Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 25, 2021 @ 3:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) and the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) are looking to boost access to capital for smaller firms by creating new rules to allow issuers to raise up to $5 million in a more streamlined offering. According to… Read More

March 25, 2021 @ 9:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday it was reported that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had provisionally decided to not allow the merger between Seedrs and Crowdcube. The two securities crowdfunding platforms combined were seen as dominating online capital formation for early-stage ventures to the point it would… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

There’s been a lot of hype around non-fungible tokens or NFTs, with many major digital art auctions and opportunities to exchange virtual trading cards. There’s also been a lot of talk among major investors who believe that these scarce tokens may support the future of… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s officials have addressed concerns that the digital yuan may be violating or infringing on user privacy. They’ve looked into questions related to “controllable anonymity” as well. STCN reports that on March 20, 2021, Mu Changchun, Director of the Digital Currency Research Institute of the… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 11:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced its provisional finding indicating it is not inclined to approve the merger between Seedrs and Crowdcube. In its decision, the CMA said the combined company would control at least 90% of the UK crowdfunding market thus… Read More

March 24, 2021 @ 12:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has determined that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and underwriter Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) did not violate fair lending laws in regards to complaints pertaining to the Apple Card. In late 2019, Twitter erupted with a series of Tweets alleging… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 10:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

US Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell has cautioned that transacting in digital currencies such as Bitcoin can pose significant risks due to the high volatility nature of these new assets. Powell noted that virtual currencies remain highly volatile. He pointed out that Bitcoin may not… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 3:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

CoinSquare, a Canadian crypto exchange,  has announced that it has come to terms with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in regards to the information provided regarding CoinSquare users. CoinSquare notes that in late 2020, the CRA filed an application in court to compel Coinsquare to… Read More

March 23, 2021 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawrence C. Lee is a top merger and acquisitions attorney operating in the Fintech sector. A partner at Baker McKenzie and based in Palo Alto, Lee was previously in-house counsel for Coinbase where he led strategic transactions and investments. More recently, Lee and his team… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 12:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has posted its 6th draft guidance as to how countries should deal with virtual assets (digital assets) and virtual asset service providers or VASPs. Several years ago, FATF announced an initiative to tackle possible money laundering or the financing… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 10:10 am By JD Alois  |  

Judith Hartley, CEO of British Patient Capital, believes the UK can do better in providing access to capital for younger tech firms. More specifically, as firms grow there is a need to facilitate funding sufficient to take a company to a point that it may… Read More

March 22, 2021 @ 7:57 am By Lee Schneider  |  

CryptoUK issued a clarion call to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK financial and anti-money laundering (AML) regulator, demanding that FCA grant licenses as prescribed by AML rules.  Too many applications have gone unanswered since those rules came into effect over one year ago. … Read More

March 21, 2021 @ 11:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace has provided an analysis on the proposed Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidance for digital assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). On March 19, 2021, global anti-money laundering watchdog, the FATF, released a public consultation for its latest Draft Guidance… Read More

March 21, 2021 @ 2:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the House Committee on Financial Services held part two of three anticipated hearings on the GameStop/Reddit/Robinhood saga. As most people are aware, in recent months a short-squeeze caused shares in GameStop (NYSE:GME) to jump dramatically higher compelling short sellers to purchase shares… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 7:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Notabene has teamed up with blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis to bring a “scalable” Travel Rule solution to cryptocurrency-focused businesses. Crypto-related businesses are working consistently to meet updated regulatory guidelines involving counterparty risk. According to a blog post by Chainalysis, the most notable of these requirements… Read More

March 20, 2021 @ 10:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Peter Van Valkenburgh, the Director of Research at Coin Center, a leading non-profit entity focused on the latest policy issues facing digital currencies, notes that his organization will be using the additional time provided by FinCEN to submit another comment in “ongoing surveillance rulemaking.” Coin… Read More

March 19, 2021 @ 7:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued an order requiring Coinbase to pay a $6.5 million penalty for “false, misleading, or inaccurate reporting and wash trading.” Coinbase has settled the civil penalty with the CFTC. The wash trading was said to be affiliated with… Read More

March 19, 2021 @ 1:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crypto UK has sent a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, advocating on behalf of Fintech innovation – specifically crypto-assets. Crypto UK is a self-regulatory trade association for the UK cryptoasset industry, created to promote higher standards of conduct. Members include high-profile… Read More

March 19, 2021 @ 9:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Peter Gaffney from the Security Token Group (STG), which is focused on the emerging blockchain-based security token space, notes that the significantly outsized return potential of angel investing, venture capital, and private equity are “well-known” in the finance industry. Gaffney explains that traditionally, direct access… Read More

March 18, 2021 @ 10:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This World Consumer Rights Day, which took place on March 15, 2021, Fintech firm Wise (previous TransferWise) talked about what they consider to be IBAN “discrimination.” This World Consumer Rights Day, let’s talk about IBAN discrimination. IBAN discrimination is against the law – and has… Read More