We ask the buidlers in the blockchain and cryptocurrency sector for their thoughts on the industry… and throw in a few random zingers to keep them on their toes! This week, our 6 Questions go to Dominik Schiener, a co-founder of the Iota Foundation, a nonprofit organization, and the creator of the Tangle, a permissionless,
Regulation
The United States Senate has confirmed the nomination of Jerome Powell as the chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System until 2026. In an 80–19 landslide vote on the Senate floor on Thursday, U.S. lawmakers confirmed Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, a position he held from February 2018 until
Commissioner Hester Peirce — also known as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SECs) “crypto mom” — has backed a regulatory framework for stablecoins that allows “room for there to be failure.” Speaking at an online panel on May 12 hosted by financial think-tank the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) Peirce, who has long
Innovations in the crypto space appear daily. Whether through decentralized applications or new ways to implement and use nonfungible tokens (NFTs) within decentralized finance, blockchain technology is innovating at the speed of light. The only thing missing? Widespread adoption. One thing holding this back is the very public nature of the blockchain. DeFi, as it
The ECB released another working paper on the digital euro, providing an extensive technical analysis of a potential European CBDC and its position in the existing financial system. Issued on May 13, the working paper aims to study issues like financial intermediation, payment choices and privacy in the digital economy, providing a large number of
In a Friday announcement, Pham said Keaghan Ames will be her counselor and senior policy adviser at the CFTC starting May 23. Ames worked at Credit Suisse for more than two years as vice president and head of U.S. regulatory policy, which included advising executives on digital assets regulation. He will be joining the CFTC
The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to launch a prototype of the digital euro in 2023. In the next five years, Europe could have its own central bank digital currency (CBDC) up and running. However, there are still many questions surrounding the prospective digital currency. In what form could it be issued? Is the
The Shanghai High People’s Court has issued a document in which it states that Bitcoin is subject to property rights laws and regulations. That finding was made in relation to a lawsuit filed in a district court in October 2020 involving the recovery of a loan of 1 Bitcoin (BTC). The lower court recognized Bitcoin
The Federal Ministry of Finance (BaFin) published a 24-page document on Tuesday outlining clear income tax rules for cryptocurrency and virtual assets. Tax practitioners, businesses and individual taxpayers now have clear direction on the tax requirements for acquiring, trading and selling cryptocurrencies. The key takeaway is that individuals who sell BTC or ETH more than 12
The administration of the newly-elected President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, wastes no time in his drive to maintain the country’s stature as a center for innovation, as South Korea hopes to roll out comprehensive crypto legislation in 2023 and institutionalize the sector by 2024. On Wednesday, South Korean newspaper Kukmin, citing a leaked governmental
Newly discovered documents could pose a major roadblock for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its case against Ripple if they prove a former commission official had a conflict of interest. The SEC has been embroiled in a legal battle against blockchain company Ripple (XRP) since 2020 in which the crypto company and senior
Bitcoin (BTC) price initially bounced from its recent low at $29,000 but the overall market sentiment after a 25% price drop in five days is still largely negative. Currently, the crypto “Fear and Greed Index,” which uses volatility, volume, social metrics, Bitcoin dominance and Google trends data, has plunged to its lowest level since March
Just three days after debuting in the Indian market, United States-based crypto exchange Coinbase abruptly stopped using United Payments Interface (UPI), the most popular payment service in the region. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong later revealed that the service disruption was due to an “informal pressure” from India’s central bank. During Coinbase’s 2022 Quarterly Earnings call,
United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen called on U.S. lawmakers to develop a “consistent federal framework” on stablecoins to address risks to financial stability. In a Tuesday hearing of the Senate Banking Committee on the Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress, Yellen reiterated her previous position calling for a regulatory framework
The United States Federal Reserve Board released its semiannual Financial Stability Report on Monday. The report points to the volatility on commodities markets brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 and “higher and more persistent than expected” inflation as sources of instability. Stablecoins and some types
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is moving ahead with plans to upgrade the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to be used on a wider range of goods and services. It is also maintaining harsh crypto restrictions that cripple the country’s fintech sector. The CBN Branch Controller Bariboloka Koyor spoke at a campaign aiming