Politics, Legal & Regulation

October 20, 2018 @ 6:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawless, ill-conceived, and destabilizing of financial markets. While most level headed individuals will have the opinion this statement best describes the New York Department of Financial Services (NY DFS) and their anti-Fintech point of view, think again. This is how the DFS describes the Office… Read More

October 19, 2018 @ 3:34 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Florida law firm Silver Miller has combined six class action cases against BitConnect into one case, and the case will be pursued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Coindesk reports. Silver-Miller has asked for a jury trial. The case not… Read More

October 19, 2018 @ 11:17 am By Aubrey Hansen   |  

The European Union does not need to seek out any problems for the moment, with the highly publicized ‘divorce’ from the UK taking place in the full media spotlight, but it’s easy to forget that, as things stand, the EU is also taking its approach… Read More

October 19, 2018 @ 9:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), the group that represents state, provincial and territorial securities regulators, has published their annual enforcement report for 2017. Each year, NASAA correlates a summary of all the legal actions, including penalties and criminal prosecution from the US, Canada and… Read More

October 19, 2018 @ 7:16 am By Cali Haan  |  

US Marshals have announced that they will sell 660 bitcoins in two online sealed-bid auctions November 5th between 8 AM to 2 PM EST. A deposit of $200 000 USD per series is required by October 31st, 2018 to participate. The bitcoins on auction were… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 3:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has obtained final judgement against Richard J. Greenlaw, a founder of a medical marijuana company. According to the SEC, Greenlaw created 20 affiliated entities and then raised $500,000 from investors by using Craigslist – the popular online classified site. The twenty cannabis-related… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 3:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a new “FinHub” described as a strategic hub for innovation and financial technology or Fintech. According to the SEC, the FinHub will serve as a resource for public engagement on the SEC’s Fintech related issues and initiatives. These… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 1:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Last week, the North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler issued three separate Cease & Desist (C&D) orders against three initial coin offerings (ICOs). The new C&Ds are part of an ongoing initiative by the Commissioner and the Department’s ICO Task Force which is investigating questionable… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 12:01 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Developers that write predictive smart contracts could be subject to various types of enforcement action and liability, CFTC Commissioner Brian Quintenz told an audience in Dubai yesterday. Quintenz, whose agency regulates derivatives markets in the US, singled out both securities-preformance predictive software (“It could look… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 10:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has scheduled the annual Government-Business Forum on Small Business Capital Formation for this coming December and this year they are taking the event to the Buckeye state. The SEC announced today the Forum will be held at the Ohio State… Read More

October 18, 2018 @ 7:56 am By Erin Hobey  |  

According to the GFSC, Gibraltar “is committed to being a sound and safe place to do business with and is considering a complementary regulatory framework covering the promotion and sale of tokens, aligned with the DLT framework.” As expected, crypto platforms are taking advantage the… Read More

October 17, 2018 @ 7:38 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Colorado Division of Securities posted a note this week about issuing “final” Cease & Desist orders pertaining to two companies promoting initial coin offerings (ICOs). The C&D referenced selling un-registered securities in the state. Davor, offering the DavorCoin, and Cyber Capital Invest, offering CCI… Read More

October 17, 2018 @ 12:21 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Former CFTC Chairperson and Current MIT Lecturer Gary Gensler told reporters at Bloomberg Monday that cryptocurrency markets need more protection than commodities: “The pure cash cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin need more protection, and probably more protection, than, frankly, even the oil markets and corn and wheat.”… Read More

October 17, 2018 @ 9:00 am By Cali Haan  |  

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has, “caution(ed) the general public on the use of crypto currency and other virtual currencies,” in the small archipelago nation lying southwest of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean, though the overall status of cryptocurrencies there remains grey. The press release… Read More

October 16, 2018 @ 9:46 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued temporary rules for companies that issued securities under Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) and Regulation A (Reg A+). The rules provide relief for victims of Hurricane Michael. The “interim final temporary rule”  extends the deadline for issuers subject to… Read More

October 16, 2018 @ 1:31 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A Stanford-trained Brazilian professor of computer science has left several of the sacred cows of Bitcoin wounded in the field after submitting a systematic take down of several of the coin’s tropes to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In early July, the SEC… Read More

October 15, 2018 @ 8:32 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Central Bank of Zambia has issued a press release warning locals that it is the only body with the legal right to issue currency in the country. Cryptocurrencies in Zambia, therefore, are neither, “overseen, supervised nor regulated,” by the bank and should only be… Read More

October 15, 2018 @ 2:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

This just popped into the inbox and for US based online capital formation platforms – this will be a must view live stream. On Tuesday, October 23rd, The Heritage Foundation will be hosting a live presentation at their office in Washington, DC. The topic of… Read More

October 15, 2018 @ 11:58 am By Cali Haan  |  

Properly regulating the cryptocurrency sector is a complex affair, says outgoing Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) chairperson Carlson Tong, but a complete ban is futile: “We do not think imposing a total ban on these platforms is necessarily the right approach, and it will… Read More

October 15, 2018 @ 11:00 am By Barry James  |  

On the brink of Brexit, whatever happens, and as the USA cedes it, Britain can – and should – be again providing leadership at a historic turning point for the world. However, despite warm words and good intentions, we have started shooting ourselves in the… Read More