Politics, Legal & Regulation

April 23, 2026 @ 12:10 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is under indictment by the US Department of Justice (DOJ). The indictment followed the convening of a grand jury, an independent group of citizens, who determined there was probable cause to pursue the charges. In an announcement yesterday, the… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 11:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Digital asset exchange Kraken revealed it issued more than 56 million Form 1099-DA tax documents to the IRS for the 2025 tax year. The vast majority of these filings—nearly one-third for transactions under $1, over half for $10 or less, and three-quarters below $50—highlight how… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 10:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Today, the Blockchain Association and the Crypto Council for Innovation have joined to demand that the Senate Banking Committee move forward with crypto market infrastructure legislation, the CLARITY Act. The letter authored by the two advocacy groups has garnered the support of more than 100… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 8:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Prediction market platform Kalshi has taken decisive steps to combat potential insider trading, imposing fines and suspensions on three congressional candidates who placed bets on the outcomes of their own election campaigns. The actions, announced on April 22, 2026, underscore the company’s commitment to tightening… Read More

April 23, 2026 @ 6:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Elliptic has indicated that the United Kingdom’s updated regulatory framework for crypto-assets has now moved from planning to a firm schedule. Lawmakers approved the scope of oversight earlier this year, and on 15 April 2026 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued Consultation Paper CP26/13, clarifying… Read More

April 22, 2026 @ 2:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

New York Attorney General Letitia James has sued both Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and  Gemini (NASDAQ:GEMI), alleging the operation of illegal gambling platforms. The NY AG noted that both platforms enable prediction markets that allow users to bet on events such as sports and elections. The announcement said that… Read More

April 21, 2026 @ 5:22 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US House of Representatives approved the CLARITY Act on July 17, 2025. The bill garnered bipartisan support with 294 voting for the legislation and 124 against. Unfortunately, the success in the House has not carried over to the Senate, as the legislation remains stalled… Read More

April 21, 2026 @ 12:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Today, HM Treasury introduced new measures to improve the payments sector and boost the ecosystem’s competitiveness. The policy incorporates items such as stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and more. HM Treasury highlights the fact that over 3000 Fintech firms operate in the UK, with the sector attracting… Read More

April 21, 2026 @ 11:41 am By JD Alois  |  

Kevin Warsh is on the hot seat today as he is up to take over as the Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, and his confirmation hearing is pointedly partisan as expected. While Republicans obviously support the nomination, Democrats aim to find ways to make… Read More

April 20, 2026 @ 3:04 pm By JD Alois  |  

After four years of virtual stasis, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (SBCFAC) is doing what it should be doing and seeking ways to improve markets. The Committee’s next meeting, scheduled for April 28th, will discuss the moribund IPO… Read More

April 20, 2026 @ 12:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

DTCC and CME Group jointly announced they have secured necessary approvals from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to roll out an enhanced cross-margining framework. The initiative aims to deliver greater capital and margin efficiencies to a… Read More

April 20, 2026 @ 8:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The American Fintech Council (AFC), an association that represents many large online lenders and other Fintechs, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) strategic plan needs additional clarification. The CFPB is a relatively new regulatory that was one of the aspects of the Dodd Frank… Read More

April 20, 2026 @ 1:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) have published a detailed review concluding that the United Kingdom maintains a robust and largely compliant framework for overseeing two critical categories of financial… Read More

April 20, 2026 @ 12:29 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has taken significant steps so far in April 2026 to bolster consumer protection and regulatory standards across the island’s financial landscape. On 8 April, the regulator unveiled a public-private partnership designed to combat financial fraud more effectively, while just… Read More

April 18, 2026 @ 6:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

During a recent keynote address delivered in Washington DC, Piero Cipollone, member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Executive Board, argued that tokenization and distributed ledger technology (DLT) represent a rare opportunity to break a century-old pattern in finance. Despite waves of technological progress—from electronic… Read More

April 17, 2026 @ 12:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On April 16, 2026, Grinex—a cryptocurrency exchange registered in Kyrgyzstan but deeply connected to Russian financial networks—suspended all operations after suffering a large-scale cyber intrusion. The platform stated that hackers had drained user assets worth approximately $15 million, equivalent to more than one billion Russian… Read More

April 17, 2026 @ 5:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has joined forces with research and technology partners at the Turing Institute and Plenitude Consulting to create a synthetic dataset designed to enhance the fight against money laundering. This initiative tackles a long-standing obstacle in financial crime prevention: the… Read More

April 16, 2026 @ 12:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

This post on X distributed yesterday generated a good number of views. It includes a 2014 letter to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that highlights the poor state of the US tax code. Donald Rumsfeld, an old pol who passed away in 2021, who… Read More

April 15, 2026 @ 3:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ohio’s gambling oversight agency has formally notified prediction market leader Kalshi of its intent to impose a $5 million fine, marking a sharp escalation in the state’s crackdown on unlicensed sports-related trading. The Ohio Casino Control Commission (OCCC) issued the notice Tuesday afternoon to KalshiEX… Read More

April 15, 2026 @ 11:12 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has posted a consultation on crypto. The securities regulator noted taht beginning October 2027, crypto will be regulated by the agency. This fact means that the FCA must provide new guidance for participants in the crypto sector and thus… Read More