Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 8, 2019 @ 10:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

South Korean financial regulators are planning to align the country with widely adopted FATF global guidelines by directly regulating crypto exchanges in the country under a licensing regime, Business Korea (BK) reports. The new FATF guidelines require crypto exchanges to report transactions that exceed a certain… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 5:53 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Texas State Securities Board (TSSB) has issued cease and desist orders against “Forex and Bitcoin Trader,” an unregistered dealer of cryptocurrencies, derivatives and foreign currency promising 900% returns in 14 days in online advertisements targeting Dallas investors. This is the fourth emergency action undertaken… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 2:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

France is a country that is seeking to position itself as a jurisdiction of preference when it comes to blockchain technology and the issuance of digital assets. Blockchain innovation has been aided by vocal government support and new legislation signed into law that allows for… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

Regulated crypto exchange SBI VC (spun out from SoftBank), based in Japan, is now FATF compliant. Earlier this year FATF announced a set of requirements regarding “virtual asset service providers” or VASPs (mainly crypto exchanges). These new rules require the tracking and storing of all… Read More

August 8, 2019 @ 9:10 am By JD Alois  |  

In 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its first No-Action Letter (NAL) regarding the “use of unconventional sources of information,” or “alternative data,” to evaluate individual creditworthiness. Earlier in that year, the CFPB had launched a Request for Information pertaining to alternative data…. Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 11:44 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) says it is working to close gaps in its crypto-network monitoring regime in order to ensure that risks, “currently contained and/or manageable,” do not, “increase over time and have future implications,” for mainstream financial systems. “Spillover effects may…be transmitted to… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 9:33 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A civil case against American crypto trading platform Coinbase alleging the exchange bungled its listing of Bitcoin Cash (a fork of Bitcoin) will proceed on grounds of possible negligence in California. Fraud and unlawful conduct allegations have been dismissed after the judge determined that the… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 3:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

130 Crypto Investigations Have Been Launched in the US and Canada The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the lobbying association representing state and provincial securities regulators, says there has been an increase in crypto-related fraud as “investors and con artists alike have returned to… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 3:12 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Wednesday it launched Sandbox Express to provide firms with a faster option to test financial products and services in the market. MAS reported that eligible applicants can begin market testing in the pre-defined environment of Sandbox Express… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 8:53 am By JD Alois  |  

Kik Interactive has responded to the Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement action alleging the sales of unregistered securities. The legal fisticuffs are being intently followed by the crypto industry and any decision may impact the entire US digital asset industry. Earlier this year, a… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 3:55 am By Cali Haan  |  

A source to Coindesk is claiming that Britain’s tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs, has sent letters to three cryptocurrency exchanges requesting access to the trading records of British customers served by the platforms. According to the source, Coinbase, eToro, and CEX.IO have all received… Read More

August 7, 2019 @ 2:42 am By Cali Haan  |  

Kyle Bass, a fund manager who predicted the 2008 economic crisis says the troubles in Hong Kong, US-China trade tensions and Chinese debt are probably incentivizing capital flight into Bitcoin, gold, and other currencies as investors and citizens seek refuge from a depreciating yuan. “If… Read More

August 6, 2019 @ 8:33 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As of January 1, 2020, businesses facilitating “currency transmissions” for a fee among residents of Rhode Island will have to be licensed under state money transmission laws, law firm Alston and Bird reports. The term “currency transmission” is defined by the bill as, “maintaining control… Read More

August 6, 2019 @ 2:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) has topped $250 million in investment commitments. This number includes both successful and unsuccessful offerings so the amount actually invested would be somewhat lower. This report is courtesy of Crowdfund Capital Advisors (CCA), a consultancy and data provider that has long… Read More

August 6, 2019 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

Chair of the House Financial Services Committee Maxine Waters issued a statement yesterday regarding the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will pursue a faster payments process for consumers. Long discussed with little movement, Federal Reserve Board of Governors Member Lael Brainard revealed the “FedNow” plan… Read More

August 6, 2019 @ 7:36 am By Cali Haan  |  

After a three-year-long investigation, Cyberpol, has concluded that Bitcoin mining is “unlawful,” because miners are minting money outside of the regulated monetary system and then suffusing this money back into regular economies. Cyberpol is an international non-profit agency for investigating cyber attacks by criminals, international… Read More

August 6, 2019 @ 2:40 am By Cali Haan  |  

Police Major Gen Preecha Charoensahayanon, chief of Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) says cryptocurrencies, “will be a tool of new money laundering,” in the country going forward. “That’s why we’re amending laws to prepare us for new online missions,” Charoensahayanon told The Bangkok Post. Charoensahayanon… Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 10:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

  Blockchain-litigations, public and private, “(took) off…exponentially” in 2018, and Virginia-based Law firm Murphy & McGonigle is using its Blockchain Litigation Database (“BLD”) to track the 250 court actions that have ensued following the crypto market bust of late 2017. In the last 60 days,… Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 6:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton has booked an event for “Main Street investors” to be held in Chicago on Thursday, August 15. The event will come a day after the SEC’s annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation taking place in Omaha…. Read More

August 5, 2019 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Recently, the Federal Reserve has taken political heat for its inability to pursue a faster payments system – something that has been technically feasible for years. Currently, payments and transfer languish for days creating issues for both sides of the transaction – most frequently individuals… Read More