Politics, Legal & Regulation

March 1, 2020 @ 12:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malta’s financial regulators clarified last week that Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange by adjusted trading volume, is not licensed “to operate in the cryptocurrency sphere” within the island nation.  The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has not yet issued operational licenses to any… Read More

February 29, 2020 @ 5:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Over two thousand firms have reportedly either tested or used facial recognition software solutions created by Clearview AI. The list of firms notably includes San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase. BuzzFeed went through Clearview’s internal company documents and released its findings on February 28. The report… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 7:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Recently the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), issued what is believed to be the first enforcement action against a bank dealing in digital assets. The target of the consent order was M.Y. Safra Bank. According to the Order, the bank was a… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 4:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the agency that handles taxation for the population, has scheduled a “summit” with cryptocurrency companies taking place next week on Tuesday, March 3rd. This is according to a report in Bloomberg Tax. The agency plans to engage and discuss… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 12:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The US House of Representatives Committee on Small Business is planning to hold a hearing next week to discuss the impact of blockchain or distributed ledger technology’s (DLT) on the operations of small businesses. The hearing, referred to as “Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 12:17 pm By JD Alois  |  

Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor Financial Stability of the Bank of England, delivered an interesting speech this week at the London School of Economics. In a presentation entitled, “It’s Time to Talk About Money” Cunliffe tackled the hot topics of “crypto assets,” stablecoins, and central… Read More

February 28, 2020 @ 7:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Reserve banks, clearinghouses, global stock exchanges, payment processing service providers and law enforcement organizations based in Europe have teamed up in order to introduce a cybercrime information-sharing program. The goal of the project, called Cyber Information and Intelligence Sharing Initiative (CIISI-EU), is to protect the… Read More

February 27, 2020 @ 10:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global Digital Finance (GDF), an industry membership body that supports the use of best practices for crypto-assets and digital finance platforms through the development of conduct standards, has partnered with Washington DC’s FS Vector, an advisory and advocacy company. The GDF has also appointed four… Read More

February 27, 2020 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is seeking comment on proposed harmonized rules for start-up securities crowdfunding, according to a note from the CSA. Online capital formation platforms and industry supporters have long chafed under fragmented investment crowdfunding rules. A call to action by certain thought… Read More

February 27, 2020 @ 9:06 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has posted a statement dissenting from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to, once again, decline to allow an exchange-traded product (ETP or ETF) for the world’s most popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin. The Commission denied NYSE Arca’s request to offer a Bitcoin… Read More

February 27, 2020 @ 7:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Banking Circle, a financial infrastructure developer, has been awarded a banking license from Luxembourg’s financial regulator. Established in 2013, Banking Circle serves as an alternative to the high-cost traditional banking network. The company’s services aim to provide greater financial utility, allowing Fintech firms to gain… Read More

February 26, 2020 @ 11:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s tax authorities have advised the nation’s government to impose a low-level trading tax on capital gains made from digital currency trading before requiring Korean residents to pay a transfer income tax.  South Korea’s government will be introducing its new tax reform plan later… Read More

February 26, 2020 @ 8:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Following a well-received presentation at the OurCrowd Global Investor Summit held earlier this month, Jason Greenblatt, a former advisor to President Donald Trump, is joining the crowdfunding platform as a Partner building ties in the Middle East region. Greenblatt was previously an Assistant to the… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 10:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a release, Michael Terpin’s lawsuit targeting mobile service provider AT&T will move forward. The case involves a SIM Swap fraud that Terpin believes AT&T could have easily halted. This week, Judge Otis Wright II ruled that plaintiff Michael Terpin can proceed with statutory,… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 11:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Asia-based CoolBitX, a leading blockchain or distributed ledger tech (DLT) security firm, has acquired $16.75 million in capital through a Series B investment round from several large investors. CoolBitX’s funding round was led by Japan-based financial services company SBI Holdings. Monex Group, South Korean crypto-asset… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

Michael Mosier has joined the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as its new Deputy Director and Digital Innovation Officer. FinCEN is part of the US Department of Treasury. Mosier will be FinCEN’s first Digital Innovation Officer helping the agency to adapt to the fast-changing world… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 8:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, 50 senior officials convened in Paris to discuss “global issues surrounding virtual assets.” Participants included FinCEN, part of the US Department of Treasury, as well as the Financial Intelligence Unit Germany, France’s Tracfin, and other FATF countries. Virtual asset experts from the Financial… Read More

February 25, 2020 @ 8:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, the G20 issued a joint communique outlining shared goals for the group of the larget 20 economies in the world. The actual event is being hosted by Saudi Arabia with meetings ongoing. The document, embedded below, recognized the value of “digitalization of the economy”… Read More

February 24, 2020 @ 4:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has updated its “PAUSE” list or Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities. The list highlights bogus offering sites and fictitious regulators. In the internet era, both are rampant as anyone, anywhere can cobble together a pretty slick looking website making… Read More

February 24, 2020 @ 2:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Central bank heads and finance ministers recently held discussions regarding crypto-asset regulations at the G-20 summit.  Japanese officials working at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the nation’s Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Financial Services Agency (FSA) have held talks in order to determine whether the… Read More