Regulation

United States Acting Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) Michael Hsu has expressed concerns that regulators are spending “too much time on crypto,” rather than more pressing issues, such as technology and banking.  The crypto skeptic OCC head made the comments during an interview with Reuters on Oct. 13, as he outlined a worry that crypto

Patrick McHenry, ranking member of the United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, thinks the “conversation has become unmoored” regarding financial technology and needs to return to solving real-world problems. He is currently in talks over legislation that may at least bring more clarity to stablecoins. Currently, there is no U.S. federal definition of

A new report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis has shown a surge in stablecoin usage in Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has since seen sanctions and inflation impacting the country.  Released on Oct. 12, the report revealed that the share of stablecoin’s transaction volume on primarily Russian services increased from 42% in

French authorities have reportedly utilized research from pseudonymous blockchain sleuth ZachXBT to charge five people on suspicion of stealing $2.5 million worth of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) via phishing scams. According to an Oct. 12 report from the Agence France Presse (AFP) shared by Barron’s, the alleged fraudsters built a website that masqueraded as a service

After a build-up of multiple memorandums of understanding (MoU) and an initial “in-principle” approval to operate in Kazakhstan, Binance received a permanent license to operate in the country. As of Oct. 6, Kazakhstan’s AIFC Financial Services Authority (AFSA) granted the permanent license to both manage a digital asset platform and provide custody services at the

Republican members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee have requested the Department of Justice provide its assessment and legislative proposals regarding a digital dollar within ten days. In an Oct. 5 letter addressed to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, 11 Republican lawmakers asked the Justice Department for a copy of its “assessment of whether

Curtis Loftis, the treasurer for the U.S. state of South Carolina, spent five days in El Salvador as part of an “exploratory trip” on cryptocurrencies. According to an Oct. 5 announcement, Loftis was part of a delegation including South Carolina business leaders, rural health officials, and individuals “interested in the expansion of cryptocurrency and blockchain

Nasdaq, the United States stock exchange, has no immediate plans of launching a crypto exchange until there’s better regulatory clarity from policymakers, said Tal Cohen, the company’s executive vice president. In an interview with Bloomberg, Cohen said that the retail side of the crypto market is fairly saturated and there are enough crypto exchanges catering to

The legal team behind nonfungible token firm DataVault Holdings has requested an advisory opinion from the United States Federal Election Commission on using NFTs for fundraising efforts. In a Sept. 21 letter to FEC acting general counsel Lisa Stevenson, DataVault’s lawyers proposed sending NFTs as “souvenirs” to individuals who contributed to political committees, as well

The United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission can serve members of the Ooki decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, with summons through online communications, according to a federal judge. In an Oct. 3 order granting a CFTC motion, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said the commission could provide a copy of its summons and complaint through

The comments period has ended for the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) “Second Consultation on the Prudential Treatment of Cryptoasset Exposures,” a document published in June 2022.  International financial associations had a lot to say in response to it. Several did so at once in a joint 84-page comment letter released Oct. 4. In

Stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) has nearly completely slashed its commercial paper holdings, with less than $50 million worth of commercial paper units as of Sept. 30, 2022. Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino made the announcement in an Oct. 3 tweet, adding also that Tether’s United States Treasury bills increased to 58.1% of its total portfolio, up

Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan since 2021, has said the government will be making efforts to promote Web3 services, including those dealing with nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and the Metaverse. In an Oct. 3 speech before Japan’s National Diet, Kishida said the government’s investment in the country’s digital transformation already included issuing NFTs

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Financial Monitoring Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a part of its global law enforcement training program. The program, which involves officials from regulatory and law enforcement organizations worldwide, aims to strengthen industry cooperation with national and international law enforcement in

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted an objection to Celsius’ motion to reopen withdrawals for select customers and sell its stablecoin holdings. The DOJ is asserting that the state of Celsius’ financials are lacking transparency, and that key decisions like this should not be considered until the independent examiner report has been filed. The

A poll of 800 likely midterm voters in four U.S. swing states suggested that the overwhelming majority favored ideas around decentralization, and many were HODLers. According to a Sept. 29 report from venture capital firm Haun Ventures on a survey conducted by business intelligence company Morning Consult, roughly one in five voters polled in New

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced last month that it had issued desist and refrain orders to 11 entities for violating California securities laws. Some of the highlights included allegations that they offered unqualified securities as well as material misrepresentations and omissions to investors. These violations should remind us that while

The Crypto Market Integrity Coalition (CMIC) announced the induction of eight new members, the organization announced on Sept. 29. The organization, which now has 38 members who have all taken a pledge to uphold market integrity and efficiency, describes itself as such: “CMIC […] gives a unified voice to the crypto industry’s commitment to continually

United States Senator Bill Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, introduced legislation seeking a safe harbor for cryptocurrency exchanges from “certain” Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement actions. The Digital Trading Clarity Act of 2022, introduced by Sen. Hagerty, aims to provide regulatory clarity around two primary concerns plaguing crypto exchange establishments —

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, filed a complaint against Digitex LLC and its founder and CEO Adam Todd for failing to register the cryptocurrency futures exchange and manipulating the price of its DGTX token. According to a Sept. 30 court filing in the Southern District of Florida, Todd allegedly pumped up