Regulation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is challenging United States President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in the 2024 presidential election, has taken to Twitter again to share more of his thoughts on cryptocurrency. Kennedy criticized Biden on May 2 for calling the U.S. banking system “safe and sound” the previous day. “Today, bank stocks

Binance is under investigation by the United States Justice Department (DOJ) national security division for allowing Russians to use the cryptocurrency exchange in violation of U.S. sanctions, according to a report that appeared in Bloomberg on May 5. There have been no accusations against the company or its executive in connection with the investigation. The

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued its largest-ever whistleblower award totaling $279 million. The SEC generally issues awards ranging between 10% to 30% of collected monetary sanctions that are larger than $1 million. To receive such an award, the whistleblower needs to have provided information that directly assists the SEC in successfully

On May 4, Argentina’s central bank banned payment providers from offering crypto transactions, alleging it intends to reduce the country’s payment-system exposure to digital assets.  According to a statement from the monetary authority, payment providers may not offer or facilitate crypto services through their applications. The move brings payment fintechs and financial institutions under the

In the United States, the White House released the national standards strategy for key and emerging technologies on May 4, identifying eight technology sectors that will have a significant economic impact in the near future. Among the eight technologies are artificial intelligence, communication and network technologies, biotechnology and semiconductors, with the inclusion of distributed ledger

Greg Gianforte, the Governor of Montana, has signed into law a bill largely preventing local governments in the state from passing laws prohibiting cryptocurrency mining. According to records with the Montana legislature, Gianforte signed SB178 into law on May 2 after the bill had passed both the state House and Senate. The legislation effectively enshrines

The United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially stepped onto the artificial intelligence (AI) scene after it announced an examination of the impact of the technology on consumers and the economy. On May 4, the regulator said it will be looking at the development and deployment of foundation models -  applications like OpenAI’s

Lawyers representing cryptocurrency and stock trading app Robinhood faced off against those for the Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts over the legality of a state regulation that could affect how the company markets itself to potential investors. Under Secretary of the Commonwealth for Massachusetts William Galvin, the state securities division filed a complaint against

The United Kingdom is set to ban cold calls that sell financial products, including insurance and cryptocurrencies, in an attempt to crack down on fraud. It is estimated that fraud costs the country approximately £7 billion ($8.7 billion) annually.  The U.K. government reportedly announced its new fraud strategy, pledging 400 new jobs to update its approach

United States Congressmen Warren Davidson and Mike Flood have written a letter to the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) demanding an explanation for a chapter the agency prepared for the Economic Report of the President that expressed “a hostile view towards the digital asset ecosystem.”  The report, presented to Congress is March,

Ava Labs founder and CEO Emin Gün Sirer has reportedly won a defamation suit against a crypto influencer, awarding him $3 million in damages. The lawsuit stemmed from claims made in a February 2021 YouTube video by crypto influencer Emre Aksoy linking Sirer to an Islamist group the Turkish government calls the Fethullah Terrorist Organization

The deadline has come for comments on a consultation paper and call for evidence released by the United Kingdom’s HM Treasury on a proposed crypto asset regulatory framework. The long-awaited paper, published in February, drew detailed responses from a variety of cryptocurrency industry players. Blockchain provider Polygon Labs, venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), the Association for

The American banking giant JP Morgan Ch is set to acquire all the assets of First Republic Bank (FRC) after early efforts to rescue it failed. JPMorgan, along with multiple other banks, submitted a bid to acquire the assets of troubled FRC on April 29. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed FRC

The United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s (FDIC) post-mortem assessment of Signature Bank of New York (SBNY) revealed poor management and inadequate risk management practices as the root cause for its collapse. Signature Bank was shut down by federal regulators on March 12 in a bid to protect the U.S. economy and strengthen public confidence

An executive at JPMorgan Asset Management is unsure how United States regional banks are “going to operate” when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) emergency lending programs expire – warning that the possible collapse of First Republic Bank may cause a domino effect. In an April 27 Bloomberg television

Bank regulators in the United States have turned from introspection to confession after the high-profile bank failures in March. The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) published its internal review of Signature Bank supervision on April 28, the same day the U.S. Federal Reserve Board released its review of the handling of Silicon Valley

Patrick McHenry, the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has announced a series of joint hearings in May that will focus on addressing the market structure around digital assets in the U.S. The move was revealed via a joint announcement on April 27 from Congressman McHenry, Glenn Thompson, Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee,

Researchers at Indiana University and the University of Maine recently published a study examining the current state of cryptocurrency tax law in the United States. The research concludes with recommendations for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that, if adopted, would prevent taxpayers from weighing crypto losses against other capital gains. The paper, dubbed simply “Crypto

The former CFO of a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) was sentenced to three years in prison after embezzling $5 million that was used to trade cryptocurrencies and “meme stocks.” An April 27 press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Cooper Morgenthau, the ex-CFO of African Gold Acquisition Corp. (AGAC), embezzled more than

One size does not fit all when it comes to Anti-Money Laundering (AML), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) reminded banks on April 27. Banks should not make it unnecessarily hard to open accounts.  There has been a wave of companies opening bank accounts in Hong Kong to take advantage of business opportunities, HKMA deputy