Regulation

South Korean prosecutors have requested an arrest warrant for the former CEO of Tmon, a Korean e-commerce platform, after taking billions of won in LUNA (LUNA), now known as LUNA Classic (LUNC), for promoting Terra as a simple payment gateway.  Seoul prosecutors requested an arrest warrant on the former CEO of ecommerce giant Tmon for

Despite attempts to police cryptocurrency through enforcement actions, United States financial regulators “are bound by legal reality” and Congress will ultimately decide crypto regulations the policy expert for the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has suggested. The association’s chief policy officer, Jake Chervinsky, shared his views in an extensive Feb. 14 Twitter thread on the

The United Kingdom’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), is coming for unregistered cryptocurrency automated teller machines (ATMs). The FCA and the cyber team at West Yorkshire Police have taken action against several sites in and around Leeds city suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs. Announcing the news on Feb. 14, the FCA

Paxos Trust Company says it “categorically disagrees” with the United States securities regulator that has describedBinance USD (BUSD) as a security.  In the Feb. 13 statement, the BUSD issuer confirmed recent reports that it had received a Wells notice from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission over BUSD and its alleged failure to register

Blockchain infrastructure platform Paxos Trust Company will halt the issuance of new Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoins amid the ongoing probe by New York regulators. Paxos officially announced on Feb. 13 that the firm would end its relationship with Binance for the branded U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. Starting from Feb. 21, Paxos will stop minting new

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly told stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust Co. it’s planning to sue the firm for violation of investor protection laws in relation to Binance USD (BUSD).  According to a Feb. 12 report in The Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, the SEC issued a

The Consumer Federation of California (CFC), a nonprofit advocacy organization working for consumer rights, sponsored a bill that seeks to license and regulate the activities of cryptocurrency exchanges. The legislation demanding regulatory oversight of crypto businesses — the Digital Financial Assets Law — was introduced by Assemblymember Timothy Grayson with the aim of protecting Californians

Top Stories This Week Kraken reaches $30M settlement with SEC over staking as IRS seeks user information Kraken has agreed to stop offering staking services or programs to United States clients after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Along with ceasing operations, the crypto exchange will pay $30 million in

Kazakhstan, one of the world’s biggest Bitcoin (BTC) mining hubs, announced plans to introduce new crypto regulations to reduce tax fraud and unlawful business operations. A new law signed by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Feb. 6 reinstated the nation’s stand against the unlawful mining operations and issuance of crypto assets. Out of the two distinct

The parts that make up the cryptocurrency ecosystem are not all equal, United States Federal Reserve Board governor Christopher Waller told a conference audience on Feb. 10. He had clear preferences among the three elements of the ecosystem that he identified. Waller was hosted by the Global Interdependence Center at its “Digital Money, Decentralized Finance,

South Korea announced its first independent sanctions related to cryptocurrency thefts and cyberattacks against specific North Korean groups and individuals. According to Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, four North Korean individuals and seven businesses have been placed on a blacklist for their alleged involvement in cyberattacks and cryptocurrency theft. The blacklisted individuals include the infamous

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) commissioner Hester Pierce has publicly rebuked her own agency over the shut down of Kraken’s crypto staking program in the United States.  The commissioner blasted her regulator in a Feb. 9 statement called “Kraken Down,” noting that regulation by enforcement “is not an efficient or fair way of

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market value, has completed reserves attestation by major global accounting firm BDO. The stablecoin firm released BDO’s assurance opinion on Feb. 9, which re-affirms the accuracy of Tether’s consolidated reserves report (CRR) as of Dec. 31, 2022. The CRR shows that Tether’s consolidated assets amount to at

United States lawmakers with the Senate Banking Committee have announced three witnesses scheduled to appear before a hearing scheduled on Feb. 14. At the time of publication, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee’s hearing titled “Crypto Crash: Why Financial System Safeguards are Needed for Digital Assets” had witnesses including Vanderbilt University law professor Yesha Yadav; Duke

Lawyers representing bankrupt crypto broker Voyager Digital have served former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried and other FTX and Alameda Research executives with subpoenas requesting information. The subpoenas have a very wide scope, with Voyager’s lawyers seeking copies of any documents and communication between FTX entities and the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Department of

United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm were the recipients Feb. 6 of another letter on the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. Eight Democratic lawmakers headed by Elizabeth Warren reached out to the officials this time.  The eight lawmakers acknowledged previous replies to official correspondence asking about the agencies’

A former product manager at cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has moved to dismiss charges of alleged insider trading, with his lawyers arguing the tokens he allegedly traded were not securities. Lawyers representing ex-Coinbase employee, Ishan Wahi, and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, filed a motion on Feb. 6 in the United States District Court for the Western

The U.K. outline of the future financial services regulatory regime for crypto covers a broad range of topics, from the troubles of algorithmic stablecoins to nonfungible tokens and initial coin offerings. And it’s certainly good news for the industry, as the upcoming regulation doesn’t propose a ban on algorithmic stablecoins or excessive requirements on data

The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO), or Interpol, is investigating how it could police crimes in the metaverse. However, a top Interpol executive believes there are issues with defining a metaverse crime. According to BBC, Interpol Secretary General Jurgen Stock revealed the agency’s intent to oversee criminal activities on the metaverse. Stock highlighted the ability

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has seized 86.5 Ether (ETH) an two nonfungible tokens (NFTs) worth more than $100,000 from a reported phishing scammer. The alleged scammer in question, Chase Senecal — known as Horror (HZ) online — was initially exposed via a lengthy investigation by independent blockchain sleuth ZachXBT posted back in September 2022.