Politics, Legal & Regulation

July 25, 2021 @ 11:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Azimut Group, with Azimut Investments S.A., is reportedly the first asset management firm based in Luxembourg to acquire authorization to manage digital assets strategies. With this further evidence of the Group’s innovation capabilities, Azimut confirmed that it will be introducing the AZ RAIF Digital Asset… Read More

July 25, 2021 @ 10:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a keynote speech that focused on fraud and financial crime at a conference in Asia, Carmen Chu, Executive Director (Enforcement and AML), Hong Kong Monetary Authority, discussed anti-money laundering and financial crime risk issues and the ability of authorities to address these problems. While… Read More

July 24, 2021 @ 3:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Legal proceedings brought by European P2P lending platform Mintos have reportedly managed to recover investors’ money from Aforti “in full.” The Mintos team confirmed in an update, dated July 23, 2021, that all of Aforti’s outstanding investments and pending payments have “now been recovered in… Read More

July 23, 2021 @ 11:32 am By JD Alois  |  

The Texas State Securities Board is gunning for BlockFi – a leading crypto platform that raised $350 million earlier this year. According to the complaint, the SSB has scheduled a hearing with BlockFi this October to determine if a cease and desist will become effective…. Read More

July 22, 2021 @ 3:25 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged California resident Charlie Abujudeh with running microcap fraud schemes targeting retail investors. According to today’s complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Abujudeh was part of a group who between… Read More

July 22, 2021 @ 12:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

  Next week, the House Committee on Financial Services will hold a hearing on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). This is not the first Congressional hearing on CBDCs, nor will it be the last. The concept of a digital dollar, issued by a central bank,… Read More

July 22, 2021 @ 11:19 am By JD Alois  |  

This past week, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler addressed the American Bar Association’s Derivatives and Futures Law Committee. Included in prepared remarks was a warning to crypto exchanges and their digital offerings. While most US-based crypto marketplaces have learned that adhering to securities… Read More

July 22, 2021 @ 10:47 am By JD Alois  |  

Natwest is the next shoe to drop in the ongoing purge of transfers to Binance, according to a report by Yahoo. Recently, Santander and Barclays issued statements that they would no longer facilitate transfers from UK customers to the Binance platform. This all stems from a… Read More

July 21, 2021 @ 4:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against Rahulkumar M. Patel regarding an offer of securities that was conducted on an investment crowdfunding site. According to the SEC, Patel created a company DNA Lodging East Hartford LLC, to renovate and reopen a… Read More

July 21, 2021 @ 11:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the European Commission announced an update to the European Union’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules. Part of the update is a requirement that anonymous crypto asset wallets will be prohibited. Additionally, the Commission is creating a new  EU AML Authority (AMLA)…. Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 9:03 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced five people who will serve on Chair Gary Gensler’s policy staff under Director Heather Slavkin Corzo. Corporation Finance Counsel Corey Klemmer was an analyst at the AFL-CIO’s Office of Investment. She will focus on ensuring policies allow investors… Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 7:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  In 2018, BOX Digital Markets and tZERO entered into a joint venture that was predicted to become the world’s first regulated exchange for trading security tokens.  At the time of the announcement, it was reported that tZERO would manage the tech stack, maintenance, and… Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 5:47 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week filed a settled action against UBS Financial Services related to compliance failures for sales of a volatility-linked exchange-traded product (ETP). It marks the sixth case for the agency’s ETP Initiative. The ETP was designed to track short-term… Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 5:21 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A judge’s decision to depose former Securities and Exchange Commission director William Hinman in the case of the SEC vs, Ripple Labs has the cryptocurrency industry talking, so now is a good time to revisit Hinman’s comments as a refresher. Hinman made the comments at… Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 11:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission has updated the European Union’s anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing (AML/CFT) rules. Included in the new policy is a requirement that anonymous crypto asset wallets will be prohibited. Along with the new policy on AML/CFT is the creation of a new… Read More

July 20, 2021 @ 10:23 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the U.S. Presidents Working Group (PWG) on Financial Markets met to discuss stablecoins with an expectation of a recommendation in the coming months. The meeting was convened by the Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. According to a readout distributed by Treasury, during… Read More

July 19, 2021 @ 3:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced fraud charges against Aron Govil of Jacksonville, Florida, for defrauding investors in two companies he controlled, Cemtrex Inc. and Telidyne Inc. Allegedly, Govil, the controlling shareholder and executive director of Cemtrex, misappropriated over $7 million of investor… Read More

July 19, 2021 @ 10:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) says it has received a temporary restraining order and asset freeze to halt an alleged ongoing offering targeting retail investors. Reportedly, 277 individuals have committed $12 million to a firm called Profit Connect Wealth Services Inc, operated by a… Read More

July 17, 2021 @ 6:05 pm By JD Alois  |  

Digital assets are inclusive of securities, commodities, utilities, and all of the above. For crypto exchanges, the ability to trade security tokens makes sense – if you are fully compliant. Yesterday, the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance announced it will no longer support stock tokens…. Read More

July 17, 2021 @ 4:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Leading blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis has released an update titled, “Not All Blockchain Analysis Providers Are the Same and Other Insights from FATF’s Second 12-Month Review.” The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the inter-governmental entity that’s responsible for establishing international standards relating to anti-money… Read More