Politics, Legal & Regulation

February 28, 2022 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury has issued a statement today following a flurry of international actions over the weekend that sought to cut off Russia from global markets while freezing assets of certain individuals and other entities. Treasury said the actions were taken following the… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 9:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) notes that they have made enhancements to the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme. The Financial Secretary confirmed in the 2022-23 Budget today (23 February) that the application period for the 80% Guarantee Product, the 90% Guarantee Product and the Special… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 7:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Stephen Moss, Founder and MD at Sourced Capital, notes that it has been a while since they last discussed their business operations, the journey and what they have been working on “in the background.” Moss wrote in a blog post that in 2018, they became… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

While the humanitarian crisis grows in Ukraine and Russia’s unprovoked war rages on, the European Union (EU) announced that selected Russian banks have been removed from the SWIFT messaging system. While the names of the bank were not immediately available, any on the list will… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 1:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The FBI Cyber Division notes that cyber threat actors have recently “deployed destructive malware” against organizations operating in Ukraine. The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency noted in an extensive update that “leading up to Russia’s unprovoked attack against Ukraine, threat actors deployed destructive… Read More

February 27, 2022 @ 1:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bitcoin (BTC) appears to be set to close a highly volatile week with a green candle — rebounding from a drop to around $34,000 after Russian forces “punctuated several weeks of tensions in the areas around Ukraine with what looks like a full-scale invasion,” the… Read More

February 26, 2022 @ 5:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European lender Mintos notes that they will be monitoring RUB currency dynamics on a daily basis, “closing positions at the end of the working day to prevent the risk of negative exposure.” The team at Minto wrote in a blog post that based on the assessment… Read More

February 26, 2022 @ 4:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset manager Grayscale notes that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has impacted international markets, including crypto-assets, which have “historically shown correlations to risk assets.” As noted in a blog post by Grayscale, this relationship has “become even more pronounced in recent years as institutional… Read More

February 25, 2022 @ 10:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Deputy Governor of Bank Negara, Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour,  notes that he would like to express his gratitude to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for inviting him to deliver a keynote address (as posted by Bank Negara, Malaysia’s reserve bank. on February 24, 2022)…. Read More

February 25, 2022 @ 4:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

James Butterfill and Christopher Bendiksen from CoinShares have noted in a blog post dated February 24, 2022 that Bitcoin had an “immediate” price response to the Ukraine invasion when the news broke early this morning. According to the CoinShares researchers, it has become evident that,… Read More

February 25, 2022 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Arthur Hayes and Benjamin Delo, BitMEX crypto derivatives exchange founders, have pleaded guilty to charges of violating the Bank Secrecy Act. According to the US Department of Justice, the two founders willfully failed to establish, implement, and maintain anti-money laundering (AML) programs at BitMEX. Under… Read More

February 25, 2022 @ 8:20 am By Omar Faridi  |  

International markets are experiencing a massive increase in volatility with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The severe humanitarian crisis that could unfold over the next few days and weeks “could be the worst in Europe in decades, with loss of life and property, as well as… Read More

February 24, 2022 @ 11:12 am By JD Alois  |  

  As Russian President Vladimir Putin shocked the world with his horrific invasion of Ukraine, many nations enacted economic sanctions to punish the rogue country as Europe entered a state of war. Following Putin’s effective annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk (Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics… Read More

February 24, 2022 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

One positive development during the past year has been law enforcement’s “growing” ability to seize virtual currency from criminals, according to an extensive update from Chainalysis. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) seized $2.3 million in crypto from the DarkSide ransomware operators who were allegedly… Read More

February 23, 2022 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved BSTX as a national securities exchange thus ushering in the first regulated exchange utilizing blockchain technology. BSTX is a joint venture between BOX Digital Markets, LLC and tZERO, a digital asset firm that called SEC approval a “watershed event in… Read More

February 23, 2022 @ 9:24 am By JD Alois  |  

While some progress has been made, it should be clear now that progress, as outlined by the Kalifa Review of Fintech, is falling short. As has been widely discussed over the years, the UK is the leading global Fintech Hub. This has been accomplished due… Read More

February 22, 2022 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jack Wilson, Head of Public Policy at TrueLayer, notes that Open banking started back in 2018 thanks to appropriate regulations (PSD2) which gave consumers the right “to access their bank account data using third parties called account information services providers (AISPs).” However, these same set… Read More

February 22, 2022 @ 3:30 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has appointed two people to serve as special administrators over Xpress Money Services after courts issued a special administrative order. David Hudson and Philip Reynolds of FRP Advisory have been appointed as joint special administrators. Xpress is an… Read More

February 22, 2022 @ 8:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitpanda, an Austrian digital asset exchange, has acquired Trustology, according to a statement by Bitpanda. The move aims to bring in-house custody services for digital assets. Bitpanda stated: “We’re thrilled to welcome Trustology to Team Bitpanda! As one of the fastest-growing Fintechs, international expansion and… Read More

February 20, 2022 @ 11:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Bit2Me has reportedly become the first Spanish firm to successfully obtain registration from the Bank of Spain as a provider of services for exchanging digital currency for fiduciary currency and custody of electronic wallets. Bit2Me was notably the first exchange to apply for registration with… Read More