Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 16, 2020 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), the leading securities regulator in France, posted a legal analysis of security tokens or digital securities. The AMF posited that while there remain certain “legal obstacles,” in their opinion national authorities can adapt to these types of… Read More

March 15, 2020 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

In an unprecedented action, the US Federal Reserve reduced its primary credit rate by 150 basis points to 0.25 percent, effective March 16, 2020. This reduction in the primary credit rate reflects both the 100 basis point reduction in the target range for the federal… Read More

March 14, 2020 @ 6:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The New York Department of Financial Services has issued a requirement that all institutions engaged in virtual currency businesses to have a preparedness plan due to the impact of the Coronavirus or COVID-19. Virtual currency businesses regulated in the state of New York are not… Read More

March 13, 2020 @ 4:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representative Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee, has postponed all Committee hearings through the end of the month. Chair Waters made the decision in light of the Coronavirus pandemic. The hearings scheduled included a review of digital currencies. Expectations are for these… Read More

March 13, 2020 @ 12:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

Former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins and Colleen Sullivan, CEO of CMT Digital, have joined the Board of Advisors of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. Atkins, who is currently CEO of Patomak Global Partners, issued the following statement on the news: “I am pleased to join… Read More

March 13, 2020 @ 11:36 am By Andrew Mitchell  |  

It is fair to say that Brexit dominated headlines in the final few years of the 2010s. After the UK made the historic decision to forge its own future outside of the European Union [EU], many people and businesses were naturally concerned as to what… Read More

March 13, 2020 @ 8:03 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of England (BoE), the UK’s reserve bank, has released a discussion paper on virtual currencies. The BoE’s 57-page research document includes an illustrative model of central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, which could be developed to store monetary value and settle payments by… Read More

March 12, 2020 @ 7:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representative Patrick McHenry distributed multiple legislative proposals today designed to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. While the inevitable outcome is unknown, what is clear is that the economy will take a hit – most likely impacting small businesses disproportionately. McHenry, the Ranking Member… Read More

March 12, 2020 @ 5:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

Representative Patrick McHenry, Ranking Member on the House Financial Services Committee, has proposed legislation to crowdfund a vaccine for the Coronavirus entitled “Crowdfunding to Combat the Coronavirus Act.” The bill creates a $1 billion prize for anyone that develops a vaccine for COVID-19 that is… Read More

March 12, 2020 @ 11:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The Autorité des Marchés Financiers, the main securities regulator in France, has published a legal analysis of security tokens. France is already known for its initial coin offering (ICO) friendly ecosystem where utility tokens (not securities) may be issued and traded in a compliant environment…. Read More

March 11, 2020 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered a speech outlining the UK Budget for 2020. A portion of the speech outlined the Government’s policy moves to mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus – an unexpected exogenous shock to the economy that could… Read More

March 11, 2020 @ 2:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered the annual budget today in a speech at the House of Commons. Sunak only recently stepped into the key government role this past February, inheriting an exceptionally challenging task in a world where the Coronavirus, or Covid-19, has… Read More

March 11, 2020 @ 11:58 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, to Estonia-based peer to peer lending platforms, Envestio and Kuetzal, collapsed leaving investors holding empty promises and possibly a complete loss. At the end of January, the Estonian Police and Border Guard posted a notice asking what may end up being a… Read More

March 11, 2020 @ 9:17 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has posted an “Operating Status” notification on its website indicating that much of its DC staff have been asked to work from home during the Coronavirus outbreak. Recently, the Commission has canceled multiple meetings, according to its event page…. Read More

March 10, 2020 @ 4:18 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the European Commission posted its “SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe.” The strategy is in recognition that “SMEs play a key role in Europe’s industrial fabric, providing two out of three jobs, and are central to the success of this new… Read More

March 10, 2020 @ 3:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received a default judgment against ICOBox and founder Nikolay Evdokimov for conducting an illegal $14.6 million securities offering. In a release, the SEC said that Judge Dale S. Fischer of the United States District Court for the Central… Read More

March 10, 2020 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

This week the UK Minister of State for Trade Policy Greg Hands MP is in the United States to kick-start free trade agreement negotiations. Long discussed as a possible outcome of the UK’s divorce with Europe, a bilateral trade agreement between the US and the… Read More

March 9, 2020 @ 11:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has reportedly suspended new applications being submitted by local Fintech companies in order to focus on guiding and regulating firms that have already been issued an operational license. The OJK confirmed that it has temporarily halted registrations of all new… Read More

March 9, 2020 @ 3:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Milken Institute has published a deck tracking legislation in the 116th Congress that directly impacts Fintech. Jackson Mueller, Milken Institute Fintech lead and author of the report, told Crowdfund Insider, “For all the political divisiveness that we hear about on a daily basis, members… Read More

March 8, 2020 @ 10:30 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this year, two Estonian based peer to peer lending platforms vaporized in a burst of questions and allegations of possible fraud. The demise of Kuetzal and Envestio tarnished the image of Estonia, a country seeking to burnish its Fintech credibility by facilitating early-stage financial… Read More