Politics, Legal & Regulation

July 4, 2019 @ 2:18 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Dutch Finance Ministry and Ministry of Justice have vowed to regulate cryptocurrencies as part of the Netherland’s comprehensive new plan to combat money-laundering in the region. “Our goal is to guarantee an honest and safe financial system,” co-authors Minister of Finance Wopke Hoekstra and Minister… Read More

July 4, 2019 @ 1:13 am By Cali Haan  |  

Officials at the Bank of Japan, Japan’s central bank, are reportedly concerned that Facebook’s new “difficult to regulate” cryptocurrency could have a calamitous effect on global financial systems, all while exploiting those very systems without paying the costs, Nikkei Asian Review (NAR) reports. Legislators in… Read More

July 3, 2019 @ 9:04 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Five US House Representatives have submitted a letter to Facebook asking the company to, “immediately agree to a moratorium on any movement forward on Libra- its proposed cryptocurrency and Calibra- its proposed digital wallet.” The letter was forwarded by the powerful House Financial Services Committee… Read More

July 3, 2019 @ 5:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed a ban on the sale of both derivatives and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) based on “certain types of cryptoassets.” This ban will impact retail investors. As part of the decision-making process, the FCA has commenced a public consultation… Read More

July 3, 2019 @ 5:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

A judge in the state of New York has sentenced Blake Kantor (also known as “Bill Gordon”), 44, to 86 months’ (~7 years’) imprisonment and three years’ supervised release for defrauding 700 people in a binary options and cryptocurrency scheme. Kantor pleaded guilty to charges… Read More

July 2, 2019 @ 2:52 pm By JD Alois  |  

In a speech presented today by Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulator addressed the hot topic of “stablecoins.” The speech was delivered at the annual Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance conference which saw regulators… Read More

July 2, 2019 @ 2:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Blockchain Association announced in a blog post that it would take over the Defend Crypto campaign, launched by Kik Interactive. Kik is engaged in a legal battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding an initial coin offering that raised about… Read More

June 30, 2019 @ 8:18 am By JD Alois  |  

As has been widely reported, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) presented a report providing guidance for financial services at the G20 last week. FATF is an independent inter-governmental body that develops policies to protect the global financial system. This includes strategies against anti-money laundering,… Read More

June 29, 2019 @ 8:59 am By JD Alois  |  

The V20 Summit, a crypto focused event taking place alongside the G20 in Japan, has announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by a “group of key national trade associations” to create a single association to provide a unified, global voice representing “Virtual Asset Service… Read More

June 28, 2019 @ 9:37 am By Cali Haan  |  

Europol has announced that a 14-month-long investigation into a €24 million “typosquatting-based” cryptocurrency theft has netted 6 suspects in the UK and Netherlands. The five men and one woman were arrested “in simultaneous warrants” in Bath Staverton, Amsterdam and Rotterdam yesterday morning. An estimate 4 000… Read More

June 28, 2019 @ 9:34 am By JD Alois  |  

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has introduced a new Fintech license and a “revision” of the provisions related to their Fintech sandbox ecosystem. FINMA stated that the Swiss parliament has introduced a new licensing category for Fintech companies. Simultaneously, FINMA said the Federal… Read More

June 28, 2019 @ 3:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Capital Markets Malaysia, an affiliate of the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), hosted an event to generate greater awareness of capital raising and investment opportunities in the Malaysian capital market. The target audience was micro, small-and-medium enterprises (MSMEs); and entrepreneurs. The half-day forum focused on how… Read More

June 27, 2019 @ 1:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has scheduled its second Fintech conference: Fintech Forward 2019. The event is scheduled to take place at CFTC HQ on October 24, 2019 – during DC Fintech Week. Additionally, the CFTC has launched “LabCFTC Accelerator,” a component of LabCFTC…. Read More

June 27, 2019 @ 1:03 pm By Karsten Wenzlaff  |  

The European Council has concluded its negotiations on the European Crowdfunding Service Provider Regime, after discussing for more than a year how to facilitate more cross-border Crowdfunding, especially for equity-based and lending-based Crowdfunding. The European Council “defines the EU’s overall political direction and priorities.” The… Read More

June 26, 2019 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

HM Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recently organized a workshop on assisting low-income renters. Predicated on the fact that rental insurance has “very low take-up” amongst a lower demographic, Treasury and the FCA invited multiple firms to attend an “Access to Contents Insurance… Read More

June 26, 2019 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Association of Online Investment Platforms (AOIP) has published a series of policy recommendations encouraging Congress to act and improve the online capital formation marketplace by fixing existing flaws in crowdfunding rules. The AOIP is a newer advocacy group formed in the last year. The… Read More

June 25, 2019 @ 2:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

While it is a fact we all need bank-like services it is also true we do not necessarily need a traditional bank. The digitization of finance has liberated the masses from paper driven, brick and mortar operations to the bank of the iPhone (or Android… Read More

June 25, 2019 @ 12:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has posted a deck on GFin or the Global Financial Innovation Network. Hong Kong has emerged as a leading Fintech hub having embraced innovation in financial services. GFiN was launched by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) a bit… Read More

June 24, 2019 @ 4:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Patrick McDonnell (46), aka “Jason Flack,” has copped a plea of a single fraud charge in an ongoing case of cryptocurrency fraud.  McDonnell was indicted last March. McDonnell operator of CabbageTech, a company that was doing business as Coin Drop Markets, faces up to 20… Read More

June 24, 2019 @ 3:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee Task Force on Financial Technology is scheduled to hold its first meeting tomorrow (June 25) at 2 PM. Chaired by Representative Stephen Lynch, the hearing is entitled, “Overseeing the Fintech Revolution: Domestic and International Perspectives on Fintech Regulation.” Unfortunately, as… Read More