Democrats blasted draft legislation regarding stablecoins on Wednesday for not being as “bipartisan” as initially planned. The bill, created by Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) last year, was praised by Republicans, but criticized by their left-wing counterparts as ‘outdated.’ Starting From Scratch The House Financial Services Committee published a draft version of the stablecoin bill on April 15, designed to “provide requirements for payment...
Read More »Crypto Regulations Coming Within a Year in the UK: Andrew Griffith Says
Andrew Griffith – economic secretary to the UK Treasury and Member of Parliament – said the Kingdom’s authorities plan to impose a regulatory framework on the cryptocurrency industry in the next 12 months. The rules will aim to drive the sector forward and turn Britain into a digital asset hub. Regulation is on its Way In a recent interview for CNBC, Griffith said the UK government is willing to enforce pertinent rules on the crypto sector and will discuss the matter until...
Read More »Hong Kong Confirms Crypto Commitment at Web3 Conference: Report
Government officials have confirmed the city’s crypto commitments at the Hong Kong Web3 Festival this week as it aims to become a fully regulated crypto hub attracting investment and Web3 startups. On April 12, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po reiterated that appropriate regulations and oversight were of paramount importance. “I believe that everybody has learned from recent events that appropriate regulations are a must to create a sustainable development environment and...
Read More »Stablecoins Should Meet Same Regulations as Real Money, Bank of England
On April 12, Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, stated during a press conference at the Institute of International Finance in Washington that stablecoins should be regulated in the same way as fiat money. According to Bailey, stablecoins lack an “assured value,” one of the main characteristics that people look for when investing in this type of “digital money” that seeks to resemble fiat. He argues that because of this, the country needs to focus on providing a...
Read More »El Salvador Grants its First Crypto Licence to Bitfinex
Bitfinex became the first cryptocurrency exchange to be registered as a Digital Asset Service Provider (DASP) by the regulators of El Salvador. The Latin American country is a pioneer in the industry, embracing bitcoin as a legal tender in 2021. Under the rule of President Nayib Bukele, it purchased amounts of the primary cryptocurrency on a macroeconomic level and launched numerous BTC-related initiatives. ‘Delighted to Be the First’ In a recent blog post, Bitfinex described...
Read More »Robinhood to Pay Over $10 Million in Penalties to Numerous US States for Harming Investors
The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) joined a multi-state settlement with Robinhood, which will pay approximately $10.2 million in fines for registering operational deficiency that negatively affected investors during the COVID-19 crisis. The crypto-related company was slapped with another $30 million penalty last summer by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) for violating anti-money laundering and cybersecurity...
Read More »Treasury Department Deems Decentralized Finance a National Security Threat
Poor cybersecurity practices within the decentralized finance (DeFi) industry present a threat to crypto, consumers, and national security, according to a new report from the United States Treasury Department. The first-of-its-kind document argues that DeFi’s peer-to-peer nature presents new illicit finance risks that require extra legal supervision to address. The Risks of DeFi Released on Thursday, the 2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment details how cybercriminals,...
Read More »Japan’s FSA Claims Bitget and Other Exchanges Are Not Registered in the Country
Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) issued a warning letter to four leading cryptocurrency platforms (Bitget, Bybit, MEXC Global, and BitForex) for failing to receive proper registration. The watchdog alerted in 2021 that Bybit had started offering services without obtaining the necessary licenses. The FSA’s Latest Warning The Japanese regulator maintained in a recent letter that the four companies violated the nation’s fund settlement laws by “conducting crypto asset...
Read More »UK Banks Refuse to Work With Crypto Companies: Report
Crypto firms in the United Kingdom are struggling to obtain banking services, Bloomberg reported Sunday, citing multiple sources. Local crypto executives expressed frustration with rejected applications, frozen bank accounts, and overwhelming paperwork. The situation was exacerbated by the departure of United States-based lenders Silvergate Capital, Signature Bank, and Silicon Valley Banks. Banking Restrictions Hinder Crypto Firms in the UK According to the report, the...
Read More »India’s 1% TDS on Crypto Transfers Yields $19 Million in 9 Months
Indian tax authorities collected Rs 158 crore (approx. $19 million) in TDS on the transfer of virtual digital assets (VDA) till March 20, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told the Parliament on Tuesday. Given that the financial year ended on March 31, it can be taken as the final figure for the entire 2022-23 fiscal. 1% TDS at $125 Threshold The Indian government brought crypto transactions under a new tax regime through the budget for 2022-23. It provided for...
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