Politics, Legal & Regulation

February 9, 2022 @ 8:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 2, 2016, Bitfinex – notably one of the largest virtual currency exchanges in the world – experienced a massive security breach. In a span of fewer than two hours, around 120,000 Bitcoins (BTC) had been stolen from Bitfinex and spread across 2,075 different… Read More

February 8, 2022 @ 11:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will transition away from using a third-party service for facial recognition in order to help authenticate individuals creating new online accounts. The transition will take place over the coming weeks in order to “prevent larger disruptions… Read More

February 7, 2022 @ 10:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Committee on Financial Services will hold a virtual hearing tomorrow (February 8) with a single witness scheduled to testify. The hearing entitled, “Digital Assets and the Future of Finance: The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets’ Report on Stablecoins” will involve the testimony… Read More

February 7, 2022 @ 5:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dating or Defrauding. Catfishing has become a thing in the online dating world. While at times, Catfishing may be as simple as using a photo that does not represent the person in question at all, in some instances it has been taken to an extreme… Read More

February 7, 2022 @ 5:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee will hold a meeting later this week (February 10) where it will address an important topic when it comes to access to capital for early-stage firms. Following an update from the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation,… Read More

February 7, 2022 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

FTX, a fast-growing digital asset marketplace, has posted “key principles” to ensure investor protection. FTX operates globally but has a US-facing marketplace for crypto trading. Federal regulators are poised to add new regulations for platforms that engage in digital asset trading and SEC Chairman Gary… Read More

February 6, 2022 @ 10:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The team at UK’s TaxScouts confirms that their crowdfunding campaign has finally come to an end. Our crowdfund has finally come to an end! We raised £2,925,089 – over 290% of our original target 🎉 We want to say thank you to all our new… Read More

February 6, 2022 @ 4:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) recently noted that banks in the Southeast Asian country have “substantially” implemented the additional measures to enhance the security of virtual banking announced on 19 January 2022. The measures, taken together, offer a “significant” added layer of security to… Read More

February 6, 2022 @ 3:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Four managers working at Germany’s digital bank N26 are reportedly being investigated by public prosecutors regarding suspicions about (allegedly) fraudulent client accounts, the Handelsblatt newspaper confirmed on Friday (February 4, 2022). Criminals or bad actors have been suspected of opening a fairly large number of… Read More

February 5, 2022 @ 5:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HM Treasury, which is the UK government’s economic and finance ministry (maintaining control over public spending, setting the direction of the nation’s economic policy and working to achieve strong and sustainable economic growth), announced that they have begun the search for a new Chairperson of… Read More

February 5, 2022 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the US Department of Treasury issued a statement on illicit activity in the “high-value art market.” More specifically, activities that include money laundering and terrorist financing risks. The study found that while there is some evidence of money laundering risk in the high-value art… Read More

February 4, 2022 @ 3:20 pm By Martin Cheek  |  

The role that cryptocurrency plays in money laundering is hotly debated. Some say that the anonymity afforded by currencies like Bitcoin makes it easier for criminals to shift funds undetected, while others argue that the blockchain and it’s unchangeable, publicly visible ledger actually provide far… Read More

February 4, 2022 @ 12:47 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

India is to tax and regulate Bitcoin and crypto after previously considering a ban, which could be the next step towards making it legal tender in the country, suspects deVere Group CEO Nigel Green. Green’s assessment comes as Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a… Read More

February 4, 2022 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated Q&A on the pan-European crowdfunding rules. Updated rules, called European Crowdfunding Service Providers Regulation (ECSPR), became actionable last November but questions remain and European member states are still sorting things out. To help… Read More

February 3, 2022 @ 6:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Federal Reserve of Boston and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have published a whitepaper on the possibility of a central bank digital currency or CBDC. The document has been anticipated for some time as the collaboration was announced in 2020. The initiative has… Read More

February 2, 2022 @ 10:25 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Central Bank of Kuwait this week released guidelines for digital banks. They said this falls within its overall efforts to utilize the latest advancements to bolster financial stability, encourage innovation, and meet future economic needs. Governor Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel said guaranteeing the smooth operation… Read More

February 2, 2022 @ 3:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced a “bifurcated” judgment against an issuer 420 Real Estate LLC and its CEO Willard Jackson, parties that raised money on an investment crowdfunding platform. As was reported last fall, the SEC had filed fraud charges against TruCrowd… Read More

February 2, 2022 @ 9:53 am By JD Alois  |  

While multiple countries around the world are pushing forward with a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the US is reviewing the pros and cons, one prominent DC-based think tank is telling public officials not to move forward on a digital dollar. The Competitive Enterprise… Read More

February 1, 2022 @ 11:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Global Digital Finance, an advocacy group promoting digital assets (crypto-assets) has published its annual compendium of the digital asset sector. It should come as no surprise that GDF would like to see greater clarity globally when it comes to regulating crypto. According to the group’s… Read More

February 1, 2022 @ 9:29 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Reserve Bank of India plans to launch a digital rupee in the 2022-23 fiscal year that begins on April Fools’ Day, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said today, saying it will boost the digital economy. She made the comments while delivering the country’s annual budget…. Read More