Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 16, 2022 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Open Banking is four years old now, however, the team at TrueLayer asks “who’s using it, how is it benefitting consumers and what’s next?” TrueLayer writes in a blog post that the updated Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force “on 13 January 2018, introducing… Read More

January 15, 2022 @ 8:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered digital asset bank, has shared survey results that show OCC approval “gives Americans greater confidence in cryptocurrency.” The team at Anchorage Digital writes in a blog post that as the volume of conversation around cryptocurrency and digital assets continues… Read More

January 14, 2022 @ 1:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has successfully tested wholesale CBCD [central bank digital currency] settlement in a partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and SIX (parent of the Swiss Stock Exchange). The test was completed during Q4 2021. The project utilized SDX, the… Read More

January 14, 2022 @ 1:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European lender Mintos writes in an extensive update that the Internet connections in Kazakhstan has now been restored, and the restrictions on international payments “were lifted.” The team at Mintos also mentioned that they’ve received proof of payment from all their lending firms from Kazakhstan…. Read More

January 13, 2022 @ 6:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows that crypto mining can use a lot of energy. Blockchain transactions in generally can inhale a lot of server time. All of this means that crypto is not the most energy-efficient sector of Fintech. This fact has caught the eye of elected officials… Read More

January 13, 2022 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission has selected 5 blockchain providers as part of the ongoing European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) initiative. The EBSI has been in the works for several years now as the EU aims to leverage blockchain technology to improve or add digital services to benefit the population… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 5:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Tom Emmer introduced legislation today designed to prohibit the US Federal Reserve from issuing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) directly to consumers. Emmer is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and ranking Member on the Fintech Task Force. According to the… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 12:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell spent much of yesterday testifying in front of the US Senate Banking Committee as part of his nomination process. It is anticipated that Powell will easily be approved by the Committee as well as the full Senate for… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 9:13 am By Omar Faridi  |  

NYDIG, a Bitcoin company, announced that its subsidiary Bottlepay, a Bitcoin-based international payments company, has been granted registration as a Cryptoasset Business from the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Bottlepay is one of a small number of crypto-asset companies to have secured this type… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital banking Fintech Revolut has reportedly launched operations as a bank in 10 Western European nations, allowing it to provide its customers in these markets with deposit protection. Revolut, which is a provider of a financial super-app with over 18 million customers across the globe,… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 3:40 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at ComplyAdvantage, an AI-enhanced financial crime detection firm, notes that from regime change in Myanmar and Afghanistan to a “spotlight on environmental crime at COP26 and the explosive Pandora Papers leak, 2021 has been another landmark year for compliance professionals.” ComplyAdvantage writes in… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 9:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zac Prince (Founder and CEO at BlockFi) and Flori Marquez (Co-founder and SVP of Operations at BlockFi), noted that  2021 was “not the year anyone predicted.” Prince and Marquez wrote in a blog post published by BlockFi: “Across the globe, we experienced challenges and joys… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 3:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) has published its annual list of investor lists. NASAA is the lobbying-representative group that represents state securities regulators across the US as well as provincial regulators in Canada and Mexican regulators as well. Topping the list for 2022… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 10:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Innovate Finance, the independent industry body that represents and advances the international Fintech community in the United Kingdom, explains that it aims to accelerate the UK’s role in the financial services sector by “directly supporting the next generation of technology-led innovators.” The UK Fintech sector… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 10:25 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Pat Toomey and Representative Patrick McHenry have sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler criticizing his decision to limit comment periods on proposed rulemaking. McHenry is the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Financial Services and Toomey is the Ranking Member on… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 9:41 am By JD Alois  |  

At least one former enforcement executive from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is predicting the demise of crypto – or at least a significant setback for digital assets. John Reed Stark, former head of the SEC’s Internet Enforcement team says that new rules from… Read More

January 10, 2022 @ 12:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), notes in the Global CBDC Challenge 2021 Report that history has shown that currency is a protean concept. Mohanty points out that from livestock around 9000 BC, to the introduction of paper money around… Read More

January 9, 2022 @ 7:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Doug Ellenoff of Ellenoff, Grossman and Schole Shares Insight into Booming SPAC Market. Special purpose Acquisition Companies or SPACs had a blowout year in 2021.  While the financing vehicle has been around for decades, in recent years SPACs have rocketed in popularity. SPACs are an… Read More

January 7, 2022 @ 6:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Parliament has created a cross-party group of MPs and Lords for “Crypto and Digital Assets.” The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) aims to act as a forum for parliamentarians, policymakers and the UK crypto sector to discuss policy and regulation of the industry. According… Read More

January 7, 2022 @ 1:27 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Mintos, an investment firm that claims to be the leading alternative investment platform in the European Union, says they’ve made “big things” happen at Mintos in 2021, resulting in “a lot of transformative change.” According to Mintos, the loans asset class (for… Read More