Politics, Legal & Regulation

November 25, 2018 @ 5:31 pm By Therese Torris  |  

While the price of bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies is experiencing one of its frequents crashes, the French government and the French regulators are steadfastly working hand in hand to make France a cryptoasset-friendly country. After tackling the issue of initial coin offering (ICO) regulation and… Read More

November 25, 2018 @ 7:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking last week at the Regulation of Cryptocurrencies event in London, Christopher Woolard, Executive Director of Strategy and Competition at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), outlined his agencies view of crypto assets and provided insight into possible regulation. Woolard defined digital assets or cryptocurrencies as falling under… Read More

November 24, 2018 @ 12:46 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A 19-year-old Israeli man with dual citizenship in the US has been sentenced in Tel Aviv to 10 years in prison for making and selling bomb and shooting attack threats against 2000 schools, hospitals, malls, airports, airlines, police stations, and Jewish community centres in the… Read More

November 24, 2018 @ 9:47 am By Cali Haan  |  

A class action suit against the world’s largest cryptocurrency mining equipment maker and cryptomining conglomerate, Bitmain, has been filed in Northern California. The suit will test rumours circulating in crypto circles for some time that allege Bitmain used customers’ newly-purchased machines to mine crypto at… Read More

November 22, 2018 @ 10:03 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Bank of France says that a much-publicized decision by its offshoot, The Prudential Supervisory Authority, to allow 3-4000 French tobacconists to start selling Bitcoin “coupons” has not been approved by the central bank itself, Europe 1 reports. According to a statement by the Bank of… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 6:35 pm By Cali Haan  |  

One of Asia’s largest stock exchanges is putting the breaks on any company already listed this is also looking to issue an ICO (initial coin offering). According to a recent blog post from the Singapore Exchange (SGX), companies already listing traditional equities on the SGX that… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 5:31 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A representative from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told attendees at The Regulation of Cryptocurrencies event in London today that he is concerned that “Complex, volatile and often leveraged derivatives products” built on cryptocurrencies with “underlying market integrity issues” are being marketed to retail… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 5:21 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Colorado has been particularly active in its pursuit of questionable initial coin offerings (ICOs) projects being marketed and made available to Colorado state residents. Now a release from the local securities regulator says the region’s Securities Commissioner, Gerald Rome, has signed cease and desist orders against… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 5:14 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The legal rights of a man at the centre of an international tug-of-war have been violated by the Greek justice system, a lawyer for accused BTC-e administrator Alexander Vinnik argued in court this week. “You have violated the rights of Alexander Vinnik, who hasn’t received… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 4:51 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Police in Manhattan have arrested and charged Nicholas Truglia, 21, with 21 counts of felony crimes related to hacks he allegedly conducted against 6 individuals, including a $1 million USD theft of cryptocurrencies from Silicon Valley executive Robert Ross. According to the New York Post,… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 6:55 am By Cali Haan  |  

A court case brought against the Central Bank of India for advising Indian banks to stop serving cryptocurrency exchanges has forced the Indian government to produce an affidavit that includes a timeline on when sector regulations can be expected, Quartz reports. The advisory to stop… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 5:56 am By Onki Kwan  |  

Last Friday, the SEC settled charges against two companies, CarrierEQ Inc. dba Airfox (“Airfox”) and Paragon Coin Inc. (“Paragon”), which raised money with initial coin offerings (“ICOs”).  The SEC found that both companies violated the registration provisions of the U.S. securities laws because neither company… Read More

November 21, 2018 @ 3:45 am By Cali Haan  |  

According to three sources to Bloomberg, a broad investigation into manipulation of cryptocurrency markets initiated last year by the US Department of Justice is now focussing on alleged Bitcoin price manipulation by creators of the Tether cryptocurrency and its origin exchange, Bitfinex. The two businesses are… Read More

November 20, 2018 @ 1:34 am By Cali Haan  |  

Veerathai Santiprabhob, the Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT), has laid to rest any notion that the general population of Thailand will be using a digital currency exclusively any time soon, Chiang Rai Times reports. The governor is more upbeat about prospects of his bank’s… Read More

November 19, 2018 @ 5:33 pm By Cali Haan  |  

After holding a series of 18 meetings to review Canada’s Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), the House Finance Committee has recommended that the Government of Canada regulate cryptocurrency businesses to prevent criminal use, iPolitics reports. The committee has been conducting meetings to… Read More

November 19, 2018 @ 3:05 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Chairperson for the International Business Forum, an organization established in 1995 to “provide a trustworthy global business network, especially for Muslim business-people,” says the organization is going to create a cryptocurrency to help Islamic countries evade controls associated with the US dollar, which has… Read More

November 19, 2018 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against two initial coin offerings (ICOs): Paragon (Paragon Coin Inc.) and AirFox (CarrierEQ Inc. dba Airfox). As the SEC recounted in their Administrative filing: Airfox: “Between August and October 2017, AirFox offered and then… Read More

November 19, 2018 @ 3:20 am By JD Alois  |  

Cannabis focused blockchain startup Paragon (Paragon Coin) has issued a press release following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) announcement last week that Paragon had settled with the SEC regarding charges of issuing an unregistered security. Paragon was one of two ICOs that were deemed… Read More

November 18, 2018 @ 8:55 am By JD Alois  |  

The Blockchain Bundesverband, an association for the promotion of blockchain technology in Germany, has announced a new think tank for token regulation. “thinkBLOCKtank” will release a joint paper supported by various European countries entitled EU Token Regulation as the group seeks to drive the regulatory… Read More

November 17, 2018 @ 2:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

CROSS-BORDER INTERBANK PAYMENT AND SETTLEMENTS: Emerging opportunities for digital transformation Three governmental agencies have collaborated on a report pertaining to payments and settlements seeking to join in a push for a unified approach to this sector of Fintech. The Bank of England, Bank of Canada… Read More