Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 14, 2021 @ 7:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Senate Banking Committee voted to 14-10 to move forward with Gary Gensler’s nomination as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. On the same day, the vote was taken on Rohit Chopra and his nomination as Director of the Consumer Financial… Read More

March 14, 2021 @ 6:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Earlier this year, the team at Elliptic, which works to assist with categorizing financial crime typologies while protecting legitimate crypto-asset users from illicit activities, had explained how proper and effective compliance can prevent (potential) money laundering activities using Bitcoin (BTC) or other digital currencies. Elliptic… Read More

March 14, 2021 @ 12:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Financial technology or Fintech has been growing at a rapid pace for years now. Starting with online capital formation, today a growing number of sophisticated financial services are going through a much-needed. digital transformation. This can mean better/cheaper access to services for more consumers and… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 10:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Capital confirms that India has been going through a major regulatory process related to the nascent cryptocurrency markets. The Capital notes that the advancements in other areas of crypto such as the innovation in decentralized finance (DeFi) in the 21st century might have taken… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 5:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Despite a few weeks’ break from their regulatory assessments, the BitOoda team says it has been regularly monitoring the crypto industry and engaging in the ongoing advancement of the US regulatory landscape. BitOoda notes that the recent developments they’ve followed are: New York Attorney General… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 3:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

Congressman Patrick McHenry, the ranking member of the House Committee on Financial Services, has sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urging them to move forward on improvements to Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF). The letter is addressed to SEC Acting Chair Allison… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Binance, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world, has garnered the scrutiny of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to a report. Binance has emerged as a leading crypto trading platform and innovator in the digital asset sector. If you look at… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 12:03 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain security firm CipherTrace notes that its Traveler product has been developed to assist virtual asset service providers or VASPs with adhering to the international “Travel Rule” regulations by securely sharing digital currency transaction details with other “vetted” VASPs. CipherTrace explains that its tools are… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 10:57 am By JD Alois  |  

While there is a good amount of discourse regarding the risk of digital assets and the ability for bad actors to use crypto to launder money or perhaps finance illicit activities FinCEN recently indicated their attention in a more tactile direction. Earlier this week, FinCEN… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 11:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korean authorities have stated that they’re planning to impose heavy penalties or fines on individuals and businesses violating applicable guidelines for cryptocurrency transactions. The Korean financial regulator stated that it would impose a fine on virtual currency exchanges if they fail to report suspicious… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 11:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has provided guidance on disclosure provided by issuers of crypto assets. The CSA is a group that represents provincial securities regulators. In Canada, there is no federal agency overseeing the securities sector. According to the CSA, in Canada, most crypto-asset… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 11:08 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed an emergency action and obtained a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Shawn C. Cutting. The SEC alleges that Cutting raised millions of dollars by falsely claiming to be a financial adviser with securities licenses, overstating… Read More

March 10, 2021 @ 10:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

A new trade group has been launched to advocate on behalf of the Fintech industry. Today, the Financial Technology Association (FTA), is hoping to educate stakeholders and support the modernization of financial regulation. Founding members of the group are Afterpay, Betterment, Brex, Carta, Figure, Marqeta,… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnamese banks are becoming a lot more aware of Open Banking policies and are beginning to realize that they should look into leveraging open APIs in order to remain relevant in the evolving digital financial services sector. There are at least two local banks in… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Indian government may not completely ban (or attempt to) the use of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). During a recent interview (conducted on March 5, 2021), India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that she intends to support innovative crypto initiatives. #CNBCTV18IBLA… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission has shared its vision for the digital transformation of Europe by 2030. The policy initiative is an all-encompassing approach to many aspects of the economy and daily existence. The EU states that this builds on the Commission’s digital strategy of February 2020…. Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 9:58 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Banking Authority has published a document that addresses anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CFT) when it comes to crowdfunding. The guidelines for crowdfunding platforms are incorporated into the Final Report “on customer due diligence and the factors credit and financial institutions should… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 8:54 am By JD Alois  |  

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing today on the GameStop/Reddit/Robinhood saga entitled; “Who Wins on Wall Street? GameStop, Robinhood, and the State of Retail Investing.” The hearing is scheduled to commence at 10AM. The hearing will review the concerted effort by individuals chatting on… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese authorities have increased their scrutiny of the nation’s Fintech sector. China’s regulators have now cracked down on JD Technology’s (potentially) $3 billion initial public offering. JD Technology, the Fintech division of Chinese digital commerce giant JD.com Inc., is reportedly looking into withdrawing its application… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 2:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Internal Revenue Services (IRS) is in midst of tax season, typically a time of anxiety for most taxpayers as they scramble to package the litany of documents demanded by the IRS to complete federal taxes. Over the years, the IRS has issued multiple statements… Read More