Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 8, 2022 @ 3:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Banking institutions appear to be ignoring the problem of fraudulent activities allegedly being carried out via Zelle, a new report reveals, with large financial service providers that founded the service not really caring or concerned about issues with the digital payments platform. Zelle has quickly… Read More

March 8, 2022 @ 3:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced fraud charges against John and JonAtina (Tina) Barksdale – a brother and sister team that allegedly pursued two fraudulent digital token offerings that garnered $124 million from retail investors. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office… Read More

March 8, 2022 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, FinCEN, the enforcement branch of the US Department of Treasury, posted an Alert on “Increased Vigilance for Potential Russian Sanctions Evasion Attempts.” Russia, along with Belarus, have been targeted with economic sanctions designed to pressure these countries following the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. FinCEN… Read More

March 8, 2022 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Multiple reports are claiming that the White House will issue an Executive Order on cryptocurrency at some point this week. The news follows days of concern from some policymakers that Russia and its elites may leverage crypto to evade the growing list of economic sanctions…. Read More

March 8, 2022 @ 8:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

European lender Mintos has posted its monthly publication that offers an overview of what’s been happening on the platform, “including recent investor activity, educational topics, and more.” Here are the main takeaways: Investors are now “able to donate to help the people in Ukraine and… Read More

March 8, 2022 @ 8:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Venture capitalists’ enthusiasm or eagerness to invest in Fintech platforms, which ranked as one of the most active industry segments for startup investments in 2021, is showing signs of slowing down. During the last few weeks, a total of 51 Fintech firms secured a total… Read More

March 7, 2022 @ 11:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Jurisdictions under increased monitoring are “actively working” with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to address “strategic deficiencies” in their regimes in order to counter money laundering, terrorist financing, and proliferation financing. When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it “means the country… Read More

March 7, 2022 @ 4:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted its agenda for its upcoming meeting of the Investor Advisory Committee which will take place this week. The Committee has scheduled two-panel discussions: the first is about ethical artificial intelligence and “Robo-adviser” fiduciary responsibilities, and the second… Read More

March 7, 2022 @ 4:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued a statement pertaining to EQONEX Limited and the Binance Group stating that Bifinity will advance a USD $36 million in a convertible loan to EQONEX. EQONEX is a firm based in Singapore that is listed on the NASDAQ… Read More

March 7, 2022 @ 3:11 pm By JD Alois  |  

In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions applied by the US government, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has moved to shore up its ability to apply sanctions by expediting the purchase of blockchain technology. According to a statement… Read More

March 7, 2022 @ 9:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Fang, CEO at digital asset firm Okcoin, notes that it has been a really “tough week” for a lot of us, “especially those who are in Ukraine (and Russia), or have families affected by this invasion and horrible unrest.” Fang writes in a blog… Read More

March 6, 2022 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently caught up with Abhinav R. Soomaney, Founder and CEO at CryptoTax Pvt. Ltd. He talked about different tax aspects of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related investments. CryptoTax Pvt. Ltd. (CryptoTax) was incorporated in the year 2021 and claims to be the first cryptocurrency tax consultancy… Read More

March 6, 2022 @ 7:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

There has been a fair amount of discussion regarding Russia using crypto to evade sanctions. First, crypto as a market is simply too small to be an effective tool for the Russian government to utilize it to mitigate the full impact of the economic blockade…. Read More

March 6, 2022 @ 6:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines has reportedly granted crowdfunding permits to SeedIn Technology and Eastern Securities Development Corporation. The licenses should allow the business entities to serve as crowdfunding intermediaries and provide crowdfunding portals, offering the Southeast Asian country’s SMEs with… Read More

March 6, 2022 @ 6:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a global financial center situated in the MENA and South Asia region, has issued a consultation paper “proposing to amend the Real Property Law, DIFC Law No. 10 of 2018.” The Proposed amendments will aim to “facilitate the administration… Read More

March 6, 2022 @ 4:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The correlation of Bitcoin to the Nasdaq is currently ~57%, “climbing over the past week,” according to an update from BitOoda. As the team at BitOoda had noted this past week, the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to “a large sell off that reversed faster… Read More

March 5, 2022 @ 11:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at Blockchain.com, a provider of a crypto wallet, block explorer, and digital asset trading platform, notes that if you are new or just getting started with crypto taxes, then no need to worry because “so is everyone.” That’s why later this month, Blockchain.com… Read More

March 4, 2022 @ 11:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pärtel Tomberg, CEO at European lender Bondora, notes that the news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has “sent shock waves around the world.” Bondora‘s CEO writes in a blog post that their thoughts “go out to everyone who is affected, and [they’re] committed to… Read More

March 4, 2022 @ 6:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

Within a bit more than a week, following the unprovoked invasion by the Russian army, crypto donations to Ukraine have rocketed higher. While funds are being contributed by governments and international agencies, along with more traditional charity paths, crypto has risen to the occasion too… Read More

March 4, 2022 @ 5:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has ordered protective measures regarding Sberbank AG, one of the Russian banks targeted with sanctions. Switzerland has joined the economic sanctions along with the EU and other nations to apply pressure to Russia following its unprovoked war with… Read More