Politics, Legal & Regulation

May 12, 2019 @ 2:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

On Friday, the Long Term Stock Exchange (LTSE) received good news from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it was approved as a national securities exchange. The LTSE is the creation of Eric Ries, an entrepreneur, VC, and creator of the lean startup concept…. Read More

May 12, 2019 @ 2:17 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Six members of a transnational hacking group known as “The Community” have been indicted in the Eastern District of Michigan and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in relation to SWIM-swap hacks they allegedly conducted to steal cryptocurrencies by… Read More

May 11, 2019 @ 5:46 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Lawyers at the Silver Miller law firm have filed a class action suit against founders and pervaders of OneCoin, an alleged global cryptocurrency pyramid scheme that bilked investors out of an estimated $4 billion dollars. Ruja Ignatova, Konstantin Ignatov, Sebastian Greenwood and Mark Scott are… Read More

May 11, 2019 @ 4:20 pm By Cali Haan  |  

US Senators Mike Crapo and Sherrod Brown have sent an open letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking him to provide information on the company’s much-anticipated and highly-secretive “Libra” cryptocurrency project. So far, little is known publicly about the project, although reporting at Bloomberg indicates… Read More

May 11, 2019 @ 10:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Michael Terpin, a prominent cryptocurrency advocate and founder of Marketwire, has won a whopping $75.8 million civil judgment against SIM Swap perp Nicholas Truglia, according to a report in Reuters referencing court documents.  In the theft, Terpin was fleeced of approximately $24 million in crypto… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 10:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has polished her pen once again with another thought-provoking speech addressing Fintech innovation and, more specifically, digital assets. Speaking at the Securities Enforcement Forum, East Palo Alto, California (by video), Peirce pointedly criticized the Commission for stifling the emergence of security… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 10:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued an updated advisory to warn financial institutions of continued widespread public corruption in Venezuela. This is part of an ongoing effort to isolate the Maduro regime who recently lost a popular election but has refused to leave… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 9:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today issued guidance entitled, Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVC). FinCEN is the enforcement branch of the US Department of Treasury. The guidance issued today does not establish any new regulatory expectations…. Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 6:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this week, the inaugural meeting of the Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) took place at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, DC. The new Committee brings together a diverse group of small business proponents including several Fintechs. Led by Martha… Read More

May 9, 2019 @ 11:45 am By JD Alois  |  

The House Financial Services Committee under the leadership of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Chairwoman of the Committee, has announced the creation of a Task Force on Financial Technology or Fintech and a Task Force on Artificial Intelligence (AI). These two specific topics have emerged in importance… Read More

May 8, 2019 @ 10:25 pm By JD Alois  |  

This week, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held the annual meeting of its Private Sector Consultative Forum in Vienna, Austria. The event was hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Part of the discussion addressed the growing crypto market and… Read More

May 7, 2019 @ 7:51 am By Cali Haan  |  

iFinex, parent company of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange and creator of Tether, the world’s most popular “stablecoin” cryptocurrency, has asked a court in New York to “vacate” (render void) ex parte orders issued by the Attorney General of New York compelling iFinex to produce comprehensive… Read More

May 6, 2019 @ 9:42 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Here’s a question for all of you. Between coins, tokens, stamps, tickets, vouchers, and chips, which of these qualifies as a “security” under U.S. Securities laws? It’s actually a trick question, they all do! Well, technically speaking, they all could potentially qualify as securities. The… Read More

May 6, 2019 @ 9:40 am By Cali Haan  |  

The US government has asked a judge in Arizona to detain Reginald Fowler, 60, who was arrested April 30th and charged with bank fraud, operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business and conspiracy for allegedly providing “shadow banking” services to cryptocurrency exchanges. Regarding the case, the… Read More

May 4, 2019 @ 4:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has talked up their innovation cred and support of Fintech for years. Under previous Chair Mary Jo White, the SEC held the very first Fintech Forum which saw both industry participants and policymakers engage with each other in collaborative… Read More

May 3, 2019 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last February, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) issued a statement on “virtual assets” recognizing the need to mitigate risk associated with money laundering and terrorist financing when it comes to cryptocurrency. The “draft interpretive note” regarding a segment on pending recommendations was open for… Read More

May 3, 2019 @ 8:51 am By JD Alois  |  

The US District Court Southern District of New York has greenlighted the lawsuit against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency filed by the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS). The legal battle is an ongoing attack by DFS to challenge OCC’s Fintech… Read More

May 2, 2019 @ 12:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Vanbex,  a cryptocurrency and blockchain technology company, has filed a libel suit against a former contract consultant who reportedly worked briefly for the company. The lawsuit is part of an ongoing dispute that was brought into the public forum when an article in the Vancouver… Read More

May 2, 2019 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The Central Bank of Canada and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have jointly announced the successful “experiment” of cross border payments using blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT). The two central banks claim this is the first test anywhere of its kind stating it has… Read More

May 1, 2019 @ 6:54 pm By Cali Haan  |  

“Processed hundreds of millions of dollars of unregulated transactions on behalf of numerous cryptocurrency exchanges.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested American citizen Reginald Fowler, 60. The US Attorney for the Southern District of New York has charged him with bank fraud, conspiracy… Read More