2B4CH, a Swiss non-profit think tank assisting the state in exploring cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and blockchain technology, is launching an initiative to potentially make Bitcoin one the country’s reserve assets. On Oct. 8, the association announced plans to start a federal popular initiative aiming to collect 100,000 signatures for introduction of Bitcoin to the
Regulation
Front Row, a marketplace geared towards progressive organizations, has said it will be partnering with the Texas Democratic Party to pilot a program aimed at raising money for candidates and causes using nonfungible tokens. In an Oct. 11 announcement, Front Row said it had already minted digital images of key moments related to the progressive
Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said the Treasury Department may be more of a threat to innovation in blockchain and cryptocurrencies in the United States than the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Speaking at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Friday, Lummis said her recent concerns with the federal agency
There is nothing surprising about Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican known to be among the staunchest crypto supporters in the U.S. legislature, revealing a sizable Bitcoin (BTC) purchase that she had made earlier in the summer. It is still oddly satisfying to observe the alignment between a politician’s long-declared stance on an issue and corresponding
The Chinese government-backed blockchain project, the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), continues expanding its global presence by setting up two new portals in Turkey and Uzbekistan. Red Date Technology, the architect behind the BSN project, has signed an agreement with Turkish consultancy firm, Turkish Chinese Business Matching Center (TUCEM), to launch two international BSN portals in
The regulators are closing in. It’s one thing to unbundle market functions to their parts ― custody, aggregators and Prime Brokerage ― to satisfy institutional compliance departments. It’s another to keep regulators happy. From the Financial Action Task Force pushing forward with its guidance for Travel Rule compliance to the still-evolving European Markets in Crypto-Assets
Sri Lanka joins the global crypto adoption drive after setting up a committee for exploring and implementing blockchain and crypto mining technologies. A letter shared on Oct. 8 by Sri Lanka’s Director General of Government Information, Mohan Samaranayake, shows that the authorities have approved a recent proposal that aims to attract investments in the country’s
An official from the Office of the Attorney General has said the United States government is going to take a more active role in enforcement action against actors using cryptocurrencies for money laundering and other cybercrimes. Speaking at the Aspen Institute Cyber Summit on Oct. 6, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Justice Department
Financial services company, MoneyGram International, has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to enable consumers to send money using Circle’s popular stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC) and convert directly to and from fiat. Per a 6 Oct. announcement, MoneyGram has integrated support allowing crypto wallets connected to the Stellar Network to access its global retail platform.
Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, argued that Russia needs to adopt new laws to protect retail investors from the potential losses of investing in crypto, local news agency Interfax reported Oct. 6. To this end, lawmakers in the country’s parliament are reportedly considering new legislation to limit cryptocurrency
Pat Toomey, a Republican member of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, is attempting to pressure the nominee to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) into handing over her 1989 university honors thesis about Karl Marx. The Biden administration formally nominated Kazakh-born attorney Saule Omarova — who has been characterized by critics
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, has delayed the signing of the bill that would establish the nation’s regulatory framework around digital assets. The draft law, entitled “On virtual assets,” secured parliamentary approval on Sept. 8. However, according to an Oct. 5 statement issued by the presidential office, Zelensky remitted the legislation back to the parliament
International Monetary Fund, or IMF, managing director Kristalina Georgieva said more than half of all central banks in the world are exploring how to launch digital currencies. Speaking at a virtual conference hosted by Bocconi University on Oct. 5, Georgieva said the IMF was looking at central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and digital currencies
Gary Gensler, the head of the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed that his agency does not have the authority or intention to ban cryptocurrency. While responding to questions during an Oct. 5 House Committee on Financial Services hearing, Gensler emphasized that prohibiting crypto does not fall within the SEC’s mandate, stating: “That
North Carolina House Representative Patrick McHenry has proposed a bill which would amend one of the laws governing the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a safe harbor for certain token projects. In a draft of the “Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021” provided by the House Committee on Financial Services, McHenry suggested amending
Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, is facing major potential penalties for operating unauthorized power plants in the province of Alberta. The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the province’s power utility regulator, issued Sept. 24 another enforcement submission against Link Global, with enforcement staff recommending several penalties for