Policy

May. 29, 2023

Gemini and Bankrupt Lender Genesis Asks U.S. Court to Dismiss SEC Lawsuit Targeting Earn Program

Bankrupt crypto lender Genesis Global Capital and exchange platform Gemini are asking a U.S. court to dismiss a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging the two sold unregistered securities, court filings from Friday show. Th...

Policy

May. 29, 2023

Indian Crypto Exchanges Are in Survival Mode, Trying to Extend Their Runways

Indian crypto exchanges are in survival mode, cutting costs wherever possible, re-negotiating partner contracts, suspending employee pay-hikes, conducting lay-offs, exploring new revenue models and rebranding themselves, all in an effort to exten...

Policy

May. 26, 2023

Gulf Binance Clinches Thai Regulatory Approval

Gulf Binance, a joint venture between crypto exchange Binance and Gulf Energy’s innovation arm Gulf Innova, has received a digital asset operator license in Thailand, according to a Friday press release . The rubber-stamp from Thailand’s Minist...

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May. 26, 2023

Coinmint Sues California Chipmaker for $23M, Alleging ‘Elaborate Deception’

New York crypto miner Coinmint alleged two semiconductor companies set up an “elaborate deception” to lure the miner into a $150 million purchase agreement, in a lawsuit seeking over $23 million in damages. Coinmint alleged that bitcoin technolo...

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May. 26, 2023

Crypto Exchange Coinone's Former Exec Acknowledges Bribery Charges in South Korea: Report

A former executive of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, who was accused of taking bribes in return for listing certain coins, has acknowledged the charges, local news agency Yonhap reported on Thursday . "Mr Jeon," Coinone's former ...

Policy

May. 26, 2023

EU Investment Firms Should Clearly State Crypto Is Unregulated, Watchdog Says

Investment firms in the European Union that offer crypto alongside more traditional products could be misleading their consumers into a false sense of security, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) said in a Thursday statement . ...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Alameda-Backed ‘Samcoins’ CEO Alex Grebnev Sued by CoinTelegraph Owner Gregory Fishman

Alex Grebnev, CEO of the Maps.me (MAPs) and Oxygen (OXY) cryptocurrency projects closely linked to Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed FTX empire, is being sued by Gregory Fishman, reportedly an owner of crypto news site CoinTelegraph on allegations of ...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Brazil's Central Bank Selects 14 Participants for CBDC Pilot

The Central Bank of Brazil selected 14 selected institutions to participate in the pilot of the digital real, the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Published Wednesday, the list includes major local private banks such as Bradesco, ...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Norway Should Consider a National Strategy for Crypto Regulation: Norges Bank Report

Norway should consider a national strategy for crypto regulation, said Norges Bank, the country's central bank, in a Thursday report. Countries around the world have been looking at the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

French Lawmakers Strike Softer Deal on Crypto Influencer Law

French lawmakers on a key legislative committee have unanimously agreed to new rules restricting crypto promotions by social media influencers, according to a Thursday statement from the country’s Senate . According to a statement by Arthur De...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

South Africa’s Crypto Firms Will Soon Need to Apply for Registration or Face a Heavy Fine

Crypto companies looking to operate in South Africa will need to apply for a license from the country’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in the six months starting June 1. While South African crypto companies have welcomed the new lic...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

South Korea Lawmakers Pass Law Requiring Officials to Disclose Crypto Holdings: Report

Lawmakers in South Korea passed legislation on Thursday that will require officials to report their crypto holdings, local outlet News1 reported. The "Kim Nam-kuk Prevention Act" passed the plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursda...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Crypto Conglomerates, DeFi Targets of EU Financial Stability Watchdog Concerns

The European Union’s financial stability watchdog has said that new regulations may be needed to cover large crypto conglomerates and smart contracts, as it warns that a growing digital asset and decentralized finance (DeFi) sector may come to po...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Lawyers Challenging U.S. Tornado Cash Sanctions Say Free Speech Is at Stake

Are smart contracts property? Are holders of a protocol’s token members of an unincorporated association? Is banning open-source software an attack on free speech? Those are the questions before a U.S. court in Austin, Texas, as a lawsuit fro...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Do Kwon's Detention in Montenegro Extended After High Court Decision to Revoke Bail

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will remain in detention while he faces charges of falsifying official documents in Montenegro after a request for bail was approved and later revoked, according to a court statement from Thursday. Although t...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

Fahrenheit Wins Bid to Acquire Assets of Insolvent Crypto Lender Celsius

Crypto consortium Fahrenheit has won a bid to acquire insolvent lender Celsius Network, whose assets were previously valued at around $2 billion, according to court filings made early in the hours of Thursday morning. The group will acquire Cels...

Policy

May. 25, 2023

DeSantis: ‘Bitcoin Represents a Threat to the Current Regime’

The latest contender for the leadership of the Republican Party said he is an advocate for crypto. “The current regime, clearly, has it out for Bitcoin,” Ron DeSantis said during a Twitter space with Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks ...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Excavating the Truth Around the Bitcoin Mining Discourse

Last year, a group of CoinDesk reporters traveled to Seneca Lake to examine the effect Greenidge Generation – a resurrected power plant that now mines bitcoin – had on the surrounding communities. Though we expected to hear locals say they dislik...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Crypto Execs Give Washington Influence Another Go With FTX Anchor Around Necks

When Washington, D.C., lawmakers tune into their favorite Sunday morning political shows this week, they’ll also get a dose of crypto messaging, thanks to a Coinbase (COIN) campaign that’s part of the next stage in the industry’s attempt to influ...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Montenegro High Court Says No Bail for Terra's Do Kwon in Fake Passport Case: Bloomberg

A Montenegro high court has annulled a decision by a lower court to release Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon on bail as he faces charges of attempting to travel with falsified documents, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The Basic Court of t...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Black Market for Worldcoin Credentials Pops Up in China

Worldcoin, a crypto project by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has gained some traction in China, with users rushing to source know-your-customer (KYC) verifications on the black market. Worldcoin’s crypto wallet, World App, is not available in mainland C...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Crypto, TradFi Broadly Welcome IOSCO’s Proposed Norms for Digital Asset Markets

Industry stakeholders have largely welcomed new norms for the crypto sector proposed by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) on Wednesday – but are uncertain how the rules will look in effect. The regulator's 18 pol...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Tornado Cash Dev Facing Dutch Charges to Question Chainalysis Data Alleging Criminal Links

‘S HERTOGENBOSCH, the Netherlands – Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev will be allowed to cross-question blockchain analytics company Chainalysis as he seeks to clear his name of money laundering charges, a Dutch court ruled on Wednesday. Per...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

Japan to Enforce Tougher Crypto Anti-Money Laundering Laws Next Month: Report

Japan is set to implement stricter anti-money laundering measures, including the so-called "travel rule" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) from June 1, according to local news outlet Kyodo News . The decision was made by Japan's cabinet...

Policy

May. 24, 2023

FATF Did Not Require Pakistan to Ban Crypto to Stay Off Its 'Grey List'

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) does "not require countries to indiscriminately ban virtual assets and virtual asset service providers," it told CoinDesk in an email after Pakistan's finance minister reportedly said the global money launde...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

Upstream Data Sues Crusoe Energy Over Waste Gas Mining Patent

Canada-based natural gas bitcoin ( BTC ) miner Upstream Data has sued peer Crusoe Energy over patent infringement, according to court filings. The lawsuit claims that Crusoe's technology infringes on Upstream Data founder Stephen Barbour's paten...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

The Bitcoin Mining Debate Is Ignoring the People Most Affected

THE TAKEAWAY: New York-based crypto mining facility Greenidge Generation has found itself at the center of state and national debates about the impact mining firms have on the environment and their local communities. In New York at least, this...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

Binance Blasts 'Desperate' Reuters Report It Commingled Customer and Company Funds

Binance is firing back at a Reuters special report from Tuesday that said the crypto exchange commingled customer funds with company revenue. The report, citing unnamed "former insiders," said the funds in question "ran into billions of dollar...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

EU Banks Could Access Stablecoins More Easily Under Leaked Plans

The European Commission wants to make it easier for commercial lenders to hold stablecoins and tokenized assets, after lawmakers pushed to discourage crypto holdings as part of a wider banking reform. A leaked document seen by CoinDesk seeks to ...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

U.S. is 'Losing' the Bitcoin Movement: Cathie Wood

Cathie Wood, founder of investment manager ARK Invest, has said the U.S. is 'losing' the bitcoin movement owing to its regulatory system. Speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Next Gen conference last week, Wood described how the center of gravity...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

U.S. Treasury Sanctions North Korean-Owned Binance Wallets; Says Entities Used Funds to Support WMD Programs

U.S. officials on Tuesday sanctioned a swath of crypto-holding wallets with alleged ties to the North Korean government, according to a statement from the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The blacklisted wallets – which contai...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

Come In And Register? These Firms Say They Found an SEC-Friendly Crypto Path

The beginnings of a fully compliant U.S. crypto infrastructure may be forming on the industry’s fringes as a watchdog backed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) quietly issues significant approvals for companies trying to stick to the...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

South Korea's Ruling Party Calls to Expedite Bill on Lawmakers' Crypto Disclosures: Report

The parliamentary floor leader of South Korea's ruling People Power Party wants a new bill requiring lawmakers and high-level government officials to declare their cryptocurrency-related assets to take effect within two months, earlier than origi...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

Hong Kong Securities Regulator to Accept License Applications for Crypto Exchanges Starting June 1

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will begin accepting applications for crypto trading platform licenses on June 1, according to a Tuesday announcement. The regulator has agreed to allow licensed virtual asset providers to s...

Policy

May. 23, 2023

International Securities Regulator IOSCO Proposes Policy Recommendations for Crypto, Invites Feedback

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) opened up its policy recommendations for crypto and digital asset markets for public comment on Tuesday. The 18 policy recommendations cover a range of issues such as market abus...

Policy

May. 22, 2023

Core Scientific Hopes to Emerge from Bankruptcy by September, Lawyers Say

Core Scientific should “trim” its restructuring timeline by “at least [one] month,” the federal judge overseeing its bankruptcy said during a Monday hearing as creditors called for the insolvent crypto miner to fast-track its plans to emerge from...

Policy

May. 22, 2023

Crypto Lender BlockFi Ordered to Withdraw Unapproved Reorganization Plan Shared 'Prematurely'

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi has withdrawn statements relating to a wind-down plan published May 13 following an order from a U.S. bankruptcy court, court filings show. The estate was required to issue a "corrective letter" clarifying that the...

Policy

May. 22, 2023

UK Will Need New Laws to Accommodate Future Digital Pound, Lawyers Say

The U.K. will need to introduce new laws or amend existing finance and data rules to accommodate a digital pound, two lawyers told CoinDesk. The Bank of England and the U.K. Treasury are seeking public feedback on their plans for the design of a...

Policy

May. 22, 2023

Malaysia Says Crypto Exchange Huobi Global Isn't Registered, Must Cease Operations

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) ordered Huobi Global to stop operations in the country, including disabling its website and mobile applications, because it is operating a digital asset exchange without registration. The regulator told th...

Policy

May. 19, 2023

U.S. Sanctions Watchdog Alleges Russia-Linked Crypto Wallet Processed $5M

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) rolled out a new massive wave of sanctions against Russian industrial companies, as well as people and entities that helped Russia move money while the country has been waging...

Policy

May. 19, 2023

Coinbase Praises Canada’s Crypto Approach as U.S. Regulatory Pressure Intensifies

Crypto exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) says it loves Canada, where the rules have been set out and companies are able to engage with the regulators, compared with the U.S.’s lack of clarity and regulation by enforcement for the industry. It’s no ...

Policy

May. 19, 2023

NY Fed, Singapore Regulator Verify CBDC Interoperability, Payment Speeds in Latest Test

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) systems operating on different types of networks can be used for cross-border and cross-currency payments, a new report published by researchers with the New York Federal Reserve and Monetary Authority of Sing...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

Coin Cafe Ordered By New York AG to Pay Back $4.3M in Fraudulent Fees

Brooklyn-based crypto trading platform Coin Cafe is paying back $4.3 million to defrauded investors, according to a Thursday statement from the New York Attorney General’s office, which accused the company of misleading customers about “exorbitan...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

Pakistan Announces Fresh Ban on Crypto, but Adoption as a Hedge Remains Popular

Pakistan's government has hardened its stance against cryptocurrencies, even as retailers continue to hedge their financial bets against a devaluing Pakistani rupee partly due to a volatile political situation in the nation. Cryptocurrencies wil...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

U.S. Hearing Highlights Stablecoin Rift in Competing House Bills

U.S. lawmakers aren’t yet able to reach across the chasm between Republicans and Democrats’ very different ideas for how to oversee stablecoins, despite notes of hope from both sides evident in a Thursday hearing of the House Financial Services...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

Ripple Starts Platform for Central Banks to Issue Their CBDCs

Ripple is starting a central bank digital currency (CBDC) platform which allows central banks, governments, and financial institutions to issue their own digital currency. Using Ripple's platform government institutions can manage and customize ...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

G-7 Must Take Charge in Ending 'Lawless' Crypto Space, FATF Chief Says

The Group of Seven (G-7) advanced economies must take the lead in implementing recommendations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to combat illicit financial flows through crypto, the president of the global financial crimes watchdog said ...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

U.S. Court Asked to Reverse Decision to Not Appoint Independent Examiner in FTX Bankruptcy

A Delaware bankruptcy court must reverse a previous order denying the appointment of an independent examiner in the FTX bankruptcy case, the U.S. Trustee, a branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ), said in a court filing from Wednesday. In t...

Policy

May. 18, 2023

UK Lawmakers' Bid to Regulate Crypto as Gambling Could Be a Political Problem, Invites Industry Wrath

The House of Commons Treasury Committee’s opposition to the government’s plans to regulate crypto like a financial service has generated an instant backlash from the industry – and lawmakers’ views, though non-binding, may represent an extra bump...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Filecoin Price Drops After SEC Asks Grayscale to Withdraw FIL Trust Application

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked Grayscale to withdraw its application to launch a Filecoin (FIL) Trust product, the asset manager revealed Wednesday. Grayscale said in a press release that it had received a comment lett...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Fahrenheit Consortium Is Lead Bidder in Bankruptcy Auction for Celsius Assets

A consortium named Fahrenheit, which includes venture capital firm Arrington Capital and miner U.S. Bitcoin Corp, is the lead bidder in the auction for bankrupt lender Celsius's $2 billion of assets , according to a Wednesday hearing. NovaWulf,...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Florida’s DeSantis Waging Toothless Campaign Against Digital Dollars, Lawyers Say

The state-level campaign against a U.S. digital dollar made its first foray into established law with Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature on Florida’s effort to block the use of virtual government-backed money in business transactions. But the Fl...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Indian Authorities Asked to Restore Crypto Exchanges' Access to UPI

India's government and central bank have received proposals asking to restore access of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), a widely popular real-time payment system, to the crypto industry, several sources familiar with the matter have told Co...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

China's Top Prosecution Agency Says Although Not Banned NFTs Have Crypto-Like Attributes

China's highest national agency responsible for legal prosecution has warned non-fungible token (NFT) digital collections share "the attributes of virtual assets," which are banned in the country. The Supreme People's Procuratorate of the People...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Fleeing U.S. Crypto Firms ‘Welcome,’ French Regulator Says

PARIS, France – Crypto companies fleeing U.S. regulatory uncertainty have been offered a welcome in France, by officials boasting a regulatory framework that offers relative predictability. The European Union member already boasts around 74 regi...

Policy

May. 17, 2023

Even Licensed Firms Say Opening Bank Accounts Is Hard in Hong Kong

Crypto companies' applications to operate in Hong Kong following its push to reinstate itself as a crypto hub have been piling up, but these companies are finding it difficult to do something as basic as open a bank account. Applicants told Coin...

Policy

May. 16, 2023

DLT-Powered Financial Markets Could Save $100B Per Year, TradFi Study Says

Using distributed ledger technology (DLT) in securities markets could create savings north of $100 billion per year, a report produced by a major traditional-finance lobby group has said. In a report published Tuesday evening, the Global Financi...

Policy

May. 16, 2023

UK Lawmaker Group Clashes With Treasury Over Treating Unbacked Crypto as Gambling

Investing in unbacked digital assets like bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) resembles gambling and should be regulated as such, a cross-party lawmaker group in the U.K. has said. But the government is sticking by its plans to regulate them as finan...

Policy

May. 16, 2023

SEC Can't Seal Docs Tied to Hinman's Ether Speech, Judge in Ripple Suit Rules

A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission cannot seal documents tied to former official William Hinman's 2018 speech on crypto and securities to Ripple in the regulator's ongoing lawsuit against the company closely ...

Policy

May. 16, 2023

EU’s Crypto Legal Framework Inches Towards Law With Finance Ministers’ Sign-Off

Landmark new crypto rules were signed off on Tuesday by finance ministers of the European Union (EU). The EU’s Council, which represents 27 member states, unanimously approved the Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA), making the bloc set...

Policy

May. 16, 2023

Coinbase Hasn't Proven SEC Needs to Create Crypto-Specific Rules, Regulator Says

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told an appeals court that crypto exchange Coinbase hadn't proven the regulator needs to create a new regulatory framework for the digital asset industry late Monday. The federal regulator asked ...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

U.S. Prosecutors Drop Extortion Charges Against Early Adviser to Ethereum Network

Criminal extortion charges against Steven Nerayoff, an early adviser to the Ethereum network, were dismissed by a New York judge on May 5, ending a three-and-a-half year legal battle that included explosive allegations he made against U.S. invest...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

BlockFi Claims Against FTX, Alameda 'Largest Driver' of More Than $1B in Asset Recoveries, Firm Says

Fund recoveries for clients and creditors of bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi will depend heavily on the firm's claims against its commercial counterparties including FTX and Alameda, court filings from Friday show. In its wind-down plan filed t...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

South Korea Probes Crypto Exchanges Upbit, Bithumb on Ex-Lawmaker's Transfers

South Korean prosecutors searched accounts at major exchanges Upbit and Bithumb, relating to the transfers made by former lawmaker Kim Nam-kuk on Monday. Messaging app Kakao was also included in the search due to Kim using its Klip cryptocurrenc...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

G-7 Finance Ministers Discuss Crypto Regulation Ahead of Japan Summit Next Week

The Group of Seven (G-7) intergovernmental political forum has signaled its commitment to implementing the Financial Stability Board's (FSB) forthcoming norms for regulating crypto assets and the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recommendation...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

SEC Seeks to Slash $22M Fine on Crypto Firm LBRY to $111K

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) wants to revise a $22 million penalty set on crypto startup LBRY to $111,614, according to court documents from Friday. The regulator cited LBRY's "lack of funds and near-defunct status," as re...

Policy

May. 15, 2023

U.S. DOJ's Crypto Enforcement Director Promises Crackdown on Illicit Behavior on Crypto Exchanges: FT

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) head of crypto enforcement has promised a crackdown on illicit behaviour on trading platforms, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Monday . Eun Young Choi, director of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcem...

Policy

May. 12, 2023

Kraken’s Top Lawyer Says Signs of Progress in U.S. Congress Put SEC in Legal Bind

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues to rain enforcement fire onto the crypto industry, Kraken’s chief legal officer, Marco Santori, says a specific legal doctrine could undermine the regulator’s authority. The so-ca...

Policy

May. 12, 2023

House Democrats Consider New Stablecoin Bill Proposal: Source

House Democrats are considering their own version of a long-anticipated stablecoin bill, a person familiar with the situation told CoinDesk, but their views demonstrate a substantial rift with a parallel Republican effort. The proposal, a succes...

Policy

May. 12, 2023

Bitcoin Miner Riot Sues Peer Rhodium Enterprises for Alleged $26M in Unpaid Fees

Whinstone US, a unit of bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms (RIOT), is suing another miner – Rhodium Enterprises – alleging it is owed $26 million in hosting fees and asking a local court to declare that it doesn't owe any credits related to deman...

Policy

May. 12, 2023

EU Crypto Tax Plans Include NFTs, Foreign Companies, Draft Text Shows

The European Union plans to force crypto companies to give tax authorities details of their clients' holdings, according to a draft bill released to CoinDesk under freedom of information laws. The data-sharing law, based on a model from the Or...

Policy

May. 12, 2023

Do Kwon Set to Be Released on Bail in Montenegro Travel Document Forgery Case

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon is set to be released from Montenegro jail on supervised bail as his trial on document forgery charges continues, a court notice from Friday shows. The Basic Court of Podgorica said in its statement that it has acc...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

McHenry to U.S. SEC: Which Crypto Firms Have Tried to Register?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has so far disregarded congressional requests for information on its interactions with crypto platforms seeking registration as exchanges, according to Republican lawmakers in the House of Represe...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

IRS, Chainalysis and Ukraine Targeting Russian Crypto Sanctions Evaders Jointly

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and crypto investigations company Chainalysis are working with the Ukraine to target Russian oligarchs who may be using crypto to evade sanctions, according to an announcement Thursday. The IRS Criminal ...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

Coinbase’s SEC Complaint Draws Allies Depicting U.S. Regulator as Crypto Bully

Crypto insiders are tying themselves to Coinbase (COIN) as the company seeks to blow up the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “come in and register” crusade aimed at the digital assets sector. In a series of “amicus” briefs filed...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

BlockFi Customers Can Be Repaid $300M Held in Custodial Accounts, Judge Says

BlockFi custodial wallet users can be returned nearly $300 million, as a New Jersey judge ruled on Thursday May 11 that assets sitting in the wallets belong to clients rather than the estate of the bankrupt crypto lender. Bankruptcy Judge Michae...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

Do Kwon's Attorneys Propose $437K Bail, Deny Falsified Travel Documents Charges in Montenegro

Attorneys for Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon have proposed he be let off on supervised bail as he faces charges in Montenegro for attempting to travel with falsified documents. Montenegrin authorities arrested Kwon and fellow Terra executive H...

Policy

May. 11, 2023

EU Could Veto Large Stablecoins During MiCA Approval Process, Regulator Signals

Central banks should veto large stablecoins if they have fears they could upend monetary policy, the chair of the European Banking Authority (EBA) has said, citing fears that the use of permissionless blockchains could prove financially unsound. ...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

Bittrex’s U.S., Maltese Arms Processed $425M in Withdrawals Since April 1, Attorney Says

Bittrex’s U.S. and Maltese arms processed $425 million in withdrawals since the exchange announced it would shut down its U.S. operations around April 1, its attorney told a Delaware bankruptcy court on Wednesday. The exchange filed for bankrupt...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

Joint U.S. House Hearing on Crypto’s Future Opens With Discord

The unusual joint meeting of the two most crypto-relevant committees in the U.S. House of Representatives was called to work out the best legislative approach to digital assets, but one of the top Democrats questioned whether Congress should be...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

New Rules on Sharing Crypto Tax Data ‘Unanimously Supported’ by EU Members

New European Union rules allowing tax authorities to share data on people's crypto holdings have been unanimously supported by the bloc’s member states, meaning formal agreement on the law is likely next week, a senior official has said. Last ye...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

Hungarian Central Bank Sees No Imminent Need for e-Forint

Hungary sees no urgent need for a widely available central bank digital currency (CBDC) but is experimenting to see if one could help the unbanked, a senior official said on Wednesday. In principle, as a European Union (EU) member, Hungary is ob...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

Three Arrows Founder Su Zhu Obtains Singapore Restraining Order Against Arthur Hayes Over 'Harassment'

Su Zhu, a co-founder of defunct crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has obtained a restraining order against Arthur Hayes, a co-founder of the BitMEX trading platform, from a Singapore court. The order dated May 5 and seen by CoinDesk ...

Policy

May. 10, 2023

Crypto Industry Asks UK to Think Globally as Government Closes Consultation on Proposed Rules

The U.K.’s crypto stakeholders have largely welcomed the nation’s proposed legislation for the industry – but they want the country to collaborate with regulators globally to avoid post-Brexit isolation, particularly in the wake of the European ...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

Previewing Congress's Joint Crypto Regulation Hearing

Over the past several weeks, Congress – particularly the House Financial Services Committee – has held a number of hearings on crypto and its role in the world. Even a hearing supposedly focused on overseeing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Comm...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

SEC Blasted on Custody Proposal by JPMorgan, Crypto Firms and a Fellow Agency

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) went too far when it proposed a new rule demanding investment firms safeguard all of their clients’ assets – including crypto – with approved custodians, according to an array of critics not oft...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

Ex-Coinbase Product Manager Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Insider Trading

A former Coinbase employee was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday weeks after pleading guilty to insider trading charges, according to a report from Reuters. Ishan Wahi, a former product manager at the U.S.-based crypto exchange, was a...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

DCG Looks to Refinance Outstanding Genesis Obligations, Raise Growth Capital

Digital Currency Group (DCG) is looking to refinance outstanding obligations with its bankrupt lending division Genesis and raise growth capital, the crypto conglomerate said on Tuesday. Outstanding obligations can take the form of loans, rece...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

Bankrupt Crypto Exchange QuadrigaCX Will Start Interim Distribution for Some User, EY Says

Bankrupt Canadian crypto exchange QuadrigaCX will start the interim distribution for some users, said EY, which is acting as the trustee for the firm's estate. In the coming week, EY will post the procedure for QuadrigaCX's users to make a claim...

Policy

May. 09, 2023

FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried Moves to Dismiss Most Criminal Charges Against Him

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed pretrial motions to dismiss a majority of the charges he faces on various grounds late Monday. Bankman-Fried, who is set to go to trial this upcoming fall, faces over a dozen different charges ranging from wir...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

U.S. Crypto Exchange Bittrex Files for Bankruptcy in Delaware

Crypto exchange Bittrex has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. state of Delaware on Monday, months after announcing it would wind down operations in the country and weeks after being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The exchan...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

Bit4You’s Affairs in Doubt Even Before CoinLoan Collapse, Belgian Regulator Says

Bit4You, the oldest crypto exchange in Belgium, was already facing loss of its registration or prosecution, even before it announced it was suspending activities in April, according to a Monday statement by the country’s financial regulator. B...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

Estonia’s Registered Crypto Firms Drop 80% as Tough New Checks Reveal 'Suspicious' Behavior

A controversial crypto law has reduced the number of registered firms in Estonia by around 80%, according to data published by the country’s money-laundering regulator on Monday. Around 200 licenses were withdrawn by the firms themselves, and ...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

Ripple's Tussle Against SEC to Cost the Firm $200M, CEO Garlinghouse Says: Report

Blockchain company Ripple's legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to cost the firm around $200 million, Cointelegraph reported Monday citing, the Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse. Garlinghouse reportedly told o...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

Liechtenstein Plans to Accept Bitcoin for Payments to State, Prime Minister Says: Report

Liechtenstein is planning to add bitcoin (BTC) as a payment option for government services, German news outlet Handelsblatt reported on Sunday. Any crypto received as payment will likely be immediately exchanged for Swiss francs, Liechtenstein...

Policy

May. 08, 2023

South Korea Authorities Investigate Lawmaker Over Suspicious Crypto Transfers: Report

South Korea's financial watchdog has reported to local prosecutors a series of crypto transactions by an opposition party lawmaker, which has sparked domestic outrage over a potential conflict of interest. Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the Democratic Part...

Policy

May. 06, 2023

U.S. Justice Department Investigating Binance For Russia-Related Sanctions Violations: Bloomberg

The United States Department of Justice's national security division is conducting an inquiry into whether Binance allowed Russian customers to access the exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according ...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

Voyager Digital Plans to Liquidate Assets, Wind Down After Sale Dreams Crushed

Lawyers for Voyager Digital say the bankrupt crypto lender will self-liquidate its assets and wind down operations after failing to clinch a deal on a sale to either FTX US or Binance.US . The announcement, made in a court filing on Friday, c...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

Craig Wright Shows ‘Prima Facie Evidence’ of Contemptuous Conduct, U.S. Judge Says

Craig Wright, who has claimed to be the founder of Bitcoin, has shown “prima facie evidence” of contemptuous conduct in court proceedings for failing to correctly provide information linked to $143 million in disputed cryptocurrency, a U.S. judg...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

New York Attorney General Seeks New Crypto Powers for State Regulators: Report

The New York Department of Financial Services would have stronger authority to regulate digital assets, with exchanges having to reimburse customers if they’re the victims of fraud, under a bill proposed by the state’s Attorney General Letitia Ja...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

UK’s FCA Continues Crackdown on Unregistered Crypto ATMs

U.K.'s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is continuing its crackdown on unlawful crypto ATMs. The FCA said it has inspected sites in Exeter, Nottingham and Sheffield alongside the regional police. The devices for turn...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

Zimbabwe Central Bank Wants Citizens to Subscribe to Its Gold-Backed Digital Currency

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) invited individuals and financial institutions in the country to subscribe to its upcoming gold-backed digital token in a Thursday notice . Applications for the tokens must be for a minimum of $10 for individu...

Policy

May. 05, 2023

3% Tax on Crypto Transfers Part of Kenya's Proposed Budget: Bloomberg

Kenya's Finance Ministry, the National Treasury, has proposed a 3% tax on the transfer of digital assets for the coming budget year, according to a Bloomberg report that cites proposals presented to lawmakers. The nation's budget will be presen...

Policy

May. 04, 2023

Wrapping Up Consensus 2023

CoinDesk wrapped up Consensus 2023 on Friday, marking the end of three days filled with discussions around policy, technology and scams. Catch up on some of the key stories below. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDesk newsletter looking at...

Policy

May. 04, 2023

North Carolina House Unanimously Votes to Ban Digital Dollar Payments to the State

North Carolina's House of Representatives on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill prohibiting the state's agencies and institutions from accepting payments in central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Representatives voted 118-0 (with two excused ...

Policy

May. 04, 2023

Nigeria Approves National Policy to Create 'Blockchain-Powered' Economy

Nigeria's government approved a national blockchain policy on Wednesday as part of the country's effort to transition to a digital economy . The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy developed the policy, according to a stateme...

Policy

May. 04, 2023

Supposed AI-Based Crypto Token Using Musk's Image Targeted by Texas Securities Board

Texas and other U.S. state financial regulators have ordered a crypto "investment scam" purporting to use artificial intelligence (AI) to cease all activity in an order from Wednesday. The scheme operated by Horatiu Caragaceanu, The Shark of W...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

U.S. SEC Changes Its Mind on Officially Labeling Digital Assets

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took one small step backwards in regulating the crypto sector on Wednesday, when it erased what would have been its first formal definition of “digital asset” from its latest hedge fund rule. Whi...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

FTX Seeks to Claw Back Nearly $4B in Ongoing Bankruptcy Case

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX wants to claw back nearly $4 billion in funds from similarly bankrupt Genesis Global Capital, the company said in a court filing Wednesday. Genesis was "largely repaid" the nearly $8 billion in loans made to Alameda ...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

Ex-OpenSea Exec Convicted of Wire Fraud, Money Laundering in Insider Trading Case

Nate Chastain, the former head of product at non-fungible token (NFT) platform OpenSea, was convicted of money laundering and wire fraud in a federal court in New York on Wednesday, according to a report from Reuters. Chastain was forced to res...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

RFK Jr. Raises Crypto Taxes, Regulation as Issues in Opening Days of 2024 Presidential Race

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the latest presidential candidate and a member of one of the most famous U.S. political families, raised a number of crypto issues in his newly announced campaign to challenge President Joe Biden. Kennedy – a Democrat, env...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

Blockchain Association Leaves New York as Federal Regulatory Fight Looms

The Blockchain Association, a crypto industry advocacy group, is exiting New York as it gears up to fight against federal regulators’ increasingly stringent restrictions on the cryptocurrency industry. “Blockchain Association is shifting resourc...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

Registered UK Crypto Firms Can Approve Their Own Ads, Lawmakers Decide

U.K. lawmakers voted in favor of a highly anticipated amendment to ease advertisement approvals for crypto firms on Wednesday, meaning it is now on track to become law. The amendment would allow crypto companies that are already registered wit...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

Celsius Founder Mashinsky Denies ‘Baseless’ Fraud Claims From New York State

Fraud claims against Alex Mashinsky are ‘baseless’ and based on online misinformation, the Celsius co-founder and former CEO said in response to a lawsuit brought by New York State. In a Tuesday filing, Mashinsky’s lawyers responded to claims ...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

Allow Influencers to Promote Registered Crypto Firms, French Senators Say

Social media influencers would be allowed to promote products of registered crypto companies like Binance under proposals agreed by the French Senate’s Economics Committee on Wednesday. Senators appear to favor less restrictive measures than t...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

UK Set to Ban Cold Calls Selling Financial Products, Including Crypto

The U.K. government is set to ban cold calls to sell financial products including crypto, according to a Wednesday announcement . Fraud makes up over 40% of crime in the country, and costs the U.K. government £7 billion ($8.8 billion) a year,...

Policy

May. 03, 2023

BitFlyer USA Fined $1.2M by NYDFS for Not Meeting Cybersecurity Requirements

Crypto exchange bitFlyer USA was fined $1.2 million by New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for failing to meet the state's cybersecurity requirement, the regulator said on Wednesday. The financial regulator said bitFlyer USA ...

Policy

May. 02, 2023

White House Pushes for Punitive Tax on Crypto Mining

U.S. President Joe Biden is looking to impose a punitive tax on crypto mining operations for the “harms they impose on society,” the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) argued Tuesday in an online post. The administration’s blog e...

Policy

May. 02, 2023

UK Crypto Tax Advisors Welcome Proposed Changes to DeFi Lending, Staking Treatment

Tax advisors in the U.K. have welcomed proposed rules for decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and staking activities, calling it a positive step that offers some “certainty” for the crypto industry. On Thursday, the U.K. government's tax br...

Policy

May. 02, 2023

3AC Founders’ OPNX Exchange Formally Reprimanded by Dubai Crypto Regulator

OPNX, a bankruptcy claims exchange set up by the founders of collapsed hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), has been formally reprimanded by Dubai's crypto regulator for operating an unregulated exchange, according to an official notice . Th...

Policy

May. 02, 2023

Celsius Seeks to Merge UK, U.S. Entities Amid Allegations Distinction Was a ‘Sham’

Crypto lender Celsius is seeking to mingle its U.K. and U.S. entities as court filings allege the distinction between the two was a “sham.” The bankrupt crypto firm is the latest to face allegations of poor record-keeping in its corporate struct...

Policy

May. 01, 2023

Crypto Exchange Poloniex Agrees to $7.6M Fee to Settle Sanctions Violation Charges

Crypto exchange Poloniex will remit $7.59 million to settle sanctions violations allegations with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC), the sanctions watchdog said Monday. The Justin Sun-affiliated platform had n...

Policy

May. 01, 2023

Coinme, Subsidiary and CEO Fined $4M by SEC Over UpToken Offering

Bitcoin (BTC) kiosk company Coinme has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle charges by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleging it was party to an unregistered security offering, the regulator announced Friday. Coinme, its su...

Policy

May. 01, 2023

Nigeria's SEC Mulls Allowing Tokenized Equity, Property But Not Crypto: Bloomberg

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission is considering allowing tokenized coin offerings backed by equity, debt or property but “not crypto,” on licensed digital asset exchanges, Bloomberg reported Monday. “We always like to start, as a ...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

U.S. House Will Have Crypto Bill in 2 Months: McHenry

AUSTIN, Texas – The U.S. House Financial Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee will put together legislation to oversee the crypto sector in the "next two months" after holding joint public hearings starting May, said Rep. Patrick Mc...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Crypto Industry Is 'Absolutely' at War Against Gensler, Warren, Blockchain Association CEO Smith Says

AUSTIN, Texas – The crypto industry is "absolutely at war" against policy and lawmakers in the U.S., particularly against Securities and Exchange (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Blockchain Association CEO Krist...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

“Opportunism and Demagoguery” Fuels the U.S. Regulatory Crackdown, Steptoe Partner Says

“Political opportunism and demagoguery” are the largest drivers of the regulatory crackdown and federal banking restrictions on US-based cryptocurrency companies,” Jason Weinstein, a partner at Steptoe, said during a panel at Consensus 2023. U.S...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Global Crypto Regulation Needs Coordination, Not Duplication, Legal Experts Say

Crypto regulatory frameworks need to coordinated internationally, but tweaked to meet local differences, legal experts said at a panel at Consensus 2023 on Friday. "It's not good to put crypto all in the same basket and look at it in a vacuum,...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Signature Bank Failed Because of Mismanagement, Contagion, FDIC Report Says

Signature Bank (SBNY) fell apart due to mismanagement by its officers and “contagion effects” after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and wind-down of Silvergate Bank, a federal bank regulator said Friday. The Federal Deposit Insurance C...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Genesis Bankruptcy Parties Agree to a 30-Day Mediation Period

Genesis Global, along with its creditors and other parties have agreed to a 30-day mediation period pending the appointment of a mediator, lawyers for the bankrupt crypto lender said during a Friday hearing. The agreement follows a request made...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Hamas' Military Wing to Stop Accepting Bitcoin Donations: Report

The military arm of the Palestinian militant group Hamas will stop accepting donations in bitcoin (BTC), news outlet Shehab reported on Thursday. The outlet cited a message posted to a telegram group believed to be run by the military wing I...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

ECB Probes Decentralized Settlement for Wholesale Financial Markets

The European Central Bank wants its centralized financial settlement systems to better interact with distributed ledger technology (DLT), as it seeks to keep pace with technological developments in financial markets. The ECB is currently ponderi...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

South African Mirror Trading's CEO Fined $3.4B by U.S. in Bitcoin Forex Fraud Case

A U.S. court has ordered the head of bitcoin pool operator Mirror Trading International (MTI) to pay $3.4 billion in restitution and penalties, the country's top commodities watchdog said in a Thursday statement . The sum constitutes the highes...

Policy

Apr. 28, 2023

Hong Kong Regulator Reminds Local Banks There Is No Ban on Crypto Firms

Hong Kong is reminding banks that they can provide services to virtual asset companies amid complaints about the difficulty of opening bank accounts in the jurisdiction, its de facto central bank said on Thursday. “There is no legal and regulato...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

Binance Official Says Crypto Exchange Has Ousted North Koreans

AUSTIN, Texas – Binance has figured out how to keep North Koreans off its crypto exchange, a senior compliance official said during a speech Thursday at CoinDesk's Consensus 2023 event. "We kicked their ass enough that they're actually able to...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

SEC Is Alleging Legal Violations ‘On the Fly,' Coinbase Says

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is making decisions about alleged legal violations “on the fly,” crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) said Thursday. The San Francisco-headquartered platform pushed back against the SEC in a document ...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

US SEC’s Gensler Releases Another Video Dig at Crypto Industry

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler took his crypto-critical message to the web again with a new investor-protection video Thursday cautioning people about digital assets businesses that are breaking securities l...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

Bahamian Prime Minister Doesn’t Regret FTX, Says SBF Put His Country ‘On the Map’ for Crypto

The stunning collapse of Bahamas-based crypto exchange FTX last November hasn’t soured the country’s taste for crypto. Speaking to audiences at CoinDesk’s annual Consensus festival on Thursday, Prime Minister Philip Davis said his country had no...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

Reintroduced Congressional Bill Would Call for Feds to Study Terrorist Uses for Crypto

A bipartisan bill introduced to both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday would call for the federal government to study crypto use cases for illegal activity and provide recommendations on how to mitigate these uses. The Fin...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

UK Tax Authority Proposes Changes to Treatment of DeFi Lending, Staking

The U.K.'s tax authority is seeking public views on a proposed change to the tax treatment of decentralized finance (DeFi) lending and staking, according to a Thursday announcement . HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)'s proposal follows a 2022 cal...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

Stablecoin Reserves Need to Be Diverse, EU Bank Agency Chief Says

Forthcoming European Union rules to govern stablecoins will focus on ensuring issuers have diverse reserves, manage conflicts of interest, and don’t transmit risks to other players, the Chair of the European Banking Authority (EBA) has said. The...

Policy

Apr. 27, 2023

UK Charities Offered Guidance for Accepting Crypto Donations

English and Welsh charities accepting crypto donations should keep accurate records and comply with tax and money-laundering rules, the Charity Commission said in guidance published Wednesday . The regulator warned charities that assets such as...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Ex-CFTC Head Says Regulators Can Engage With Crypto 'If They Have the Will to Do So'

Chris Giancarlo, the former senior U.S. markets cop known as "Crypto Dad," appeared to criticize his successors in Washington as they crack down on the cryptocurrency industry. Under Giancarlo's watch as chairman, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trad...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Franklin Templeton CEO: The Future of the Crypto Industry is Regulated

AUSTIN, Texas — Grousing about the state of crypto regulations in the U.S. has become the norm for many industry players, but Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson said she thinks it’s important for the industry to accept that more regulations are...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Leader of Miami Trio Pleads Guilty to $4M Bank, Crypto Fraud Charges

The leader of a Miami crew charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with defrauding banks in a 2020 cryptocurrency-related scheme has pleaded guilty, an official notice Wednesday said. Esteban Cabrera Da Corte was one of three individuals arr...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Voyager Lawyers ‘Surprised’ Binance.US Canceled $1B Deal

Voyager Digital was taken by surprise when Binance.US canceled a $1 billion deal to buy its assets on Tuesday. The exchange was still showing interest as recently as last week, Voyager's attorneys said in a New York courtroom on Wednesday. Bin...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Former CFTC Chair Timothy Massad Among Witnesses for House Crypto Hearing

The House Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development has provided the witness list for Thursday's hearing examining regulatory holes in crypto spot market regulations. The panel notably includes former Commodity Fut...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Bittrex Global CEO Says Firm Will Fight SEC Charges, Did Not Serve U.S. Customers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is “mistaken” in charging crypto exchange Bittrex Global GmbH with breach of local securities law, its Chief Executive Officer Oliver Linch said during a phone interview with CoinDesk on Monday. ...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Don’t Cap Digital Euro Holdings, European Parliament Study Says

A digital euro system shouldn’t limit users’ holdings, a paper produced for the European Parliament said, arguing that the risks to financial stability of people deserting conventional banks are overstated. The paper turns on its head central ba...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Bahamas Seeks to Tighten Its Crypto Laws Following FTX Collapse

The Bahamas is seeking to tighten its crypto laws in the wake of the collapse of FTX, the crypto exchange largely based in the Caribbean nation, according to a consultation document published Tuesday. The new bill, which includes measures on s...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

Former Coinbase Employee Seeks to Limit Jail Term to 10 Months in Insider Trading Case

Ishan Wahi, former product manager at crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN), has asked to have a sentence of no more than 10 months in jail for insider trading charges, his lawyers said in court filings made late Tuesday night. Wahi has a sentencing...

Policy

Apr. 26, 2023

NY Fed Policy Change Could Squash Stablecoin Issuer Circle’s Hope for Fed Access

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York ( NY Fed ) has curbed its counterparty criteria for its reverse-repurchase program ( RRP ) Wednesday in a way that could prevent stablecoin issuer Circle from accessing the prized Fed facility. According to a...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

Unpacking Policy Issues at Consensus 2023

We’re finally here: Consensus 2023. The team has packed it full of policy-related sessions. We’ll hear discussions ranging from global regulatory policy around crypto to how industry and lawmakers alike are approaching the question of privacy and...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

UK FCA Wants to Work With the Crypto Industry to Develop Regulation, Executive Says

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants to work together with crypto firms to shape regulation, Executive Director Sarah Pritchard said at City Week conference in London on Tuesday . The U.K. has been looking to construct a new regim...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

Europe ‘Ahead of the Game’ in Web3 After MiCA Law, U.S. House Finance Chair Says

The European Union’s agreement of a new crypto law puts the bloc in the lead on Web3 technology, U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R–N.C.) told CoinDesk TV Tuesday. The European Parliament last week voted on the Mark...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

Terra Co-Founder Daniel Shin Indicted in South Korea: Bloomberg

Daniel Shin, the co-founder of Terraform Labs, was indicted by South Korea on violations of capital markets law amongst other charges, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday . The co-founder of the firm behind failed Terra cryptocurrency project was ind...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

Gibraltar Court Orders Crypto Wallet Freezes as Investigators Probe Failed Trader Globix: FT

A Gibraltar court has ordered several crypto exchanges to cooperate with the liquidators of crypto trader Globix, who are seeking to track $43 million that went astray, according to a report in the Financial Times . Crypto.com , Bitstamp and K...

Policy

Apr. 25, 2023

Coinbase Asks for Court to Force SEC Response to 2022 Rulemaking Petition

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) has asked a federal court to force the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to respond to a petition it filed last year asking for formal rulemaking within the digital assets sector. Coinbase filed an Adm...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

House Republicans Make Case on Stablecoin Bill After Democrats Called for Do-Over

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee are taking another swing at stablecoin legislation with a discussion draft revealed Monday afternoon, which may mark a new starting point for negotiations with Democrats. The bill – the secon...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

Lawmakers Could Still Nix Digital Euro, ECB’s Panetta Says

Members of the European Parliament can still stop the European Central Bank from issuing a digital euro, ECB board member Fabio Panetta said on Monday, as lawmakers express increasing doubts about the value of a central bank digital currency (CBD...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

U.S. Sanctions 3 North Koreans for Supporting Hacking Group Known for Crypto Thefts

The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions watchdog banned three North Korean individuals for supporting the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking team known for crypto thefts. Two of the sanctioned individuals, Cheng Hung Man and Wu Huihui, were ...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

Terra's Do Kwon Wants SEC Charges Dismissed, Court Filings Show

Lawyers for Do Kwon, founder of collapsed crypto issuer Terraform Labs, have requested a U.S. court to dismiss charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) partly for lack of jurisdiction, court filings from Frida...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

Zimbabwe to Introduce Gold-Backed Digital Currency: Report

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) plans to introduce a gold-backed digital currency as legal tender to help stabilize the local currency, the Zim dollar, the Sunday Mail reported . The tokens will be a form of electronic money backed by the co...

Policy

Apr. 24, 2023

French Regulator Floats 'Fast-Track' Registration for Incumbents as MiCA Rules Bed in

Existing crypto companies could get a “fast-track regime” to new European crypto rules, the country’s Financial Markets Authority (AMF) said in a Friday statement. France recently toughened its crypto registration procedures in the wake of FTX's...

Policy

Apr. 21, 2023

Ava Labs CEO Calls for Crypto Regulators Who Can Read and Audit Code

The blockchain and cryptocurrency space cannot consider itself mature until the day its regulators are able to read and audit code, Ava Labs CEO and founder Emin Gün Sirer told attendees of the annual Cornell Blockchain conference. “Regulators a...

Policy

Apr. 21, 2023

With MiCA Past the Finish Line, UK's Crypto Industry Calls for Rules of Its Own

The European Union finalized its wide ranging markets in crypto assets (MiCA) legislation on Thursday, making it one of the first major jurisdictions to clarify its approach on supervising the sector. With the EU’s 27 nations now set to comply ...

Policy

Apr. 21, 2023

EU Crypto Industry Applauds MiCA – But Looks to What’s Next

The European Parliament's landslide vote in favor of new crypto licensing rules was largely met with applause from the industry, but now attention turns to the details that need to be colored in. A long-awaited, if expected, approval of the Mar...

Policy

Apr. 21, 2023

Abu Dhabi's Financial Free Zone Proposes Legal Framework for Decentralized Economy

The Abu Dhabi Global Market's (ADGM) Registration Authority is seeking feedback on its proposed legislative framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT), targeting disclosures, liquidation and governance structures. The ADGM is an interna...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

U.S. SEC Warns Advisers They Need to Know Crypto Before Recommending to Clients

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is advising brokers and investment advisers that they need to use heightened scrutiny when it comes to making crypto recommendations to ensure the risky products are in the best interests of their...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

Terraform Labs Co-Founder Do Kwon Faces Montenegro Indictment: Bloomberg

Prosecutors in Montenegro have submitted an indictment proposal for Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, according to a report by Bloomberg Law , citing reports by Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti. Kwon, along with Terraform Labs Chief Financial Off...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

CFTC Adviser Chris Perkins Says U.S. Risks Falling Behind in Crypto

Crypto-focused VC CoinFund President Chris Perkins, also an adviser to the Commodities and Futures Trade Commission (CFTC), has published a regulatory white paper, and warned that the U.S. is at risk of falling behind in cryptocurrency. The U.S....

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

Tornado Cash Developer Pertsev Can Be Freed Pending Trial, Dutch Court Rules

Alexey Pertsev, a Russian developer who worked on code for the Tornado Cash privacy protocol, can await trial from home, a court in the Netherlands has ruled. The decision from a court in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch follows Pertsev's arrest in ...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

EU Parliament Approves Crypto Licensing, Funds Transfer Rules

Lawmakers in the European Union on Thursday voted 517-38 in favor of a new crypto licensing regime, MiCA, with 18 absentions, making it the first major jurisdiction in the world to introduce a comprehensive crypto law. The European Parliament al...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

Collapsed Turkish Crypto Exchange Thodex's CEO Faruk Özer Extradited, Arrested in Istanbul: Report

Faruk Fatih Özer, the founder of Thodex, one of Turkey's largest crypto exchanges, facing charges of fraud and running a criminal organization, has been extradited to Turkey and was detained by police upon arrival in Istanbul, state media aa.com...

Policy

Apr. 20, 2023

U.S. Government Allows the Bulk of Voyager-Binance.US Deal to Proceed

The substantive parts of the Voyager-Binance.US sale deal could be allowed to proceed even before a legal appeal is worked through, court filings made Wednesday suggest, as concerns rise that the buyer could pull out. The document says the U.S...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

EU Lawmakers Skeptical on Digital Euro Plans

The European Union’s elected lawmakers seem skeptical about the point of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as the bloc prepares to make key decisions on a digital euro in the coming months. During a Wednesday debate, members of the ...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

Democrats Blast Draft Stablecoin Bill in First 2023 Hearing on Issue

Skeptical remarks from key Democrats Wednesday are questioning the chances for U.S. stablecoin legislation that the crypto industry has been relying on as the first real oversight effort. The House Financial Services Committee held its first hea...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

Prosecutors Seek Seven-Year Prison Sentence for Reggie Fowler in Crypto Shadow Bank Case

U.S. prosecutors have asked a court to sentence former footballer Reggie Fowler to at least seven years in prison in the case involving Crypto Capital Corp., the shadow bank that lost hundreds of millions of exchange platform Bitfinex's money ...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

EU’s Crypto Licensing Regime Set for Approval as Lawmakers Signal Support

EU lawmakers from multiple parties have signaled continuing support for the bloc’s landmark Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) in a Wednesday debate, suggesting the licensing law will easily pass a vote due Thursday. MiCA, whose main pol...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

Hong Kong Court Declares Crypto as Property in Case Involving Defunct Gatecoin

A Hong Kong court has recognized crypto as property "capable of being held on trust" in a case involving shuttered crypto exchange Gatecoin, law firm Hogan Lovells reported on Wednesday. Justice Linda Chan, who presided over the case, reported...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

SEC Chair Gensler Declines to Say if Ether Is a Security in Contentious Congressional Hearing

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler refused to say whether ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was a security during a nearly five-hour hearing Tuesday. Over the course of the marathon hearing, Gensler ...

Policy

Apr. 19, 2023

Central Banks Successfully Test DLT in Linking Financial Settlement Systems

A central bank experiment has successfully tested the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in running large and complex interbank transactions, according to a report released on Wednesday. The Bank of England ran "Project Meridian" throu...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

What’s in the House Financial Services Committee’s Stablecoin Bill?

The House Financial Services Committee has finally unveiled its stablecoin legislation, proposing a framework for stablecoin issuers such as Circle and Tether to define how their offerings can be regulated by state and federal entities, while cal...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

Crypto Companies May Use a Supreme Court Doctrine to Push Back Against SEC: Lawyer

The U.S. Supreme Court might provide crypto companies with a way to fight the Securities and Exchange Commission in court, according to Jason Gottlieb, a partner at law firm Morrison Cohen LLP. At a time when the SEC is widening its view of wh...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

FTX Reboot Plan Attracts Interest From VC Firm Tribe Capital: Report

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX's plan to restart operations has drawn a bid from venture capital firm Tribe Capital, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Tribe, whose portfolio included FTX ahead of its dramat...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

Congressional Republicans Criticize SEC Chair Gary Gensler's Crypto Approach Ahead of Hearing

Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee criticized Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler ahead of a congressional hearing on the agency Tuesday, saying his approach to crypto companies was not "compatible" with exist...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

UAE Securities Regulator to Start Accepting License Applications From Crypto Firms

The federal securities regulator in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will start accepting applications from companies looking to provide crypto services in the country, according to a Monday announcement . All virtual asset service providers in t...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

Israel's Central Bank Outlines Scenarios for Issuing a Digital Shekel

Israel's central bank is monitoring scenarios – including the widespread adoption of stablecoins – that it says could influence a decision to issue a digital shekel (SHAKED). The Bank of Israel's steering committee on the potential issuance of a...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

Crypto Exchange Bybit Opens Global HQ in Dubai

Crypto exchange Bybit has opened its global headquarters in Dubai, the company announced on Monday. The launch comes nearly a year after it had revealed plans to establish itself in the emirate based on an in-principle approval to move its ...

Policy

Apr. 18, 2023

Hong Kong’s Banks Are Taking Lead on What e-HKD Will Look Like: Source

Hong Kong is stepping up efforts to develop its own central bank digital currency this year, but the regulator has left the nature of the ledger itself – fully centralized or decentralized – up to the banks. At least one major bank is leaning to...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

Ryuk Ransomware Gang’s Crypto Broker Gets Light Sentence After a Guilty Plea

Denis Dubnikov, a founder of two OTC trading desks in Russia tied to ransomware attacks, was sentenced to no jail time and forfeiture of $2,000 last week after a guilty plea, court documents show. Dubnikov is a founder of the Coyote Crypto and ...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

SEC Lays Its Cards on the Table With Assertion That DeFi Falls Under Securities Rules

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) warning shot last week that decentralized finance (DeFi) could be thrown into its expanding definition of what makes a securities exchange is the latest move to formalize what Chairman Gary Ge...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

BoE Considers Limits on Stablecoin Payments as Parliament Debates New Crypto Rules

The Bank of England (BoE) will consider whether to put limits on stablecoins used for payments in new rules for the sector, Deputy Governor Jon Cunliffe said in a speech on Monday. The BoE and the Financial Conduct Authority plan on consultin...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

NY Financial Regulator Adopts Virtual Currency Assessment Rule

The New York Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, has adopted a new regulation for how crypto companies will be assessed for costs associated with their supervision. The regulation will require companies to meet rigorous standards for cap...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

Crypto Exchange Bittrex Violated Federal Laws, SEC Charges in Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that crypto exchange Bittrex simultaneously operated a national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency in violation of federal statutes. Former CEO Bill Shihara and Bittrex Global...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

SEC Warned Bittrex of Legal Action Before Firm Announced U.S. Exit: WSJ

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) enforcement staff told crypto exchange Bittrex in March that it would recommend the agency take legal action over alleged violations of investor-protection laws by the company, the Wall Street J...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

Do Kwon Retained Law Firm in South Korea Before Terra's Collapse: Report

Do Kwon sent funds to a South Korean law firm just before the collapse of Terraform Labs, the crypto platform he founded, according to a Bloomberg report citing prosecutors in the country. South Korea's KBS News reported Kwon sent 9 billion ...

Policy

Apr. 17, 2023

Shaquille O'Neal Finally Served FTX Lawsuit: Lawyers

Legendary basketballer Shaquille O'Neal has finally been served in a class-action lawsuit against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, a law firm for the plaintiffs tweeted on Sunday. "Plaintiffs in the billion $ FTX class action case just served @...

Policy

Apr. 15, 2023

US House Committee Publishes Draft Stablecoin Bill

The U.S. House Financial Services Committee published a discussion draft Saturday of a landmark stablecoin bill ahead of a hearing on the issue. The bill, available on the Committee's hearing page, represents the first major piece of crypto legi...

Policy

Apr. 14, 2023

NovaWulf Plans to Tokenize Equity of Celsius’ New Firm With $2B Assets, After Takeover

Digital asset investment firm NovaWulf is poised to take over all assets belonging to bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network and roll them into a new company, once its creditors have been paid out. NovaWulf will manage the new company for five y...

Policy

Apr. 14, 2023

Sweden Drives Final Nail Into Its Bitcoin Mining Industry With Tax Hike

Sweden, the last remaining stronghold of bitcoin miners in Europe, is abolishing tax incentives for data centers in July – potentially putting the last nail in the coffin for the industry in the region. Energy prices in Europe have spiked in the...

Policy

Apr. 14, 2023

UK’s New Technology Department to Tackle Country’s Metaverse, Web3 Strategy

The U.K.'s newly formed Department of Science, Innovation and Technology will advance the country's metaverse and Web3 strategy, an individual familiar with the matter not authorized to speak publicly told CoinDesk. The country’s 2023 Spring ...

Policy

Apr. 14, 2023

U.S. SEC Poised to Move Toward DeFi Oversight As It Reopens Proposed Regulations

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be coming for decentralized finance (DeFi) as it considers reopening a proposal from last year that would now explicitly target platforms for those crypto transactions as exchanges that need t...

Policy

Apr. 13, 2023

London Stock Exchange Unit to Clear Bitcoin Index Futures, Options

LCH, the clearinghouse arm of the London Stock Exchange Group, will offer clearing services for cash-settled Bitcoin ( BTC ) index futures and options, the company said in a statement Thursday . The separate service LCH DigitalAssetClear, part ...

Policy

Apr. 13, 2023

EU’s MiCA Vote Likely Delayed by One Day Without Further Changes

The European Parliament seems set to rubber-stamp landmark new crypto licensing laws next week, as a document published Wednesday suggesting only a single, expected amendment has been tabled to the law ahead of a crunch final vote. An official...

Policy

Apr. 13, 2023

Zambia to Wrap Crypto Regulation Tests by June: Report

Zambia plans on finishing tests that mimic real life crypto usage by June, the country's Science and Technology Minister Felix Mutati told Reuters on Wednesday . The results from the simulations will assist policymakers in formulating regulation...

Policy

Apr. 13, 2023

High Hopes for EU’s MiCA Law With Final Vote Imminent

Proponents of the European Union’s forthcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation say it will have an effect beyond its limited scope – and the race to seize the bloc’s crypto crown has begun even before a final vote on the law. After se...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

FTX’s Bankruptcy Lawyers: ‘The Dumpster Fire Is Out’

Five months after the spectacular implosion of FTX, the Bahamas-based crypto exchange’s new legal team has a message for both the U.S. bankruptcy court and creditors alike: “The situation has been stabilized and the dumpster fire is out.” Made b...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

Texas Senate Passes Bill to Limit Bitcoin Miners' Participation in Demand Response Programs

The Texas Senate passed a bill that will cap how much bitcoin (BTC) miners can participate in demand response programs, under which they get paid to curtail their operations at times of high energy demand. Bill SB 1751 passed the Senate with onl...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

Alameda to Be Repaid $53M Deltec Loan, Delaware Bankruptcy Court Rules

FTX’s trading arm Alameda Research should be repaid nearly $53 million for a loan originally made in 2021 to Deltec International Group, a Delaware-based bankruptcy courty judge ruled on Wednesday . The federal court is attempting to unwind the...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

Argentina’s National Securities Commission Approves Bitcoin Futures

Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) authorized the launch of a bitcoin (BTC) index-based futures contract on Tuesday, according to a statement . The contract is to be based on the bitcoin index of Matba Rofex, an Argentinian stock ...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

Stablecoins Need to Be Regulated Like Commercial Bank Money, Bank of England's Andrew Bailey Says

Stablecoins would need to be regulated like commercial bank money, said Bank of England (BoE) Governor Andrew Bailey in a Wednesday speech at the Institute of International Finance . Bailey said that stablecoins, which are digital currencies pe...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

SEC Advisory Group Backs Gensler’s Crypto Efforts But Asks for Industry Guidance

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler got further reinforcement for his quest to force crypto firms to conform with existing securities laws when his agency’s Investor Advisory Committee backed him up on almost every as...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

FTX Free to Explore Sale of Europe Arm, Swiss Court Decides

A Swiss court has approved a request by the bankrupt crypto exchange FTX to explore the sale of its European arm, the company announced Wednesday. FTX Europe AG, the holding company of FTX's European business, filed a petition for a Swiss mora...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

EU-Funded Report Calls for Crypto ID Checks, Police Training to Combat Darknet Markets

A European Commission-funded report has called for tougher identity checks on crypto exchange users as regulators seeks to combat the rising use of darknet marketplaces to buy illegal substances. The report , commissioned by the European Monito...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

G-7 Will Focus on Helping Developing Nations Introduce CBDCs

The Group of Seven (G-7) advanced nations will prioritize how they can better help developing countries introduce their central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Masato Kanda, Japan's senior financial diplomat told a seminar in Washington DC on ...

Policy

Apr. 12, 2023

Hong Kong Regulator Says DeFi Projects Could Face Regulatory Requirements

Decentralized finance ( DeFi) projects could be subject to licensing requirements and regulation, a Hong Kong regulator said on Wednesday. Keith Choy, interim head of intermediaries at Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), said t...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

World Regulators Are Looking at DeFi

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is entering regulators’ crosshairs, but they don’t seem to be intent on taking it out – yet anyway. Instead a pair of reports from U.S. and French authorities seem more focused on understanding what sort of risks DeFi...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

Sen. Warren, Rep. AOC Ask Circle, BlockFi Why They Banked at SVB

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) want to know why crypto companies, including bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi and stablecoin issuer Circle, banked at now-collapsed Silicon Valley Bank. The lawmakers sent ...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

El Salvador Grants First Digital Asset License to Bitfinex

El Salvador granted Bitfinex that country’s first license for digital asset service providers, the company said on Tuesday. The new license was issued subsequent to a law passed in January by the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador that regu...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

France Publishes Metaverse Consultation, Seeking Alternative to Dominance by Web Giants

The French Economy Ministry wants to stop dominance by international internet giants in the metaverse, according to a consultation published Tuesday . The government of Emmanuel Macron is seeking views on policy issues like privacy, health and ...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

Wyoming Defends ‘Legitimacy’ of Its Crypto Charter Framework in Custodia Lawsuit

The state of Wyoming is taking umbrage at the Federal Reserve Board’s insinuations that its regulatory framework for special purpose depository institutions (SPDI) – state-chartered banks that can handle digital assets – are not up to snuff. W...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

Stablecoin Issuers, Conglomerates Targeted by IMF After Crypto's 'Rough Year'

A ‘rough year’ for crypto markets has underlined the need for comprehensive and consistent regulation of the sector, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said, suggesting stablecoin issuers and crypto conglomerates need to have bank-style ca...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

U.S. SEC Adding Attorneys to Crypto Enforcement Unit, Signals Continued Crackdown

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is hiring general attorneys for its crypto enforcement division in New York, Washington, DC and San Francisco, according to a job posting . The call for attorneys to join the regulator's Crypto ...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

Employees of South Korean Crypto Exchange Coinone Arrested: Report

Employees of South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinone have been arrested in connection with exchanging money in return for listing certain crypto assets, CoinDesk Korea reported on Tuesday . "There is concern about escaping," said Seoul Sou...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

DeFi Could Be Forced to Incorporate and Certify, French Central Bank Says

Projects in decentralized finance (DeFi) could be forced to incorporate, or prove that they meet governance and security norms, a report by the French central bank has said, as regulators seek to extend planned crypto laws to cover more diffuse...

Policy

Apr. 11, 2023

Montenegro's Central Bank to Develop CBDC Pilot With Ripple

The Central Bank of Montenegro (CBCG) plans to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot with blockchain provider Ripple. The pilot will see the central bank identify the practical application of a national stablecoin and come up with...

Policy

Apr. 09, 2023

Bank of England Targets 30-Strong Team for Digital Currency: Report

The Bank of England is looking to build a team of as many as 30 people to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Sunday Times reported , without saying where it got the figure. In February, the U.K.'s central bank and finance minis...

Policy

Apr. 07, 2023

Do Kwon's Millions Are Not in South Korea, Prosecutors Say: Report

Do Kwon, founder of collapsed crypto issuer Terraform Labs, has no discernible property in South Korea, prosecutors in the country have said, according to local broadcaster KBS . The South Korean national was arrested in Montenegro last month a...

Policy

Apr. 07, 2023

Head of Thailand’s Opposition Party Promises $300 Crypto Airdrop if Elected Prime Minister: Report

A contender to be the prime minister of Thailand is promising every citizen 10,000 Thai Baht (approximately $300) in digital currency if his party forms a government following a general election scheduled for May. The Bangkok Post reports that...

Policy

Apr. 07, 2023

Robinhood Faces $10.2M Penalty From Multiple U.S. States Over Technical Failures, Investor Harm

Retail trading platform Robinhood is set to pay up to $10.2 million in penalties for operational and technical failures that harmed investors, according to a Thursday announcement from a California regulator. The California Department of Finan...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

U.S. Treasury Warns That DeFi Used by North Korea, Scammers to Launder Dirty Money

Decentralized finance (DeFi) services that aren’t compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing rules pose “the most significant current illicit finance risk” in that corner of the crypto sector, according to the U.S. Department of...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

EU Consultation Warns on Risk of Big Players Becoming Metaverse Gatekeepers

Online giants could dominate the metaverse, blocking out local companies, the Euroepan Commission warned Wednesday in a consultation on its new policy for virtual worlds . The European Union’s executive arm is set to issue proposals in the comi...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

India Targeting One Million CBDC Users in Three Months, Prioritizing Offline Transfers: Sources

India's retail central bank digital currency (CBDC-R) architects are aiming to scale the user base of the digital rupee to one million users, and have prioritized solving the challenge of creating an offline version, two people familiar with the ...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

Japan Approves Web3 White Paper to Promote Industry Growth in the Country

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Web3 project team has approved a white paper laying out recommendations for growing the country’s industry , which has become part of national strategy under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's administration...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

Singapore Working With Banks to Provide Guidance on Crypto Businesses: Bloomberg

Singapore's central bank and police authorities have been helping banks to set uniform standards for fine-tuning their vetting approach when opening crypto accounts, according to a Bloomberg report , citing people with knowledge of the matter. ...

Policy

Apr. 06, 2023

ANZ Bank Completes Carbon Credits Trading as Part of Australia's CBDC Pilot

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) has completed the first use-case of carbon credit trading as part of Australia's central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot, the Melbourne headquartered bank announced on Wednesday. Austral...

Policy

Apr. 05, 2023

Major Crypto Firms Need Extra Rules, Global Cooperation, ECB’s McCaul Says

Major global crypto companies like FTX and Binance need to be subject to tougher rules with more international regulatory cooperation, Elizabeth McCaul, a member of the European Central Bank's supervisory board, said in a blog post on Wednesday...

Policy

Apr. 05, 2023

U.S. Bitcoin Corp. Expected to Settle With City to Resume Mining in Niagara Falls

U.S. Bitcoin Corp is expected to settle with the city of Niagara Falls in New York state in a deal that will allow the mining firm to resume its bitcoin mining operations in the city. The 50 megawatt (MW) facility has been contentious due to n...

Policy

Apr. 05, 2023

NYDFS Chief Dismisses 'Choke Point 2.0' Theory of Signature’s Closure as Ludicrous

Signature Bank’s takeover last month was not a part of any so-called “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” according to Adrienne Harris, superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), who called the idea “ludicrous.” Speaking to...

Policy

Apr. 05, 2023

Craig Wright’s UK Contempt of Court Case Over Alleged Embargo Breach Abandoned

U.K. contempt of court proceedings against Craig Wright, who claims to be Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto, have been dropped after judges said they were ill-equipped to proceed in a case where facts were disputed. It was no longer in the publi...

Policy

Apr. 04, 2023

'Shark Tank' Star Kevin O'Leary Says Litigating Your Crypto Regulator 'Really Stupid'

Venture capitalist and "Shark Tank" star Kevin O'Leary said that crypto exchanges shouldn't be taking legal action against regulators. "Litigating your regulator, in my opinion, is a really stupid idea," he told CoinDesk TV's "First Mover" on Tu...

Policy

Apr. 04, 2023

Texas Bill Limiting Benefits for Crypto Miners Unanimously Passes Committee Vote

A proposed new law that could restrict key benefits for bitcoin miners in Texas passed a state Senate committee on Tuesday and is now headed to the full chamber. Senate Bill 1751 caps how much miners can participate in grid balancing programs,...

Policy

Apr. 04, 2023

The SEC's Beaxy Suit Looks Like a Coinbase Case Preview

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange Beaxy last week, alleging it offered an unregistered securities sale through a 2018 initial coin offering, and that it operated as an unregistered securities exch...

Policy

Apr. 04, 2023

Voyager-Binance.US Legal Fight Must Be Resolved by April 13, Court Documents Say

Voyager and its creditors stand to lose $100 million if legal objections brought by the U.S. government are not resolved by April 13, according to legal documents filed late Monday night. The bankrupt crypto lender is taking urgent legal action ...

Policy

Apr. 03, 2023

Unverified Rumor of Interpol Red Notice for Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao Sends BNB, Bitcoin Lower

Binance’s exchange coin BNB quickly slumped by more than 3% late Monday afternoon on an unverified rumor that an Interpol Red Notice had been issued for exchange founder and CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. “Interpol Red Notice for CZ,” read an encryp...

Policy

Apr. 03, 2023

Japan Regulator Flags Four Crypto Exchanges Including Bybit for Operating Without Registration

Japan's Financial Services Agency (FSA) said foreign crypto exchanges Bybit, BitForex, MEXC Global and Bitget are operating in the country without proper registration in a warning letter published on Friday. The notice said the exchanges were ...

Policy

Apr. 01, 2023

U.S. Government Case Against Voyager-Binance.US Deal Has 'Substantial' Merits, Judge Says

The U.S. government has a “substantial case on the merits” in its bid to quash a $1 billion deal by Binance.US to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager, a New York judge said Friday . District Judge Jennifer Rearden said she’d try ...

Policy

Mar. 31, 2023

Crypto Exchange Bittrex to Wind Down U.S. Operations Next Month

Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex will shut down its U.S. platform on April 30 after nine years of operation, the company announced on Friday . “It’s just not economically viable for us to continue to operate in the current U.S. regulatory and ec...

Policy

Mar. 31, 2023

U.S. Futures Watchdog Issues Compliance Rule for Crypto Activities Among Members

In the absence of formal crypto rules from U.S. government agencies, the National Futures Association (NFA) is setting up standards for its members that deal in digital assets commodities. The NFA – which as a so-called self-regulatory organizat...

Policy

Mar. 31, 2023

Sushi Swap CEO Says He No Longer Feels 'Inspired' Amid U.S. Regulators’ Crypto Crackdown

Sushi Swap Head Chef Jared Grey is no longer feeling "inspired" after a wave of regulatory crackdowns on crypto exchanges, including the decentralized exchange (DEX) he manages, has put immense pressure on the crypto industry, according to commen...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Tron Founder Justin Sun Reportedly Lost His Diplomatic Status

Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain, is reportedly no longer a diplomat for Grenada. According to a report from the Grenada Broadcasting Network this week, Sun was stripped of his status as ambassador sometime after elections held in Ju...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

French Crypto Influencer Ban Will Harm Country’s Attractiveness, Industry Group Says

A planned ban on social-media influencers promoting unlicensed crypto products will harm France’s attractiveness to global Web3 players, lobby group Adan sai d after a vote in the National Assembly on Thursday. Lawmakers supported a move propos...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Crypto Exchange Zipmex's Restructuring Plan Approved by Singapore Court

Thai crypto exchange Zipmex's scheme of arrangement, or restructuring plan, has been approved by the Singapore High Court, paving the way for customers to get their deposits back. The court approved the creation of an "administrative convenience...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads Not Guilty to Latest Bribery Charge

FTX founder and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted bribery and campaign finance violations unveiled in two recent superseding indictments during a court appearance on Thursday. Prosecutors unveiled the bribe...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Three Arrows Capital's Kyle Davies Ordered to Respond to Subpoena Within 2 Weeks

Three Arrows Capital (3AC) founder Kyle Davies has two weeks to respond to a subpoena pertaining to the books and records of the bankrupt hedge fund, according to a ruling in U.S. bankruptcy court. Davies and fellow 3AC co-founder Su Zhu have pr...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Crypto Exchange Kraken Commits to Tougher Rules Required by Canada

U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is remaining in Canada and complying with tougher rules set out by the country’s financial regulator, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). Kraken has filed a pre-registration undertaking with th...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Euroclear Finalizing DLT Bond Settlement Platform, Staffer Says

Euroclear, a major player in traditional finance securities trading, could finalize a new platform for securities based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) as soon as this year, one of its staffers said on Thursday. The initiative builds on a...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried to Plead Not Guilty to Bribery, Campaign Finance Charges: Reuters

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will plead not guilty on charges of trying to evade campaign financing laws and attempting to bribe one or more Chinese government officials, Reuters reported on Thursday . Bankman-Fried previously pleaded not guil...

Policy

Mar. 30, 2023

Japan's Finance Ministry to Explore Digital Yen Feasibility: Report

Japan's finance ministry plans to launch an expert panel next month to explore the feasibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), or digital yen, public broadcaster NHK reported without saying where it got the information. The panel is...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

That Binance Suit Sure Seems Bigger Than Just a CFTC Case

Between Coinbase, Binance, Justin Sun, Do Kwon and Custodia, there has been just so much news over the last week. And that’s largely just the U.S. But Binance is the most interesting, not only for what happened (the Commodity Futures Trading Comm...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

Coinbase Chief Legal Officer: There’s ‘A Lot to Unpack’ in CFTC’s Filing Against Binance

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is going to great lengths to better gauge what is happening at the Binance exchange, said Paul Grewal, chief legal officer at rival exchange Coinbase (COIN). “There's a lot to unpack,” Grewal told ...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

Top U.S. Treasury Official Says Crypto Had No ‘Direct Role’ In Bank Failures

Nellie Liang, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for domestic finance, doesn’t believe that the digital assets sector should be blamed for the runs on Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank that led to their quick demise earlier ...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

Crypto Exchange Beaxy Shut Down After SEC Lawsuit

Crypto platform Beaxy has officially closed its doors as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the company and its founder Artak Hamazaspyan with operating an unregistered exchange and brokerage, the agency said in a Wednesday...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

Do Kwon Extradition Sought by U.S., South Korea, Montenegro Justice Minister Says

The extradition of TerraForm Labs founder Do Kwon from Montenegro has been requested by both the U.S. and South Korea, Justice Minister Marko Kovac said at a Wednesday press conference. Kwon was arrested at Podgorica airport last week. Extradi...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

British Virgin Islands Court Orders 3AC Founders to Attend Examination on May 22

CORRECTION (March 29, 10:35 UTC): An earlier version of this article incorrectly said the examination was scheduled for Dec. 19, 2023 Three Arrows Capital (3AC) founders Kyle Davies and Su Zhu have been ordered to attend court in the Briti...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

Consider DLT Use When Judging Money Laundering Risks, EBA Advises Supervisors

European Union supervisors should consider whether crypto-style distributed ledger technology (DLT) is in use as a specific factor when judging money laundering risks, the European Banking Authority has suggested in draft guidance published Wed...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

What the Bank of England’s Stablecoins Regime Could Look Like

The U.K.’s central bank wants to protect citizens against the collapse of large stablecoin issuers by updating an existing regulatory regime – a move which is imminent. Global standard setters are working on norms for stablecoins, especially as ...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

FTX’s $45M Sequoia Sale Cleared, as Embed Divestment Delayed

A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved the $45 million sale of FTX’s assets in Sequoia Capital Fund to the investment arm of Abu Dhabi, a Tuesday court filing shows. In a declaration requested by FTX on March 8, Judge John Dorsey declared th...

Policy

Mar. 29, 2023

The Algorand Foundation Branches Out to India

Blockchain protocol Algorand ( ALGO ) has entered the world’s most populous country, India, with a project that aims to support the nation’s transformation from the back office of the Web2 world to the innovation hub of the Web3 world, two senior...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

FDIC Gives Deadline Next Week for Crypto Depositors Stranded by Signature Failure

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is trying to hurry the stranded crypto customers out the door of the temporary entity that holds the assets of the former Signature Bank, asking them to cash out by next week – whether they have a new ba...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Canada to Ask Pension Funds to Disclose Crypto Exposure

Canada's national government said federally regulated pension funds in the country will need to disclose their crypto assets exposure to the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), as Ottawa tightens its regulatory oversigh...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Chicago-Based Radix Trading Is One of Three Quant Firms in Binance Suit: WSJ

Chicago-based Radix Trading told the Wall Street Journal that it's the unidentified "Trading Firm A" mentioned in the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) complaint Monday against crypto exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Z...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

U.S. CFTC Chief Behnam Reinforces View of Ether as Commodity

With the ink still drying on its Binance action , U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Rostin Behnam reiterated Tuesday at a congressional hearing he believes ether is a commodity – a potentially controversial assertion that...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Former CFTC Chairman: Regulator's Lawsuit Against Binance 'Is a Big Deal'

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) lawsuit against Binance, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume, is, in Timothy Massad’s words, a “big deal.” "If you read the complaint , there is so much detail to it. It suggests that [...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

UK Crypto Promotions Laws Hoped to be in Place by Late 2023

Crypto promotion legislation is on track to be in force by late this year, the U.K. Treasury said in a tweet on Tuesday. A draft of the Financial Services and Markets Act amendment was published on Monday. It will enable the Financial Conduc...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Crypto Banking Rules Could Be Modified If Market Reacts, Basel Committee Chair Says

International standards intended to limit banks’ crypto holdings could be revised depending on the market reaction, the chair of an influential committee of standard setters said on Tuesday. New capital rules requiring banks to treat unbacked cr...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Binance Case is Clear Evasion of Law Says CFTC Chair Behnam

There was clear documentation of Binance's intent to evade the law, said U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Rostin Behnam in a CNBC appearance on Tuesday. The CFTC on Monday sued Binance and its CEO Changpeng "CZ" Zhao al...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Faces New U.S. Indictment Over Chinese Bribery

U.S. prosecutors unveiled a new indictment against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried Wednesday, adding a bribery charge on top of the 12 other charges he already faced. The former FTX CEO already faced charges of fraud, conspiracy and trying to evad...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

EU Lawmakers Vote in Favor of Payment Limits on Anonymous Crypto Wallets

Lawmakers on two key committees in the European Parliament have voted in favor of imposing limits on payments by unverified crypto users, as part of a large scale overhaul of money laundering laws. The plans, considered alongside measures to for...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

EU Money Laundering Law Won’t Prevent Crypto Payments, Lead Lawmaker Says

New money laundering rules won’t block crypto payments, a leading European Union lawmaker said Tuesday, just hours before the European Parliament is scheduled to vote on the legislation. The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation set to be discussed b...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried's Lawyers, Prosecutors Agree on Proposed Bail Conditions

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of crypto exchange FTX, have agreed on new bail conditions with U.S. prosecutors, according to court documents filed on Monday . Among the conditions submitted for approval to District Judge Lewis Kapl...

Policy

Mar. 28, 2023

Binance CEO Zhao Calls CFTC Suit an ‘Incomplete Recitation of Facts’

In a blog post Monday, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said that a lawsuit filed earlier in the day contained “an incomplete recitation of facts.” “We do not agree with the characterization of many of the issues alleged in the complaint,” Zhao said...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

Judge Puts Voyager Sale to Binance.US on Hold Pending Government Appeal

A federal judge paused Voyager's efforts to sell its assets to Binance.US in response to the U.S. government's filing for an emergency stay. District Judge Jennifer Rearden, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, gran...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

Bankrupt Crypto Lender BlockFi to Refund More Than $100K to California Clients

BlockFi has approved a request to distribute $103,471 in refunds through its servicer to its California clients, the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced on Monday. The decision, which is subject to a bank...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

U.S. Bank Regulators Investigating Leaders of the Failed Tech Banks

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is investigating the actions of the leaders of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank to hold them accountable for the banks' collapses, said Chairman Martin Gruenberg, who detailed their mismanagement and da...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

EU Lawmakers to Vote on Limited Ban on Self-Hosted Crypto Payments

Large crypto-asset transfers from anonymous self-hosted wallets would be banned under plans set to be voted on by lawmakers on March 28, according to documents seen by CoinDesk. On Tuesday, the European Parliament’s Economics and Civil Liberties...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

G-7 Will Push for Tighter Global Crypto Regulations: Kyodo

The Group of Seven (G-7) will toughen global crypto regulation, with a focus on increasing business transparency and consumer protection, Kyodo News reported, citing officials with knowledge of the plan. G-7 discussions on regulating crypto wi...

Policy

Mar. 27, 2023

EU Smart Contract Regulations Included in Council’s Data Act Draft

Smart contracts will have to contain a kill switch under a revision of the European Union’s Data Act published by the bloc’s member states on Monday . The EU’s Council, which represents national governments, agreed on the text on Friday, and it...

Policy

Mar. 25, 2023

The UK Has Created Crypto Banking Problems

Many U.K. crypto companies are finding it difficult to obtain banking services because numerous banks are limiting their interaction with the sector altogether, crypto advocates said. Following the collapse of the U.S.’s Silicon Valley , Silve...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

Federal Reserve Says Custodia’s Crypto-Focused Business Model Is ‘Inconsistent’ With Approval

The Federal Reserve Board argued that Custodia Bank’s proposed business model was “inconsistent” with approval in an order explaining its denial of the Wyoming-based crypto bank’s application for membership. Custodia’s membership application, as...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

Former SEC Branch Chief Explains Why U.S. Has Jurisdiction in Do Kwon Case

U.S. law enforcement has jurisdiction over Singapore-based Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon because they knowingly marketed their LUNA and terraUSD (UST) coins to U.S. investors, said Lisa Braganca , a former enforcement branch chief at th...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

U.S. Accounting Board Seeks Crypto Standards Requiring Firms to Report Price Shifts

U.S. accounting standards may be overhauled to specifically factor in crypto accounting, establishing a fair-value approach that would demand certain digital assets be measured at what they would go for in the markets, according to a change prop...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

Do Kwon Charged, Due in Montenegro Court for Extradition Hearing: AFP

Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon has been charged with forgery in Montenegro and is due in court later Friday for extradition proceedings, according to a report by AFP . The South Korean national has been on the run following the collapse of stab...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele to Introduce Bill Eliminating Taxes on Technology Innovations

Nayib Bukele on Thursday night said he will be proposing a bill to El Salvador's congress eliminating all taxes on both software and hardware technology innovations. Next week, I’ll be sending a bill to congress to eliminate all taxes (income, ...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

UAE Unveils CBDC Strategy, First Phase to Be Completed by Mid-2024

The United Arab Emirates expects to complete the first phase of its central bank digital currency strategy around mid-2024, its central bank announced on Thursday. This includes proof-of-concept work for a wholesale and retail CBDC. The Centra...

Policy

Mar. 24, 2023

Binance Users in China, Elsewhere, Evade KYC Controls With Help of 'Angels': CNBC

Some Binance employees and trained "volunteers" are helping users in China and other countries evade Binance's Know Your Customer (KYC) controls, CNBC reported Wednesday, citing Chinese-language messages from a Binance-controlled Discord server...

Policy

Mar. 23, 2023

Is This Finally an Atomic Bomb From the SEC?

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s notice to Coinbase (COIN) that it’s likely to be accused of breaking securities laws could foreshadow an agency effort to break the back of the crypto sector as it now operates, but it also may finall...

Policy

Mar. 23, 2023

Do Kwon Now Faces Criminal Fraud Charges

Federal prosecutors in New York charged Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon with fraud hours after he was arrested by police in Montenegro. Kwon, whose location had been a mystery for the past several months, also faces an investigation in South Kore...

Policy

Mar. 23, 2023

Crypto Advocate Sees 'Silver Lining' for the Industry in SEC's Warning to Coinbase

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s pending enforcement action against crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) may lead to more defined rules for the crypto industry, Brett Quick, head of government affairs at Crypto Council for Innovation, t...

Policy

Mar. 23, 2023

SEC Urges Investors to Be Cautious With Crypto Securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged investors to exercise caution when investing in crypto asset securities. The agency's Office of Investors Education and Advocacy warned the platforms offering crypto trading may not be ...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

SEC Warns Coinbase It's Pursuing Enforcement Action Over Securities Violations

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) may soon face an enforcement action tied to its listing of potential unregistered securities, the company said Wednesday. Coinbase disclosed the SEC alleged the U.S.-based company may be operating in violation of ...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

SEC Sues Jake Paul for 'Illegally Touting' Justin Sun-Linked Cryptos

Internet personality Jake Paul was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over his alleged illegal promotion of cryptocurrencies tied to Justin Sun. Paul “illegally touted” cryptocurrencies “TRX and/or BTT” without disclosing he was...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

Tron Founder Justin Sun Sued by U.S. SEC on Securities, Market Manipulation Charges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Justin Sun Wednesday on allegations of selling and airdropping unregistered securities, fraud and market manipulation. The SEC said in a press release it was suing Sun, the Tron Foundation, the Bi...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

SVB Financial’s First Bankruptcy Hearing ‘Wasn’t Really So Routine,’ Says Legal Expert

A $2.1 billion fight is brewing between SVB Financial Group, once the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). SVB Financial, in its first bankruptcy hearing in a federal court in New Yor...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

GOP Sen. Ted Cruz Proposes Ban on a CBDC

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) introduced a bill on Tuesday aimed at blocking the Federal Reserve from creating a consumer-based central bank digital currency, or CBDC. "The federal government has no authority to unilaterally establish a central bank c...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

French Lawmakers Agree to Effectively Ban Crypto Influencer Promotions

French social-media influencers wouldn’t be allowed to hawk unlicensed crypto products under a plan voted on by lawmakers on a key legislative committee Wednesday. The National Assembly’s Economics Committee voted in favor of a law designed to s...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

Nigeria's eNaira Wallet Use, Transactions Climb Amid Cash Shortages: Bloomberg

Nigerians have been turning to the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) amid cash shortages, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday . The number of eNaira wallets has jumped more than 12-fold to 13 million since October, and the value of trans...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

EU Banking Authority to Hire Crypto Experts as it Prepares for New MiCA Law

The European Banking Authority (EBA) is hiring crypto-skilled staff as it seeks to prepare for duties under the European Union’s forthcoming Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA), according to a vacancy notice published on Wednesday . The ...

Policy

Mar. 22, 2023

Australian Regulator Tells Banks to Report Exposure to Startups and Crypto-Related Business: Report

Australia's Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has asked banks to report their exposure to startups and crypto-related business, in some cases on a daily basis, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported, citing sources. The (APRA) is ...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

Looking at Some Unanswered Signature and Silvergate Bank Questions

It seems the crypto industry still has some questions about Signature and Silvergate’s shutdowns. Plus, I’m in Washington, D.C., for a few days this week attending the DC Blockchain Summit on Tuesday and the CFTC Technology Advisory Committee mee...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

White House Takes Aim at Crypto in Scathing Economic Report

The White House took aim at cryptocurrencies in a new report arguing that many aspects of the digital asset ecosystem are creating issues for consumers, the financial system and the environment. The Economic Report of the President , published ...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

U.S. Senate’s Warren Calls for Crackdown on ‘Sham’ Crypto Audits

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and another prominent colleague urged the U.S. auditing watchdog to take action against “sham audits” of crypto companies, citing the contribution of such audits to the recent stresses in the U.S. banking system. ...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

Coinbase Argues an Arbitration Case in U.S. Supreme Court as Crypto Makes Its Debut

Coinbase (COIN) argued at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday that its disputes over forcing customers into arbitration should freeze the courts while the arguments play out – a moment that breaks legal ground for crypto with the industry’s first h...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

Sushi DAO, Key Contributor Served With SEC Subpoena

Sushi DAO and Head Chef Jared Grey were served with a subpoena by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the DAO revealed Tuesday. Grey proposed creating a "Sushi DAO Legal Defense Fund" in a forum post , saying it would "cover legal co...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

OneCoin's Legal Head Charged in Fraud Extradited to U.S.

Irina Dilkinska, a Bulgarian woman involved in the allegedly fraudulent crypto scheme OneCoin, has been extradited to the U.S. to face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Dilkinska was OneCoin's "supposed head of leg...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

IRS Seeks to Tax NFTs Like Other Collectibles

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is considering whether to tax non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on a par with other collectibles such as stamps, works of art and fine wine, in a move likely to have an impact on those including the digital assets withi...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

India’s Central Bank Seeking Privacy Legislation for Retail CBDC Users

India's central bank is advocating for legislation that will allow users of its retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) to delete any transactions from the network's ledger in order to maintain anonymity, a highly placed source told CoinDesk....

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

UK Crypto ‘Whitelist’ Needed to Solve Debanking, Lobby Group Says

U.K. banks should be given a “whitelist” of registered crypto firms to avoid the sector being cut off from the financial system, lobby group CryptoUK has said in letters sent to regulators Tuesday. Concerns over legitimate crypto companies getti...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

EU Crypto Banking License Procedures Are too Inconsistent, ECB Says

Euro-area banks’ requests for crypto licenses need to be made more consistent given the divergence of crypto laws within the region, the European Central Bank said in its annual report published Tuesday. A number of license requests are coming f...

Policy

Mar. 21, 2023

Circle Seeks to Register in France, Ramping Up European Play

Stablecoin issuer Circle has filed applications to register as a crypto provider in France, and to gain a license as an e-money provider, the company said Tuesday. Circle said it is seeking to make France a hub for expanded European operations a...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear First-Ever Crypto Case Tomorrow

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in its first-ever crypto-related case on Tuesday, when lawyers for San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase will attempt to convince the nine Justices to pause a pair of class-action lawsuits against...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

It’s ‘Critical’ Crypto Innovation Stays in U.S., Former White House Adviser Says

Crypto innovation going overseas could be a threat to U.S. national security, said Carole House, former director of cybersecurity and secure digital innovation at the White House and co-author of President Joe Biden’s executive order on crypto ....

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Proposes Law to Ban CBDCs

A legislative proposal from Florida Governor (and possible Republican U.S. presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis would prohibit the use of a national central bank digital currency (CBDC) as money within his state. "Today’s announcement will prote...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

No Crypto Banking Port Has Really Opened Up in This U.S. Storm

The biggest U.S. banks have not stepped forward to welcome homeless crypto businesses scrambling for banking services after fleeing the wreckage of Silvergate Bank, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank. CoinDesk asked the top 20 U.S. banks by ...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

Belgian Crypto Ads Must Warn of Risks Under New Rules

Crypto ads in Belgium must be accurate and warn investors of the risks, under new laws announced by the country’s financial regulator Monday. Powers published in Belgium’s Official Gazette on Friday mean any mass media campaign to promote digita...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

Crypto.com Gets Closer to an Operational License in Dubai

Singapore-based crypto platform Crypto.com has received its minimal viable product ( MVP ) Preparatory License from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), the firm announced on Monday. The MVP license involves a three-stage proc...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

EU’s MiCA Crypto Law Debate Scheduled for April 18

The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) has been tabled for an April 18 discussion in the European Parliament, heralding final formal agreement of the landmark law that brings in a crypto licensing regime across the bloc, ...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

FTX’s Bahamas Arm a ‘Nullity’ That Should Be Stripped of Assets: Court Filings

FTX wants to strip the company’s Bahamas arm from any claim over company assets, saying it is a mere shell set up to further alleged fraud by founder Sam Bankman-Fried, the company’s U.S. leadership said in a Sunday legal filing . The filing ac...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

Taiwan’s Crypto Industry Welcomes Regulatory Announcement

Taiwan will soon have special legislation to regulate cryptocurrency and its Financial Supervisory Commission will be in charge. Huang Tien-mu confirmed this to lawmakers in Taiwan’s parliament during a hearing about global banking stability. B...

Policy

Mar. 20, 2023

Signature Bank Non-Crypto Related Deposits to Be Assumed by New York Community Bank Unit: FDIC

Non-crypto related deposits held by former Signature Bank (now Signature Bridge Bank) will be assumed by Flagstar Bancorp, N.A., a subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp, as of Monday under a purchase and assumption agreement, the FDIC said in...

Policy

Mar. 17, 2023

Former NY Regulator: Crypto Isn't the Reason Why Signature Bank Was Closed

New York State regulators did not shut down Signature Bank (SBNY) because of the firm’s crypto clients, said Maria Vullo, a former superintendent at the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The decision was “based upon whatev...

Policy

Mar. 17, 2023

Netherlands Will Take Tough Line Enforcing MiCA, Dutch Regulator Says

The Netherlands will take a tough line enforcing new European Union crypto rules even if it means business goes elsewhere, the head of the Dutch Authority for Financial Markets (AFM) has said in an article published Friday . AFM Chair Laura van...

Policy

Mar. 17, 2023

Former Belgian Finance Minister Calls for Crypto Ban in Wake of Banking Crisis

Johan Van Overtveldt, a member of the European Parliament and former Belgian finance minister, called for a ban on crypto in the wake of banking sector turmoil in a Friday tweet. Van Overtveldt, economic spokesperson for a grouping of 64 EU lawm...

Policy

Mar. 17, 2023

Genesis Requests Timetable for Sale, Creditor Claims

Bankrupt lender Genesis has requested a May 22 deadline for creditors to say how much they are owed by the company, and June 27 for an auction, according to bankruptcy court filings dated Thursday . Bidders considering buying Genesis would have ...

Policy

Mar. 17, 2023

FDIC Denies Report Signature Bank Purchaser Must Divest Crypto

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation denied it would require any purchaser of Signature Bank to divest its crypto activities. The FDIC responded to a Wednesday Reuters report which said “any buyer of Signature must agree to give up all ...

Policy

Mar. 16, 2023

Is Ether a Security?

Last Thursday morning, I wondered whether I needed to write a follow-up piece about Silvergate Bank. On Thursday evening, I wondered whether my main topic should instead be about ether potentially being a security. And then, obviously, some thing...

Policy

Mar. 16, 2023

Former FDIC Regulator: Friendliness Toward Crypto 'Does Not Exist'

U.S. regulators may be using recent turmoil in the financial world as a way to kick crypto companies out of the banking system, said Jason Brett, a former regulator at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). “It’s about the friendlines...

Policy

Mar. 16, 2023

Voyager-Binance.US Pause Denied by Bankruptcy Judge

A $1 billion bid by Binance.US to buy up Voyager’s assets should go ahead, a bankruptcy judge ruled in a Wednesday court filing , denying a bid by the U.S. government to put proceedings on hold pending appeal. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams had ...

Policy

Mar. 16, 2023

Signature Bank’s Prospective Buyers Must Agree to Give Up All Crypto Business: Report

Signature Bank is on the market after being shuttered by state regulators on Sunday , but any potential buyer reportedly has to agree to a major caveat: no crypto. Reuters first reported the development on Wednesday evening, citing sources fa...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

U.S. Federal Reserve’s Real-Time Payments System Coming In July

The U.S. Federal Reserve is activating its long-awaited real-time payments system in July, the central bank said in a Wednesday statement, marking a transition that some have seen as a government challenge of the crypto sector’s instant-transacti...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

SEC Chairman Gensler Suggests Again That Proof-of-Stake Tokens Are Securities: Report

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler is doubling down on his opinion that proof-of-stake tokens could meet the definition of securities under the Howey Test , thus bringing them under his agency’s regulatory author...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Chinese Businessman With Ties to Steve Bannon Arrested, Charged With Fraud, Including $500M Crypto Scam

Exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui was arrested in New York on Wednesday morning and charged with fraud for allegedly orchestrating a series of fraudulent schemes that bilked retail investors out of a collective $1.4 billion. Hours after his ...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Bitfury CEO: U.S. Government Using Crisis to Choke Off Crypto Access to Banks

"It's pretty clear there has been a decision across the bank regulatory agencies in this [Biden] administration that crypto is inherently risky and needs to be extricated from the banking system," Brian Brooks, the former acting head of the Offic...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

U.S. Lawmakers Digging Through Crypto Legislation for Bipartisan Winners: Senator

The U.S. Congress is in the very early stages of making legislative progress for crypto oversight, with different ideas being reviewed for how much bipartisan support they can get, said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “We’re going through that mechan...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Silvergate Was Not Cut Off From Loans, FHLB Says

The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, the bank that supplied $4.3 billion to Silvergate late last year, did not force Silvergate to repay the advances which have been rumored to be the reason why the crypto-friendly bank went into voluntar...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

UK to Add Crypto Declaration in Tax Forms

U.K. taxpayers will have to separately report crypto assets on their tax forms in a move that is expected to raise an extra 10 million British pounds ($12 million) per year for the public purse. The move was announced by finance minister Jeremy ...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Germany and U.S. Seize Over $46M Crypto Tied to ChipMixer Investigation: Europol

Authorities from Germany and the U.S. have seized up to 44 million euros ($46.3 million) from ChipMixer, a noted cryptocurrency mixer, according to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). The respective authorities...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

India and UAE To Collaborate on CBDC Development

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will collaborate on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) by jointly conducting pilot(s), according to an announcement on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Central Bank of the United ...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Australia's Treasury and Reserve Bank Held Consultations With Coinbase, Others: Report

Australia's central bank and Treasury have held private meetings with international crypto industry executives on the future of digital assets and regulation in the nation, according to The Australian . Coinbase's vice president of internationa...

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

Voyager-Binance.US' $1B Deal Should Be Halted, U.S. Government Says

The $1 billion deal offered by Binance.US to buy assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager should be put on hold while key legal objections are ironed out, the U.S. government said in a filing on Tuesday. The move follows an appeal by the U.S....

Policy

Mar. 15, 2023

U.S. DOJ Was Investigating Signature Bank's Work With Crypto Clients: Bloomberg

The U.S. Department of Justice in Washington and Manhattan were investigating possible lax monitoring at Signature Bank to prevent money laundering, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Securities and Ex...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

EU Parliament’s Smart Contract Plans Limit Standard-Setting Promise, EU Commissioner Says

Controversial European Union rules requiring a kill switch for certain smart contracts may limit the vital ability to set standards for the sector, the European Commission’s Thierry Breton told reporters on Tuesday. His comments imply that pro...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

Signature Bank Shutdown Caused by 'Crisis of Confidence' in Leadership, NYDFS Says

Signature Bank was not shut down for crypto-related reasons, the New York Department of Financial Services said Tuesday, rejecting claims that the regulator took over the bank to send an "anti-crypto message." NYDFS took over Signature over the...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

U.S. Treasury Poised to Release View on How DeFi Used in Illicit Finance

The U.S. Treasury Department is close to releasing a risk assessment analyzing criminal use of decentralized finance (DeFi), according to Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg. “Illicit actors are...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

SEC Is 'Completely Out Of Control,' Says a16z Crypto's Head of Policy

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA – Crypto industry players ramped up the heat towards regulators Tuesday afternoon at the annual Futures Industry Association conference for what they see as failing to provide an adequate regulatory framework for the novel ass...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

EU Parliament Passes Bill Requiring Smart Contracts to Include Kill Switch

The European Parliament on Tuesday voted in favor of new data controls that could see smart contracts required to include details of a kill switch to reset activity. A 2022 European Union bill known as the Data Act included provisions intended...

Policy

Mar. 14, 2023

India’s Crypto Industry Finally Sees Lawmakers Engaging

On Saturday, India’s crypto industry pulled off a near coup by bringing lawmakers and members of India’s ruling party to a conference discussing Web3. Indian exchange CoinDCX, backed by the industry’s policy body, Bharat Web3, and media outlet F...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

CFTC Names Executives From Circle, TRM, Fireblocks Among Others to New Tech Advisory Group

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced former White House official Carole House as the new chair and blockchain analysis company TRM Labs' Ari Redboard as the vice chair of its Technology Advisory Committee. The CFTC publishe...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Justice Department Investigating TerraUSD Stablecoin Collapse: Reports

The U.S. Justice Department is probing last year’s collapse of the TerraUSD stablecoin, raising the possibility of criminal charges being filed against the stablecoin’s creator, Do Kwon, according to the Wall Street Journal , citing sources fa...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

U.S. Fed’s Supervision Chief Investigating What Happened With Silicon Valley Bank

Michael Barr, the vice chairman responsible for bank supervision and regulation at the U.S. Federal Reserve, is examining how the regulated Silicon Valley Bank met with its rapid collapse last week. "We need to have humility and conduct a carefu...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Is This a Crypto Banking Bailout?

As the wreckage that started inside crypto banking threatens financial institutions beyond the sector’s border, the U.S. government is eager to make it clear that it’s not going to let the situation get out of hand. But is it a bailout? “I inst...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Bank Collapses Underscore G-20 Hesitance on Crypto: Source

The recent collapses of crypto banks have only underscored the caution of the Group of 20 (G-20) on crypto assets, a highly placed G-20 source told CoinDesk. "Recent bank collapses have not changed, heightened or accelerated the G-20's approach ...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Panic Mustn’t Be Allowed to Spread After SVB Collapse: EU Lawmaker

Regulators should seek to stop panic spreading after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, an influential European Union lawmaker has said. Markus Ferber, a German who represents the leading center-right party in the European Parliament, said EU ...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

President Biden Calls for Stronger Bank Regulations in Wake of SVB, Signature Bank Collapses

U.S. President Joe Biden said he would call on Congress and bank regulators to strengthen rules for financial institutions in the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank collapses over the past week. In remarks from the White H...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

BlockFi Has Cash Access for Staff, Vendors Despite SVB Collapse: Attorney

BlockFi still has cash access in spite of its significant holdings at collapsed California lender Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a New Jersey bankruptcy court was told Monday. In a Friday filing, the U.S Trustee said it had urged the bankrupt crypto...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank Clients Can Fully Access Funds After FDIC Creates New Bridge Bank

Depositors of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will have full access to their money beginning Monday morning, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said (FDIC), after confirming a successful transfer of deposits to a new bridge bank. The new brid...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

EU Merchants Could Be Required to Accept Digital Euro, Ministers Told

Merchants within the euro area could be obliged to accept a digital euro if it is deemed to be legal tender, according to a paper set to be put before finance ministers later Monday and seen by CoinDesk. Giving the central bank digital currency ...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

IMF had Warned G-20 That Widespread Crypto Use Would Impact Banks

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had warned the Group of 20 (G-20) nations that the widespread proliferation of crypto assets could lead to banks losing deposits and curtailing lending. The IMF's report on " Macrofinancial Implications of C...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

After Landmark Crypto Law, European Politicians Contemplate Building Their Own Blockchain

After regulating cryptocurrencies, European politicians are contemplating the next step in the race to attract Web 3 business – and it might be a tailor-made blockchain that respects privacy, Belgium’s digital minister told CoinDesk in an exclusi...

Policy

Mar. 13, 2023

Circle Scrambles to Right USDC After Signature Bank Failure

Circle Internet Financial’s $3.3 billion cash reserves problem was seemingly solved Sunday when federal regulators promised that depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank would be made whole in short order. But Circle’s USDC stablecoin isn’t out...

Policy

Mar. 12, 2023

Circle Scrambles to Right USDC After Signature Bank Failure

Circle Internet Financial’s $3.3 billion cash reserves problem was seemingly solved Sunday when federal regulators promised that depositors of failed Silicon Valley Bank would be made whole in short order. But Circle’s USDC stablecoin isn’t out...

Policy

Mar. 12, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank Depositors Will Have Access to "All" Funds Monday, Say Federal Regulators

All depositors in Silicon Valley Bank will be made whole and have access to their funds on Monday, federal banking and finance regulators said in a joint statement Sunday. “After receiving a recommendation from the boards of the FDIC and the Fed...

Policy

Mar. 12, 2023

Crypto-Friendly Signature Bank Shut Down by State Regulators

New York-based Signature Bank, which has a number of crypto clients, was shut down Sunday by state regulators, the Federal Reserve announced. In a statement , New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Adrianne Harris said the Fed...

Policy

Mar. 11, 2023

U.S. Lawmakers Met With Fed, FDIC to Discuss Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank: Source

U.S. lawmakers met with the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday to discuss the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) held briefings with officials from the two federal bank regulators, as ...

Policy

Mar. 10, 2023

Ether a Security? That Could Have Huge Ramifications for Crypto, Legal Expert Says

If ether ( ETH ) is deemed a security by a state court it could prompt federal regulators to act against a major crypto asset, said Tonya Evans, a professor at Penn State University Dickinson Law. On Thursday, New York State Attorney General Let...

Policy

Mar. 10, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank Shuttered by State Regulators

Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was shuttered by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on Friday, marking the second bank to shut down within days. The DFPI said in a statement that it had taken possession of the bank , “ci...

Policy

Mar. 10, 2023

Banks Shouldn’t ‘Punish’ Crypto Industry, Republican Senators Urge

An increasing regulatory crackdown on banks serving crypto industry players may be “punishing an entire industry,” four Republican Senators have said in a letter to multiple U.S. regulators. Discouraging the crypto sector could exceed regulato...

Policy

Mar. 10, 2023

U.S. DOJ Appeals New York Judge’s Decision to Approve Voyager’s Sale to Binance.US

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an appeal late Thursday evening challenging a New York bankruptcy judge’s decision to allow Binance.US’s billion-dollar plan to acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital. The appeal...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

What Happens If Ether Is a Security?

Is ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain and the second-largest by market cap behind bitcoin, an investment security? The question has been a source of simmering speculation ever since Ethereum switched last year to a...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

U.S. Treasury Department Proposes 30% Excise Tax on Crypto Mining Firms

The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed a 30% excise tax on the cost of powering crypto mining facilities. A provision in the department’s “ Greenbook ,” its list of tax proposals and explanations for the U.S. President’s budget proposal, woul...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

Senior U.S. House Republican Says CBDCs Could Be ‘Weaponized’ as Political Tool

One of the top Republican lawmakers, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), is campaigning to stop what he argues is the intent of President Joe Biden’s administration to set up a digital dollar that could be deployed to collect information about citizens’ ...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

New York Attorney General Alleges Ether Is a Security in KuCoin Lawsuit

New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed suit against KuCoin on Thursday, alleging thhe Seychelles-based crypto exchange is violating securities laws by offering tokens – including ether – that meet the definition of a security without...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

US Fed Standing Up New Squad of Crypto Specialists, Says Supervision Chief Barr

The U.S. Federal Reserve is putting together a “specialized team of experts” to enhance its supervision of the crypto sector, said Michael Barr, the central bank’s vice chairman for supervision. The Fed’s top regulatory official said Thursday th...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

SWIFT to Start Phase Two Pilot After Finding 'Value' in CBDC

A project run by interbank messaging company SWIFT to interconnect central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) offers “clear potential and value,” the company said in a statement on Thursday. The project, which included banks such as BNP Paribas (BN...

Policy

Mar. 09, 2023

India's Crypto Regulation Now Has Teeth, Experts Say

India's inclusion of crypto businesses under money laundering rules has given teeth to the regulators overseeing the industry for the first time, lawyers and industry participants said. On Tuesday, the Finance Ministry added the industry to an...

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Mar. 09, 2023

FTX Proposes $4M Bonus Program as It Seeks to Retain Staff

Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX wants to introduce a $4 million bonus program to stop staff with key skills quitting, according to court documents filed Tuesday . Chief Executive Officer John J. Ray III, who took charge on Nov. 11 when the company...

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Mar. 09, 2023

Biden Budget Plan Would Close Crypto Tax Loss Harvesting Loophole

U.S. President Joe Biden's proposed budget, set to be unveiled Thursday, will include a provision to close tax loss harvesting on crypto transactions. A White House official confirmed that the budget will include a tax provision intended to redu...

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Mar. 09, 2023

Crypto Bank Silvergate Announces 'Voluntary Liquidation'

Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will "voluntarily liquidate" its assets and wind down operations, its holding company, Silvergate Capital Corp. (SI), said Wednesday. The bank was under fire after announcing a week ago it would have to delay fili...

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Mar. 08, 2023

Crypto Sector’s Reserve Reports Can’t Be Trusted, Says U.S. Audit Watchdog

Proof-of-reserve reports routinely touted by crypto firms to assure customers that their financial transactions are in secure hands shouldn’t be trusted , according to the U.S. organization that oversees auditing standards. The Public Company A...

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Mar. 08, 2023

Airbit Club Founders, Lawyer Plead Guilty to $100M Fraud Scheme

Six executives of the global cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme Airbit Club have pleaded guilty to their roles in the global fraud and money laundering scheme that prosecutors say defrauded victims out of a collective $100 million. Pablo Renato Rodrigu...

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Mar. 08, 2023

Crypto Bank Silvergate Announces 'Voluntary Liquidation'

Crypto-friendly Silvergate Bank will "voluntarily liquidate" its assets and wind down operations, its holding company Silvergate Capital Corp. announced Wednesday. The bank was under fire after announcing a week ago it would have to delay filin...

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Mar. 08, 2023

Grayscale Chief Legal Officer: A Spot Bitcoin ETF Will Protect U.S. Investors, Consumers

There are many possible outcomes if a federal court rules in Grayscale's favor in its lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said Craig Salm, Grayscale’s chief legal officer. The lawsuit was filed by the CoinDesk sister ...

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Mar. 08, 2023

UK’s FCA Can’t Protect Crypto Investors From Losses, says Agency’s CEO

The U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is unable to create a regulatory framework for crypto investors that could protect them from losses, agency CEO Nikhil Rathi told the Treasury Select Committee in an inquiry session on Wednesday . Th...

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Mar. 08, 2023

Crypto Lender Celsius Should Continue Exclusive Right to Pursue Novawulf Deal, Judge Says

Celsius Network should continue to have the exclusive right to prepare a plan for exiting bankruptcy until the end of March, a bankruptcy court judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Martin Glenn said sufficient progress had been made in preparing a deal t...

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Mar. 08, 2023

India's Crypto Businesses Handed Anti-Money Laundering Obligations for First Time

India has added crypto to anti-money laundering rules, making crypto exchanges, NFT marketplaces and custody service wallet providers legally responsible for monitoring suspicious financial activities for the first time. The businesses will have...

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Mar. 08, 2023

AXA Investment Managers Gains French Crypto Registration

AXA Investment Managers was registered as a crypto services provider in France as of Tuesday, according to the website of financial markets regulator the AMF. The announcement means the company, part of the AXA Group insurance company, which say...

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Mar. 08, 2023

No NFTs Are Securities – Yet, German Finance Officials Say

No non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are yet classified as securities – a status that would require licenses and money laundering supervision, German financial regulator BaFin said Wednesday. Using the blockchain-based tokens which denotes ownership of...

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Mar. 08, 2023

UK Financial Regulator Expands Enforcement Against Crypto ATMs to East London

The U.K Financial Conduct Authority has expanded its enforcement action against crypto ATMs, taking the investigation to east London after working with West Yorkshire Police to tackle crypto ATM operators in the northern city of Leeds. The fin...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Silvergate's Collapse May Spell Regulatory Trouble for Crypto

Silvergate Bank had a really rough week, to the point where a not-insignificant number of people were waiting for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to announce the bank had entered receivership after close of business Friday. You...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Silvergate Talking With FDIC About How to Save Crypto-Focused Bank: Bloomberg

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) officials have been consulting with executives of troubled crypto-focused bank Silvergate (SI) on how to keep the company in business, according to report from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matt...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Binance.US Can Move Ahead With Plan to Acquire Voyager Digital's Assets, Judge Rules

Binance.US cleared a major hurdle in its effort to acquire the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital in a deal worth over $1 billion after Michael Wiles, a bankruptcy judge in the Southern District of New York, overruled the various ob...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Federal Reserve’s Powell: We Don’t Want to Strangle Crypto Innovation, But Sector Is a Mess

If the crypto industry was looking for a silver lining in Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony in a U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday, the best he could offer was that he’s hoping there’s something useful and innovative amidst crypto’s ma...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Coinbase Sued by Customer Who Says Exchange Refused to Reimburse Him for $96K Lost in Hack

Coinbase Inc. (COIN) is being sued by a customer who says the crypto exchange refused to help him after he lost $96,000 from his Coinbase wallet due to a hack, according to a filing in the United States District Court for the Northern District of...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Judges Express Skepticism of SEC Arguments in Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Hearing

A panel of judges appeared skeptical of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) arguments during an appeals court hearing in Grayscale's ongoing bid to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an exchange-traded fund (ETF). Th...

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Mar. 07, 2023

‘Tonight Show’s’ Jimmy Fallon Files to Be Removed From Subpoena in Bored Apes Trademark Case

Lawyers for “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon filed a motion to quash a document subpoena from conceptual artist Ryder Ripps on Monday, calling the move an “unwarranted fishing expedition for irrelevant material.” Fallon is a non-party to Yug...

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Mar. 07, 2023

U.S. Lawmakers to Reintroduce Crypto Tax Reform Bill: Report

U.S. lawmakers are planning on reintroducing a bill that will reform the way crypto is treated for tax purposes, Punchbowl news said on Tuesday. The bill called Keep Innovation in America Act, co led by U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) and R...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Thailand Offers $1B Tax Break for Firms Issuing Investment Tokens: Reuters

Thailand is offering a tax break for companies that issue digital tokens for investment, in a move estimated to cost the government 35 billion baht ($1 billion), according to a report from Reuters . The Thai government agreed on Tuesday to waiv...

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Mar. 07, 2023

Voyager Bankruptcy Judge Expresses Skepticism Over U.S. SEC Objection to Binance US Deal

The federal judge overseeing bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital's effort to sell itself to Binance US had some harsh words for a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorney over the agency's view that there may be violations of fed...

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Mar. 06, 2023

SEC Accuses Utah-Based Green United of Running $18M Crypto Mining Scam

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed suit against Green United, alleging the Utah-based company violated federal securities laws by selling $18 million worth of phony crypto mining equipment. According to the SEC’s compla...

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Mar. 06, 2023

U.S. Banking Watchdog: You Can’t Trust Crypto Firms Until They Get Federal Oversight

It may be difficult to trust a crypto company that isn't federally supervised, a key bank regulator said Monday. As it stands, there’s no way for people to know which crypto firms they can rely on, said Michael Hsu, the acting head of the U.S. O...

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Mar. 06, 2023

Alameda Sues Grayscale and DCG to Allow Redemptions, Reduce Fees

FTX sister company Alameda Research has filed a lawsuit against crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments seeking injunctive relief to realize what it claims is over $250 million in asset value for the FTX Debtor’s customers and creditors, accor...

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Mar. 06, 2023

White House Is 'Aware of' Silvergate Situation, Spokeswoman Says

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Biden administration is monitoring Silvergate Bank's (SI)) situation, comparing it with those at other crypto companies and saying President Joe Biden has called on Congress to take action i...

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Mar. 06, 2023

SEC Files Emergency Action Against BKCoin for Running $100M ‘Ponzi-Like’ Scheme

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was granted emergency relief by a Florida court on Monday to freeze and appoint a receiver for the assets of Miami-based crypto hedge fund BKCoin and one of its co-founders, Kevin Kang. Accordi...

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Mar. 06, 2023

FTX Bankruptcy Examiner Denial Appealed by U.S. Government

The U.S. government on Monday appealed a judicial decision not to appoint an independent examiner to look into the collapse of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The U.S. Trustee, a branch of the Department of Justice (DOJ), had previously argued t...

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Mar. 06, 2023

Crypto Scam in Egypt Defrauds Thousands of Investors of $620K: Report

A online cryptocurrency scam in Egypt defrauded thousands of investors of around $620,000, Al Jazeera reported on Monday , citing state media. Authorities have arrested 29 people, including 13 foreign citizens, in connection with the fraudulent...

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Mar. 06, 2023

Voyager Denies SEC Claims VGX Token Is Security as Binance US Decision Looms

Voyager Digital has denied claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that its VGX token is a security, as it seeks court approval for a $1.02 billion offer from Binance US to buy up the bankrupt crypto lender. Delays to the d...

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Mar. 06, 2023

Australian Crypto Regulations Likely to Be Delayed Until Mid-2024: Report

Australian laws to regulate the crypto industry and protect retail customers could still be more than a year away, government documents released under Freedom of Information Laws indicate. While the government has not given a timeline for brin...

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Mar. 06, 2023

BIS Says 'Hub and Spoke' Cross-Border Transfers Offer Benefits for Retail CBDC

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the organization that unites the world's central banks, said the cross-border payment model for central bank digital currency (CBDC) it explored in Project Icebreaker offers benefits for both the bank...

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Mar. 06, 2023

Singapore Police Start Investigation Into Do Kwon's Terraform Labs: Bloomberg

Singapore police said they have commenced an investigation into Terraform Labs, the company behind the failed TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin, according to a Bloomberg report on Monday . Police said inquiries are "ongoing" as part of its investigatio...

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Mar. 05, 2023

Lido’s LDO Token Sinks 10% Following Rumors Crypto Staking Service Received SEC Notice

Lido’s LDO token tanked 10% on Saturday following a rumor that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) served the largest Ethereum staking service with a Wells Notice. A Lido spokesperson declined to comment on whether the protocol ...

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Mar. 04, 2023

Bankman-Fried Should Have Only Flip Phone, Website Whitelist, DOJ Says

Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail conditions should restrict his use of the internet, including the use of a non-internet connected flip phone, an attorney to the U.S. Department of Justice has proposed in court filings made late Friday . The proposal m...

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Mar. 03, 2023

Silvergate Closes SEN Platform Institutions Used to Move Money to Crypto Exchanges

Silvergate Bank, which warned this week about its ability to remain in business , discontinued its SEN platform that institutions used to move money to crypto exchanges. “Effective immediately Silvergate Bank has made a risk-based decision to d...

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Mar. 03, 2023

SEC Official Says Binance US Is Operating 'Unregistered Securities Exchange'

A U.S. Securities and Exchange official said agency staff believe Binance US is operating an unregistered securities exchange in the U.S., and that staff believe the sale of VGX tokens by Voyager Digital violated federal securities laws. Speakin...

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Mar. 03, 2023

The Rise and Fall of Silvergate’s Crypto Business

Silvergate Bank lost more than $8 billion in deposits from its crypto customers in the final months of 2022 as its core block of business crumbled under the industry’s implosion – just as the bank’s regulators had predicted might happen for suc...

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Mar. 03, 2023

Stablecoin Issuer Tether Used Bank Accounts Opened With Falsified Documents in Past: WSJ

Tether, the company behind the world's largest stablecoin, accessed bank accounts by way of falsified documents and intermediaries, a new report says. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Tether used bank accounts used accounts in the ...

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Mar. 03, 2023

U.S. Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Force Crypto Miners to Disclose Emissions

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill to require crypto miners to disclose their emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency to report on the effects of crypto mining. The Crypto-Asset Envi...

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Mar. 03, 2023

Bankrupt Crypto Lender Celsius Re-Opens Withdrawals for Certain Custody Accounts

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius has opened up withdrawals for assets in certain custody accounts, according to a tweet on Tuesday . Eligible users will be able to withdraw all the funds in their accounts up to the permitted withdrawal amount, th...

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Mar. 03, 2023

Was Silvergate on Borrowed Time as Regulators Backed Banks Away From Crypto?

One of the crypto sector’s core banks, Silvergate Capital Corp., is being hollowed out in a classic customer retreat familiar to students of bank-run history. The latest and most severe flight of customers from the La Jolla, Calif.-based institu...

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Mar. 02, 2023

U.S. Lawmakers Argue SEC Accounting Policy Undermines Safe Crypto Custody

Two Republican lawmakers who have been central to the U.S. Congress’ ongoing efforts toward regulating crypto are questioning government policies controlling how financial firms handle their accounting for cryptocurrency. U.S. Rep. Patrick McH...

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Mar. 02, 2023

FTX Has ‘Massive Shortfall’ in Assets, Say Bankruptcy Lawyers

FTX.com has a “massive shortfall” in assets, according to a press release detailing a presentation that will be filed in the bankrupt crypto exchange’s chapter 11 case on Thursday. Using the latest spot prices, $2.2 billion of total assets hav...

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Mar. 02, 2023

House Digital Assets Panel Chair Ready to Work With Ag Committee on Crypto Framework

Speaking Thursday at the Milken Institute Future of Digital Assets Symposium, Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) said he intends to work with the House Agriculture Committee on creating legislation for cryptocurrency. The vice chairman of the House Fin...

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Mar. 02, 2023

Voyager Bankruptcy Judge Says He Is ‘Absolutely Shocked’ by SEC Objection to Binance.US Deal

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Michael Wiles appeared heavily skeptical about an attempt by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to stop a purchase by Binance.US of assets of defunct crypto lender Voyager Digital at a Thursday court hearing....

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Mar. 02, 2023

SEC Chair Gensler Says Crypto Exchanges May Not Be 'Qualified Custodians'

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler pushed back on the idea that crypto exchanges could be safe qualified custodians for investment advisers. Speaking at an Investor Advisory Committee meeting Thursday, Gensler said...

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Mar. 02, 2023

Binance a 'Hotbed of Illegal Financial Activity,' Senators Claim: WSJ

A bipartisan grouping of three US Senators has written to Binance asking for details on its money laundering controls, accusing the crypto exchange of being a "hotbed of illegal financial activity," according to the Wall Street Journal . Accord...

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Mar. 02, 2023

Indian Crypto Exchange BitBNS Says Law Enforcement Advised Against Making Hack Public

Indian Crypto Exchange BitBNS didn't make a Feb. 1, 2022 $7.5 million hack public to its users and instead told them it was "system maintenance" because law enforcement authorities advised them against it, BitBNS CEO Gaurav Dahake said during a...

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Mar. 02, 2023

Dubai’s Crypto Industry Welcomes New Licensing Regime Amid Global Regulatory Uncertainty

Dubai's crypto industry is thrilled the jurisdiction has finally unveiled its crypto regulatory framework, giving locals a concrete licensing regime for digital asset issuers and service providers. The framework comes after crypto markets went ...

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Mar. 02, 2023

Metaverse Competition Issues Need Addressing, EU Antitrust Chief Says

The EU’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager wants to ensure healthy competition exists within metaverses as the European Commission prepares to publish a strategy for online virtual worlds in May. “It is already time for us to start asking w...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Australia’s Central Bank Taps Mastercard and Others to Test CBDC Use Cases

The Reserve Bank of Australia has revealed a set of projects that will develop use cases for a digital dollar, the eAUD, during its testing phase, currently underway. The projects will look at use cases ranging from offline payments to bond sett...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Silvergate Stock Plunges as Bank Says It May Face DOJ, Congressional and Bank Regulator Inquiries

Silvergate Bank announced it would delay the filing of its annual report on Wednesday, sending its stock price plunging over 10% in after-hours trading. The crypto-friendly bank has said it would have to delay the filing of its annual 10-K rep...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Prosecutors’ Case Against FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Becomes Clearer

Federal prosecutors have shared more information about their case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Between two new indictments and civil suits against another former FTX executive, we now have a much clearer picture about what the Departmen...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Justin Sun Says Hong Kong’s New Licensing Regime Could Shift Policy in Mainland China, Eventually

The city of Hong Kong is looking to become a virtual asset hub as soon as this summer . Justin Sun, founder of the Tron blockchain and the man who runs the Huobi crypto exchange , is ready for that change. He said in a tweet Monday that Hu...

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Mar. 01, 2023

DeFi to Go Under Microscope at US CFTC Advisory Group’s Opening Session

Decentralized finance (DeFi) will be the first topic discussed at the opening meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Technology Advisory Committee on March 22, further cementing the cryptocurrency sector as a priority for the U.S...

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Mar. 01, 2023

US SEC Plans to Keep Growing Crypto Unit as Enforcement Ramps Up

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may ramp up its recent surge of cases targeting crypto firms by once again boosting the size of its digital assets enforcement squad. The regulator, which has been hammering away at the crypto se...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Top US Treasury Official Says Leaders ‘Actively Evaluating’ Digital Dollar Question

Nellie Liang, the U.S. Treasury Department's undersecretary for domestic finance, suggested that the federal government’s work on a potential digital dollar is accelerating, saying leaders from various agencies and White House offices are startin...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Puerto Rico Extends 4% Tax Incentive to Crypto and Blockchain Activities

Puerto Rico has extended its 4% tax incentive to crypto assets and blockchain activities, including staking . Blockchain technology, digital assets based on blockchain technology and blockchain validation (the activity undertaken to reach a con...

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Mar. 01, 2023

French Regulator Working to Clarify New Crypto Rules, Align With EU

France's financial market regulator will detail new requirements for crypto firms to register in the country, its head, Marie-Anne Barbat-Layani, said Wednesday. “We will work to clarify these new rules,” Financial Market Authority (AMF) Chair B...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Nigeria Picks Bola Tinubu as President Amid Cash Shortages

Bola Tinubu has won Nigeria’s disputed presidential election as the country continues to battle crippling cash shortages and high inflation left by outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari’s term was plagued with nationwide anti-police b...

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Mar. 01, 2023

Crypto Lender Voyager Says Majority of Customers Voted for Restructuring Plan With Binance US

Crypto lender Voyager Digital Holdings, which filed for bankruptcy last year, said Tuesday night that 97% of its customers, representing 98% of total claims, voted in favor of a chapter 11 restructuring plan which will see Binance US acquire some...

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Feb. 28, 2023

Ex-Biden Adviser Said Administration Was Pushing for Digital Dollar

A recent top economic advisor for President Joe Biden, Daleep Singh, told U.S. senators on Tuesday that the administration was in active pursuit of a digital dollar as a means to crowd out private cryptocurrencies that enable ransomware and sanct...

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Feb. 28, 2023

SEC, CFTC Charge FTX's Singh With Fraud Following Criminal Plea

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures charged former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh with fraud allegations on Tuesday, following the ex-FTX executive's guilty plea to similar charges in a federal courthouse. ...

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Feb. 28, 2023

Ohio Joins $22.5M Multistate Settlement Against Crypto Lender Nexo

The Ohio Division of Securities has joined a $22.5 million settlement against crypto lender Nexo, it said Tuesday . The North American Securities Administrators Association and the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in January ...

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Feb. 28, 2023

French National Assembly Votes for Tougher Registration Rules for Crypto Firms

Crypto firms will face tougher rules to register in France as of January, under plans voted on by the National Assembly on Tuesday that are now set to pass into law. Lawmakers voted 109-71 in favor of rubber-stamping plans, already approved by t...

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Feb. 28, 2023

Grayscale to Argue SEC’s Inconsistency as Bitcoin ETF Dispute Heads to Court

Grayscale says it’s preparing to argue in court next week that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) inappropriately treated its bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) bid differently than earlier decisions approving bitcoin futures-based E...

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Feb. 28, 2023

Former FTX Engineering Director Nishad Singh Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges: Reuters

Former FTX Director of Engineering Nishad Singh pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a New York court on Tuesday. Singh, who worked with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried at the defunct crypto exchange, was reported to have been looking for a plea ...

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Feb. 28, 2023

Certain Banks' Crypto Exposure Dropped by 44% Globally in 2022 From Previous Year: BIS

Banks across the globe lowered their exposure to certain cryptocurrencies by 43.6% over the past year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said Tuesday . Total exposure to cryptocurrencies – both to cryptos directly and via derivative ...

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Feb. 28, 2023

DLT Not Efficient Enough to Power CBDCs: BOE’s Cunliffe

Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is too clunky to be reliably used for a central bank digital currency, a senior Bank of England official told lawmakers Tuesday, pouring cold water on industry claims about the technology that underpins crypto....

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Feb. 27, 2023

UK Banking Regulator to Propose Rules on Issuing, Holding Crypto

The Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), which regulates banks in the U.K., is planning to propose rules on issuing and holding digital assets, Vicky Saporta, executive director of prudential policy at the Bank of England, said in a speech Mon...

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Feb. 27, 2023

Illinois Officials Pushing State Crypto Licensing to Emulate New York’s BitLicense

Illinois is trying to follow in New York’s crypto footsteps with a new oversight regime, according to David DeCarlo, Illinois’ first regulatory innovation officer, who is among the prominent advocates for the plan now being shepherded through the...

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Feb. 27, 2023

Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Plans to Let Customers of its Non-Bank Members Trade Crypto

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), which operates Israel's only public equity trading platform, wants to expand authorized activities to allow customers of its non-banking members to trade crypto, according to a Monday announcement . Non-bank...

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Feb. 27, 2023

$1B Voyager-Binance Deal Benefits Halved if Alameda Loan Claim Succeeds: Texas Regulators

The benefits to creditors from an offer from Binance US to buy up bankrupt crypto lender Voyager hinge on a $445 million loan claim by Alameda Research, making the deal potentially not worth bothering with, Texas regulators said in a Friday cour...

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Feb. 25, 2023

Global Crypto Rules to be Based on Coming FSB & IMF Synthesis Paper, India Says After G20 Meetings

The basis of coming global crypto rules will be formed on a new synthesis paper, jointly produced by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), announced India as the holder of the Group of 20 (G20) Presidency ...

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Feb. 24, 2023

Crypto Investors' $28M ‘Black Thursday’ Lawsuit Against DeFi Giant Maker Dismissed by US Judge

A federal judge dismissed a class-action lawsuit that alleged investors on Maker , one of the largest decentralized finance protocols, suffered some $8 million in losses because the platform misrepresented risks, according to a court document ...

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Feb. 24, 2023

SEC’s Coinbase Insider Trading Case Is ‘Backdoor Rulemaking,’ Trade Association’s CEO Says

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is trying to stop a case brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against a former Coinbase (COIN) employee accused of insider trading. The organization’s founder, Perianne Boring, said if the S...

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Feb. 24, 2023

EU Metaverse Policy Should Consider Discrimination, Safety, Data Controls: Commission Official

The EU needs to consider issues such as non-discrimination, user safety and data privacy when considering how to regulate the metaverse, a senior European Commission official said Friday. The bloc wants to avoid mistakes it says were made with i...

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Feb. 24, 2023

FATF Agrees on Action Plan to Drive Implementation of Global Crypto Norms

The Financial Action Task Force has agreed on an action plan to drive the "timely implementation" of its global standards for crypto, a report from its recent plenary meeting shows. The plenary for the global money-laundering and financial cri...

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Feb. 24, 2023

Digital Euro Should Prioritize Online, Peer-to-Peer Payments, ECB Says

A digital euro should prioritize online purchases and making payments among friends, the European Central Bank said in documents published on its website . The slideshow, published for a Wednesday meeting, says other uses such as paying taxes, ...

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Feb. 24, 2023

Why Nigerians Aren't Turning to the eNaira Despite Crippling Cash Shortages

Nigeria is struggling with severe cash shortages, with riots erupting across the country just days before a decisive presidential election – but people are still not turning to the national digital currency, the eNaira, which promised to impro...

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Feb. 24, 2023

Australian Markets Regulator is Reviewing Binance Australia's Derivatives Services

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), is conducting a targeted review of Binance Australia's derivatives business, the regulator said on Friday. The development comes a day after Binance said that it had incorrectly tagged 5...

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Feb. 23, 2023

The SEC's Stablecoin Hammer, Courtesy Terraform Labs and Do Kwon

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Terraform Labs and Do Kwon last week, alleging the terraUSD stablecoin was a security, alongside various other tokens and products. This feels pretty important. You’re reading State of Crypto, a ...

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Feb. 23, 2023

Crypto Bank Custodia's Bid for Fed Supervision Rejected Again

The Federal Reserve Board announced Thursday it had again rejected crypto bank Custodia's bid for Fed supervision, after previously denying the application last month. The Fed board voted against reconsidering Custodia's application, a press re...

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Feb. 23, 2023

Dapper Labs Ruling Could Spell Trouble for Other Centralized NFT Projects, Experts Say

A recent legal decision may offer some much-needed – though not much-liked – clarity on the regulatory landscape ahead for non-fungible tokens ( NFT ) that may define how centralized companies proceed in entering Web3. The federal judge in New Y...

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Feb. 23, 2023

Montana Senate Passes Bill Protecting Crypto Miners

The Montana State Senate passed a bill Thursday protecting crypto miners from a range of possible actions against the industry. The proposed law passed 37-13 in the Senate and next will go the state's House for its approval. The bill prote...

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Feb. 23, 2023

IMF Board 'Generally Agreed' Crypto Shouldn't Be Legal Tender

Cryptocurrency should in general not be granted legal tender status, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Executive Board said in a statement Thursday . The board – 24 directors elected by the IMF’s member countries – earlier this month had ...

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Feb. 23, 2023

US Banking Regulators Warn Banks About Crypto Liquidity Risks

The Federal Reserve and other U.S. banking agencies are warning banks that crypto poses significant liquidity dangers, according to a joint statement issued Thursday, further reinforcing their campaign to generally steer lenders away from digit...

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Feb. 23, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Hit With Additional Bank Fraud Charges in New Indictment

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faces additional charges, including bank fraud allegations, under a new indictment unveiled Thursday morning. The new 12-count indictment sees federal officials charging the onetime crypto wunderkind with bank fraud...

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Feb. 23, 2023

Crypto Regulatory Initiatives Show SEC’s Dominance Among US Regulators: JPMorgan

Recent regulatory initiatives have shown the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) dominant position in the U.S. in regulating the digital assets space, JPMorgan (JPM) said in a research report last week. Its actions have also shown the S...

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Feb. 23, 2023

SEC Objects to Binance.US’ $1B Voyager Deal, Alleging Sale of Unregistered Securities

A $1.02 billion deal by Binance.US to purchase assets of defunct crypto lender Voyager has been opposed by New York and Federal finance regulators, who said in Feb. 22 filings it could prove discriminatory and unlawful. The move follows increasi...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Forsage Founders Indicted for $340M Ponzi Scheme Masquerading as DeFi Platform

The founders of Forsage were indicted in the U.S. for running a $340 million Ponzi scheme that portrayed itself as a decentralized finance (DeFi) investing platform. Four Russian nationals – Vladimir Okhotnikov, Olena Oblamska, Mikhail Sergeev ...

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Feb. 22, 2023

NY Attorney General Sues Crypto Exchange CoinEx, Alleges AMP, LBC, LUNA and RLY Tokens Are Securities

The New York State Attorney General's office filed suit against crypto exchange CoinEx on Wednesday, arguing it is an unregistered securities broker and commodity broker-dealer under state law. CoinEx did not register as an exchange with the U.S...

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Feb. 22, 2023

NBA's 'Top Shot' NFTs Are Securities, Judge Rules in Dapper Labs Case

Dapper Labs’ NBA-branded “Top Shot” non-fungible tokens are plausibly securities, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. "The Court finds that Plaintiffs’ allegations render each consideration under Howey facially plausible and survive Defendants’ Mot...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Canadian Crypto Trading Platforms Face 'Enhanced' Rules Under New Regulations

The Canadian Securities Administrators published new guidance for the local crypto industry Wednesday, warning exchanges and other platforms they would have to abide by "enhanced investor protection commitments." According to a press release , ...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Voyager’s Binance US Sale Plan ‘Full Steam Ahead,’ Counsel Says

Plans to wind up Voyager by selling assets to Binance US are “on track,” an attorney for the bankrupt crypto lender told a New York court on Wednesday. Lawyers for Voyager said 97% of votes so far have been in favor of the plan with hours left t...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Voyager Being Probed for Deceptive Crypto Marketing, FTC Says

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital and its executives are being probed for deceptive marketing of cryptocurrency, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in a legal filing Wednesday. The FTC said it doesn’t want any plan to wind up the affair...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Israel's Central Bank Proposes Rules for Stablecoins Including 100% Reserve Requirement

The Bank of Israel on Wednesday published principles for regulating stablecoin activity in the country , which lays out the central bank's recommendations for supervising crypto linked to the value of other assets like the U.S. dollar. The docu...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Hong Kong Backs Web3 With $6.4M in Annual Budget

Hong Kong will earmark $6.4 million (HK$50 million) for developing its Web3 ecosystem, according to its 2023-2024 budget published on Wednesday. The funds will go towards organising major international seminars, cross-sectoral business co-ope...

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Feb. 22, 2023

2022 Events Cast 'Serious Doubts' on Stablecoins as Money: BIS Chief

The events of 2022 have cast "serious doubts on the ability of stablecoins to function as money," said Agustin Carstens, general manager at the Bank for International Settlements, during a Wednesday speech . Stablecoins, which are cryptocurrenc...

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Feb. 22, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Move to Squash Voyager Subpoena

A subpoena for Sam Bankman-Fried that was given to his mother, Barbara Fried, and not Sam himself is being called “procedurally deficient” by his legal counsel. The counsel for Bankman-Fried is arguing that caselaw in U.S. courts holds that th...

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Feb. 21, 2023

Caitlin Long Sees 'Coordinated Effort' Among Regulators for Custodia Rejection

Factions in the Biden administration and the U.S. Federal Reserve were responsible for scuttling crypto-oriented Custodia Bank’s efforts to obtain a master account from the central bank, CEO Caitlin Long claimed Tuesday. While not naming them, ...

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Feb. 21, 2023

SEC’s Shadow Crypto Rule Taking Shape as Enforcement Cases Mount

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler thinks the cryptocurrency industry is playing a game with his agency. He has said that companies are well aware of what they have to do to operate legally within the U.S., but they’...

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Feb. 21, 2023

Paxos Is Holding a 'Constructive Discussion' With SEC: Reuters

Stablecoin issuer Paxos is having a "constructive discussion" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Chief Executive Officer Charles Cascarilla told the company over the weekend, according to Reuters . The report, which was lig...

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Feb. 21, 2023

Nigeria's Central Bank in Talks With Blockchain Platform R3 for CBDC Revamp: Bloomberg

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is looking to develop a new system for its digital currency, the eNaira, and is in early-stage talks with New York-based blockchain firm R3, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter...

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Feb. 21, 2023

Hong Kong’s Approach to Crypto Regulation Could Attract Capital, Talent to Asia: Bernstein

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has taken a “regulate to protect” approach to cryptocurrencies, contrasting with recent action in the U.S. of regulation by enforcement, Bernstein said in a research report Monday. The brok...

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Feb. 21, 2023

How Hong Kong is Gearing Up to Regulate Stablecoins

At the end of January, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) indicated it may require firms to keep to their principal business and have a locally incorporated entity in Hong Kong if they want to obtain stablecoin licenses, according to its co...

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Feb. 20, 2023

FTX Japan Customers Can Begin Withdrawing Fiat, Crypto on Feb. 21

FTX Japan will restart withdrawal services for fiat and crypto assets as of noon local time on Feb. 21, the company said in an announcement made Monday . The announcement meets a promise made in December by the exchange, whose assets in the c...

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Feb. 20, 2023

Existing Stablecoins Won’t Meet Forthcoming Global Standards: FSB

Many existing stablecoins would not meet the “high-level” recommendations soon to be set by global standard setters like the Financial Stability Board (FSB), its Chair Klaas Knot said on Monday. The FSB’s upcoming guidance targets the strengthen...

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Feb. 20, 2023

Hong Kong Proposes Rules for Crypto Trading Platforms

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Monday published its proposed rules for virtual asset trading platforms and is seeking public comment. Aside from setting up a licensing regime for crypto service providers, the regulator ...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Custodia Bank Renews Push for Fed 'Master Account' After Rejection

Custodia Bank filed an amended complaint against the Federal Reserve Friday, weeks after the Fed rejected the bank's effort to secure a "master account" and become a member of the Federal Reserve System. The Wyoming Special Purpose Depository In...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Former CFTC Chairman: SEC Was 'Absolutely Right' to Sue Terraform Labs, Do Kwon

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is right to go after stablecoin issuer Terraform Labs and founder Do Kwon, said Timothy Massad, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). “They [the SEC] were absolutely...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Former FTX Executive Nishad Singh Planning to Plead Guilty to Fraud: Bloomberg

Nishad Singh, the former director of engineering for collapsed crypto exchange FTX, is planning to plead guilty to fraud charges for his role in the alleged scheme, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg reported Singh’s plea deal with the Manhattan ...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Coinbase Exec: US Congress Needs to ‘Step Up’ Its Crypto Regulatory Efforts

Coinbase, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume , would be willing to register its dormant broker dealers with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as long as lawmakers provide clear direction for the ...

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Feb. 17, 2023

SEC Sues Former NBA Star Paul Pierce Over EthereumMax Promos

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued former National Basketball Association player Paul Pierce for "touting" EthereumMax (EMAX) tokens without revealing he had been paid to do so. In a release Friday, the SEC said Pierce had be...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Terraform Labs, Do Kwon Transferred More Than 10K Bitcoin Out of Platform Accounts After Collapse: SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused stablecoin issuer Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon of transferring thousands of bitcoin worth millions of dollars to a Swiss bank account following the enterprise's collapse in May last ye...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Crypto Has an Incest Problem

Last year, failings at crypto issuer Terra ricocheted across the crypto ecosystem, ultimately claiming FTX, a giant in the space. This investigation of court records shows how the millions – if not billions – of dollars’ worth of exposures among ...

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Feb. 17, 2023

No, Hong Kong Won’t Be Allowing Retail Traders Access to Crypto on June 1

Hong Kong is warming up to crypto, and a licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) – the local term for crypto exchanges – kicks in on June 1. Does this mean crypto is going "fully legal" then in the city for everyone, as a twe...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Bernstein: SEC Tightening of Crypto Regulations Is not an Existential Threat

Regulatory action against the Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin and its issuer Paxos was specific to BUSD and cannot be extrapolated to others such as USD Coin (USDC), Bernstein said in a research report Thursday. Some in the industry had expresse...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Calm Before the Storm: Is UK’s Financial Watchdog Gearing Up for Enforcement Action?

The U.S. has been busy cracking down on crypto firms these past two weeks but on the other side of the pond, the U.K.’s financial regulator has barely moved an inch. It may, however, just be the calm before a storm. The U.S. Securities and Excha...

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Feb. 17, 2023

Japan Will Launch Pilot for Issuing Digital Yen In April

Japan will launch a pilot programme in April to test the use of its version of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) known as the digital yen, its central bank said on Friday. "We plan to develop a system for experiments," Bank of Japan (Bo...

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Feb. 17, 2023

BlockFi Looks to Dismiss Bankruptcy Case for SBF’s Robinhood Shell Company

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi on Thursday moved to strike out the bankruptcy case of Emergent Fidelity Technologies, as a battle over around $600 million in assets mainly owned by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried becomes ever more complex. Emergen...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Bankman-Fried $250M Bond Is a ‘Joke,’ Claims Securities Lawyer

Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail terms are “ludicrous,” said James Murphy, securities lawyer and founder of Ludlow Street Advisors , a platform geared towards the metaverse, crypto and Web3. Murphy, former chairman and co-founder of law firm Murphy &am...

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Feb. 16, 2023

SEC Sues Terraform Labs, Do Kwon for Misleading Investors on TerraUSD Stablecoin

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Terraform Labs, the company behind the failed TerraUSD stablecoin, and its co-founder Do Kwon on Thursday. The SEC alleged that Terraform and Kwon misled investors on a number of issues, inc...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Bankman-Fried Remains Out on Bond, but Judge Warns ‘Revocation’ Proceedings Possible in Future

Sam Bankman-Fried remains out on bond, but the New York judge overseeing his criminal fraud case said that could change if the former FTX CEO continues to defy the bail conditions set by the court. Federal prosecutors sent a letter to the court ...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Compute North’s Reorganization Plan Approved by Bankruptcy Judge

A federal judge approved the final reorganization plan for effectively defunct crypto mining services firm Compute North, which was one of the largest in North America, setting the firm on track to become a shadow of what it once was. Compute No...

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Feb. 16, 2023

CFTC Charges California Firm and CEO With Fraud, Misappropriation of Digital Assets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has charged California-based Vista Network Technologies and its CEO, Armen Temurian, with fraudulently soliciting over $7 million in bitcoin and ether from customers, according to a Thursday press release...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Binance Moved Funds From US Affiliate's Silvergate Bank Account in 2021: Reuters

Crypto exchange Binance moved around $400 million in funds from Binance US's Silvergate Bank account to a trading firm called Merit Peak, Reuters reported Thursday . According to the report, Binance moved the funds between January and March 202...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Canada Close to Tightening Rules for Crypto Exchanges: Sources

Later this month, Canada’s umbrella markets regulator, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), will tighten requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the country, according to two people who have been briefed on the plans. The...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Crypto Industry Body GBBC Joins Securities Regulator Group IOSCO as Affiliate Member

GBBC Digital Finance, a digital asset industry association, has become an affiliate member of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), an association of securities regulators from around the world. Affiliate members of...

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Feb. 16, 2023

FTX’s Bahamas Unit Commingled Client, Corporate Funds, Liquidators Say

FTX Digital Markets Ltd, the Bahamas arm of the collapsed crypto exchange, appears to have commingled corporate funds with client money, liquidators said in a Feb. 8 document filed in a local court . The comments made in the accounting report e...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Judge Clears Celsius' Plan to Sell Bitmain Mining Coupons Worth Over $7M

A New York judge on Thursday authorized Celsius to sell coupons for mining company Bitmain, makers of the Antminer range, as the bankrupt crypto lender seeks to maximize value for creditors. The company, which filed for bankruptcy in July last y...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Tornado Cash Dev’s Criminal Case in Europe May Hinge on Laptop Access

Dutch prosecutors investigating Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev have recently gained access to his laptop, and are now using the data to probe key features of the case, like whether he personally profited from the privacy service. An other...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Hong Kong Successfully Offered Inaugural $100M Tokenized Green Bond

Hong Kong's government successfully issued its first tokenized green bond of 800 million Hong Kong dollars ($101 million), according to an announcement on Thursday. The bond was offered by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Crypto Was Singapore's Top Area of Fintech Investment in 2022 Despite Global Slowdown: KPMG

Crypto or Blockchain was the top area of fintech investment in Singapore in 2022 despite the global slowdown in the space, according to the KPMG Pulse of Fintech report for the second half of 2022. This is despite the finding of a key trend that...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Norwegian Authorities Seize $5.9M From Crypto Game Axie Infinity Hack

Authorities in Norway seized 60 million krone ($5.9 million) stolen from crypto game Axie Infinity in March last year. The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime, or Økokrim, said it is the bigg...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Wyoming Lawmakers Pass Bill Prohibiting Forced Disclosure of Private Crypto Keys

Wyoming's House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that effectively prohibits the forced disclosure of private crypto keys by the U.S. state's courts. A private key is used to verify crypto transactions and prove ownership of asse...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Global Standard Setters Will Team Up to Tackle DeFi Regulation: FSB

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) will work with other international standard setters to determine how decentralized finance (DeFi) activities should be regulated across different jurisdictions, it said in a report published Thursday. The FSB ...

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Feb. 16, 2023

Binance Bracing Itself for Fines From US Regulators to Settle ‘Past Conduct’: WSJ

As U.S. regulators continue to sniff around Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange is prepared to pay monetary penalties to “make amends” for past regulatory violations, according to The Wall Street Journal . Binance Chief Strategy Office...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Coinbase, Anchorage Say They'll Be OK Under SEC Custody Proposal, But Risks May Lurk for Others

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is officially working toward forcing investment advisers to make hard decisions about how they keep clients’ crypto assets, but the agency’s Wednesday proposal comes with good-news, bad-news eleme...

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Feb. 15, 2023

US Prosecutors Ask Judge to 'Prohibit' Bankman-Fried From Using Phones, Internet

Federal prosecutors asked a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to modify the terms of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's release on bond to ban him from using cellphones or the internet except under very specific ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

State of Crypto: Interpreting the Paxos-Binance Tea Leaves

Remember how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s declaration of war against crypto staking was big news for, like, two days? This week we’re looking at the other big news from last week: Paxos and the Binance USD stablecoin it issues....

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Feb. 15, 2023

Former Paxos Exec: Regulators Failed to Address Crypto Collapses, Now They’re Going After 'On-Ramps'

The demise of several large crypto-related companies is forcing the hand of regulators who are looking to find ways to block crypto from mainstream financial markets, said Jesse Austin Campbell, former head of portfolio management at Paxos. “Reg...

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Feb. 15, 2023

FDIC Tells Crypto Exchange CEX.IO to Stop Claiming US Dollars Held in Its Wallets Are Insured

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has issued a cease-and-desist letter to CEX.IO telling the Naperville, Illinois-based crypto exchange to stop claiming that U.S. dollars held in its fiat currency wallets are FDIC-insured. The...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Stanford Research Director, Former Dean Revealed to Be Bankman-Fried's Bond Signers

A federal judge ruled that the names of Sam Bankman-Fried's bond co-signers should be revealed after Bankman-Fried did not apply to the appeals court. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, originally ruled in favor o...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Tornado Cash Developer to Stay in Jail as Dutch Trial Continues

‘S-HERTEGONBOSCH, THE NETHERLANDS – Alexey Pertsev, a developer of crypto privacy tool Tornado Cash will have to remain in jail after a Wednesday hearing in his trial on money laundering charges. A panel of Dutch judges at the East Brabant Court...

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Feb. 15, 2023

FTX Transferred $7.7B from Bahamian Estate to US Units Ahead of Bankruptcy Filing, Court Told

FTX sent $7.7 billion in assets from the crypto company's Bahamian estate to its U.S. counterparts in the lead up to its bankruptcy filing last year, a Delaware bankruptcy court was told during a Wednesday. Court-appointed joint provisional liqu...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Celsius's CEL Token May See 20 Cent Value in Recovery Process, Attorney Says

An attorney for bankruptcy crypto lender Celsius said the company might value its CEL token at 20 cents during the recovery process, down significantly from its current market value of 54 cents. The native token of the now-defunct exchange once ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Indian Cricket Board Tells Women's Premier League Teams to Shun Crypto Links

The Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI ) warned the five franchises of the newly formed Women's Premier League (WPL) to avoid associations with cryptocurrency and blockchain-related entities, according to a BCCI official who said the or...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Judge Denies Appointment of Independent Examiner in FTX Bankruptcy

A U.S. judge denied a motion to appoint an independent examiner into the FTX bankruptcy case during a Wednesday hearing. A bipartisan group of four U.S. senators sent a letter to the judge in January, calling for an independent examiner to be ap...

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Feb. 15, 2023

SEC Proposal Could Bar Investment Advisers From Keeping Assets at Crypto Firms

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to propose a rule that would effectively require registered investment advisers to go outside the crypto industry for storing digital assets, according to its first formal policy push that ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Kansas State Looks to Cap Crypto Political Campaign Donations at $100

The Kansas state legislature is looking to cap individual crypto donations to political campaigns at $100 by amending its campaign finance act. New amendments under consideration could also require recipients of crypto donations to obtain the ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Republicans Plan to Reintroduce Legislation Restricting Crypto in 401(k): Politico

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala) plans to reintroduce a legislation on Wednesday, which would restrict employers and investment firms from offering crypto as part of 401(k) retirement plans, Politico reported. The legislation is aimed at the...

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Feb. 15, 2023

El Salvador Plans to Open 'Bitcoin Embassy' in Texas

El Salvador is in discussions to open a "bitcoin embassy" in Texas, El Salvador's Ambassador to the U.S. Milena Mayorga said on Tuesday. The Central American country wishes to open a bitcoin embassy in "new ally" Texas, Mayorga said on Twitter ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

EU Now Accepting Applications for its Blockchain Regulatory Sandbox

The European Union's executive arm on Tuesday launched a regulatory sandbox for innovative applications of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) that underline crypto. The European Commission's blockchain regulatory sandbox aims to "facilitate t...

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Feb. 15, 2023

EU Banks Told by Regulator to Apply Bitcoin Caps Even Before They Become Law

Banks in the EU should start applying caps on bitcoin holdings ahead of global norms set by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) taking effect, supervisors at the European Central Bank said Wednesday . While crypto has not yet made...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Australian Crypto Exchange Digital Surge Set to Come Back Online After Stakeholders Sign Recovery Plan

Australian cryptocurrency exchange Digital Surge is set to come back online after stakeholders signed the recovery plan on Wednesday, according to documents seen by CoinDesk. The stakeholders signed the recovery plan a day before the exchange wa...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Celsius Seeks to Recovery Millions From Mashinsky, Other Former Executives

Celsius and its creditors have begun court action to recover millions they say was fraudulently transferred from founder and former chief executive officer Alex Mashinsky, his wife and other former senior executives. Court documents published ...

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Feb. 15, 2023

Celsius Debtors Release Sale Plan, Choose NovaWulf as Plan Sponsor

Debtors of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius Network have presented a sale plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of New York. The plan is as part of the overall reorganization plan for Celsius's retail platform and mining bus...

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Feb. 15, 2023

South Korea’s Crypto Firms Will Have to Self-Regulate Under New Guidance

South Korean securities firms and token issuers now have some clarity on how security tokens are defined under new guidance published Monday. South Korea's Financial Services Commission has defined security tokens as tokens that are digitized ...

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Feb. 14, 2023

Binance CEO Distances Himself From BUSD Stablecoin as Regulators Act

Binance’s Chief Executive Officer Changpeng “CZ” Zhao distanced himself from the Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, after regulatory action caused minting to cease. On Monday, BUSD issuer Paxos said it would stop minting new tokens following a r...

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Feb. 14, 2023

SEC to Make it Harder for Hedge Funds to Work With Crypto Firms: Bloomberg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is planning to propose rule changes that would make it harder for hedge funds, private equity firms and pension funds to work with crypto firms, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The SEC would mak...

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Feb. 14, 2023

UK Financial Regulator Takes Enforcement Action Against Crypto ATM Operators

The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is enforcing its prior proclamation that any crypto ATMs operating in the country are doing so illegally. The financial watchdog has teamed up with West Yorkshire Police to tackle crypto ATM operato...

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Feb. 14, 2023

SEC Case Against Bankman-Fried Postponed Pending Criminal Trial

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be put on hold until related charges brought by the Department of Justice are dealt with, a U.S. judge said in a Feb. 13 ruling . U.S. prosecutors las...

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Feb. 14, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Super Bowl VPN Use Prompts Government Concern

Founder of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, has been using a virtual private network (VPN) to access the internet, U.S. prosecutors have said, potentially prompting a further clampdown on his bail conditions. After learning he h...

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Feb. 14, 2023

Blockchain Association Files Amicus Brief in Coinbase Insider Trading Case

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is attempting to create a “chilling effect” on the blockchain industry by labeling nine tokens at the center of an insider trading case as securities, but not giving the token creators a chance to...

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Feb. 14, 2023

Biden to Name Fed Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard as Top Economic Adviser: Bloomberg

U.S. President Joseph R. Biden will name Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Lael Brainard as his top economic adviser, with an announcement to come as soon as Tuesday, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The...

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Feb. 13, 2023

CFTC Case Against Sam Bankman-Fried Postponed Until After Criminal Trial

A judge has granted a request by U.S. prosecutors to have the Commodities and Futures Commission’s (CFTC) civil case against FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried be delayed until after the criminal fraud case against him is completed. In a filing last week ...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Crypto's Banking Problem: Industry Needs Access, But US Regulators Keep Digital Assets at Bay

Crypto can’t become what many of its proponents want it to be without banks, but U.S. regulators are circling the wagons around the banking system they oversee. That barrier is only getting wider as the Federal Reserve and other agencies turn awa...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Paxos ‘Categorically Disagrees’ With SEC That BUSD Is a Security, Says It Will Litigate if Needed

Stablecoin issuer Paxos acknowledged that it has received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating a possible enforcement action based on the charge that its Binance USD constitutes an unregistered security, acc...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Algorand Foundation CEO: SEC’s Crypto Crackdown Highlights Lack of Regulatory Clarity

Had the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) laid out clear guidelines, centralized crypto exchange Kraken and its staking-as-a-service platform could have been within the purview of the regulatory agency, said Staci Warden , CEO of the...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Circle Sounded Alarm on Paxos, Told NYDFS Binance’s Stablecoin Wasn’t Fully Backed: Bloomberg

New York’s top financial regulator is investigating stablecoin issuer Paxos – and, according to a new report, it was rival stablecoin issuer Circle that sounded an alarm. Bloomberg reported on Monday that Circle tipped off the New York Departmen...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Regulator NYDFS Says Paxos Didn't Administer Binance USD in 'Safe and Sound' Manner: Reuters

Paxos Trust Company’s administration of Binance’s stablecoin left it open to use by bad actors, the New York Department of Financial Services told Reuters on Monday. Paxos "violated its obligation to conduct tailored, periodic risk assessments a...

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Feb. 13, 2023

France to Tighten Crypto Registration Rules Next January

Registration conditions for French crypto firms will be tightened as of January, 2024 under plans published Friday by a committee of lawmakers from both chambers of parliament, but not as much as initially sought by the Senate, the country's up...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Bernstein Says Regulatory Backlash Will Lead to More DeFi and Offshore Crypto

The cryptocurrency market fell in the last week as the SEC charged crypto exchange Kraken for offering its ‘staking as a service’ program as an unregistered security, prompting concerns of multipronged regulatory action, Bernstein said in a res...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Restrictive Crypto Rules for EU Banks Confirmed in Published Legal Draft

EU banks would have to place the maximum possible risk weight on crypto assets under a draft law published by the European Parliament on Friday. The planned rules could determine how the traditional financial sector engages with digital assets. ...

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Feb. 13, 2023

UAE Plans to Issue a CBDC to Promote Digital Payments

The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is planning to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for domestic and cross-border payments as part of a new project to accelerate digital transformation. The issuance of a digital versio...

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Feb. 13, 2023

Crypto Lender Nexo Stopped EIP for US Clients on Feb. 10

Crypto lender Nexo said is has stopped its Earn Interest Product (EIP) for all U.S. clients, residents and citizens, effective Feb. 10. Nexo's decision comes after the lender paid a $22.5 million fine last month to the U.S. Securities and Ex...

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Feb. 13, 2023

SEC to Sue Crypto Trust Co. Paxos Over Binance Stablecoin: WSJ

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) intends to sue stablecoin issuer Paxos, which is behind the Pax Dollar (USDP) and Binance USD (BUSD) tokens, over the latter stablecoin, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. An SEC spokespers...

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Feb. 10, 2023

What Does Kraken's SEC Settlement Mean for Crypto Staking?

There were a number of bankruptcy hearings this week, but the big news was Kraken settling charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and ending its U.S. crypto staking program as a result. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDe...

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Feb. 10, 2023

Former SEC Attorney: Kraken Action Not a Condemnation of 'Staking Writ Large'

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) shutdown of crypto exchange Kraken’s U.S. staking-as-a-service business may certainly lead to a wider industry crackdown. However, “this is not a condemnation of staking writ large,” said Zachary Fal...

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Feb. 10, 2023

Federal Reserve Governor Reinforces US Regulators’ Preference for Keeping Crypto Apart From Banks

Parts of the crypto universe should be encouraged to thrive as long as they don’t threaten the U.S. banking system, said Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve Board governor, who also shared an optimistic note that the young industry will work ou...

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Feb. 10, 2023

Tether's Attempt to Block CoinDesk's Request for Stablecoin Reserve Records Dismissed by New York Court

A New York judge on Friday rejected an attempt by iFinex and related companies, which include cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and stablecoin issuer Tether, to block CoinDesk's request for information about the financial reserves backing the USDT...

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Feb. 10, 2023

SEC Did Not Consult Industry Before Kraken Crypto Staking Charges: Commissioner Peirce

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission did not attempt to consult with the crypto industry before launching this week’s unregistered securities crackdown on staking-as-a-service, Commissioner Hester Peirce said Friday. Speaki...

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Feb. 10, 2023

Are the Remaining Crypto Giants Staring Down the Barrel of the US Government’s Gun?

The latest action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against Kraken is probably only the first stirring of a U.S. government campaign to come for the major remaining crypto exchanges, according to industry lawyers, consultants...

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Feb. 10, 2023

SEC Chief Gensler Warns Crypto Firms to Comply With Rules After Kraken Shutters Staking Program

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler is warning other platforms to "take note" of crypto exchange Kraken's move to halt its staking service in the country and cough up a $30 million fine . "Companies like Kraken can ...

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Feb. 10, 2023

China Targets Blockchain Breakthroughs With Beijing Research Center: Report

China is establishing a blockchain research center in Beijing as it explores integrating the technology more extensively into day-to-day life, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday . The Ministry of Science and Technology approved t...

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Feb. 10, 2023

South Korea Blacklists North Korean Crypto Thieves, Flags Wallet Addresses

The South Korean government has blacklisted four North Korean individuals and seven institutions that allegedly financed "nuclear and missile development" with illegal cyber activities, including crypto theft. "This is the first independent sanc...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Russian Cybercrime Gang Trickbot Sanctioned by US, UK

The U.S. and U.K. issued joint sanctions on Thursday against seven members of the infamous Russian cybercrime group Trickbot. Though the U.S. has previously moved against Russian cyber criminals , the Trickbot sanctions are the first of their k...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Legal Expert Says MetaBirkin Project Intended to Use Hermès’ Brand for Economic Gain

Non-fungible token ( NFT ) artist Mason Rothschild was in the wrong with his MetaBirkins NFT project, Olta Andoni, chief compliance officer at financial firm Enclave Markets, told CoinDesk TV on Thursday. “The real intent of Mason Rothschild was...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Stablecoin Issuer Paxos Is Being Investigated by New York Regulator

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is investigating stablecoin issuer Paxos, CoinDesk has learned. The full scope of the investigation is unclear. Paxos’ stablecoins include the Pax Dollar (USDP) and Binance USD (BUSD), a Bina...

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Feb. 09, 2023

IRS Seeks Court Approval to Identify Kraken Crypto Customers

The Internal Revenue Service has filed a court document seeking permission to enforce a summons for information against Kraken and its subsidiaries. The IRS filed a court petition to enforce its summons on Thursday, with the filing going live ju...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Kraken to Shut Crypto-Staking Service, Pay $30M Fine in SEC Settlement

Crypto exchange Kraken will “immediately” end its crypto staking-as-a-service platform and pay $30 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charges it offered unregistered securities, the agency announced Thursday. The dec...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Kraken Agreed to Shutter Crypto-Staking Operations to Settle SEC Charges: Source

Kraken has agreed to shut its cryptocurrency-staking operations to settle charges with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to an industry source briefed on the matter. The SEC will discuss and vote on the settlement duri...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Lawyers Propose Installing Monitoring Software on His Phone

The New York judge overseeing Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal case has ordered the former FTX CEO’s lawyers to submit a new proposal to modify his bail conditions that would include more detail on the lawyers’ suggestion that Bankman-Fried install a...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Binance Recruits Brussels Lobbyist as EU Develops Crypto Rules

The world’s largest crypto exchange Binance is recruiting a full-time Brussels lobbyist as it seeks to influence those regulating the crypto industry. The recruitment drive shows the increasing importance of policy to major crypto firms as Europ...

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Feb. 09, 2023

Celsius’ Proposed Extension for Wind-Up Opposed by Creditors, US Government

Plans by bankrupt crypto lender Celsius to extend its restructuring plan by up to five months have been opposed by creditors and the U.S. government in legal filings made Wednesday. While the company on Jan. 25 outlined plans to transform into a...

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Feb. 08, 2023

EminiFX CEO Eddy Alexandre Set to Plead Guilty to Role in Alleged $59M Ponzi Scheme

The CEO of cryptocurrency and forex trading platform EminiFX is now expected to plead guilty to his role in an alleged fraud that federal prosecutors say duped investors out of $59 million. Eddy Alexandre, 51, of Valley Stream, N.Y., was arreste...

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Feb. 08, 2023

FTX Bankruptcy Judge Allows Company to Subpoena Founder Bankman-Fried, Other 'Insiders'

U.S Judge John Dorsey ordered that FTX's new leadership and its official creditor committee can subpoena the company's founders and former executives, including Sam Bankman-Fried. Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Constance Wang and Ban...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Craig Wright Loses Bitcoin Copyright Claim in UK Court

The file format of bitcoin can’t be protected by copyright, a U.K. judge has found, ruling against self-proclaimed inventor of the cryptocurrency Craig Wright. Wright, who says he wrote the 2008 bitcoin white paper under the pseudonym Satoshi Na...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Crypto Exchange Bitstamp Registers in France

Bitstamp has officially registered with the Financial Markets Authority in France, according to the regulator’s website . The exchange joins Binance, Bitpanda and Société Générale’s Forge unit in registering under what is one of the most sophis...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Will the SEC Convince a Court It’s Right to Label These Tokens as Securities?

Lawyers have challenged a potentially consequential move from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to build a list of crypto tokens it considers unregistered securities. Nine tokens that traded at Coinbase (COIN) were featured by th...

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Feb. 08, 2023

FTX Lawyers Sullivan & Cromwell Bill $7.5M for First 19 Day's Bankruptcy Work

Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell billed $7.5 million for work on the FTX bankruptcy case in November, a period covering just 19 days, a Tuesday court filing shows . The firm – whose appointment raised qualms from U.S lawmakers as well as the ex...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Dubai Prohibits Privacy Coins Like Zcash and Monero Under New Crypto Rules

In Dubai, the issuance of and all activities related to anonymity-enhancing cryptocurrencies such as Zcash ( ZEC ) and monero ( XMR ) are prohibited under new laws published Tuesday. The jurisdiction in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) published ...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Three Arrows’ Founder Refused to Comply With Subpoena, Stonewalling Probe, Court Told

Kyle Davies refused to comply with a court subpoena for the books and records of his former crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a New York court was told in a Tuesday night filing. Davies was accused of stonewalling a probe into the co...

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Feb. 08, 2023

UK Crypto Firms and Regulator Blame Each Other for Industry Exodus

A majority of crypto companies that once tried to register with the U.K.’s financial regulator have had to shut down or move their business out of the country. Many of those that left are still serving customers in the country from elsewhere. N...

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Feb. 08, 2023

Unpacking India's CBDC Pilots as Country Prepares for Digital Rupee

India wants to launch its central bank digital currency at a national level by the end of 2023, but early into its pilot, the Reserve Bank of India has identified challenges, several people familiar with the matter said. India launched two CBDC ...

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Feb. 07, 2023

SEC Directs Examiners To Focus on How US Broker-Dealers Are Pitching Crypto

U.S. broker-dealers and investment advisers that deal in crypto will get extra scrutiny from Securities and Exchange Commission examiners this year, according to the agency’s annual examination priorities announced Tuesday. The SEC-registered ...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Argentina's National Securities Commission to Set Requirements and Rules for Crypto Companies

Argentina’s National Securities Commission (CNV) will establish and regulate requirements to be followed by crypto companies in that country, the agency told CoinDesk on Tuesday. The jurisdiction of the CNV over virtual asset service providers i...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Trial Lawyer Breaks Down Legal Considerations for NFTs and Trademark Law

Creating digital art via a non-fungible token ( NFT ) that closely reflects something created by a brand may not be enough to keep some creators from facing legal ramifications, said David Leichtman, a managing partner at law firm Leichtman Law P...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Appeals Judge’s Decision to Reveal Names of His $250M Bond Backers

Former FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed a judge’s decision to allow the identities of the two currently unidentified people who co-signed his $250 million bail bond to be made public, according to a filing made on Tuesday . It was alre...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Kazakhstan's President Signs Legislation to Limit Energy Usage of Crypto Mining

The President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signed into law legislation that will limit the energy used by domestic crypto miners, according to a statement posted on the president's website. The Central Asian country has been strugg...

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Feb. 07, 2023

SEC Warns That Retirement Accounts’ Crypto Stakes May Be Unregistered Securities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) again made its case Tuesday that crypto assets are often unregistered securities being traded on unregistered exchanges, issuing an investor alert warning that people should be wary of crypto in...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Don't Call It 'Britcoin': Digital Pound Nothing Like Crypto, Bank of England Official Says

The Bank of England is not okay with the press calling a digital pound issued by the central bank the " Britcoin ." "The digital pound can be confused in peoples' minds with crypto assets such as bitcoin. I should take this opportunity to correc...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Democratic Lawmakers Look to Compel Crypto Miners to Disclose Energy and Emissions Data

Eight Democratic lawmakers, including Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are urging the U.S. government to compel crypto miners to disclose their energy consumption data. In a letter sent on Monday to Secretary of the Department of Energy Jennifer Gra...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Alleged Crypto Money Launderer Tied to Ransomware Attacks Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Charge

Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, an alleged Russian crypto money launderer arrested in the Netherlands and extradited to the U.S. last summer, pleaded guilty to a charge of "conspiracy to commit money laundering" on Tuesday. Dubnikov was arrested on s...

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Feb. 07, 2023

US Prosecutors Ask for Postponement of SEC, CFTC Cases Against Sam Bankman-Fried

U.S. prosecutors have asked that the civil fraud cases brought by the Securities Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried be postponed until after the criminal case against him has con...

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Feb. 07, 2023

US Judge Rejects Bankman-Fried's Bail Modification Request

A federal judge rejected a joint request to modify Sam Bankman-Fried's bail conditions to allow him to use certain messaging tools. U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan, of the Southern District of New York, said the motion is "denied without prej...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Former Coinbase Manager Pleads Guilty to Insider Trading Charges: Reuters

Ishan Wahi, former product manager at crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) has agreed to plead guilty to insider trading charges, Reuters reported Tuesday. Wahi was accused of sharing information about crypto assets the exchange would be listing, a...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Digital Pound Holdings Could Be Limited to £10,000, Central Bank Says

U.K. citizens could be limited to holding £10,000 ($11,900) each in a new digital pound, as the Bank of England seeks to avoid a new central bank digital currency undermining the banking system. The central bank appeared to favor centralized dat...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Central Banks Are Working on a Monitoring System for Stablecoin Balance Sheets

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the association of the world’s central banks, is spearheading the development of a monitoring system for stablecoins to ensure issuers maintain adequate reserves. Named Project Pyxtrial, the program ...

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Feb. 07, 2023

Dubai Mandates Licensing for Crypto Companies as It Sets Out Regulatory Requirements

Crypto firms must obtain authorization and relevant licenses to operate in Dubai, the jurisdiction's new virtual asset rulebooks say. The extensive rules published Tuesday detail requirements for companies from cyber security norms to complian...

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Feb. 07, 2023

UK Banks Blocking Crypto Access Given Fraud, Volatility, Lawmakers Told

Bank bosses in the U.K. are blocking customers’ access to cryptoassets due to concerns over fraud and volatility, lawmakers were told today. Social media and technology platforms were cited as a significant source of fraud, but executives told t...

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Feb. 06, 2023

UK to Start Further Development Work on ‘Likely Needed’ Digital Pound

The Bank of England is starting further research and development work on a digital pound for purchasing goods and services – something that’s likely to be needed in the future, the regulator said Monday. The central bank and the country’s financ...

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Feb. 06, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Lawyer Says Agreement Has Been Reached on Use of Messaging Apps

An attorney for Sam Bankman-Fried said an agreement had been reached to modify the former FTX CEO’s bail conditions on using electronic communications. Bankman-Fried’s legal team and prosecutors came to the agreement, according to a letter signe...

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Feb. 06, 2023

FTX Money Backed US Lawmakers With Future of Crypto in Their Hands

Many members of Congress with the biggest influence over coming U.S. cryptocurrency legislation received direct contributions from top executives of FTX , leaving them in a complicated political relationship with the crypto industry. More than ...

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Feb. 06, 2023

Independent FTX Examiner Could Cost $100 Million, Court Told

Bankruptcy judge John Dorsey declined to rule definitely on whether to appoint an independent examiner into the FTX bankruptcy case, with the U.S. government arguing that statute forced him to demand such, and FTX saying that a probe would repres...

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Feb. 06, 2023

FTX Being Advised by Cybersecurity Firm Sygnia on Hack Inquiry, CEO Ray Says

Collapsed crypto exchange FTX is being advised by cybersecurity company Sygnia after FTX apparently underwent a massive hack in November, its new chief executive, John J. Ray III, told a Delaware bankruptcy court on Monday. The company had my...

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Feb. 06, 2023

Hong Kong Regulator Wants to Beef Up Its Staff Covering Virtual Assets

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) wants to expand the team handling virtual assets as the city seeks to become a crypto hub. In its budget report for 2023-4 to the jurisdiction's Legislative Council, the regulator asked fo...

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Feb. 06, 2023

Italy Setting Up Crypto Environment That Meets EU's New Laws, Central Bank Governor Says

Italian regulators have begun setting up a supervisory environment anticipating European Union laws for regulating crypto, central bank Governor Ignazio Visco said in a speech on Saturday . Visco spoke of the importance of regulating crypto, an...

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Feb. 06, 2023

UK Financial Regulator Warns Crypto Firms of Jail Time for Unauthorized Ads

U.K. crypto companies were urged on Monday to prepare for new restrictions on financial promotions, with the Financial Conduct Authority warning that breaches can lead to a prison term of up to two years. While the new crypto regime is not yet...

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Feb. 06, 2023

South Korea Issues Guidelines for Regulating Security Tokens as Legislation Looms

South Korea's Financial Services Commission (FSC) on Monday published guidelines on which blockchain-based iterations of traditional securities, known as security tokens, will qualify for regulation under the country's capital markets rules. T...

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Feb. 05, 2023

FTX Asks Politicians Who Received Bankman-Fried Donations to Return Money

Sam Bankman-Fried showered politicians with tens of millions of dollars in campaign contributions before his FTX empire imploded last November. Now, the bankrupt crypto exchange wants that money back. On Sunday, FTX Group said it is sending “con...

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Feb. 04, 2023

The White House Is Concerned About Crypto

The White House published a statement warning about the risks of cryptocurrencies, pointing to last year’s various collapses. I spoke to an administration official about the statement and what it means. You’re reading State of Crypto, a CoinDes...

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Feb. 03, 2023

Legal Expert Says Mango Markets Exploit Case Is Wake-Up Call For DAOs

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) will likely consider implementing legal structures following the exploit of Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol Mango Markets, according to Benjamin Bathgate , a partner at Can...

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Feb. 03, 2023

US CFTC Chief Promises More ‘Precedent Setting’ Crypto Enforcement Cases

One of the U.S. agencies trying to bolster oversight of cryptocurrency trading, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is looking toward a big year of crypto enforcement actions, according to Chairman Rostin Behnam. His agency is “work...

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Feb. 03, 2023

Nigeria’s Bitcoin Premiums May Better Reflect Country’s Demand for the Dollar, Not Crypto

Nigeria’s bitcoin premiums – where the cryptocurrency was listed on local trading platforms for 60% above market prices – made headlines this week. Although the news was celebrated by the bitcoin community on social media, the inflated bitcoin pr...

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Feb. 03, 2023

US Senate Banking Committee to Hold ‘Crypto Crash’ Hearing This Month

The crypto industry’s 2022 dramas will again fall under the U.S. Senate’s microscope this month when the Senate Banking Committee holds a Feb. 14 hearing to examine financial system protections from the dangers seen in digital assets. The panel ...

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Feb. 03, 2023

UK Crypto Rules Set a Modest Post-Brexit Divergence From the Europe Union

The U.K.’s new crypto rules are part of a program of regulatory divergence from the European Union, the supranational bloc of which it was until recently a member – but some crypto advocates are underwhelmed by the extent to which the country...

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Feb. 03, 2023

Indonesia Delays Crypto-Stock Exchange Launch Again, This Time Till June: Report

Indonesia has delayed the roll out of a stock exchange for digital asset companies to later this year, CoinDesk Indonesia reported on Friday. Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia's minister for trade, said on Thursday that he plans to launch the exchange...

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Feb. 03, 2023

India Reveals IMF Is Working With G-20 for Crypto Regulations

For the first time since taking over the G-20 presidency, India has officially revealed details of the ongoing work around how to regulate crypto. "IMF is working on a paper in consultation with us (India) which will focus on "aspects of the mon...

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Feb. 03, 2023

Australia Releases Token Mapping Consultation Paper, Plans to Reveal Crypto Rule Framework in 2023

The Australian government released a token mapping consultation paper on Friday and has sought responses from stakeholders on it by March 3, 2023. The move was first announced in August 2022, around three months after Prime Minister Anthony Al...

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Feb. 02, 2023

Silvergate Stock Tanks on Report of DOJ Probe Tied to FTX, Alameda Dealings

Shares of Silvergate Capital (SI) fell sharply after the market close on Thursday following the publication of a Bloomberg article reporting the U.S. Department of Justice’s fraud unit was looking into the crypto bank’s dealings with the now-bank...

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Feb. 02, 2023

Alleged Mango Markets Exploiter Eisenberg Waives Bail in First NY Court Hearing

Mango Markets crypto trader and alleged manipulator Avraham Eisenberg waived bail at his first hearing in U.S. District Court in New York on Thursday. The 27-year-old will stay in jail until at least Feb. 14. In October, Eisenberg revealed hims...

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Feb. 02, 2023

UK Crypto Industry Celebrates Government’s Planned Exemptions for Crypto Ad Approvals

The U.K. crypto industry has welcomed a government decision to introduce a bespoke exemption for crypto companies looking to advertise to local customers. But the country’s financial regulator is a bit more cautious. As part of the government’s ...

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Feb. 02, 2023

U.S. Senator Tim Scott to Release Priorities for Developing Crypto Regulatory Framework: Report

CORRECTION ( Feb. 2, 14:24 UTC): A previous version of this story said in the headline that the Senate Banking Committee was releasing its priorities for a crypto regulatory framework instead of just Senator Scott. U.S. Sen. Tim S...

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Feb. 02, 2023

Big Indian Merchants Including Reliance Retail Start Accepting CBDC

India's central bank digital currency (CBDC), also known as the digital rupee, will start getting accepted as a retail payment by some of the biggest merchants in the nation, which includes the country's largest retail chain, Reliance Retail. A ...

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Feb. 02, 2023

Former Chairman of South Korean Crypto Exchange Bithumb Arrested: Report

Kang Jong-Hyun, the former chairman at South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb has been arrested on charges of embezzlement, breach of trust and fraudulent illegal transactions, CoinDesk Korea reported on Thursday. South Korean prosecutors had so...

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Feb. 01, 2023

Judge Dismisses Proposed Class-Action Lawsuit Alleging Coinbase Sold Unregistered Securities

U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer has rejected claims in a proposed class action by customers who claim Coinbase sold them unregistered securities and also failed to register as a broker-dealer, according to a filing on Wednesday. The ca...

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Feb. 01, 2023

US Blacklists Bitcoin, Ether Addresses Tied to Russian Sanctions Evasion Efforts

The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions watchdog, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), has blacklisted a bitcoin and an ether address it has linked to sanctions evasion. According to a press release , Igor Zimenkov and his son Jonatan ...

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Feb. 01, 2023

Judge Bans Sam Bankman-Fried From Contacting FTX Employees And Using Signal

A New York judge has prohibited Sam Bankman-Fried from attempting to contact any former or current employees of Alameda Research or FTX. Bankman-Fried has also been prohibited from using Signal or other ephemeral messaging applications. The de...

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Feb. 01, 2023

UK Crypto Firms to Get Broad Laws – May Need New Authorization

Proposed U.K. laws to regulate crypto suggest the jurisdiction might overtake its rival, the European Union, in the race to govern the sector. A long-awaited consultation , originally promised for before Christmas , was published on Wednesday....

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Feb. 01, 2023

Bankrupt Lending Platform Celsius Names Users Eligible to Withdraw Assets

Bankrupt crypto lender Celsius published the names of users who are allowed to withdraw a majority of their assets locked on the platform. The 1,400-page document filed with a New York bankruptcy court on Tuesday shows the company has court pe...

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Feb. 01, 2023

India Keeps Restrictive Crypto Tax Rules In 2023 Budget

India has kept its restrictive crypto tax rules unchanged in 2023. In fact, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman did not mention crypto, virtual digital assets, blockchain or central bank digital currencies (digital rupee) while unveiling the nati...

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Jan. 31, 2023

UK Finance Ministry to Propose Broad Rules for Crypto, Invites Industry Feedback

The U.K.’s finance ministry is proposing new rules to govern multiple areas of the crypto sector and wants stakeholders to weigh in. The hotly anticipated consultation, to be published by His Majesty’s Treasury on Wednesday, asks for feedback fr...

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Jan. 31, 2023

Commissioner: CFTC Needs More Dialogue With Market Participants to Modernize Regulation

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) wants to talk with any company that owns a crypto unit in the United States, Commissioner Kristin N. Johnson, told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” on Tuesday. “It’s important for us to have a relations...

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Jan. 31, 2023

Shuttered Crypto Exchange Bitzlato Says It Plans to Resume Operations: Report

The co-founder of Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitzlato, which had been charged with money laundering and had its servers seized in a major international operation earlier this month, said the company plans to resume operating and allow part...

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Jan. 31, 2023

US Senators Press Crypto Bank Silvergate on Ties to FTX: Bloomberg

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing Silvergate Capital (SI) to provide more details about what it knew about FTX’s alleged misuse of customer funds, according to a report in Bloomberg. In a letter sent to Silvergate on Monday that was...

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Jan. 31, 2023

Kazakhstan Looks to Tighten Rules for Crypto Exchanges After FTX Collapse

Kazakhstan's crypto regulator has proposed new requirements for regulated digital asset exchange platforms targeting the segregation of customer assets and risk mitigation after the collapse of FTX revealed poor governance and conflicts of intere...

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Jan. 31, 2023

Hong Kong to Require Stablecoin Licensing as Early as This Year

Hong Kong is set to demand mandatory licensing for stablecoin issuers and won't allow algorithmic stablecoins , its top financial regulator said on Tuesday. Entities conducting regulated activity in Hong Kong will have to obtain a license to o...

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Jan. 31, 2023

Celsius Used New Customer Funds to Pay for Withdrawals: Independent Examiner

Celsius misled its investors – and on occasion used new customer funds to pay for other customers’ withdrawals, the usual definition of a Ponzi scheme, an independent examiner for the New York bankruptcy court said in a Tuesday filing. In Sept...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Alameda Seeks to Recover $446M in Crypto Paid to Voyager After Lender's Bankruptcy

Defunct crypto trading firm Alameda Research – one arm of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's former empire – wants to regain around $446 million transferred to bankrupt lender Voyager Digital prior to Alameda's own bankruptcy filing, a new lawsuit s...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Judge Rules Identities of 2 Parties Who Backed Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250B Bond Can Be Revealed

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled on Monday that the names of the two people who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bail bond, aside from the FTX founder’s parents, can be made public. The New York judge overseeing Bankman-Fried's c...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Bitcoin Suisse Chairman Says EU Won’t Ban Crypto, But It May Seek to Contain It

Building a firewall that separates crypto from the traditional financial system may be the best approach to keep the digital asset industry alive in the European Union, Luzius Meisser, chairman of crypto firm Bitcoin Suisse, told CoinDesk TV’s “A...

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Jan. 30, 2023

BlockFi's Crypto Mining Assets May Be Headed to Market After Bankruptcy Hearing

Bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi appears on track to sell some assets after a New Jersey bankruptcy judge expressed approval of the plan as part of Chapter 11 proceedings designed to restore funds to creditors. Under a proposal put to the bankrupt...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Jailed Kickboxer Andrew Tate Promoted Bitcoin For Tax Avoidance in Video

It’s been all over the news that Andrew Tate, the embattled British-American social media influencer and five-time world kickboxing champion, was arrested in Bucharest, Romania last month and is currently sitting in jail with his younger brother ...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Crypto India Looks For Relief But Holds Out Little Hope In Budget Speech

India is unlikely to change its restrictive crypto tax rules when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveils the country’s new budget on Wednesday, CoinDesk has learned. The nation’s budget indicates how government resources are allocated and t...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Backed Charity Under UK Probe

The Charity Commission for England and Wales has initiated a probe into Effective Ventures Foundation, a charity backed by Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The inquiry will investigate the extent of the risk to...

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Jan. 30, 2023

New York Regulator Investigating Crypto Exchange Gemini Over FDIC Claims: Report

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is investigating crypto exchange Gemini over claims it made related to the safety of its customers' assets, according to an Axios report on Monday. Last year, Gemini reportedly claimed repe...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Philippines Securities Regulator Seeks Comment on Draft Crypto Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines is consulting the public on draft enforcement rules targeting crypto under a broad consumer protections law. The regulator published its plans for implementing rules and regulations set o...

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Jan. 30, 2023

FTX Seeks to Remove Turkish Units From Bankruptcy Case

Crypto exchange FTX is seeking to remove Turkish units from the scope of its bankruptcy case, saying in a Friday court filing that Turkish authorities are unlikely to follow instructions from U.S. courts. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11 in...

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Jan. 30, 2023

South Korea to Start Tracking Crypto Transactions in Bid to Crack Down on Money Laundering

South Korea’s Ministry of Justice plans to start tracking crypto transactions as it looks to crack down on money laundering, it said in a task report published Thursday. The ministry will initially use third-party software to monitor transacti...

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Jan. 30, 2023

Australian Regulator had Internally Raised Concerns on FTX

Australia's markets regulator internally discussed FTX's launch in Australia around March 2022 raising concerns around return on investment claims, according to a document by the regulator. 56 documents published by the Australian Securitie...

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Jan. 28, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Seeks Right to Transfer FTX's Crypto

Lawyers for Sam Bankman-Fried have argued he should be allowed access to assets and crypto held by his former company FTX, saying there's no evidence he's responsible for previous alleged unauthorized transactions. Bankman-Fried, who resigned as...

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Jan. 28, 2023

DOJ Claims Sam Bankman-Fried Tried to Influence Witness Testimony, Asks for Communications Ban

Federal prosecutors wrote a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan on Friday, requesting that he modify the conditions of Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail to include ban on private communications with current and former employees of FTX and A...

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Jan. 27, 2023

Crypto Custodian Prime Trust to Cease Operations in Texas at End of January

Prime Trust, a digital-asset custodian, will stop doing business in the U.S. state of Texas effective Jan. 31, according to a notice posted on its website. The company provides custody and other services to key players in the crypto industry s...

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Jan. 27, 2023

Custodia Bank Denied Federal Reserve System Membership

The U.S. Federal Reserve Board has denied Custodia Bank’s application for membership, claiming the crypto-focused institution’s “novel business model and proposed focus on crypto-assets presented significant safety and soundness risks.” “Custodi...

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Jan. 27, 2023

White House Calls on Congress to ‘Step Up Its Efforts’ on Crypto Regulation

Four senior U.S. officials in the White House published a statement on Friday urging Congress to “step up its efforts” with respect to regulating the cryptocurrency market. The officials – Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Co...

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Jan. 27, 2023

BlockFi’s $10M Staff Bonus Package Approved by New Jersey Judge

A $10 million pay and bonus package for staff of crypto lender BlockFi was approved today by New Jersey bankruptcy court Judge Michael Kaplan. The ruling comes after court documents revealed executives from the crypto lender were granted pay rai...

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Jan. 27, 2023

UK's FCA Flagged Some Crypto Firms Seeking Regulatory Approval to Law Enforcement

The U.K.'s financial regulator referred some crypto companies that tried to register with it to law enforcement agencies, an official at the agency said in a letter published on Thursday. "Overall, in the small number of cases where we have iden...

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Jan. 27, 2023

SEC Probing Investment Advisors Over Crypto Custody: Report

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is inquiring into registered investment advisers about whether they are following rules around custody of client crypto assets, according to a Reuters report that cites three unnamed so...

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Jan. 26, 2023

Sen. Ted Cruz Wants to Force Capitol Hill Vending Machines to Accept Crypto

After the collapse of FTX, crypto is top of mind for U.S. lawmakers, many of whom are scrambling to get to the bottom of what brought the once-mighty crypto exchange to its knees. But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is thinking about something a little ...

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Jan. 26, 2023

CFTC Commissioner Kristin Johnson Urges Congress to Expand Agency’s Authority to Review Crypto Acquisitions

Following FTX’s swift, stunning collapse last November, crypto industry participants, lawmakers and regulators alike have all been mulling the same questions: Why were regulators blindsided by FTX’s implosion , and more importantly, how can the ...

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Jan. 26, 2023

Coinbase’s $3.6M Dutch Fine Shows Crypto Will Hit Road Bumps as It Goes Mainstream

Coinbase’s fine for “very serious” breaches of Dutch crypto registration procedures reveals some of the many pitfalls the industry faces as it works towards operating within the regulatory fold. The charge sheet from the Dutch central bank (DN...

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Jan. 26, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Mother and Brother Not Cooperating With Financial Probe, FTX Lawyers Say

At least some of Sam Bankman-Fried's immediate familyaren’t cooperating with the probe into the collapsed crypto exchange FTX and should be cross-questioned in court, the company’s lawyers have said in a legal filing made Wednesday. The FTX fo...

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Jan. 26, 2023

SEC Rejects Ark 21Shares Spot Bitcoin ETF for Second Time

For the second time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a joint effort by Ark Investment Management and 21Shares to list a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC said the Cboe BZX Exchange – on which the ETF w...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

UK’s FCA Issues Advice for Crypto Firms After Only 41 of 300 Applicants Win Regulatory Approval

The U.K.'s financial watchdog published advice for crypto companies after just 14% of the firms looking to win regulatory approval in the country passed muster. The extensive list of tips covers what applicants need to consider before, during ...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

Derivatives Body ISDA Hopes New Digital Asset Norms Will Avoid FTX-Style Losses

New digital asset standards could avoid legal messes such as those faced by collapsed crypto exchange FTX, the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) has said. ISDA, whose 1,000 members include major banks such as JPMorgan Chase ...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

FTX Owes Money to Netflix, Binance, Wall Street Journal, Filing Shows

It's the list everyone has been waiting for, minus some 9.7 million redacted customer names. But the 116-page FTX creditor list, which names companies such as Netflix and Apple, still paints a comprehensive picture of the now-bankrupt crypto ente...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

Elizabeth Warren Praises SEC Chief Gensler, Slams Crypto Lobby

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) praised the country's securities regulator and its chief Gary Gensler's efforts to police the crypto industry and called for lawmakers to give the watchdog the necessary resources and powers to keep things ...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

Crypto Exchange Mango Markets Sues Exploiter for $47M in Damages

Decentralized crypto exchange Mango Markets sued its exploiter Avraham Eisenberg for $47 million in damages according to a United States District Court for the Southern District of New York filing on Wednesday. Decentralized finance trader Eis...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

Ex-UK Chancellor Philip Hammond Urges Accelerated Efforts to Become Crypto Hub: FT

Former U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond says the country has allowed itself to fall behind some of its neighbors in establishing itself as a crypto hub. In an interview with the Financial Times, Hammond, who has been named as the ...

Policy

Jan. 26, 2023

Coinbase Fined $3.6M by Dutch Regulator for Failure to Register

Crypto exchange Coinbase has been fined 3,325,000 euros ($3.6 million) by the Dutch central bank for offering crypto services to customers in the country without registration. Dutch law requires crypto providers to register under anti-money la...

Policy

Jan. 25, 2023

Irish Central Bank Chief Calls for Ban on Crypto Advertising: Bloomberg

Ireland’s Central Bank chief is no fan of cryptocurrency. During a parliamentary session in Dublin on Wednesday, Gabriel Makhlouf told Irish lawmakers that the Central Bank was “very concerned” about the risks retail customers face when investin...

Policy

Jan. 25, 2023

UK Minister Commits to Greater Crypto Industry Engagement as New Regulation Looms

U.K.'s financial services minister Andrew Griffith on Wednesday pledged a greater engagement with the crypto sector, as he plans new post-Brexit laws. Last April Rishi Sunak – then finance minister, now prime minister – said he wanted to make th...

Policy

Jan. 25, 2023

SEC Derailed Circle's Plans to Go Public via SPAC Deal: Report

Crypto payments company Circle has said its $9 billion plans to go public didn't go through because the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) did not sign off on it, according to the Financial Times (FT). In a twitter post in early Dece...

Policy

Jan. 25, 2023

Australian Crypto Exchange Digital Surge to Pay Back Creditors After Losing $33M on FTX

Troubled Australian cryptocurrency exchange Digital Surge has been bailed out after creditors approved a long-term recovery plan, the company said in a statement shared with CoinDesk. The Brisbane-based exchange is said to have held $33 million ...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

Celsius Proposes Restructuring to Offer One-Time ‘Meaningful Recovery’ Payout for Most Creditors

Lawyers for Celsius Network said Tuesday that the bankrupt crypto lender is planning to reinvent itself as a new, publicly traded “recovery corporation” in order to exit the bankruptcy process – something it said could happen in “months.” Under ...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

SEC Is ‘Asleep at the Wheel,’ Rep. Davidson of Ohio Says

Regulators at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission aren't doing enough when it comes to crypto regulation, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) told CoinDesk TV’s “First Mover” on Tuesday. “You've got people that are engaging in overt pump-and-d...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

French Lawmakers Soften Stance on Compulsory Crypto Licenses

Crypto companies in France would have to follow extra conflict of interest and consumer protection rules as of 2024, under proposals voted on by lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday. The Assembly voted 61 in favor (and 33 against) the p...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

At World Economic Forum This Year, Panels Debated Blockchain 'Case Studies'

I got to the airport in Zurich and the first person I ran into was a friend from Austin visiting her family in Reykjavik. Anyways, I’m OOO this week, so if you need anything email someone else. The crypto industry went on a rehab tour last week ...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

UK Treasury Is Looking for CBDC Head as It Explores Digital Pound

A new LinkedIn job posting from the U.K. Treasury is seeking a "Head of Central Bank Digital Currency." "The successful candidate will be responsible for leadership of HM Treasury’s work on a potential digital pound – a U.K. central bank digit...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

El Salvador Pays Back $800M Maturing Bond, President Nayib Bukele Says

El Salvador’s $800 million bond issue set to mature Jan. 24, 2023 has been repaid with interest, the country’s President Nayib Bukele said on Twitter. The country’s Finance Minister Alejandro Zelaya, confirmed the same news via his Twitter a...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

EU Plans Digital Euro Bill, Metaverse Policy for May, Commission Says

The European Commission will publish a bill to underpin a digital euro and will also set out its strategy on virtual worlds in May, according to a document published on its website Monday . While the European Central Bank has yet to decide whet...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

Crypto Tax Proposed by Lawmakers to Fund EU Budget

Lawmakers of the European Parliament have proposed taxes on crypto assets to fund the bloc’s annual budget of around 170 billion euros ($185 billion). Options included in a draft report for the parliament’s budget committee, published on Jan. 1...

Policy

Jan. 24, 2023

EU Lawmakers Impose ‘Prohibitive’ Requirements on Banks’ Crypto

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee voted to impose strict restrictions on banks seeking to hold crypto. The measures, a leaked version of which was reported by CoinDesk Monday , are a bid to anticipate internation...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

FBI: North Korean Hackers Behind $100 Million Horizon Bridge Theft

A pair of North Korean hacker groups were behind the June theft of $100 million in crypto assets from Horizon Bridge, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a Monday statement. Horizon Bridge, a service enabling crypto assets to be ...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

Lawyers for Genesis and Its Creditors Are ‘Optimistic’ for a Quick Resolution to Bankruptcy Woes

Lawyers for Genesis Global told a federal bankruptcy court in New York City on Monday that they’ve been working with creditors’ representatives and the U.S. Trustee’s Office “around the clock” for the past two months in order to reach a “consensu...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

European Banks Must Fully Cover Crypto Holdings With Capital, Draft Text Says

Banks will have to treat crypto as among the riskiest class of holdings, according to a leaked document listing the final set of proposed amendments to a 2021 package intended to bring European Union bank capital rules into line with internatio...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

Indian Government Launches Blockchain Initiative With 5ire, Network Capital

The Indian Government's apex public policy think tank, NITI Aayog, has launched a blockchain module in partnership with crypto-focused 5ire, and Network Capital, a mentorship and career exploration platform, the stakeholders announced on Mond...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

Digital Euro Will Never Be Programmable, ECB’s Panetta Says

The digital euro will never be programmable, according to Fabio Panetta, an executive board member of the European Central Bank. In remarks made to lawmakers Monday, Panetta indicated the putative central bank digital currency won’t allow rest...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

In Wake of FTX, New York Reminds Crypto Firms to Segregate Customer Funds

New York's top financial regulator on Monday published guidance for crypto companies to improve customer protection in the event of insolvency or a similar proceeding – including a requirement for firms to keep customer funds separate. The New...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

Crypto Exchange Bitzlato Converted Over $1B in Crime-Linked Assets, Europol Says

Bitzlato, the little-known crypto exchange that last week was charged by the U.S. with money laundering , exchanged around 1 billion euros ($1.08 billion) in assets linked to criminal activities, European Union police agency Europol said in a st...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

Central African Republic Forms Committee to Draft Crypto Bill

The Central African Republic has formed a committee of experts from several government ministries to draft crypto legislation, President Faustin-Archange Touadera said in a tweet on Friday . The departments involved include the Ministry of Mine...

Policy

Jan. 23, 2023

South African Self-Regulatory Body Mandates Risk Warnings in Crypto Ads

Crypto ads in South Africa must warn potential buyers that their capital can be at risk, under new guidelines put out Monday by the country’s Advertising Regulatory Board, a self-regulatory initiative by the ad and public relations industry. The...

Policy

Jan. 20, 2023

U.S. Lays Claim to $700 Million of Assets Linked to Bankman-Fried, FTX

The U.S. government wants to take control of nearly $700 million of assets it seized earlier this month from former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, according to court filings Friday. Included in the property are over 55 million Robinhood shares worth...

Policy

Jan. 20, 2023

What's Next for Genesis Creditors? It Depends on What's in the Bankruptcy Filing

Three of Genesis’ crypto lending businesses have filed for bankruptcy protection, and that means creditors will likely take some hits, according to Eric Snyder, a partner at Wilk Auslander LLP. Snyder, chair of the firm’s bankruptcy department...

Policy

Jan. 20, 2023

Sullivan & Cromwell Gets Go-Ahead to Represent FTX in Bankruptcy Proceedings, Despite Controversy

A Delaware judge has given New York law firm Sullivan & Cromwell the green light to continue representing FTX during its bankruptcy proceedings. The decision, issued on Friday morning by Judge John T. Dorsey, comes despite recent controversy...

Policy

Jan. 20, 2023

Crypto Lender Genesis Global Capital Is FTX's Largest Unsecured Creditor

Crypto lender Genesis Global Capital has turned out to be the largest unsecured creditor of FTX.com and its affiliated companies. Genesis Global Capital leads the revised "Top 50 List" that represents FTX and its affiliated companies' major cr...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

World Economic Forum Wraps Up Davos 2023 With Sparks

DAVOS, Switzerland — The crypto world’s efforts to showcase a stable industry in front of the world’s elite wrapped up Thursday outside the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual conference in Davos. And in a reversal from the rest of the week, the...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

Crypto Lender Nexo to Pay $45M, Cease Offering EIP in Settlement With SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged crypto lender Nexo with failing to register the offer and sale of its Earn Interest Product (EIP). Nexo has agreed to pay a $22.5 million fine to the SEC and another $22.5 million to settl...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

Dutch Central Bank Chief Takes Aim at Jurisdictions That Attract Bad Crypto Actors at Davos Panel

DAVOS, Switzerland – Two European regulators, an Arab lawmaker and a lone crypto CEO sat down with a journalist in a snowy ski town on Thursday – and pretty quickly, the room was sweltering. It was the only mainstage panel focused explicitly on ...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

China Launches Smart Contract Functionality on Digital Yuan Through E-Commerce App Meituan

China has enabled smart contract functionality for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), the digital yuan, through the e-commerce app Meituan, one of China's largest food delivery and lifestyle apps. China has been at the forefront of CBDC d...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

Circle CEO: US Stablecoin Legislation Is ‘Lowest-Hanging Fruit’

Jeremy Allaire, CEO of peer-to-peer payment company Circle, is expecting the U.S. Congress to concentrate on stablecoin regulation this year for a simple reason. “Stablecoins are the lowest-hanging fruit,” Allaire told CoinDesk TV’s “ First Move...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

‘No Point’ to EU's Crypto Rules Unless World Follows Suit, Senior EU Official Says

DAVOS, Switzerland – New European Union crypto rules are pointless unless the rest of the world follows suit, the bloc’s leading financial services official told CoinDesk. In Switzerland to attend a gathering of the world’s economic elite, Europ...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

UK Trade Groups See Opportunity in Document Bill Under Debate in Parliament

The U.K.’s Electronic Trade Document Bill was described as a great local and global opportunity by trade association representatives testifying in Parliament on Thursday. Currently under debate, the bill could enable blockchain technology to b...

Policy

Jan. 19, 2023

2023: The Year Regulators Finally Grasp Crypto?

2023 seems to have gotten off to a pretty good start for the digital assets space. Instability at several crypto projects seems to have at least temporarily resolved itself, and it’s been a few weeks since the last disastrous headlines. Asset ...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Circle, Uniswap Research Says DeFi Can Solve $2 Trillion FX Risk Problem

Every day, about $2.2 trillion in foreign-exchange (FX) transactions carry a risk that the yet-to-be settled side of an agreement won’t meet obligations. But a new paper from Circle Internet Financial and decentralized exchange Uniswap Labs fin...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

World Leaders Warmed to Blockchain at Davos This Year, Despite Crypto Winter

Hey folks. I’m in Davos, Switzerland, through the rest of this week covering the World Economic Forum’s annual conference and the crypto panels held adjacent to the main event. Feel free to reach out on Telegram if you’re here. You’re reading...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Davos Day 3 Shows Conflicting Visions for the Metaverse, CBDCs

DAVOS, Switzerland – Conversations around blockchain on day three of Davos show architects of the metaverse are still trying to figure out what exactly it is – and regulators hinting central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could potentially do mo...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Crypto Lawyers Share Blame for FTX, Other Disasters, CFTC Commissioner Says

Lawyers, accountants and other financial professionals should have stepped in to halt the fatal mistakes going on inside crypto firms such as FTX long before they imploded, said Christy Goldsmith Romero, a commissioner with the U.S. Commodity F...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

US Disrupts Bitzlato Crypto Exchange, Arrests Founder

The U.S. Justice Department and Treasury Department have targeted Bitzlato Limited with accusations of money laundering, officials said in a Wednesday press conference. The Hong Kong-based platform Bitzlato has been disrupted by authorities and ...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Digital Dollar Project Warns on US Cautious Approach to CBDCs

The United States may have conceded a head start to other nations in "setting global standards for the future of money" regarding central bank digital currencies (CBDC), but in the future the country "should lead the development of an internation...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Justice Department to Announce Major International Crypto Enforcement Action

The U.S. Justice Department plans to announce a major international cryptocurrency enforcement action at noon ET on Wednesday. The press conference will be led by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and other speakers will include Assistant At...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Thailand SEC Issues Regulations for Crypto Custody Providers

Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission has issued regulations for crypto custody providers to establish a digital wallet management system to ensure clients safety according to a press release on Tuesday. The regulations took affect on ...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Crypto Speculation Has Had Its “Comeuppance”: Raghuram Rajan

DAVOS, Switzerland — Crypto as a speculative asset class has had its “comeuppance” said economist and former governor of India’s central bank, Raghuram Rajan. But that doesn’t mean the technology that underlies crypto deserves punishment as well...

Policy

Jan. 18, 2023

Blockchain’s Non-Crypto Applications Take Center Stage on Davos Day 2

DAVOS, Switzerland — Blockchain, not crypto.. From propping up climate solutions and delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine to moving on from the stunning collapse of FTX, the second day of the World Economic Forum's 2023 annual conference saw d...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

French Crypto Companies Must Seek Authorization by 2024 Under New Lawmaker Plans

Crypto companies in France would have to seek authorization from regulators to operate if they are not already registered with the country’s financial regulator by Jan. 1, 2024, under plans adopted by lawmakers at the National Assembly on Tuesday...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

Finnish Minister Calls for EU Law to Recognize DAOs

DAVOS, Switzerland — The European Union should consider legislation to recognize decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) that govern Web3 applications, Finland’s communications minister said during a panel at this year's World Economic Foru...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

FTX Debtors Give Details on Digital Assets Identified So Far

FTX Trading and its affiliated debtors, collectively known as the FTX Debtors, have provided details on the digital assets they’ve identified so far in their attempts to recover funds from the bankrupt crypto exchange and its subsidiaries, accord...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister: I'll Take Salary in CBDC

DAVOS, Switzerland — Ukraine’s deputy prime minister wants to be the first user of a planned new central bank digital currency (CBDC) and take his salary in e-hryvnia, he told reporters at the World Economic Forum. New laws will make the country...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

Congress' FTX Problem: 1 in 3 Members Got Cash From Crypto Exchange's Bosses

More than one in three of the 535 senators and representatives in the U.S. Congress showed up to the new session with FTX baggage, having received campaign support from one of the senior executives of the fraud-ridden crypto giant. CoinDesk has ...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

Crypto Lender Nexo Sues Cayman Island's Regulator for VASP Registration

Crypto lender Nexo has sued the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority to get the regulator to reverse its rejection of Nexo's application to register as a virtual asset services provider (VASP), according to a court document filed last week. The reg...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

UK Court Sentences 4 Men to 15 Years Prison for $26M Crypto Fraud

Four men were sentenced to 15 years in prison by a U.K. court for fraudulently obtaining and laundering bitcoin and other cryptocurrency worth around $26 million from an Australian crypto exchange, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said last ...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

European Union Postpones MiCA Vote to April

The European Union’s landmark new legislation, the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA), has been delayed due to technical reasons pushing the final vote till April. "MiCA is tabled to be voted by the plenary in April and to my knowledge, ...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

China's Digital Yuan Used to Buy Securities for the First Time: Report

The digital yuan (e-CNY), a digital token issued by the Bank of China, has been used to buy securities for the first time according to a local media outlet on Monday . Now investors can use the e-CNY to buy securities using the Soochow Securiti...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

Davos 2023: Crypto Is Down, but Not Out

DAVOS, Switzerland – The crypto industry showed up in force at the World Economic Forum’s annual conference in May 2022. Eight months, numerous bankruptcies and a major collapse later, the industry is still present in Davos, Switzerland, but wit...

Policy

Jan. 17, 2023

European Finance Ministers Take Stock of Digital Euro Progress

The Eurogroup, a body comprising the Finance Ministers of the Eurozone countries, said the digital euro could not be programmable money, in a statement on Monday. In other words, there would be no restrictions on the types of goods and services...

Policy

Jan. 16, 2023

Crypto Long-Term Adoption Depends On Regulation, Coinbase Exec Says

Crypto’s recent rally is a beacon of hope for the industry, but its lasting presence will depend on clear regulatory guardrails, according to Tom Duff Gordon, vice president of international policy at Coinbase (COIN). Joining CoinDesk TV’s “ F...

Policy

Jan. 14, 2023

DOJ Objects to FTX’s Choice of Lawyers, Citing Conflict of Interest

The U.S. Trustee has voiced objections to FTX hiring New York law firm Sullivan and Cromwell, claiming potential conflicts of interest due to its previous extensive, in a Jan. 13 legal filing . The complaint echoes those made by a bipartisan gr...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

Grayscale Slams SEC's 'Unreasonable' Barring of Spot Bitcoin ETFs

In a new court filing, digital asset management company Grayscale blasted the U.S. securities regulator for its "illogical" and "fundamentally unreasonable" argument against approving a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The document filed...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

Former SEC Lawyer Says Agency Pushing to Be Crypto Regulator With Gemini/Genesis Suit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may be looking to cement itself as the leading regulator of the digital-asset industry with its case against crypto firms Gemini Trust and Genesis Capital, Howard Fischer, a former SEC attorney, told Co...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

Crypto Bankruptcies Are Very Complicated

CoinDesk’s fees for Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) went up tenfold over the past few months. You can probably guess why. A lot of the major crypto bankruptcy cases we’re following are now in full swing. FTX, BlockFi and Voyager...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

BitConnect’s Victims to Receive $17M in Restitution Seized From Scam’s Promoter

A California judge has ordered $17 million in restitution to be paid out to hundreds of victims of the BitConnect Ponzi scheme , the infamous global scam that collapsed in 2018. U.S. District Court Judge Todd Robinson in San Diego, California, ...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

Bloomberg, WSJ and CoinDesk Among Media Orgs Seeking to Know Who Bailed Out Sam Bankman-Fried

A wide range of major media groups have taken legal action to reveal the identities of the two non-parental parties who co-signed Sam Bankman-Fried's $250 million bail bond. Following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX, Bankman-Fried was arrest...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

Multi-Million Euro Crypto Fraud Operation in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia Busted

Authorities have dismantled a crypto fraud operation operating out of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Serbia which defrauded victims of "at least tens of millions of euros," Eurojust, the European Union's cross-border agency for fighting organized crime, ha...

Policy

Jan. 13, 2023

FTX Cleared to Sell LedgerX, Japanese Units by Bankruptcy Judge

FTX can sell four key units including derivatives arm LedgerX and stock-clearing platform Embed, a Delaware bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday. Investment bank Perella Weinberg is now allowed to proceed with the sell-offs, which also includes the c...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

SEC Alleges Gemini, Genesis Sold Unregistered Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged crypto exchange Gemini and crypto lender Genesis Global Capital sold unregistered securities in a lawsuit late Thursday. The investment regulator took aim at the Gemini Earn, the troubled yiel...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

US House Republicans to Set Up Crypto Committee to Oversee Shaky Industry: Report

U.S. House Republicans plan to set up a crypto committee in a move that signals the GOP wants to make crypto oversight and legislation a priority, according to a report from Politico . Incoming Financial Services chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) ...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

After FTX, Crypto Companies No Longer Have ‘Benefit of the Doubt’ on Capitol Hill, Says Congressman

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill may now be more skeptical about crypto companies thanks to the collapse of the FTX exchange, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) told CoinDesk TV’s “ First Mover .” “Shields are up,” Himes said. “The players in the industry n...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried Blogs Like a Crypto Robin Hood, but in Court He's Not So Charitable

Sam Bankman-Fried’s surprise Substack post Thursday included these charitable lines: “Nearly all of my assets were and still are utilizable to backstop FTX customers,” he wrote. “I have, for instance, offered to contribute nearly all of my pers...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

FTX Loan Wiped Out $800M in BlockFi Executives’ Equity, Filings Reveal

A loan from FTX last year saw BlockFi executives’ equity holdings wiped out by a total $800 million – in exchange for which they granted themselves pay rises of as much as $500,000 each, filings show. A statement of financial affairs for the cry...

Policy

Jan. 12, 2023

CFTC Calls for Default Judgement Against Ooki DAO in Ongoing Lawsuit

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is asking a federal judge to rule that a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) violated federal commodities laws after it failed to respond to an ongoing lawsuit. The CFTC, which sued Oo...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

El Salvador Passes Law Paving the Way for 'Volcano Bond'

The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved on Wednesday a law for the issuance of digital assets other than bitcoin. Included in the legislation was a legal framework for the issuance of a bitcoin-backed bond, also known as the Volcano Bon...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

FTX Creditor Names Can Remain Sealed for Now, Judge Rules

A Delaware bankruptcy judge allowed a list of creditors for FTX to remain sealed for at least another three months on Wednesday. Judge John Dorsey, overseeing the wind-up of Sam Bankman-Fried’s empire, shot down a bid by media organizations and ...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

China Includes Digital Yuan in Cash Circulation Data for First Time

The People’s Bank of China included the country's digital currency in calculations of the amount of currency in circulation in December, a first for one of the early adopters of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and the world's second-larges...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

Letter From US Senators 'Inappropriate,' Won’t Sway Me, FTX Bankruptcy Judge Says

A bipartisan letter from four U.S. senators is an “inappropriate” intervention in bankruptcy proceedings which won’t sway judicial decisions, Delaware judge John Dorsey told a court hearing Wednesday. The letter, from John Hickenlooper (D-Colo...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

FTX Has Recovered 'Over $5B' in Assets, Bankruptcy Attorney Says

Crypto exchange FTX has recovered more than $5 billion in different assets, not including another $425 million in crypto held by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, a bankruptcy attorney said during a hearing Wednesday. "We have located ov...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

Binance Wins Seventh Approval in Europe, Registers With Swedish Regulator

Binance has registered with Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority, making the Nordic country the seventh European jurisdiction in which the crypto exchange has been granted approval. Swedish residents will now be able to buy and sell crypto i...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

Five UK Associations Form Crypto Alliance to Steer Digital Asset Regulation

Five major U.K. associations have come together to form a crypto alliance geared at establishing better policies for the space according to a press release on Wednesday . The members of the U.K. Forum for Digital Currencies (UK FDC) include the...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

Crypto Exchange Zipmex Faces Probe From Thai Securities Regulator: Bloomberg

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating troubled crypto exchange Zipmex, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing a letter sent by the regulator to the company's chief. The SEC has written to Chief Executive Officer ...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

Hong Kong to Propose Approved Set of Crypto Tokens for Retail Trading: Reuters

Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will allow retail trading in a select group of cryptocurrencies as it attempts to introduce regularity clarity to crypto, Reuters reported on Wednesday . The watchdog plans to propose a subset...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

BlockFi Creditors Battle to Keep Their Details Secret

BlockFi creditors are seeking to keep their personal details secret, arguing in a Tuesday court filing that they will be at risk of hacks or identity theft if their names are revealed as part of bankruptcy proceedings. Creditors of the bankru...

Policy

Jan. 11, 2023

90% of WazirX's User Assets are in Binance Wallets, According to Proof Of Reserves Report

Indian crypto exchange WazirX released its proof of reserves report and with that disclosed that 90% of its user assets are held in Binance wallets. CoinGabbar, a third party platform that tracks crypto assets, released WazirX's proof of reser...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

Bipartisan Group of US Senators Calls for Independent Examiner to Investigate FTX

A bipartisan group of four U.S. senators has sent a letter to the judge in the FTX bankruptcy case calling for an independent examiner to be appointed. The group is urging Judge John Dorsey to support a motion to appoint an examiner “to have ful...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

Crypto Industry Hopes Turn to French Legislators as Regulators Back Mandatory License

Crypto advocates are pinning their hopes on France’s National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, to overturn a legal change they worry could wreck France’s goal of becoming an innovative crypto hub. Making crypto companies seek ...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

Crypto Exchange Operator Bithumb Investigated by South Korean Tax Authorities: Report

South Korea's tax authorities are probing Bithumb Holdings, the parent company of a crypto exchange based in the country, Yonhap News reported on Tuesday. The National Tax Service is reportedly investigating possible tax evasion via domestic a...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

UK ‘Fully Behind’ Stablecoin for Wholesale Settlements, Says Treasury Official

The U.K. Government is “fully behind” a stablecoin for wholesale settlements that occur between banks, Andrew Griffith, the economic secretary, said in a meeting in Parliament on Tuesday. The stablecoin – a digital asset backed by fiat curren...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

Nepal Orders Internet Providers to Block Crypto-Related Websites

Nepal's authorities have once again taken steps to block cryptocurrency related activities. In a Jan. 8 notification , Nepal's Telecommunications Authority instructed all internet service providers (ISPs) to prevent operating and managing crypto...

Policy

Jan. 10, 2023

Hong Kong’s Finance Regulator Calls for 'a More Solid Footing' for Crypto

HONG KONG – Christopher Hui first heard of crypto from some friends who were running investment funds and investing in virtual assets. Now, as secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong (FSTB), he’s developing policy direction...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

CFTC Alleges Market Manipulation Against Mango Markets Exploiter

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought manipulation charges against Mango Markets exploiter Avraham Eisenberg on Monday, just weeks after he was arrested by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on similar charges. A lawsui...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

BlockFi Management Hasn't Withdrawn any Crypto Since October, Lawyers Tell Court

Executives of bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi have not withdrawn any of their own cryptocurrencies locked up in the platform since October, a lawyer for the company told a New Jersey court on Monday, contrasting it to fellow bankrupt crypto lender...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

Robinhood Shares Worth Nearly $500M Seized in FTX Case

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has seized more than 55 million shares of Robinhood (HOOD) stock owned – via a holding company – by Sam Bankman-Fried and his FTX co-founder Gary Wang, according to a court document . The shares were worth ju...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

Around 117 Parties Interested in Buying FTX Units, Court Documents Show

Around 117 parties have expressed an interest in buying units of FTX, a legal filing posted Sunday said, as a deadline for initial bids approaches. While the crypto company’s bankruptcy case could take years, the estate has prioritized the sale ...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

French Financial Regulator Supports Faster Mandatory Licensing for Crypto Firms

France’s financial markets authority (AMF) wants to force crypto companies to seek a license if they aren’t already registered in the country, its chair Marie-Anne Barbat Layani said on Monday. Barbat-Layani appeared to be supporting a move prop...

Policy

Jan. 09, 2023

FTX Opposition to $1B Binance Deal Is 'Hypocrisy and Chutzpah,' Voyager Says

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager has defended its $1 billion plan to sell assets to Binance.US , calling criticisms “hypocrisy and chutzpah” based on unverified speculation, two legal filings posted late Sunday night show. The plan has been o...

Policy

Jan. 06, 2023

2 More Promoters of Forcount Crypto Ponzi Scheme Arrested, Charged With Fraud

Two additional promoters of the Forcount Ponzi scheme – a Brazil-based crypto scam that defrauded Spanish-speaking investors around the world of a collective $8.4 million – have been arrested and charged with fraud for their role in the alleged...

Policy

Jan. 06, 2023

FTX's US Leadership, Bahamas Liquidators Say They've 'Resolved' Most of Their Issues

FTX's U.S. leadership and the company's Bahamas wing's court-appointed liquidators have formed a cooperation agreement addressing how assets may be inventoried and disposed of, among other issues, a press release Friday said. FTX Trading, whi...

Policy

Jan. 06, 2023

Brother of Criminal Bitcoin Mixing CEO Pleads Guilty to Stealing 712 Bitcoins From IRS

An Ohio family now has not one but two felons facing potentially lengthy prison sentences for crypto-related crimes. Cleveland man Gary Harmon, 31, pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and obstruction of justice on Friday for stealin...

Policy

Jan. 06, 2023

Singapore Arbitrator Rules Against Mining Software Firm Poolin’s IOU Model, But the Firm Hasn't Paid Yet

An independent arbitrator in Singapore has ordered embattled crypto mining software firm Poolin to return 88 bitcoins ( BTC ), worth about $1.5 million at recent prices, to a customer whose withdrawals were halted and crypto turned into I-owe-you...

Policy

Jan. 06, 2023

SEC Investigating FTX Investors’ Due Diligence: Reuters

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is examining whether investors in bankrupt crypto exchange FTX correctly followed due diligence procedures, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing two sources familiar with the inquiry. In Decemb...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Developer of ‘Mutant Ape Planet’ NFTs Arrested, Charged With Fraud for Alleged $2.9M Rug-Pull

The developer of the Mutant Ape Planet non-fungible token (NFT) collection – a knock-off of the popular Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT collection – has been arrested and charged with fraud for allegedly perpetrating a $2.9 million rug pull. Aurelien ...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

French Central Bank Head Wants Crypto Licensing Ahead of MiCA Standards: Bloomberg

Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau is pressing for stricter regulatory requirements for crypto companies in France, according to a report from Bloomberg . This would be ahead of the European Union’s landmark Markets in Crypto A...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Joins Chorus Objecting to Binance Voyager Buy

Alameda Research, FTX’s defunct trading arm, has joined the list of protesters against a plan by rival exchange Binance's US affiliate to buy the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager, according to legal filings posted Wednesday with a New Yo...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Former Celsius CEO Mashinsky Sued By New York State for Defrauding Investors

New York’s attorney general has sued Alex Mashinsky , the former CEO of Celsius Network, for defrauding hundreds of thousands of investors by making false statements about the condition of the company to encourage money to keep coming in. Attor...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Mango Markets Exploiter Must Stay Detained Pending Trial, Court Rules

Avraham Eisenberg, the perpetrator of a $110 million exploit on decentralized crypto exchange Mango Markets, must remain in jail pending trial, a Puerto Rico court has ruled, according to documents posted Wednesday . Bruce McGiverin, a judge at...

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Celsius 'Earn' Assets Belong to Bankrupt Crypto Lender, Judge Rules

A federal judge ruled that customers of Celsius's interest-bearing "Earn" product had turned over control of their assets to the bankrupt crypto lender, meaning they are part of the company's bankruptcy estate. Judge Martin Glenn, the chief U.S....

Policy

Jan. 05, 2023

Ex-FTX Lawyer Cooperated With US Prosecutors, Reuters Reports, Citing Source Familiar

A former lawyer of Sam Bankman-Fried's bankrupt FTX crypto firm provided details of what he knew about the company's dealings during a meeting with officials of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and t...

Policy

Jan. 04, 2023

SEC Pursues $45M Scam Based in Fake Blockchain Technology

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused alleged fraudster Neil Chandran and several others for orchestrating a scheme to get cash from tens of thousands of investors globally on the false promise that they were securing a lucr...

Policy

Jan. 04, 2023

SEC Files Limited Objection to Binance.US’s $1B Deal for Voyager Assets

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a limited objection to Binance.US's proposed $1.02 billion purchase of the assets of bankrupt crypto lender Voyager . In its filing, the SEC questioned the adequacy of the informatio...

Policy

Jan. 04, 2023

US DoJ Is Seizing Banking Assets, Robinhood Shares Linked to FTX, Court Told