Politics, Legal & Regulation

November 11, 2018 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore Exchange (SGX) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have announced a successful blockchain pilot of “Payment (DvP) capabilities for the settlement of tokenized assets across different blockchain platforms.” The two entities have a goal of simplifying back-office operations, post-trade processes while shortening trade settlement… Read More

November 10, 2018 @ 3:52 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Colorado Securities Commissioner Gerald Rome has ordered four more issuers of initial coin offerings to stop selling unregistered securities in the Western American state. The latest round of cease and desist orders brings the total number of ICOs now sanctioned by Colorado to 12. Bitcoin… Read More

November 9, 2018 @ 1:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

Dr. Hilda Cathy Heine, President of the Marshall Islands, is taking some heat from her plan to convert the Marshall Island’s currency from the US dollar to their own cryptocurrency. The Blockchain based “SOV” currency was approved and signed into law back in February. The… Read More

November 9, 2018 @ 8:35 am By JD Alois  |  

It has been a few choppy weeks in Germany for the blockchain / digital asset industry. Last month, a German court ruled that Bitcoin was not a financial instrument. The case centered around an enterprising teenager who launched a Bitcoin exchange five years ago. He was… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 3:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry, an ardent supporter of small business and Fintech innovation, has announced his intent to become the ranking Republican on the House Financial Services Committee. Following the loss of the US House of Representatives to the Democrats, all Committee Chairs migrate to… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 3:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, the first enforcement action was taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a cryptocurrency exchange; EtherDelta. Prior to this, the SEC had only targeted issuers and promoters of crypto – largely for fraud and selling unregistered securities.  While the action against EtherData is… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 3:10 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Venezuelan government has initiated a savings plan based on the country’s controversial new cryptocurrency, El Petro, and is somehow promising that investors will see their money appreciate or at least stay stable, Telesur reports. The scheme, however, will require interested parties to obtain one… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 11:10 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges against Zachary Coburn, the founder of EtherDelta, a cryptocurrency exchange. This is the SEC’s first enforcement action against a crypto exchange and marks a noted shift in the Commission’s dealing with secondary transactions of digital assets. The SEC… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

Last month, BaFin, Germany’s security regulator, launched a public consultation on the subject of virtual currencies (or crypto). The regulator has published a draft circular regarding sector due diligence. The BaFin circular seeks a reasonable and risk-oriented approach to virtual currency. The proposed circular addresses credit, financial services, payments and e-money… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 2:55 am By Cali Haan  |  

A dedicated team established by the Central Bank of Isreal to consider whether the country should establish a state digital currency has determined that risks, complexities, a lack of need and a lack of globally-established standards means that Isreal will not be issuing a central bank… Read More

November 8, 2018 @ 1:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Matching what several European countries have already done, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of European Parliament voted this week to boost the crowdfunding cap to € 8 million across all of the European member states. This stands in contrast to an existing proposal emanating out of… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 5:28 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Pilates, a private bank accused by murdered journalist Daphne Carauna Galizia of laundering money for Maltese politicians and foreign interests, has lost its license, Financial Times reports. The license was withdrawn last Friday by the European Central Bank (ECB), several months after Pilatus’ founder and ex-chairman Seyed… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 2:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Texas State Securities Board has issued an emergency cease and desist order to two ostensible cryptocurrency miners. Yesterday, the C&Ds were placed against Quebec, Canada-based EXY Crypto, and AWS Mining PTY Ltd., based in Sydney, Australia. Texas Securities Commissioner Travis J. Iles issued a statement indicating the… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Yesterday, mid-term elections took place in the US and while the Republicans maintained control of the Senate, the House of Representatives moved over to the Democrats. This split government means that an already divisive, and at times excessively acrimonious, political environment will get even more… Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 10:17 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, at the StartEngine Summit during LA Blockchain Week, CI had the chance to sit down with prominent securities attorney Linda Lerner. Lerner is Senior Counsel at Crowell Moring and a veteran lawyer with deep experience and expertise in securities issuance and regulation of stock exchanges…. Read More

November 7, 2018 @ 7:03 am By JD Alois  |  

Perkins Coie has hired a former US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Division of Enforcement counsel Kari Larsen. She has joined the law firm’s Blockchain Technology & Digital Currency industry group and Investment Management practice in New York. Larsen began her career as International Operations Counsel… Read More

November 6, 2018 @ 9:22 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Ontario Securities Commission, regulator of capital markets in Canada’s most populous economic-powerhouse province, have created a colourful new website to educate investors about cryptocurrencies: GetSmarterAboutCrypto.ca According to a release announcing the initiative, 5% of adult Ontarians, or around 500 000 individuals, now own “crypto assets,”… Read More

November 6, 2018 @ 6:00 am By JD Alois  |  

France is positioning itself as a jurisdiction of preference for initial coin offerings (ICOs) in Europe. The government is in the midst of finalizing legislation, under the PACTE Law,  that will regulate ICOs. While several other European countries have moved forward with specific legislation designed… Read More

November 5, 2018 @ 10:26 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Chief Secretary and the Head of the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad  (SABA) along with an accused Serbian co-conspirator, have been detained by Bulgarian police and charged with selling EU passports for Bitcoins, Nova and The Times report. According to the Times, SABA Head Petar Haralampiev has been arrested on… Read More

November 5, 2018 @ 3:04 pm By Cali Haan  |  

As part of ongoing government efforts to quash initial coin offerings (ICOs) in China, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has extended prohibitions to cover “airdrops” -the promotional distribution of free cryptographic tokens- which may possibly be being used now in China to circumvent the… Read More