Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 24, 2022 @ 6:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranking member on the House Financial Services Committee, has sent a public letter to Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, requesting they work together to allow digital assets to “flourish.” Both Representatives have recently issued public statements… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 5:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bank of Russia has published a consultation paper on “Cryptocurrencies: Trends, Risks and Regulation.” The central bank has published an executive summary which is available in English. According to the bank, Russian citizens are currently transaction around $5 billion in crypto per year. Meanwhile,… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 2:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at digital assets firm Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN), has shared an update titled, Proof of Alignment, which explains what the company has done to align themselves with their clients and what they’re planning to do next. As noted by Grewal, Coinbase… Read More

January 24, 2022 @ 10:05 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again denied an attempt to list a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). In a filing last week, the SEC outlined its justification “disapproving a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the First Trust SkyBridge… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 6:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong’s leading virtual bank ZA Bank has reportedly expanded its footprint into investment business as the first local digital-only bank to be “licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for Type 1 regulated activity (dealing in securities).” As mentioned in an update shared… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 2:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the US Federal Reserve issued a discussion document on the possibility of a central bank digital currency or CBDC. Like many central banks around the world, the Fed is considering if a digital dollar will be a positive step or a negative… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 1:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New York City’s new Mayor Eric Adams has been criticized for using of his public office in an attempt to promote the cryptocurrency sector. An upstate New York environmental group, called Seneca Lake Guardian, has stated that creating and managing virtual currency tends to consume… Read More

January 22, 2022 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Luxury brand Hermès has reportedly decided to sue an artist for selling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of Birkin bags. The lawsuit has been filed after the artist earned $42,000 for a virtual rendering of the high-fashion accessory in December of last year. Hermès submitted its complaint… Read More

January 21, 2022 @ 6:12 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) have responded to a recent spike in SMS phishing scams by introducing stricter security measures, they announced this week. The MAS said it expects all financial institutions to have “robust measures”… Read More

January 20, 2022 @ 9:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled with tZERO ATS for transgressing certain rules. An ATS, or alternative trading system, is similar to an exchange as approved operators may facilitate trading of securities. According to the SEC, tZERO ATS must cease and desist from committing… Read More

January 20, 2022 @ 3:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Federal Reserve has published a discussion paper on central bank digital currencies or CBDCs. The consultation paper has long been anticipated from the central bank. The discussion paper summarizes the current state of the domestic payments system and discusses the different types of… Read More

January 18, 2022 @ 5:56 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today took steps to effectively ban the advertising of cryptocurrencies to the general public. The guidelines cover payment institutions, banks and other financial institutions, as well as applicants under Singapore’s Payment Services Act. Services included in the directives are… Read More

January 18, 2022 @ 5:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges against Paul A. Garcia of Severance, Colorado, for allegedly stealing approximately one-quarter of investor funds raised for Gold Hawgs Development Corp. Gold Hawgs reportedly sought to develop a gold hawg token that would be backed… Read More

January 16, 2022 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Open Banking is four years old now, however, the team at TrueLayer asks “who’s using it, how is it benefitting consumers and what’s next?” TrueLayer writes in a blog post that the updated Payment Services Directive (PSD2) came into force “on 13 January 2018, introducing… Read More

January 15, 2022 @ 8:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Anchorage Digital, the first federally chartered digital asset bank, has shared survey results that show OCC approval “gives Americans greater confidence in cryptocurrency.” The team at Anchorage Digital writes in a blog post that as the volume of conversation around cryptocurrency and digital assets continues… Read More

January 14, 2022 @ 1:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has successfully tested wholesale CBCD [central bank digital currency] settlement in a partnership with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and SIX (parent of the Swiss Stock Exchange). The test was completed during Q4 2021. The project utilized SDX, the… Read More

January 14, 2022 @ 1:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European lender Mintos writes in an extensive update that the Internet connections in Kazakhstan has now been restored, and the restrictions on international payments “were lifted.” The team at Mintos also mentioned that they’ve received proof of payment from all their lending firms from Kazakhstan…. Read More

January 13, 2022 @ 6:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

Everyone knows that crypto mining can use a lot of energy. Blockchain transactions in generally can inhale a lot of server time. All of this means that crypto is not the most energy-efficient sector of Fintech. This fact has caught the eye of elected officials… Read More

January 13, 2022 @ 9:46 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission has selected 5 blockchain providers as part of the ongoing European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) initiative. The EBSI has been in the works for several years now as the EU aims to leverage blockchain technology to improve or add digital services to benefit the population… Read More

January 12, 2022 @ 5:24 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Tom Emmer introduced legislation today designed to prohibit the US Federal Reserve from issuing Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDCs) directly to consumers. Emmer is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and ranking Member on the Fintech Task Force. According to the… Read More