Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 28, 2022 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Last year, Aventus Group companies operating in Kazakhstan “issued EUR 41.6 million in loans – 3.4 times more than in 2020.” At the end of 2021, Aventus Group’s total portfolio in Kazakhstan “amounted to EUR 14.2 million (the total portfolio grew 2.8 times compared with… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 4:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden has issued a statement indicating he is investigating if crypto firms are using the Opportunity Zone program to “avoid taxes without significantly benefitting low-income communities.” Senator Wyden states that he has requested two crypto firms, Argo Blockchain (NASDAQ:ARBK) and… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The London-based law firm Norton Rose Fulbright is working to help craft regulations to enable securities crowdfunding in Armenia, according to a note from the firm. In partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Central Bank of Armenia, Norton Rose… Read More

March 28, 2022 @ 10:42 am By JD Alois  |  

New rules in Europe designed to stymie illicit activity may go too far, according to Coinbase. New Transfer of Funds Regulation “would unleash an entire surveillance regime on exchanges,” explains the crypto exchange. In a blog post, Coinbase states that “bad facts, make bad law,”… Read More

March 27, 2022 @ 8:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered the Spring Statement outlining the challenges facing the economy and at least some of the government’s plans to alleviate some of the pain. A combination of COVID and then Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has helped… Read More

March 26, 2022 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Technology Association (FTA) has submitted a comment letter in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) review into Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platforms. The FTA represents several BNPL providers including Afterpay, Figure, Klarna, Sezzle, and Zip. Last  December several Democrat Senators… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 12:14 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On 22 March 2022, the Central Bank of Ireland  “reprimanded” and fined BNY Mellon Fund Services (Ireland) DAC €10,780,000 pursuant to its Administrative Sanctions Procedure (the ASP) for 16 regulatory breaches “relating to the outsourcing of fund administration activities.” The 16 breaches “arose because of… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of England has enlisted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to engage in a project to review the potential of a digital pound or central bank digital currency (CBDC). The collaboration between the Bank and the MIT Media Lab’s Digital Currency Initiative (DCI)… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 9:47 am By JD Alois  |  

  The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a statement outlining its recommendations regarding the pursuit of Open Banking. The statement follows a consultation that was initiated in the spring of 2021. The CMA said its recommendations will guide a future entity that… Read More

March 25, 2022 @ 8:58 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) this week again warned consumers about some of the risks it sees associated with cryptocurrencies. While acknowledging benefits cryptoassets bring, such as the abilities to reduce costs and increase efficiencies, the FCA said they also present risks to… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 6:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last month, the SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee held a virtual meeting to discuss the definition of an Accredited Investor. For anyone viewing the meeting, it was clear that Committee members would like to make it easier for individuals to qualify as Accredited,… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 12:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that Martha Legg Miller, Director of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation (OASB), is leaving the agency at the end of April. The SEC added that Sebastian Gomez Abero will serve as Acting… Read More

March 24, 2022 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) says it has received inquiries from derivatives clearing organizations (DCO) or potential DCO applicants seeking to offer clearing of margined products directly to participants, such that participants would not clear through a futures commission merchant intermediary a non-intermediated model… Read More

March 23, 2022 @ 6:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is scrutinizing peer-to-peer lending. NASAA is the association and lobbying group that represents state and provincial regulators in North America. NASAA has issued a proposal on P2P lending and is seeking public comment on the Statement of Policy… Read More

March 22, 2022 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

To properly address the stricter compliance rules resulting from extended sanctions and resulting increase in money laundering activity, ComplyAdvantage, an international data firm providing embedded counter risk intelligence to find, mitigate and stop financial crimes and Resistant AI, an AI and machine learning company providing… Read More

March 22, 2022 @ 5:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Committee on Financial Services has updated its schedule of hearings for the month of March. Next week, for Fintech insiders there will be several hearings of interest as follows: March 30 at 10:00 AM ET: The Task Force on Artificial Intelligence will convene… Read More

March 21, 2022 @ 11:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Financial regulators in China, including the nation’s reserve bank, and the Zhejiang provincial government are reportedly supporting “controllable risks” in the country’s digital commerce hub in order to promote Fintech innovation. This, according to a government update reviewed by the SCMP. The People’s Bank of… Read More

March 21, 2022 @ 7:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance has sent a letter to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) telling the regulator it is committed to ceasing opening new accounts in Ontario. Last year, Binance Canada announced it would cease providing crypto services in Ontario. The OSC allows crypto exchanges to provide trading in… Read More

March 21, 2022 @ 5:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules to compel publicly traded firms to disclose climate-related information. The policy shift has long been anticipated and messaged by the Commission under the leadership of Chairman Gary Gensler. According to the SEC, new rules would… Read More

March 21, 2022 @ 9:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Surfshark, a VPN firm based in Lithuania, has reported “a 3500% surge in Russia sales since February 24 – the day Russia invaded Ukraine.” According to cybersecurity firm Surfshark’s analysis, the Russian telecoms regulator (Roskomnadzor) has forced Google to “delist more than 36,000 URLs that… Read More