Politics, Legal & Regulation

July 13, 2021 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Just weeks after a record amount of crypto seized by authorities in the UK, the Metropolitan Police have topped that amount in taking possession of cryptocurrency said to amount to almost £180 million. According to Scotland Yard, the seizures were made by detective from the… Read More

July 12, 2021 @ 11:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union’s securities markets regulator, has reportedly fined DTCC Derivatives Repository Plc (DDRL) a total of €408,000 for seven infringements of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR). The violations are related to (or involve) data confidentiality, data… Read More

July 11, 2021 @ 2:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission CFTC) has noted that the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas entered a default judgment against Laino Group Limited doing business as PaxForex (PaxForex) of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. According to the CFTC, PaxForex charged PaxForex… Read More

July 10, 2021 @ 7:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Commission reveals that it has approved the merger request from the P27 Nordic Payments initiative in order to form its pan-Nordic payments platform. This latest approval from the European Commission marks a key milestone for the project which is focused on working towards… Read More

July 10, 2021 @ 1:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Promsvyazbank and Tochka, a Fintech-focused service for SMEs, reportedly began using an Open Banking API implemented by the Bank of Russia and the Russian Fintech Association (RFA). They’ve passed the tests at the Open API Certification Stand, which is being operated by the Russian Fintech… Read More

July 9, 2021 @ 2:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, President Joe Biden signed the Executive Order that included a litany of policy objectives that are ostensibly designed to improve competition. While some aspects may fall short, one area that may please Open Banking (or Open Finance) advocates is the inclusion of easier… Read More

July 9, 2021 @ 2:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Individuals affiliated with Long Blockchain, previously operating as Long Island Iced Tea Company, have been hit with allegations of insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Once a beverage firm, during the early days of the blockchain boom the company decided to pivot… Read More

July 9, 2021 @ 12:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

  As anticipated, the Biden Administration has issued an Executive Order that is said to promote competition in the US economy. The order is extensive and includes a list of 72 areas where Joe Biden seeks to change. Included in the list is net neutrality,… Read More

July 9, 2021 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Following the announcement from Barclays that it would no longer allow transfers to the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, Santander has announced it will do the same. As posted on the Santander website, the bank explains: We’re stopping payments to Binance for your protection We… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 11:56 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The European Union’s proposed Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Regulation will bring new opportunities for crypto-asset service providers (CASP), the CEO of one such company believes. In the European Union, digital assets are currently regulated through a combination of the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD)… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 8:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On July 5, 2021, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had completed its second 12-month review of the implementation of its updated Standards on virtual assets and virtual asset service providers or VASPs. A review from CipherTrace examines how different jurisdictions and the private sector… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 1:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The news regarding China’s crypto exit continues to cascade around the world as the second-largest economy puts the squeeze on Bitcoin mining, crypto trading, and other uses of crypto-assets. Just this week, it has been widely reported that the People’s Bank of China has demanded… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 11:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Banque de France (BdF) say the two agencies have successfully completed a test using central bank digital currency (CBDC) for a wholesale cross-border payment and settlement. Both jurisdictions have been known to be experimenting with CBDCs with the… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 10:03 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing (NBCTF) has shared information on the “seizure” of virtual currency held by several different crypto wallets that are believed to be associated with donation campaigns “carried out by Hamas.” As noted in a report from Chainalysis, the seizure… Read More

July 8, 2021 @ 9:28 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler telling the securities regulator that crypto exchanges may be undermining the SEC’s mission of basic investor protections. Gensler, for his part, has publicly worried that crypto… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 11:28 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

A group of local and regional representatives has thrown its support behind the European Union’s stance on regulating digital markets. During the June plenary session, the European Committee of the Regions (ECR) adopted an opinion supporting the European Commission’s intention to provide tougher regulation of… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 5:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), a global financial institution that’s owned by reserve banks and aims to “foster international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks,” notes that advancements in technology, along with rising demand for digital payment methods… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 5:16 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a trader at a Canadian-based asset management firm in an extensive front-running scheme that netted family members close to $4 million. For more than six years Sean Wygovsky allegedly traded in his family members’ accounts at brokerage firms… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 2:16 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Parallax Health Sciences and two of its executives for misleading statements about its readiness to battle COVID-19. CEO Paul Arena and CTO Nathaniel Bradley were also charged. Trading in Parallax common stock was temporarily halted on April 10,… Read More

July 7, 2021 @ 12:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The New Payments Architecture (NPA) will aim to offer various benefits for businesses and personal clients residing in the United Kingdom, which may assist with improving the way they control their professional and personal transactions while creating more innovation opportunities. The adoption of the ISO… Read More