Politics, Legal & Regulation

August 31, 2024 @ 6:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry association for exchanges and central clearing counterparties, has released recommendations that establish good practice for crypto-asset custody providers, drawing lessons from traditional financial markets to guide the emerging digital asset space. The ruling against FTX and… Read More

August 31, 2024 @ 3:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order filing and settling charges against Nasdaq Futures, Inc., formerly a designated contract market (DCM). The order finds Nasdaq Futures, Inc. reportedly failed “to properly establish, monitor, or enforce rules related to an incentive program Nasdaq Futures, Inc. offered… Read More

August 30, 2024 @ 2:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Biden administration’s regulatory approach towards crypto-assets has led to considerable restructuring at a relatively small, yet somewhat prominent digital assets bank. FOX Business has revealed that Custodia Bank, a Wyoming based financial institution that provides various banking services to crypto firms, said  Thursday that… Read More

August 29, 2024 @ 10:24 am By JD Alois  |  

In a working paper posted yesterday, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) posted a treatise on Novel risks, mitigants and uncertainties with permissionless distributed ledger technologies (DLT). The executive summary of the paper is brief, explaining: “Banks that transact on permissionless blockchains or similar distributed… Read More

August 28, 2024 @ 9:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

OakNorth – the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs – announces that it has secured authorization from the Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for a Representative Office in New York. The authorization will enable OakNorth to “proactively market… Read More

August 27, 2024 @ 11:02 am By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed fraud charges and received an emergency asset freeze regarding a $60 million Ponzi scam. The SEC alleges that brothers Tanner Adam and Jonathan Adam, along with their firms GCZ Global LLC and Triten Financial Group LLC, told… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 10:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has released the Consultation Paper No. 7 of 2024 containing proposals to enhance its regulatory framework to “allow the issuance of Fiat-Referenced Tokens (FRTs) from the ADGM and invites public feedback and comments on the… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 10:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) has shared insights addressing the following question: Why the presidential election could be decided by young crypto voters? As noted in a blog post by Coinbase, young voters made “the difference in the 2020 U.S. elections and are expected to be a deciding… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 7:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tether, which claims to be among the largest companies in the digital asset industry, reaffirms its commitment to combat illicit activities, “stop illegal use of stablecoin technology, and provide support to victims through its assistance to, and support of, law enforcement agencies globally.” As the… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 6:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On August 23, 2024, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced further sanctions against nearly 400 entities as a part of ongoing multilateral efforts “to weaken Russia’s military supply chain and procurement networks.” Chainalysis noted in a blog… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 5:27 pm By JD Alois  |  

Global crypto exchange and digital asset innovator Binance has received a letter of appreciation from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB) of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF). The letter was in recognition of their assistance in a kidnapping case. According to the letter signed… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 4:23 pm By JD Alois  |  

Plutus Lending LLC, DBA Abra, has been charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with offering and selling a retail crypto asset lending product. Abra has settled the charges without admitting or denying them. Abra has consented to an injunction prohibiting it from violating the… Read More

August 26, 2024 @ 4:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, touched on multiple topics pertaining to Fintech at a global conference entitled Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Emerging Technologies are expected to shape the futures of all economies, said… Read More

August 25, 2024 @ 6:52 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has uncovered unsatisfactory practices at several “deemed-to-be-licensed” cryptocurrency exchange platforms during recent on-site inspections, according to a Bloomberg report. These findings come as the city pushes forward with its ambition to become a leading digital-asset hub, but faces… Read More

August 25, 2024 @ 6:00 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

While the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) recent interpretive rule on earned wage access (EWA) products has generated plenty of interest, Jason Lee believes history will view it as a small, but inevitable step towards its logical conclusion – zero-fee products. Lee is the founder… Read More

August 24, 2024 @ 7:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s supreme court has updated its interpretation of the nation’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) laws in order recognize “virtual asset” transfers for the first time ever. China passed its AML law on January 1, 2007, making the most recent update its first major one in 20… Read More

August 22, 2024 @ 12:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pushing to demand Climate Disclosure mandates for public firms. Climate Disclosure is part of a broader ESG agenda – infusing regulation with a social agenda. Having approved new rules, the new mandate is now being challenged in the… Read More

August 22, 2024 @ 10:15 am By JD Alois  |  

In 2020, the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution (ACPR) added OmegaPro and affiliated platforms to its “blacklist” of trading platforms that consumers should avoid. Unfortunately, that was insufficient to deter people from throwing good money… Read More

August 20, 2024 @ 3:20 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled charges against Equiniti, a transfer agent, for losing clients’ money. Equiniti has paid $850,000 in a civil penalty to settle the charges. According to the SEC, Equiniti was the target of a “threat actor” who pretended to… Read More

August 20, 2024 @ 11:45 am By JD Alois  |  

According to the UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), in 2023, approximately 4.5 billion transactions were made using the Faster Payments system. At the same time, over 252,626 cases of APP Fraud (APPF or authorized push payment fraud) were reported, totaling around £341 million. Other reports… Read More