Politics, Legal & Regulation

May 9, 2022 @ 5:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Coinhako is pleased to confirm that their firm has been granted the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) official approval “for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license.” Securing the full license means that the firm will be able “to legally operate as regulated… Read More

May 9, 2022 @ 5:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

SPACs, once red hot topping the traditional IPO market, have dimmed in recent months as the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed new rules that may make the financing vehicle less viable. Today, the most prominent investment bank in the US, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), has… Read More

May 9, 2022 @ 11:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the comment period on proposed ESG rules that may compel public firms to disclose their climate risks and impact on the environment. The SEC has received broad criticism in regards to the rushed nature of the rulemaking… Read More

May 9, 2022 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

A Twitter thread by CrypTones, an individual who says they are a securities attorney working for a crypto firm, said the Otherside NFT sale is unregistered security as it checks all of the boxes under the Howey Test. OtherSideMeta is a project created by YugaLabs,… Read More

May 9, 2022 @ 10:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed its intent to step up its crypto enforcement actions with a newly renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit doubling its headcount. The SEC outlined its reinvigorated mission as targeting digital asset offerings, crypto exchanges, lending… Read More

May 8, 2022 @ 6:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week it was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was doubling the size of its crypto enforcement team. The SEC also revealed that it had rebranded its Cyber Unit to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit to reflect its additional focus on… Read More

May 8, 2022 @ 4:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Tina Smith have sent a letter to Abigail Johnson, CEO of Fidelity Investments, taking her to task for allowing investors to include Bitcoin in their retirement accounts. Late last month, Fidelity announced the move claiming its workplace Digital Assets Account… Read More

May 8, 2022 @ 10:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted a crypto mixer platform for the very first time. According to a statement by Treasury, Blender.io (Blender) has been sanctioned by the US government. Blender is utilized by North Korea  for… Read More

May 6, 2022 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again filed fraud charges against a crypto operation. The SEC alleges that MCC International Corp. (MCC), which does business as Mining Capital Coin Corp., its founders Luiz Carlos Capuci, Jr. (aka Junior Caputti or Capuci) and Emerson… Read More

May 6, 2022 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has settled charges against NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) regarding allegations of inadequate disclosures concerning the impact of cryptomining on the company’s gaming business. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, NVIDIA has agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $5.5… Read More

May 6, 2022 @ 9:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has distributed a Dear CEO letter to firms pitching credit in relation to their potentially misleading advertising. The FCA states that it has issued almost 28,000 consumer credit firms warning them not to use terms such as “no credit… Read More

May 5, 2022 @ 6:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order this week claiming to be the first state in the nation to begin creating a comprehensive and harmonized framework for responsible Web3 technology. According to a statement posted by the Governor’s office, the goal is to foster… Read More

May 5, 2022 @ 2:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US House Committee on Financial Services has distributed its May Committee schedule. Several hearings of note are on the list. First, on May 11th at 10 AM ET, the Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets will convene for a hybrid hearing entitled,… Read More

May 4, 2022 @ 10:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past March, Chairman Gary Gensler announced the Securities and Exchange Commission was aiming to require disclosure on climate impact for registered firms. The Fact Sheet may be viewed here. Climate-related information would be required in firms’ registration statements and annual reports, including information about… Read More

May 4, 2022 @ 4:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges and a court-ordered asset freeze against two individuals who allegedly generated over $12 million by engaging in a ploy to “deceptively obtain stock pick information” from Motley Fool subscription services before it was disseminated to its… Read More

May 4, 2022 @ 3:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

As was widely anticipated, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate by 50 basis points. Simultaneously, the Fed said it would be significantly reduce its balance sheet as it battles fast-rising inflation. The increase was the largest increase since 2000. In the Federal Open Market… Read More

May 4, 2022 @ 3:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Two of the most successful investment crowdfunding platforms, Wefunder and StartEngine, have been hit with penalties by FINRA. According to a statement by FINRA, Wefunder has been assessed with a $1.4 million fine and StartEngine must pay $350,000 in regards to failing to comply with… Read More

May 3, 2022 @ 11:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Last year was a big one for the SPAC [special purpose acquisition company] market. Reportedly, 613 SPAC offerings were floated on an exchange easily topping 420 traditional initial public offerings. Since the beginning of 2022, SPAC offerings have slowed to around 62 so far. SPACs… Read More

May 3, 2022 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will double its enforcement team when it comes to the crypto or digital assets sector. According to a statement by the SEC, the renamed Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit (formerly the Cyber Unit) will increase its headcount to 50… Read More

May 2, 2022 @ 7:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Margrethe Vestager, EU Executive VP, Competition Policy, is pursuing big tech once again, this time hitting Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) with anti-trust charges. Today in a public statement, the European Commission said it has sent a Statement of Objections to Apple regarding its view that it abused its… Read More