Politics, Legal & Regulation

December 24, 2019 @ 8:19 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Mu Changchun, deputy director at the People’s Bank of China’s (PBoC), recently stated that the digital yuan (under development) will be fundamentally different from Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency. The electronic yuan will also be different from stablecoins, which are digital assets pegged one-to-one with… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 5:22 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Republican Congressman Paul Gosar has introduced a “discussion draft” of a bill designed to, “clarify which Federal agencies regulate digital assets, to require those agencies to notify the public of any Federal licenses, certification, or registrations required to trade such assets, and for other purposes.” “The… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 11:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has published a report entitled “Reshaping Banking with Artificial Intelligence.” The Report is part of a series of publications on applying AI technology, including Robo-advisors, to the banking industry. Hong Kong has emerged as a top Asian Fintech hub… Read More

December 23, 2019 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the securities regulator for the country, has commenced consultation on “E-money and digital payment tokens (DPTs).” Singapore is a well-recognized Fintech hub. Financial innovation in the country has been aided by the explicit support of policymakers including the leading… Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 7:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee published several letters regarding recommendations to the Commission pertaining to the concept release on regulatory harmonization. A specific letter was posted regarding updates necessary for Reg CF as well as a… Read More

December 22, 2019 @ 12:56 pm By Cali Haan  |  

For many reasons, China is regarded as one of the world’s make-or-break regions when it comes to the fate of “blockchain” technology and cryptocurrencies. Before Bitcoin trading was officially banned in China in late 2016, yuan-to-Bitcoin conversions (and vice versa) seemed to account for more… Read More

December 21, 2019 @ 11:49 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, has published its inaugural report on the ability for small businesses in the US to access growth capital. The Advocate is a newly-formed sector of the SEC created by legislation… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 12:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday the European Commission announced the launch of two consultations. The first is on digital or crypto-assets including stablecoins. The second is on cybersecurity. The consultation on digital assets is due to President Ursula von der Leyen determination to keep abreast of innovation in the… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 10:59 am By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, the UK government announced its selection Andrew Bailey to replace Mark Carney as Governor of the Bank of England. Carney’s departure has long been anticipated and, in fact, he extended his tenure at the Bank to help provide an element of stability in… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 10:29 am By Cali Haan  |  

A former employee for the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange (Payward Inc.) is suing the company in California for discrimination, harassment, wrongful dismissal and retaliation for whistleblowing. The story was broken by Attack of the 50-Foot Blockchain author, David Gerard. Plaintiff Nathan Peter Runyon, “a decorated Marine… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, Crowdfund Insider reported on the agreed-upon legislation for harmonized pan-European crowdfunding rules. Having a single market for online capital formation has been a goal of crowdfunding industry leaders and industry participants for years. Industry advocates have worked diligently behind the scenes to push forward… Read More

December 20, 2019 @ 8:26 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Quinte Financial Technologies Inc. (previously known as Quatrro Processing Services), a leading provider of several financial crime management solutions, revealed on December 18 that it has rebranded under the “Quinte” name. Company chairman Venu Gopal noted that the firm’s name change to Quinte from QPS… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 7:58 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As she welcomed Benoît Coeuré to his new position as Head of the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS’) Innovation Hub, U.S. Federal Reserve governor Lael Brainard told regulators in Frankfurt Wednesday that private (crypto) currency networks pose risks that must be addressed. She also said… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 7:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The President of the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), Christopher W. Gerold, has issued a statement regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to modernize and improve the definition of an accredited investor. NASAA is the advocacy and lobbying group that represents state… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 1:28 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA, the regulator for US broker-dealers, has slapped Robinhood – a Fintech trading platform, with a $1.25 million fine for violations pertaining to order routing. While long rmored inside the industry, Robinhood has been assesed the penalty due to “best execution violations.” Robinhood is a… Read More

December 19, 2019 @ 11:06 am By JD Alois  |  

According to a notice published by the Europea Parliament, final European Union-wide rules have been agreed upon thus forwarding the goal of a true monetary union while promoting online capital formation. The European Parliament negotiating team has reached a deal with the European Council which… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission reports that it has settled charges against Blockchain of Things Inc. (BCOT) for conducting an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO). The order requires BCOT to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations of the registration provisions of the… Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 2:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a public meeting to discuss, and vote on, various rules impacting the securities markets. Included in the meeting was an update to the definition of an accredited investor. Currently, the definition is determined by a wealth metric…. Read More

December 18, 2019 @ 10:11 am By JD Alois  |  

We have all heard about Open Banking, a mandate to require proactive API access to financial services while migrating control of all data and access back to consumers, now we have a movement for “Open Finance.” According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Open Finance… Read More

December 17, 2019 @ 10:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tomorrow (December 18, 2019), in a public meeting by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commissioners will review the definition of an accredited investor. In a revised agenda, the public meeting outlined the specific topics to be addressed by the Commission, with the definition… Read More