial services industry regulator, is reportedly looking for a professional to head the digital assets unit and build up a new team. This, according to a job posting via LinkedIn. The department head will be required to… Read More

March 16, 2022 @ 7:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Treezor, the European firm focused on Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solutions, has obtained authorization from the ACPR in order to expand its activities and now “has all the payment service licenses (from 1 to 8).” The new authorizations (i.e. 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8) mean Treezor… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 3:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following questions regarding sufficient support in the US Senate, Sarah Bloom Raskin has decided to pull her name for consideration as a Federal Reserve Board Member. Yesterday, Senator Joe Manchin indicated he would not vote to confirm her nomination – potentially leaving the Senate without… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 11:56 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Allison Herren Lee has announced her pending departure from the Commission. According to a statement, Lee’s term expires this June and she has decided to exit the top US securities regulator at that time. Commissioner Lee issued the following statement: “My term as… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the White House issued an Executive Order on digital assets that outline an approach to regulating the emerging industry. While many details remain to be disclosed, and multiple agencies will be involved in building a regulatory strategy, the crypto industry was relieved that… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Michele Korver has joined a16z Crypto as its new Head of Regulatory. According to a note from a16z, Korver has a reputation as the DOJ [Department of Justice] “crypto czar” having spent more than 25 years in government and law enforcement. Korver started her career… Read More

March 15, 2022 @ 9:24 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority has clarified what may and may not be used for when it is introduced later in 2022. The CMA mandated the use of Variable Recurring Payments (VRPs) as the mechanism for implementing Sweeping – which is described as… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 10:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance has received a crypto asset license from the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), according to the crypto exchange. This is Binance’s first digital asset-specific license. The company said approval by the CBB demonstrated its commitment to being in regulatory compliance as the first of… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Labor has issued a “compliance assistance release” about 401K retirement plans and investment in cryptocurrencies. According to the DOL, they have become aware of firms offering this option to savers and cautions plan fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care before they consider… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reportedly instructed Paytm Payments Bank to stop onboarding new clients and to also hire an IT audit company while citing “supervisory concerns.” In an official statement, the RBI stated that Paytm Payments Bank should stop taking on new… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 6:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chainalysis, a leading blockchain/crypto monitoring and data platform used by both private and public entities, shared last week that they are building tools that “make it easier for any organization to integrate sanctions screening for cryptocurrencies into their existing operation.” As has been previously reported,… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 5:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Russia has taken the extraordinary measure of halting trading on the Moscow Stock Exchange now for a second week. In a public statement, the Bank said there would be no trading from 14 to 18 March 2022 on the Moscow Exchange in… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 3:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, of the European Parliament,  adopted its “negotiating position on crypto assets. According to a statement by the EU parliament its goal is to “boost users’ confidence and support the development of digital services and alternative payment instruments.”… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sarah Bloom Raskin was selected by President Joe Biden to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Last January, Biden announced his decision to appoint Raskin as Vice Chair for Supervision of the Federal Reserve. At that time, Biden described Raskin as… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 11:24 am By JD Alois  |  

David Marcus was previously the head of Facebook / Meta’s (NASDAQ:FB) initiative to create a non-sovereign global digital currency. First branded as Libra, and then as Diem, the digital currency launched with much fanfare but eventually sputtered – largely due to global regulatory pushback that made… Read More

March 14, 2022 @ 12:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Croatian P2P lender Robo.cash recently commented on whether peer-to-peer investors are equal when it comes to “taxing their income.” To address the question, Robo.cash has assessed the European legislative framework. Robocash writes in a blog post that the national legislations of European countries “generally have… Read More

March 13, 2022 @ 9:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Andrejus Trofimovas, CEO of Aventus Group, has noted that the scale of world changes and the problems that we have faced did not seem “so serious” just a few weeks ago. Andrejus writes in a blog post that we all observed: “a real war of this… Read More

March 12, 2022 @ 6:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

The definition of an Accredited Investor determines who may participate in Regulation D (Reg D) private placement offerings. This is an enormous market at over $1 trillion in annual investments and the most popular path for an early-stage firm to raise needed growth capital.  The… Read More

March 12, 2022 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has told all operators of cryptocurrency ATMs operating in the UK to shut down machines or face an enforcement action. In a statement, the FCA said that crypto ATMs providing crypto exchange services must be registered and comply with… Read More