Tag Archives: Regulations

China’s autonomous special administrative region – Hong Kong – reportedly aims to legalize cryptocurrency retail trading and emerge as a digital asset hub. According to the Co-Founder of BitMEX – Arthur Hayes – the state’s vision and crypto adoption could propel a new bull market. What Is on the Agenda? A recent coverage by Bloomberg informed that Hong Kong’s authorities could enforce a friendly regulatory framework on cryptocurrencies in March 2023. Specifically, regulators...

Singapore authorities have proposed a new set of regulatory measures to oversee the use of digital assets in the country and protect consumers. The country’s central bank and financial regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), recently published two consultation papers containing suggestions to tighten the country’s regulatory stance on digital assets. MAS Proposes Ban on Crypto Credit One of the proposals outlined in the consultation paper is to prohibit retail...

The power tussle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over regulatory oversight of the crypto market continues to confuse investors about which rules to follow.  In line with the turf war conflict between the two market watchdogs, CFTC chairman Rostin Behnam has reiterated that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are commodities, not securities.  Behnam Says Ether is Commodity Despite PoS...

South Korea’s top monetary regulator – the Financial Service Commission (FSC) – thinks cryptocurrencies and stablecoins could facilitate money-laundering activities. As such, it will reportedly closely monitor the actions of the country’s largest crypto holders (those who own over $70,000 worth of digital assets). According to a local coverage, the Financial Intelligence Unit (a division of the FSC) will oversee the transactions of South Korea’s crypto whales. The regulator...

The thorough analysis and several investigations that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched on notorious crypto-related entities seem to be working out for the industry so far. 60% of the respondents in a recent survey said they are more likely to enter the digital asset ecosystem after seeing how the regulator interacted with several troubled firms, including Celsius Network, Three Arrows Capital (3AC), and Yuga Labs. Investors Fond of the SEC’s...

Earlier this week, the crypto billionaire riled the industry by suggesting ways to confront the legal and hacking woes plaguing the ecosystem. Erik Voorhees, ShapeShift co-founder, is the latest one to detail concerns regarding the draft. The OFAC Conundrum While Voorhees noted that rules are important and that “voluntarily-adopted” standards are noble because they are achieved through coercion and violence, not consent and market forces, the same cannot be said for...

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued Larry Dean Harmon, the founder of defunct cryptocurrency mixer Helix, for failing to pay a civil penalty of $60 million since his indictment in 2020.  The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. According to the filing, the $60 million fine was imposed on Harmon after he pled guilty to charges against him in 2020. Helix Laundered Over $300M In December 2019, the Financial...

On October 20, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced the launch of the first metaverse. The organization unveiled the news during the 90th anniversary of its General Assembly in India. According to the release, the Interpol metaverse allows users worldwide to access Interpol’s headquarters in Lyon, France. Visitors to the metaverse will be able to explore and interact with other officers through their own avatars, taking classes or private police...

FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) posted a draft of a set of standards to create clarity and protect customers as the US awaits full federal regulatory regimes. While highlighting the significance of regulatory oversight and customer protection, SBF said there needs to be an open economy where peer-to-peer transfers, code, validators, etc., are presumptively free. He believes establishing standards is necessary until regulation hit the scene to help inform and protect...

On October 19, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) accused two Venezuelan citizens and five Russians of using cryptocurrencies to launder money for Russian oligarchs by selling oil barrels from sanctions-hit Venezuela. According to the press release, the defendants smuggled millions of barrels of oil to Russia and China, laundering “tens of millions of dollars.” They used crypto to launder part of the funds . Among the Russian defendants are Yury Orekhov, Artem Uss...