Politics, Legal & Regulation

December 7, 2018 @ 10:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Terrell McSweeny, a Former FTC Commissioner and current partner at Covington & Burling, is joining Georgetown Law’s Institute for Technology Law & Policy as a distinguished fellow. McSweeny departed the FTC this past April. The Institute notes that McSweeny played key roles at the FTC and Department of… Read More

December 7, 2018 @ 10:08 am By Cali Haan  |  

Congressmen Darren Soto, a Democrat from Florida, and Ted Budd, a Republican from North Carolina, yesterday introduced two pieces of legislation into the American House of Representatives that they hope will support healthy cryptocurrency markets and innovation in the US. The bills target cryptocurrency price… Read More

December 7, 2018 @ 8:32 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Australian Parliament passed a bill this week obliging tech firms like Google, Facebook and Apple to turn over encrypted data sought in police investigations, Reuters reports. “Let’s just make Australians safe over Christmas,” opposition Labor party leader Bill Shorten told reporters when asked about… Read More

December 6, 2018 @ 9:21 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Plaintiffs in Florida have brought a suit against Bitcoin Cash ABC, it’s leader Roger Ver, the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, and others, arguing the parties colluded, “to take control of the Bitcoin Cash network for personal gain…which caused a global capitalization meltdown of the Bitcoin Cash network… Read More

December 6, 2018 @ 6:37 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Chile has ruled that Chilean banks had every right to abruptly stop serving the OrionX cryptocurrency exchange last spring, Emol reports. The decision has been nine months in the making. Last April, 10 Chilean banks cut services to… Read More

December 6, 2018 @ 6:33 pm By JD Alois  |  

Several weeks back, CI covered the draft legislation for pan-European crowdfunding rules from the European Parliament. At that time, initial coin offerings (ICO) were part of the possible legislation. Crowdfunding is part of the European Union Fintech Action plan that directly aligns with the Capital… Read More

December 6, 2018 @ 3:16 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP – formerly known as the CFPB) has a new full-time director. Today, Kathleen Kraninger, a long time congressional staffer and DC veteran, was approved by the Senate. Kraninger will take over from interim director Mick Mulvaney who was also… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 7:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

US Department of the Treasury Under Secretary, Sigal Mandelker, told attendees of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference this week that she expects to cooperate with financial institutions to enhance their illicit finance countermeasures: “We encourage the private sector…to stay proactive and to innovate with new… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Scott Schirick  |  

November was a busy month for the SEC’s burgeoning regulation of digital assets. In the first action of its kind, the Commission brought enforcement proceedings against the founder of digital asset trading platform EtherDelta for operating as an unregistered securities “exchange.” Ten days later, the… Read More

December 5, 2018 @ 1:15 am By Cali Haan  |  

A South African Bitcoin trader is recovering in intensive care following his abduction and torture by bandits who allegedly robbed him of almost $66 000 USD in Bitcoin and cash. According to Soweto Urban, the man agreed to do a talk on cryptocurrency for a… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 2:15 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Department is seeking proposals from contractors skilled in blockchain forensics, data analysis, and information sharing. More specifically, the DHS/SBIR is satisfied with its ability to investigate transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain but seeks to be able… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 11:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at Blockland Cleveland yesterday, Congressman Warren Davidson, from Ohio’s 8th District, discussed forthcoming legislation that may dramatically impact the initial coin offering (ICO) industry in the US. Representative Warren said the draft legislation seeks to create a token that can trade but will not… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 9:22 am By JD Alois  |  

Multiple federal agencies have come together to encourage banks to innovate when it comes to compliance. The statement is part of a governmental working group that has been created to collaborate between some of the financial regulatory entities. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 7:49 am By JD Alois  |  

Seeking to create a united voice for the fast-moving blockchain industry, four prominent blockchain firms have joined together to create a new advocacy association, “Blockchain for Europe.” The new association hosted a policy summit last week that brought together industry stakeholders alongside the four largest… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 9:17 pm By Cali Haan  |  

At the end of a long speech about cultivating an honest and effective wealth management industry in China’s political and financial capital, Beijing, Huo Xuewen, nixed the idea ICOs (initial coin offerings) will be allowed to quickly morph into security tokens (STOs) anytime soon. According… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 9:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

London based Chambers, one of the legal industries most prestigious ranking entities, has just published their list of top ranking attorneys in the cryptocurrency and blockchain sector. Chambers seeks to identify the “best law firms globally, whether they are multi-national or boutique.” Law firms and… Read More

December 3, 2018 @ 9:05 am By Charles Kaufman & Jor Law  |  

Those who have read the SEC settlements with AirFox (CarrierEQ.Inc.) and Paragon Coin, Inc. published on November 16, 2018, will note that the defendant ICO issuers agreed, among other things, to register their “coins” under the Exchange Act (the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) by filing… Read More

December 2, 2018 @ 10:30 am By Dror Futter  |  

In late 2013, seed accelerator YCombinator introduced the SAFE (simple agreement for future equity) – a convertible instrument designed to make seed stage investing quicker and less expensive. The SAFEs quickly became a popular structure for seed investing.  Early this fall, YCombinator introduced several changes… Read More

December 1, 2018 @ 7:11 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A purported environmentally-friendly project for the mining of cryptocurrencies in Switzerland has been dissolved by a Swiss court as a result of bitter infighting by founders, Michael Luckow and Matthias Woestmann, Swiss news outlet Handelsblatt reports. A reported 30 000 investors may now have a… Read More

December 1, 2018 @ 11:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

Jared Rice Sr, the man behind AriseBank and the associated cryptocurrency/token, AriseCoin, has been indicted in the Northern District of Texas and, if convicted, faces a possible prison sentence of 120 years. Rice Sr was arrested by the FBI Wednesday and is charged with 3… Read More