Politics, Legal & Regulation

January 23, 2025 @ 12:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The shift from Democrat control to Republican control will have a dramatic impact on innovation in financial services. While the Democrat party has been firmly anti-Fintech innovation, Republicans have embraced tech improvements in financial services, and today is emblematic of the change as the Senate… Read More

January 23, 2025 @ 9:42 am By JD Alois  |  

The wealthy are easy targets for simple minds. The mantra of “paying their fair share” plays to the masses who want someone else to foot the bill for government services. The same wealthy tend to invest and spend, supporting businesses both old and new. Yet,… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 6:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced a new Crypto Task Force established with the mission of creating a regulatory framework for digital assets. After years of regulation by enforcement, the SEC is finally doing its job. The change arrived with the departure of Gary Gensler as… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 12:26 pm By JD Alois  |  

The new Trump administration has moved quickly to reverse the Biden administration’s anti-digital asset innovation policies. This week, Commissioner Mark Uyeda was selected as the acting Chair of the SEC. His first act was to create a Crypto Task Force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce,… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 11:18 am By JD Alois  |  

CI has received comments from Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, a regulated Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP), regarding the new Trump administration and its impact on digital assets. President Trump is well known for his support of crypto, and markets have responded positively… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 7:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fenergo, the provider of AI-powered solutions for Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-money Laundering (AML), transaction monitoring and Client Lifecycle Management (CLM), has released its analysis of financial institution enforcement actions for AML and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) violations from 1 Jan 2024, to 31 Dec… Read More

January 22, 2025 @ 7:42 am By Omar Faridi  |  

On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump granted a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the infamous (and now defunct) dark web marketplace, Silk Road. Ulbricht had been serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole since his 2015 conviction… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 5:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

President Donald Trump took to the podium once again to reveal a significant investment targeting Artificial Intelligence development. “Largest AI Infrastructure project in history” At a press event at the White House, the President introduced Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, Masayoshi (Masa) Son, CEO of… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 1:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Following the SEC debacle in regulating crypto under the direction of Chairman Gary Gensler, acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda has announced a new Crypto Task Force. Uyeda was just announced as the temporary Chair to lead the Commission. Following his selection, Acting Chair Uyeda said… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 1:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

As one of many Executive Actions taken by President Donald Trump, the Biden Executive Action pertaining to Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been rescinded. As posted on the White House website, Executive Order 14110 of October 30, 2023 (Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of… Read More

January 21, 2025 @ 9:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Commissioner Mark Uyeda has been designated the Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) following the inauguration of President Donald Trump and the exit of the Biden Administration. Former SEC Chairman Gary Gensler officially exited his leadership role at the Commission on the… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 3:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) says the next four years could be a “Golden Age” for entrepreneurs. While the Biden Administration was not exactly anti-entrepreneur, their policies fell far short of what could have been accomplished, and some policies were actively anti-innovation… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 3:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

While Republicans are celebrating the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the US, at least one Democrat is ignoring the festive atmosphere in the nation’s capital to lambast the new President. Representative Maxine Waters, the ranking Democrat on the House Financial Services… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 10:10 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has recently announced that, based on its preliminary results, it filed 200 total enforcement actions in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, which ran from October through December 2024, including “118 standalone enforcement actions.” The Division filed a… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 10:09 am By JD Alois  |  

Bitcoin bulls are on today as BTC nears $110,000 on the day of the Presidential inauguration. Today, at 12 noon ET, Donald Trump will become the 47th President after serving as the 45th President in an unprecedented return to office following four difficult years under… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 8:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Equifax, the nationwide consumer reporting agency, for its failure to conduct “proper investigations” of consumer disputes. The CFPB found Equifax (allegedly) “ignored consumer documents and evidence submitted with disputes, allowed previously deleted inaccuracies to be reinserted… Read More

January 20, 2025 @ 7:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Stablecoin issuer Circle has reportedly submitted its response to the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority’s (EIOPA) consultation on technical advice for standard formula capital requirements for making investments in crypto-assets. Circle is a global financial technology firm that enables businesses of all sizes to… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 4:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is operational as of today. DORA aims to harmonize the rules regarding digital operational resilience that apply to financial services firms like banks and more. DORA seeks to improve the incident reporting methodology with a single network which should… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 2:36 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission said that it had settled charges against Digital Currency Group Inc. (DCG), and Soichoro “Michael” Moro, the former CEO of DCG’s now-defunct subsidiary, Genesis Global Capital LLC. The settlement entails the payment of a civil penalty of $38.5 million. The… Read More

January 17, 2025 @ 11:44 am By JD Alois  |  

Senator Cynthia Lummis has sent a letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) telling the regulator not to destroy any information concerning the agency’s attempt to undermine digital asset innovation. It has been widely reported that the FDIC used its power and influence to… Read More