Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 31, 2025 @ 3:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) unveiled a Money Laundering National Risk Assessment (NRA) resource, designed to enable countries to strengthen their risk-based strategies in combating financial crime. This resource marks a step forward in the global effort to safeguard financial systems from money laundering,… Read More

August 31, 2025 @ 2:17 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said it had seized two marketplace domains and a blog operated by VerifTools, an online platform accused of producing and selling fraudulent identification documents to cybercriminals worldwide. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began probing… Read More

August 30, 2025 @ 5:06 pm By Joshua Ashley Klayman, Danelle Le Cren, John Hwang, Michael Bassett, Philip Lee and Jessica Blatz  |  

  Imagine this:  A lender, confident in its documentation, makes a secured loan to a borrower and takes a security interest in a portfolio of digital assets—only to learn, months later, that its “first priority” lien is no longer first priority. Why? Because the borrower’s… Read More

August 29, 2025 @ 3:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is enhancing its market surveillance and fraud detection capabilities by deploying Nasdaq’s surveillance technology. As the CFTC embraces an expanding regulatory remit, it will look to Nasdaq’s Market Surveillance platform to support its mission to promote market integrity. The… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 11:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant shift in its regulatory approach, the Federal Reserve Board announced on August 15, 2025, that it is discontinuing its dedicated program for supervising banks engaged in cryptocurrency and financial technology activities. This decision marks a notable step in the central bank’s evolving… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 10:31 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

US stocks were volatile this week after President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board of Governors, an unprecedented act that is intensifying fears about the erosion of the Fed’s independence. The ICE US Dollar Index shed… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 4:53 pm By JD Alois  |  

While the state of New York and New York City continue to raise taxes on the wealthy, the amount of revenue declines, according to a report. Of course, this paradigm seems obvious to all, except for politicians who make these decisions, it seems. The Laffer… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 3:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

  The US Department of Commerce has put its macroeconomic data onchain in partnership with Chainlink, according to a public statement. The information from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will include Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Personal Consumption Expenditures (CPE) Price Index, and Real Final… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 10:31 am By JD Alois  |  

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) has issued a demand that regulators must crack down on digital assets that “mimic equities.” This references the concept of tokenization or digital securities. These digital assets will eventually replace their analog relative, but it appears legacy exchanges are… Read More

August 28, 2025 @ 8:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Cryptocurrency’s rise as a global financial tool has brought both tech advancements and challenges, with illicit actors exploiting its decentralized and permissionless nature. As noted in an update from Chainalysis, recent enforcement actions underscore a concerted international effort to combat crypto-enabled crime, from pig butchering… Read More

August 27, 2025 @ 3:19 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Web3 discusses how rate cut signals and political pressures are shaping crypto flows, and what’s next for Bitcoin: “Rate cuts and political pressure are creating two reinforcing forces for crypto right now: on one side, lower rates weaken the dollar and push capital toward alternative… Read More

August 27, 2025 @ 2:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The PitchBook Q3 2025 Quantitative Perspectives: US Market Insights report has provided an analysis of the US private markets amidst a dynamic macroeconomic environment. The report examines trends across private equity, venture capital, real estate, real assets, and private debt, with a particular focus on… Read More

August 27, 2025 @ 11:45 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

While some view the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as a green light for lax regulation, Green Dot Senior Vice President and General Manager of Embedded Finance, Renata Caine, said many envision themselves in a strict environment for several important reasons. Green Dot offers debit,… Read More

August 27, 2025 @ 11:31 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

A new article from Vermiculus and GreySpark Partners describes the impacts of North America’s shift to T+1 settlement on international financial institutions. It is available here. The short answer, if you are pressed for time, is a lot. The shift has good motivations. Pandemic-induced market… Read More

August 26, 2025 @ 11:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (Austrac) has taken decisive action against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange in terms of trading volume and scope of operations, by ordering its Australian operations to undergo an external audit. The directive stems from what Austrac describes… Read More

August 26, 2025 @ 3:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

Going Public is a platform that aims to solve a challenge in the securities crowdfunding sector. Promoting online offerings to potential investors and, hopefully, raising sufficient funds to enable the issuer to execute its mission. Online capital formation has been around for over a decade…. Read More

August 26, 2025 @ 2:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

European digital bank bunq has been slapped with a €2.6 million penalty by the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) for substantial shortcomings in its anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) measures. The fine, announced recently, underscores the growing regulatory scrutiny faced by challenger banks as… Read More

August 26, 2025 @ 3:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the UAE capital’s premier international financial center, has recently introduced two significant initiatives aimed at enhancing governance, transparency, and investor confidence in its jurisdiction. These developments—a new real estate-focused permit service and finalized amendments to the Financial Services Regulatory Authority’s… Read More

August 26, 2025 @ 12:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a seemingly significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a statement clarifying that writing code does not constitute a criminal act. This announcement marks a potential turning point in how the U.S. government approaches enforcement actions within… Read More

August 25, 2025 @ 10:30 am By David J. Tucker  |  

For Fintech startups and their investors, getting a foothold in today’s marketplace is especially daunting. For every fintech startup, there are three that don’t succeed. At both the state and federal levels, there is increasing government scrutiny of fintech platforms, products, and services. Differences in… Read More