Regulation

Considering that protocol-level censorship is deterrent to the crypto ecosystem’s goal of highly open and accessible finance, the community has been keeping track of Ethereum’s growing compliance with standards laid down by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Over the last 24 hours, the Ethereum network was found to enforce OFAC compliance on over

Members of the United Kingdom’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee have opened an inquiry to hear from the public on the potential benefits and risks of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, and blockchain on the country’s economy. In a Nov. 4 announcement, the DCMS committee said its inquiry was related to the sudden growth of

Fintech firm Ripple is garnering more support from the crypto and finance industry in its ongoing battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On Nov. 4, Ripple chief executive Brad Garlinghouse proudly tweeted that the number of companies, developers, exchanges, associations, and investors officially supporting the firm has reached 12. The pile

The Digital Agency of Japan, aimed at harmonizing nationwide initiatives related to digital transformation, has launched a research decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO, targeting Web3. In a Nov. 2 meeting, the Digital Agency said it had established a DAO in an effort to explore the “functions and roles” of DAOs. The group added it would

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, has announced it will be extending an anti-money laundering ordinance which requires identity checks for reporting certain crypto transactions. In a Nov. 2 notice, the Switzerland financial regulator said it would enforce a threshold of 1,000 Swiss francs — roughly $997 at the time of publication —

United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler cited major enforcement actions against crypto firms as part of the “economic realities” of securities regulation. In written remarks for the Practising Law Institute’s Annual Institute on Securities Regulation on Nov. 2, Gensler used examples of SEC enforcement against crypto lending firm BlockFi and a former

Stablecoin issuers Circle and Paxos have each received approvals for their respective licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s central bank. Circle received in-principle approval for a Major Payments Institution License allowing it to issue cryptocurrencies and facilitate domestic and cross-border payments while Paxos received its license to offer digital payment token

Chinese central bank governor Yi Gang, in a recent speech at Hong Kong Fintech Week, talked about the progress of their national digital currency called the digital yuan. He outlined the progress and the adoption of the national digital currency. During his speech, Yi noted that the digital yuan is being positioned as an alternative

United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase has become the latest organization to stand behind Ripple Labs in its legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which could wrap up as soon as the first half of 2023. Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s chief legal officer in a series of tweets on Oct. 31 said the exchange

In a close race with outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also known simply as “Lula,” won the country’s presidential election following a run-off race. According to data from Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Lula defeated Bolsonaro in an Oct. 30 run-off election with 50.9% of the vote — roughly 60.3 million people

Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the

A Hong Kong-headquartered crypto investment platform, Q9 Capital, received provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The company announced its expansion to the UAE and applied for a full operating license as well.  According to its press release from Oct. 27, Q9 will establish a regional hub in Dubai and start

The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced on Oct. 27 that it will create an Office of Financial Technology early next year. The new office will incorporate the Office of Innovation, which was set up in 2016. It will be led by a chief financial technology officer, who will report

In the weeks following new sanctions from the European Union, Binance has kept its doors open for nonsanctioned Russian nationals — but that does not mean that the firm isn’t complying with the sanctions, according to Binance’s newly appointed sanctions executive. Western sanctions against Russia have been a major challenge for Binance from day one,

Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs who may be facing legal actions in South Korea and the United States, is the target of a lawsuit in Singapore along with the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and Terra founding member Nicholas Platias. In a lawsuit filed in Singapore’s high court on Sept. 23, 359 individuals allege

Switzerland’s southern city of Lugano and El Salvador have signed an economic cooperation agreement based on crypto and blockchain. According to an Oct. 28 announcement from Lugano, the two pro-crypto jurisdictions signed a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation at the city’s Plan B event. Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti cited El Salvador adopting Bitcoin (BTC)

Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Christy Goldsmith Romero has pointed to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and its flow-on effects as an example of how contagion risks within crypto markets are similar to those experienced by the traditional financial (TradFi) system during the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008.  Romero suggested in a speech

Is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) really hostile to crypto? Many in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space think so. In January, the fund asked El Salvador to drop Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender.  In May, it reportedly pressured Argentina to curtail crypto trading as the price for an IMF loan extension, and it also recently

Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto derivatives giant BitMEX, believes the next crypto bull run will start when China moves back into the market, and Hong Kong has a vital part to play in this process.  In his Oct. 26 blog post titled “Comeback”, Hayes outlined why he thinks the Hong Kong government’s announcement

This “Crypto City” guide looks at the San Francisco Bay Area’s crypto culture, its most notable projects and people, its financial infrastructure, which retailers accept crypto, and where you can find blockchain education courses. You really might leave your heart in San Francisco with all the projects in the Bay Area. Fast facts City: San