Regulation

The Algorand Foundation has revealed a $35 million USDC hole in its balance sheet as a result of exposure to embattled cryptocurrency lending firm Hodlnaut, which has paused withdraws since Aug. 8.  Algorand is an institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure with embedded smart contract functionality. The Algorand Foundation is a not-for-profit community organization focused on developing the

Members of the House Committee on Financial Services have called for Federal Reserve vice chair Lael Brainard to clarify her position on a central bank digital currency ahead of deadlines set by United States President Joe Biden’s executive order on digital assets.  In a Wednesday letter addressed to Brainard, 24 Republican lawmakers including ranking member

In light of the influx of filings from cryptocurrency issuers in the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decided to set up two new offices this fall to provide specialized support to the seven offices currently responsible for reviewing issuer filings.  Under the Division of Corporation Finance’s Disclosure Review Program (DRP), the SEC

According to a new lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas. On Thursday, six users of the Ethereum blockchain and cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash sued the U.S. Department of Treasury, alleging that its recent designation of 44 Tornado Cash smart contract addresses to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list of the

A group of Democrats from the United States Senate has reportedly asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to provide details on the social media giant’s policies addressing cryptocurrency fraud. According to a Friday report from the Washington Post, Senators Robert Menendez, Sherrod Brown, Elizabeth Warren, Dianne Feinstein, Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker called on Zuckerberg for

Gurbir Grewal, the enforcement director for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, said the financial regulator will continue to investigate and bring enforcement actions against crypto firms, despite the narrative of “picking winners and losers” and “stifling innovation.” In written remarks for a Friday program hosted by the Practising Law Institute, Grewal pushed back

Blockchain wallet and cryptocurrency exchange platform Blockchain.com has reportedly secured regulatory approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or VARA. According to a Friday report from Reuters, VARA signed an agreement which will allow Blockchain.com to open an office in Dubai. The crypto firm currently operates several offices in North America, Europe, South America, and

Major cryptocurrency exchange Huobi continues to expand its global footprint by entering the British Virgin Islands, a British Overseas Territory. Huobi officially announced on Friday that it had secured an investment business license from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of the British Virgin Islands. The approval allows Huobi to operate a virtual asset exchange under

Richard Fuller, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said the government wants the United Kingdom to be the “dominant global hub for crypto technologies.” In a parliamentary debate on crypto asset regulation in the U.K. on Wednesday, Fuller spoke in favor of “powerful” use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, including using distributed ledger technology

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) has weighed in on the environmental and energy impact of crypto assets in the United States, finding that crypto makes a significant contribution to energy usage and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It recommends monitoring and regulation in response. The report, released Sept. 8, was the

Crypto OGs — slang for Original Gangsters — have acquired almost a mythical and godly reputation in an industry populated with libertarians, anti-government rebels, innovators, get-rich-quick scammers, hackers and degen investors with rampant gambling addictions and toxic social media behavior.  Who are these OGs exactly? Unlike the rich and powerful in the traditional finance and

Two United States government financial officials gave speeches on Sept. 7 in which they expressed their positions on crypto regulation. Both had reservations about crypto. Michael Barr, who was recently appointed United States Federal Reserve Board vice chair for supervision, made his first speech in his new capacity at the Brookings Institute. Acting Comptroller of

The ​​Vermont Department of Financial Regulation, or DFR, alleged crypto lending platform Celsius Network and CEO Alex Mashinsky misled state regulators about the firm’s financial health and its compliance with securities laws. In a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York, Vermont’s financial regulator said Celsius and Mashinsky

It took a few years, but government crackdowns on “insider trading” involving digital assets have finally arrived. It’s about time! Insider trading occurs often in our securities markets, so it was only a matter of time before crypto and other digital assets would be exploited improperly by miscreants for financial gain. Powers On… is a

The legal team for Alexander Vinnik, a Russian national recently extradited to the United States for his alleged role at defunct crypto exchange BTC-e, has reportedly been urging officials to consider a prisoner swap.  According to a Monday report from Reuters, a lawyer representing Vinnik called on Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to conduct negotiations with

Recently elected Conservative Party leader and prime minister of the United Kingdom Liz Truss has appointed Kwasi Kwarteng as the country’s newest chancellor of the exchequer, or chief financial minister. In a Tuesday announcement, Truss’ office named Kwarteng as the next U.K. finance minister, replacing Nadhim Zahawi, who served as chancellor of the exchequer for