Hold onto your hats, boys and girls! It’s a new world — a financial system without intermediaries, that anyone can access 24 hours a day with only a mobile phone and a wallet! As Julien Bouteloup said to me: “In DeFi, what we are building is fully decentralised technology, fully transparent, run by mathematics. No
Regulation
The price of Bitcoin fell 8% today following “breaking” (read: weeks old) news that the People’s Bank of China, or PBoC, had declared all cryptocurrency transactions illegal. With that in mind, let’s take a nostalgic look at the last 12 years of FUD out of China, and see if we can spot any patterns. China
On September 17, a group of officials led by U.S. attorney Tracy Wilkinson have filed a civil complaint in the United States District Court for the Central District of California claiming that they have identified four digital wallets holding more than 9.8 million Tether (USDT) that was involved in wire fraud, computer fraud and money
In the midst of a fraught period for some high-profile United States crypto firms and financial regulators, Kraken’s chief legal officer (CLO) is calling for a dose of pragmatism going forward. Speaking on Bloomberg’s “QuickTake Stock” broadcast on Thursday, CLO Marco Santori told viewers, “You’re living in a fantasy world if you don’t believe that this
The Canadian Securities Administrators, or CSA, and Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, or IIROC, have issued guidelines for crypto trading platforms operating in the country to avoid “advertising and marketing materials that could mislead investors.” In a Sept. 23 publication, the Canadian regulators’ guidelines warn crypto companies not to advertise “gambling style” promotions in
Nine banking industry associations have submitted a letter to the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) in response to its proposal to introduce stringent capital requirements for banks looking to hold crypto assets on their books. In June of this year, the BCBS had published a consultation paper which assigned a 1,250% risk weight to
HSBC, the largest European bank with total assets of $3 trillion, maintains a skeptical stance on cryptocurrency while promoting the central bank digital currency (CBDC) development. HSBC Group CEO Noel Quinn penned an article, New forms of digital money could spur growth, outlining the firm’s commitment to supporting the concept of CBDC as it provides transparent
Crypto companies from the United States filed two registration statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking permission to sell exchange-traded funds (ETF) in relation to Bitcoin (BTC) and decentralized finance (DeFi). An Atlanta-based investment company, Invesco joined New York’s Galaxy Digital Funds to file and register Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, a trust with
U.S. Securities and Commission, or SEC, chair Gary Gensler has doubled down on his “Wild West” analogy for cryptocurrencies, calling stablecoins instruments for gambling at old-timey casinos. Speaking to Washington Post columnist David Ignatius on Tuesday, Gensler said most projects in the crypto space dealt with securities that fall under the regulatory purview of the
Dan Berkovitz, one of three commissioners currently serving at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said while the agency is suited to futures contracts, swaps, and options trading, it would need additional resources to handle the cash market for crypto assets. Speaking at the Managed Funds Association Digital Assets Conference on Tuesday, Berkovitz said the
The United States Department of the Treasury has announced it will impose sanctions on Czech Republic and Russia-based business Suex OTC for allegedly allowing hackers to access cryptocurrency sent as payment for ransomware attacks. In a Sept. 21 advisory update, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, added Suex OTC to its
Recent dialogue between MakerDAO developers and the office of anti-crypto Senator Elizabeth Warren’s has revealed a concerning lack of familiarity with the current decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. On Sept. 20, a screenshot began circulating on social media appearing to show dialogue between members of the MakerDAO community discussing the conclusions from a recent meeting between
Fall is traditionally the open season for United States financial regulators. The thicket of news coming out of Capitol Hill, federal courts and various regulatory agencies can feel overwhelming around this time, especially for those of us residing outside of these venerable institutions’ purview. It is also clear that the outcomes of these legal battles
The Boston Blockchain Association, or BBA, together with Boston-based media house Media Shower and the Chamber of Digital Commerce are working to lobby for favorable crypto regulations in Massachusetts. According to a release issued on Monday, the BBA in collaboration with Media Shower and the Chamber of Digital Commerce has released a crypto regulatory toolkit
Leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has secured a contract to develop tech for the Department of Homeland Security worth as much as $1.36 million. Under the agreement, Coinbase has been contracted to deliver “application development software as a service” for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (ICE). The contract took effect on Sept. 16
Credit rating agency Standard and Poor (S&P) Global believes the country of El Salvador has severely harmed its credit rating after enacting its Bitcoin Law recognizing BTC as legal tender nationwide on Sept. 7. According to a Sept. 16 report from Reuters, El Salvador’s Bitcoin embrace exposes its economy to significant financial risks and could