Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 30, 2019 @ 11:49 am By Cali Haan  |  

Researchers at blockchain forensics firm Elementus who extensively documented the days- long, $16 million USD hack against New Zealand-based crypto exchange Cryptopia two weeks ago now claim that the same hacker has struck again at Cryptopia. According to Elementus, “Though Cryptopia remains silent…” about the… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 4:14 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A Switzerland-based firm called Tangem has announced it will be providing the physical bank notes representing the Marshall Island’s new “Sovereign” (SOV) cryptocurrency. Creation of the “Sovereign” by the Marshall Islands’ government has been the subject of some controversy. In September, the International Monetary Fund warned that… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

CipherTrace is out with a report on cryptocurrency scams and fraud. It is widely known that crypto suffers from rampant acts of theft and cons as these digital assets have become the targets of global criminals seeking an easy payday or simply to launder illicit… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

In a report this past weekend, Kik – a Canada based company, indicated its intent to battle an anticipated enforcement action by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to WSJ.com, Kik is willing to go to the mat with the Commission in the… Read More

January 29, 2019 @ 8:06 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued another warning regarding bogus websites promoting fraudulent cryptocurrency investments that are claimed to be supported by the government of Singapore. MAS provided a single example of a fabricated CNBC site that prominently states: “Singapore Officially Backs a… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 11:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Shamoil T. Shipchandler, the Director of the Fort Worth Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, has departed the agency, according to a note by the SEC. During his tenure in Fort Worth, Shipchandler pursued some “novel cases” including cryptocurrency fraud. Shipchandler oversaw a team… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 8:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The House of Representatives passed several bills today and included in the mix was the Financial Technology Protection Act, (H.R. 56). The legislation was introduced by Congressman Stephen Lynch and Congressman Ted Budd and garnered bi-partisan support. The bill establishes an “Independent Financial Technology Task… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 4:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

FINRA recently posted their annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter. As part of the letter, FINRA stated they would be evaluating how firms conduct suitability analyses as well as communications and AML requirements for both Reg D 506c and Reg A+ offerings. These two exemptions… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulation is a big deal. GDPR was designed to better protect consumers and their digitized information. While clearly not perfect, GDPR is the direct result of big corporations failing their customers with poor security protocols, lackluster attention to cyberfraud… Read More

January 28, 2019 @ 1:00 am By Zoë Adamovicz  |  

We often hear that “code is law”. It means that all transactions happening on decentralized networks are final and immutable. It does not mean, however, that code derives from the law. The legal frameworks we operate within are not God-given. They are social agreements that… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 9:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, FINRA issued its annual Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities Letter for 2019. The letter is a reference point as to what FINRA expects to target in the coming year. The missive includes an opening by FINRA President and CEO, Robert Cook, who said… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 12:47 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Sources to Bloomberg have claimed that The Bank of England (BOE) is refusing to release $1.2 billion USD of Venezuela’s gold to the country’s officials. A delegation led by Calixto Ortega, president of Venezuela’s central bank,  reportedly visited London in December seeking access to the… Read More

January 27, 2019 @ 9:30 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is back on the job as President Trump signed a bill that will re-open the government for three weeks – until February 15th. The closure of federal offices was due to a political spat between the Democrats and the… Read More

January 26, 2019 @ 10:49 am By Cali Haan  |  

Huw van Steenis, a senior adviser to the Bank of England tasked with “leading a review on the future of finance” told Bloomberg in Davos this week that he believes that cryptocurrencies do not pose a threat to mainstream finance: “I’m not so worried about crytocurrencies…. Read More

January 26, 2019 @ 8:44 am By Cali Haan  |  

Moshe Hogeg, a high-profile Israeli crypto startup founder (Invest.com, Stox, Sirin Labs) previously sued by Invest.com investors, is now being sued by a Chinese cryptocurrency investor who claims Hogeg has been misusing funds he raised in an initial coin offering (ICO) for the creation of… Read More

January 25, 2019 @ 4:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

iFunding was an early entrant into the real estate crowdfunding sector. Once Title II of the JOBS Act became law (Reg D 506c), it opened up a new world of online promotion for securities offerings and real estate almost immediately became one of the hottest… Read More

January 25, 2019 @ 2:19 am By JD Alois  |  

The government of Ireland is showing their support for the emerging blockchain technology sector by hosting a hackathon called Blockathon Ireland. Hosted by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in association with The Department of Finance, the hackathon seeks to highlight real-life use-cases of Distributed… Read More

January 24, 2019 @ 3:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

There has been a good amount of discussion about the impact of the government shutdown and the effect on government employees who are not being paid.  The shutdown is also undermining sectors of the economy that depend on furloughed public employees. One sector of finance that has… Read More

January 24, 2019 @ 9:28 am By Cali Haan  |  

VanEck has withdrawn it’s its SEC application for a rule change that would allow the company to list a Bitcoin ETF on the Cboe exchange. According to the relevant release from the SEC, VanEck first filed for the rule change on June 20th of last… Read More

January 24, 2019 @ 8:41 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has shut down a security token offering (STO) for a “regulatory breach.” MAS said the issuer in question failed to comply with advertising restrictions. Specifically, the STOs legal advisors promoted the offering on LinkedIn calling attention to the offering…. Read More