Politics, Legal & Regulation

February 18, 2022 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Open Market Committee has announced new restrictions on senior Fed officials in regards to investing and trading activities. According to a statement by the Fed, under the new rules, senior Federal Reserve officials are prohibited from purchasing individual stocks or sector funds, holding investments… Read More

February 18, 2022 @ 8:55 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and People’s Bank of China (PBoC) have announced that they are accepting applications from financial institutions and Fintechs for conducting pilot trials of cross-boundary fintech initiatives in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). The Greater Bay Area Fintech Pilot Trial… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 2:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice has announced the selection of Eun Young Choi as the first Director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). The new division at Justice is in recognition of the growth of the digital asset sector as well as the need… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 2:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee held a meeting to discuss the definition of an Accredited Investor. This definition decides who can, and who cannot, access certain private securities offerings – all based on an income or wealth metric. It does… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 11:08 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly looking into the relationship between the US division of Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange, and two trading companies with alleged ties to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao or “CZ”, according to sources familiar with the… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 10:27 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report yesterday on crypto-asset risks. The FSB is an international entity that promotes global financial stability. As digital assets have grown, the FSB has engaged in the ongoing discussion of the importance and systemic impact of crypto. The… Read More

February 17, 2022 @ 8:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

After making numerous unsuccessful attempts in the US to get a Bitcoin ETF that tracks BTC spot price, Fidelity, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has now introduced such products in Canada and European markets. On Tuesday (February 15, 2022), Fidelity introduced a European… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 9:39 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore(MAS) has laid the hammer down on DBS Bank after its digital banking services were widely unavailable for three days toward the end of last November. In a public statement, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it has imposed an additional… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 7:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qudian Inc. (NYSE: QD), a technology platform supporting the enhancement of the online consumer finance experience in China, recently announced that it has received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) dated February 7, 2022, informing the company that it is “below the… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 5:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Announced today, the Travel Rule Universal Solution Technology (TRUST) is an industry-embraced solution to comply with the FATF Travel Rule that targeted VASPs (virtual asset service providers) globally. Announced by founding members who include most of the biggest names in crypto, the Trust platform is… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 11:53 am By JD Alois  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to make it easier for consumers to change the rules when it comes to consumer finance via a public petition service. According to a release, as of today members of the public can submit petitions for rulemaking directly… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

In a speech delivered to the European Parliament, Christine Lagarde, the President of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated that a decision on a digital Euro will be made by 2024. The ECB decided to launch the investigation phase of the digital euro project in… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 8:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at European lender Mintos has shared updates about the latest actions taken in the case of GetBucks Botswana, GetBucks Zambia, and their guarantor – Luxembourg-headquartered firm MyBucks SA. GetBucks Botswana (Cashcorp Proprietary Limited, Firstcred Limited, TU Employee Benefits Proprietary Limited) and GetBucks Zambia… Read More

February 16, 2022 @ 1:35 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

Cryptocurrency regulations are evolving quickly around the globe as authorities respond to the growing risks posed by criminals exploiting the latest payment methods to mask and launder the profits from their crimes. According to William Je, founder and CEO of Hamilton Investment Management, this growth has warranted the introduction… Read More

February 15, 2022 @ 11:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) recently announced that they’re strictly prohibiting the nation’s financial services providers from marketing or facilitating the trading of cryptocurrencies. The Indonesian regulator has cautioned that the value of virtual currencies are subject to market fluctuations and investors need to be… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 9:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A report from PeerIQ notes that the official numbers are in and they’re not looking so great. Inflation, as measured by the CPI, surged at a higher than expected 7.5% annualized rate in January 2022. That’s the fastest rate of price increases since 1982. Expectations… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Commissioner Hester Peirce has once again come to the defense of a Fintech innovator pertaining to the settlement announced today in regards to BlockFi –  a large crypto platform. As was reported earlier, BlockFi must pay $100 million in penalties to both the SEC and… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 4:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

BlockFi, a top crypto platform that provides crypto lending services, has settled with the Securities and Exchange Commission following an investigation into the company’s activities. The settlement was leaked last week and BlockFi will be paying a total $100 million penalties. There were no allegations… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 10:57 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Stephen Palley. Partner, Anderson Kill. Chair, Technology, Media & Distributed Systems Group, noted that an FBI agent once told (with “false modesty to be sure”) that their biggest breaks often “come not from law enforcement genius but from mistakes by their targets.” Palley further noted… Read More

February 14, 2022 @ 9:33 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct  Authority (FCA) has secured changes to consumer terms from popular buy now, pay later platforms, according to a statement from the regulator. The FCA states that terms in the contracts of Clearpay, Klarna, Laybuy, and Openpay have been “unclear” and “unfair.”… Read More