Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 18, 2025 @ 1:14 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The European Central Bank (ECB) has released three insightful working papers in 2025, shedding light on critical aspects of monetary policy, inflation dynamics, and financial stability. These set of ECB Working Papers aim to offer contributions to economic research, providing policymakers, academics, and financial institutions… Read More

August 17, 2025 @ 4:05 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The US Department of the Treasury launched a public comment period seeking input on innovative technologies that financial institutions could use to detect illicit activity involving digital assets, including artificial intelligence and blockchain monitoring tools. The request fulfills requirements under the GENIUS Act, the stablecoin legislation… Read More

August 16, 2025 @ 10:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a recent appearance on Mornings with Maria, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins voiced strong support for President Trump’s executive order aimed at broadening investment opportunities for 401(k) retirement plans by including cryptocurrencies and private equity. Atkins emphasized that this policy shift… Read More

August 15, 2025 @ 5:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

DealMaker, a leading platform supporting online capital formation, recently met with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to discuss crypto. DealMaker is a tech-infused broker-dealer that enables issuers to raise funds under Reg D, Reg CF, and Reg A. DealMaker has facilitated several billion in… Read More

August 15, 2025 @ 2:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Big banks are quivering in their boots as a push for more defined rules for Open Banking may enable more competition from innovative financial services firms. Several banks have announced that they will charge fees for data gleaned from their operations and leveraged by many… Read More

August 15, 2025 @ 9:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Recently, the UK government announced plans to tackle rampant ransomware, proposing a solution that bans certain entities from paying the perpetrators. Ransomware costs the UK economy millions of pounds each year due to cyber extortionists. According to Chainalysis, the total value of payments made to… Read More

August 14, 2025 @ 3:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Early Warning Services, LLC (EWS), a company owned and controlled by a group of the largest banks in the United States that was tasked with developing and operating the electronic payment platform Zelle, for failing to protect its users… Read More

August 14, 2025 @ 11:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Garantex Europe OU, a crypto exchange based in Russia (originally registered in Estonia), has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury. The sanctions were applied due to claims that Garantex was aiding criminals and sanction evasion. The crypto exchange is said to have… Read More

August 14, 2025 @ 9:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Open banking (or Open Finance) is a global concept that states financial data generated by users should be transferable if the customer or business approves. In other words, the user owns the data and not the bank. In the UK, this is mandated, making it… Read More

August 13, 2025 @ 12:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

Debanking, or compelling financial services firms to close accounts due to allegations of disfavored associations such as political affiliations, is hopefully at an end. During the Biden Administration, there were too many reports of individuals and businesses finding their banks had decided to shutter their… Read More

August 13, 2025 @ 8:04 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Kraken is now live in all 30 countries of the European Economic Area (EEA) under our Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) license – a significant milestone that “expands their secure, compliant crypto offering to millions of people across Europe.” All EEA clients are now directly… Read More

August 12, 2025 @ 10:29 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier today, inflation numbers were released, and the rate of increase landed about where expected. The CPI increased by 2.7% in July on an annual basis. The core CPI, removing food and energy, was a bit hotter at 3.1% in July 2025 from July 2024…. Read More

August 12, 2025 @ 2:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

How things have changed at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). During the last administration, digital assets were vilified to an extreme. While telling crypto innovators to come in and chat, the offer was viewed as more of a trap. Some in the cryptosphere simply… Read More

August 12, 2025 @ 8:03 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK government is claiming that Amazon is in breach of its “no delay in payments” rule, harming its UK-based vendors. In the UK, it is recognized that delayed payments to vendors can impact a company’s performance, especially for smaller firms. The Groceries Code Adjudicator… Read More

August 11, 2025 @ 9:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon is reportedly moving toward entering a guilty plea in a $40 billion criminal fraud case, according to a statement from a Manhattan federal judge on Monday. The announcement, made ahead of a trial scheduled for 2026, follows weeks of negotiations… Read More

August 11, 2025 @ 9:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Paxos, a regulated blockchain infrastructure and tokenization platform, announced that it has filed an application to convert its New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) trust charter into a national trust charter under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)…. Read More

August 11, 2025 @ 5:10 pm By Michael Wong  |  

El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly has approved comprehensive Investment Banking Law legislation establishing specialized financial institutions for high-net-worth and institutional clients. The measure passed with 55 votes during the assembly’s 68th plenary session. The law creates a regulatory framework for investment banks offering asset management, financial… Read More

August 11, 2025 @ 9:14 am By JD Alois  |  

Republic, the largest online capital formation platform in the world, has recently introduced a new product for investors. “Mirror Tokens” are digital assets that provide access for smaller investors to participate in private securities that are typically inaccessible to them. The Mirror Tokens pair with… Read More

August 10, 2025 @ 5:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In collaboration with the Digital Asset Development Research Center and FinTech Center of Institute for Information Industry, Regtech company Sumsub took a closer look at Taiwan’s proposed Virtual Assets Service Act and anti-fraud legislations, supporting global-standard compliance across APAC. Sumsub recently joined the Digital Asset… Read More

August 9, 2025 @ 10:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris announced that Paxos Trust Company will pay a $26.5 million penalty to New York State for the alleged ‘failure to conduct sufficient due diligence of its former partner, Binance, and systemic failures in Paxos’s… Read More