Politics, Legal & Regulation

May 17, 2021 @ 5:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), which is one of two agencies that offers deposit insurance to depositors in US depository institutions (the other being the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures credit unions based in the US), will reportedly be asking for details… Read More

May 17, 2021 @ 2:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

As was reported last March, five federal regulatory agencies joined in a consultation pertaining to the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) within financial institutions. The Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and… Read More

May 17, 2021 @ 11:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Zack Voell, a cryptocurrency mining specialist, writes in a blog post published by Compass that block 682,170 was the first “clean” block that was mined by public mining firm Marathon’s new pool. Voell writes in a detailed post from Compass, a “Bitcoin-first” company that aims… Read More

May 16, 2021 @ 11:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A newly filed lawsuit alleges that the sale of NBA Top Shot “Moments” is in violation of the federal Securities Act of 1933, which is a law that aims to ensure investor protection when acquiring publicly-traded securities. Michael McCann and Jacob Feldman from Sportico note… Read More

May 15, 2021 @ 12:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which is Hong Kong’s central banking institution that reports directly to the Financial Secretary, has announced the implementation plans for the third and fourth stages of its Open API framework. The next steps in the Open API Framework include… Read More

May 14, 2021 @ 1:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance, a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector (representing around 300 local companies offering credit, banking, markets and payment-related services), has shared an analysis of almost 7,000 authorized push payment (APP) scam incidents. The analysis reveals that around 70% of… Read More

May 14, 2021 @ 10:41 am By JD Alois  |  

N26, a leading digital bank based in Germany, has garnered additional scrutiny by federal regulators for apparent shortcomings went it comes to anti-money laundering (AML) compliance. Earlier this week it was announced that N26 has been assigned a “special monitor” by the German financial services… Read More

May 14, 2021 @ 10:16 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has shared plans for a new Consumer Duty, which will aim to provide a greater level of consumer protection for retail financial markets for companies to follow. UK companies are currently required to adhere to FCA guidelines and various… Read More

May 14, 2021 @ 7:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digivault, the “secure” digital asset custody business of Nasdaq listed Diginex Limited (Nasdaq: EQOS), has reportedly become the “first” stand-alone crypto custodian to receive approval from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in order to register as a custodian wallet provider “under the Money Laundering,… Read More

May 13, 2021 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange is said to be under investigation by the US Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). According to Bloomberg, government officials are digging into possible money laundering and tax infractions. The report cited individuals with knowledge of… Read More

May 13, 2021 @ 10:40 am By JD Alois  |  

In a digital world, physical cash still counts. A lot, according to UK regulators. A speech delivered today by Sheldon Mills, Executive Director for Consumers and Competition at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), he revealed that 5 million individuals still count on the pound sterling… Read More

May 12, 2021 @ 4:43 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a significant twist of events, Diem, formerly Libra, has withdrawn its payment systems application in Switzerland. Diem had submitted an application to Switzerland, a crypto-friendly jurisdiction, in anticipation of launching a global cryptocurrency. The  Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) said that Diem Networks… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 10:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Senate has voted to nullify the rule issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) entitled the National Banks and Federal Savings Associations as Lenders and published on October 30, 2020. The vote in the Senate was largely along party… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission, Division of Investment Management (IM) has issued a staff statement cautioning investors who purchase shares in mutual funds that have exposure to Bitcoin futures. According to the Staff statement, investors should understand that Bitcoin is a highly speculative investment and… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

The German Bundestag recently reviewed legislation that will implement the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regime Regulation (ECSP). According to industry participants, the German rules may fundamentally undermine online capital formation in the country just as the European Union is poised to boost the industry with… Read More

May 11, 2021 @ 8:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Global Digital Finance (GDF), a UK-based entity advocating on behalf of the digital asset (or crypto-asset) sector of Fintech, has posted a letter in support of the Eliminate Barriers to Digital Innovation Act of 2021 (HR 1602). The Act was sponsored by US Representative Patrick… Read More

May 9, 2021 @ 2:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Peer to peer (P2P) lending has been a relatively popular or widely-adopted business model and it has seen many new platforms attempting to offer these types of services, the Debitum team writes in a blog post. However, Debitum, a Lithuanian platform offering borderless SME financing,… Read More

May 8, 2021 @ 2:18 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Insurtech Firm Waterdrop Starts Trading on New York Stock Exchange  On May 7th, Waterdrop Inc., China’s leading insurance and healthcare service technology platform, went public on New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 2016, Waterdrop has built an online insurance marketplace (“Shuidibao”) and a medical crowdfunding… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UK Finance (a trade association for the UK banking and financial services sector that represents around 300 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services), Which? (an organization that reviews products and services, so that you “make the best purchase decisions” for your… Read More

May 7, 2021 @ 4:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the US Department of Labor Statistics issued data that indicated 266,000 jobs were added during the month of April. This fell far short of expectations as observers anticipated over a million new jobs. The unemployment rate ticked higher to 6.1%. The news undermined… Read More