Regulation

Many former executives with cryptocurrency exchange FTX or its sister companies are on the list to testify in the United States Justice Department’s criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF. During jury selection for SBF’s trial on Oct. 3, Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison, FTX co-founder Gary Wang,

Local crypto-mining operators in Kazakhstan — the world’s third-largest market in terms of Bitcoin mining hash rate — are complaining about high energy prices to the country’s president.  According to local media, eight major cryptocurrency mining operators signed an open letter to President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The list includes BCD Company, TT TECH Limited, KZ Systems,

A class-action suit was filed against Binance.US and Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao on Oct. 2 in the District Court of Northern California alleging various violations of federal and California law on unfair competition for attempting to monopolize the cryptocurrency market by harming its competitor FTX. The suit was brought by Nir Lahav, who is identified

United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair Rostin Behnam highlighted his agency’s activity in the crypto sphere and the need for up-to-date legislation at the Financial Industry Association Expo 2023 event in Chicago. He described the CFTC Enforcement Division’s efforts as a “nonstop drumbeat.” In the text version of his keynote address to the

A working paper published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed a count vulnerabilities and potential policy responses for the crypto sector.  On Sept. 29, the IMF published a working paper titled “Assessing Macrofinancial Risks from Crypto Assets.” Within the paper, authors Burcu Hacibedel and Hector Perez-Saiz proposed a crypto-risk assessment matrix (C-RAM) for countries

The FTX bankruptcy lawsuit reached a key juncture in the second week of September after the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of $3.4 billion worth of crypto assets. The court also approved $1.3 billion in brokerage and government-recovered assets as part of the liquidation process, with $2.6 billion

The lawyer representing Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct exchange FTX, has claimed that the proposed jury questions for the upcoming fraud trial might have the potential to elicit biased responses. In a court filing on September 29, lawyer Mark Cohen, representing Bankman-Fried, contends that the jury questions presented by the US government

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has affirmed its plan to summon former FTX clients, investors, and staff as witnesses in the upcoming trial involving Sam Bankman-Fried, the former FTX executive. This will shed light on how these individuals viewed their interactions with Bankman-Fried and his company.  The DOJ submitted a letter motion in limine on

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced legal proceedings against an accounting firm that had provided services to cryptocurrency exchange FTX prior to its bankruptcy declaration. According to a September 29 statement, the SEC alleged that Prager Metis provided auditing services to its clients without maintaining the necessary independence, as it continued

Aside from liquidity, what do institutions bring to crypto? What precisely is their value added? This is an instructive question to ponder, because there is little consensus on what deeper institutional participation means for an industry that is riven with contradictions. The long-running wait for Bitcoin ETF approval, giving pensions and funds exposure to BTC,

Venture capital firm Paradigm has criticized the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for bypassing the standard rulemaking procedures in its current legal action against the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. In a statement released on Friday, Sept. 29, Paradigm stated the SEC is attempting to use the allegations in its complaint to alter the law

The United States House of Representatives has rejected a bill passed on by the Senate aimed at funding the government, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s proposals have so far failed to gain traction with far-right lawmakers in the House — all actions suggesting that the U.S. government is heading toward at least a partial shutdown starting

European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares is optimistic about cryptocurrency regulation in the United States as the firm enters the new market. On Sept. 22, CoinShares officially announced the launch of its new division, CoinShares Hedge Fund Solutions, marking the first time the firm introduce its offerings to qualified U.S. investors. CoinShares’ entrance into the U.S. market

In a court filing, Circle argued that assets that are pegged to the U.S. dollar, like the Binance USD (BUSD) or its own stablecoin USDC, are not securities, partly because those who purchase the assets are not expecting any profit from acquiring them. According to Circle, payment stablecoins do not have the “features of an

Investment manager VanEck has fired up the marketing engine for its “upcoming” Ethereum futures exchange-traded fund (ETF), which some analysts expect could be launched as early as Oct. 2. On Sept. 28, VanEck released the two “Enter the Ether” themed TV commercials, revealing that its Ethereum Strategy ETF — tickered EFUT — is “coming soon.”

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) will remain in jail at least until the start of his Oct. 3 criminal trial following an order from a federal judge. In a Sept. 28 hearing in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan denied a motion from SBF’s legal team