Regulation

The United States Department of Justice announced it had seized roughly $9 million worth of Tether (USDT) following the stablecoin issuer freezing funds connected to a criminal organization responsible for romance scams. In a Nov. 21 announcement, the Justice Department said the seized funds came from “scammers who stole millions from victims across the United

Kraken co-founder Jesse Powell has lashed out at the Securities and Exchange Commission after it sued his crypto exchange for alleged securities law violations.  In a Nov. 21 post to X (formerly Twitter), Powell called the regulator “USA’s top decel” — a term used in tech circles to insult someone who slows progress — and

The Blockchain Association has thrown fresh support behind six plaintiffs suing the United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) over its sanctions on the crypto mixer Tornado Cash. In a Nov. 20 amicus curiae brief to a U.S. appellate court, the crypto advocacy group argued OFAC’s decision to sanction the privacy protocol was

ARK Investment Management, a major cryptocurrency investment firm founded by Bitcoin (BTC) advocate Cathie Wood, isn’t giving up on its efforts to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. ARK Invest, on Nov. 20, filed another amended prospectus for its spot Bitcoin ETF product developed in collaboration with the European digital asset

The company behind Atomic Wallet has asked a United States court to dismiss a class action suit seeking damages from a $100 million hack arguing the claims should’ve been filed in Estonia where it’s based. In a Nov. 16 dismissal motion in a Colorado District Court the Estonian firm argued it has “no U.S. ties”

Fourteen Ukrainian officials received advanced training on investigating new-age financial crimes in a training course held from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17 in Vienna. According to a report released by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSEC), the select supervisory and law enforcement officials from Ukraine learned about advanced techniques and tools required to

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) — an international regulatory body overseeing global securities markets — has released its conclusive report containing policy suggestions for crypto and digital asset (CDA) markets. The suggestions within the report play a crucial role in formulating a unified global regulatory approach to address the substantial risks to investor

As Gary Gensler reiterated the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s mandate in a speech, Ripple’s lawyer and various crypto community members responded, criticizing the SEC chair and arguing that the commissioner’s words contradict his actions. On Nov. 16, SEC Chair Gary Gensler shared a video of him conducting a speech at the 2023 Securities

United States Senator Elizabeth Warren has emphasized the risks of cryptocurrency scams targeting senior citizens in the U.S., with the support of a cybersecurity expert endorsing her legislation on digital assets to prevent future scams. In a recent senate hearing, Warren outlined the significant increase in crypto scams being targeted towards elderly citizens of the

Stablecoins lack crucial mechanisms that guarantee money market stability in fiat, and an operational model that gave regulatory control to a central bank would be superior to private stablecoin, a study released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found. The authors used a “money view” of stablecoin and an analogy with onshore and offshore

The global exchange-traded fund (ETF) provider WisdomTree filed an amended Form S-1 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF prospectus with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 16. The update comes a few months after WisdomTree refiled its spot Bitcoin ETF application in June 2023, proposing a rule change to list and trade shares of the WisdomTree

Andrew Yang, former candidate for United States president and New York City mayor and founder of the Forward Party, had sobering observations about the uses of blockchain, or its lack of use, in the United States and U.S. regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) when he spoke Nov. 16 at the North American Blockchain Summit (NABS) in

Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. Hot week for Hong Kong exchanges  Hashkey Exchange — one of the first regulated crypto exchanges in Hong Kong — has announced insurance coverage for clients assets stored in its hot and cold wallets. accounts. The policy will cover 50% of

Dubai’s dedicated crypto regulator, the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA), is switching leaders as it prepares for the next phase of its “ramp up to full-scale market operations” in 2023.  In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, VARA said that its incumbent CEO, Henson Orser, will be replaced by Matthew White, a global adviser who worked

Guidelines for firms listing and delisting cryptocurrencies in New York have tightened up to better protect investors, according to the state’s financial regulator. The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) unveiled new restrictions on Nov. 15 which mandate crypto companies submit their coin listing and delisting policies for NYDFS approval. Company policies will

The United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion received an education in the uses of blockchain technology in a hearing entitled “Crypto Crime in Context: Breaking Down the Illicit Activity in Digital Assets” on Nov. 15. The hearing was bipartisan in nature, chair French Hill stated at the outset. 

The German bank Commerzbank has been granted a crypto custody license by local regulators, according to an announcement released by the lender on Nov. 15.  Commerzbank says it is the first “full-service” German bank to be granted this license in the country under the legal framework of the German Banking Act (KWG). This allows it

The creator of the Mutant Ape Planet nonfungible token (NFT) collection — a knock-off of Yuga Labs’ Mutant Ape Yacht Club project — has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a New York federal court. In a Nov. 14 statement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said

A fake filing published to the State of Delaware’s Division of Corporations on Nov. 13 will be referred to the Delaware Department of Justice. In a Nov. 14 statement, a spokesperson for the Delaware Department of State told Cointelegraph that the false filing claiming that asset manager BlackRock registered an “iShares XRP Trust” would be

Tether (USDT), the largest stablecoin by market value, has been breaking new records over the course of 2023, with its market capitalization adding at least $20 billion so far this year. According to data from the blockchain data provider Whale Alert, Tether has minted 22.75 billion USDT so far this year, with at least 4