Regulation

During Jerome Powell’s Jan. 11 United States Senate confirmation hearings, Sen. Patrick Toomey posed a question to the incumbent-and-future Federal Reserve chief: “If Congress were to authorize and the Fed were to pursue a central bank digital dollar, is there anything about that that ought to preclude a well-regulated privately-issued stablecoin from co-existing with a central

Assen Vassilev, Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister for EU Funds and Minister of Finance, said the EU member nation is exploring options for rolling out a crypto payment mechanism. According to a Friday Bloomberg report, Vassilev said the government was in discussion with the Bulgarian National Bank as well as industry players to explore crypto payments

In a report published on Friday, Reuters laid out the findings of its investigation into the regulatory compliance practices of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The authors suggest the existence of a recurring pattern whereby the company’s CEO Changpeng Zhao, while proclaiming its openness to government oversight, ran an organization that

Thailand’s Committee on Monetary Affairs, Finance, Financial Institutions and Financial Market conducted a virtual meeting to discuss various aspects of crypto taxation. The ruling party MP Watanya Wongopasi posted a summary of the discussion on her Facebook page and urged the Excise department to do their due diligence before imposing any tax on the crypto

In October 2021, the Senate Committee for Australia as a Technology and Financial Centre released its much-awaited recommendations for how cryptocurrency should be regulated. The 168-page final report boils down to 12 recommendations aimed at striking the right balance between creating legitimacy without stifling innovation.  This is a landmark report that demonstrates Australia’s clear efforts

In a report published on Thursday, The Central Bank of Russia has called for a blanket ban on domestic cryptocurrency trading and mining. The report titled “Cryptocurrencies: trends, risks, measures” compares cryptocurrencies to a Ponzi scheme and calls for a complete ban on their use throughout Russia. The authors claim that cryptocurrencies are highly volatile

The Tarjih Council and the Central Executive Tajdid of Muhammadiyah, one of the largest non-government Islamic organizations in Indonesia, issued a new fatwa against cryptocurrency use, deeming it haram, or unlawful, for Muslims. The fatwa, a ruling on the point of Islamic law, was issued on Tuesday and pointed towards two critical issues with cryptocurrencies

In a speech entitled “Digital currencies and the soul of money,” Agustín Carstens, the general manager of the Bank of International Settlements,’ criticized private stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi), touting central bank-led financial innovation as the best possible path to the future of money. Carstens, who served as governor of the Bank of Mexico between

Associate law professor and member of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Investor Advisory Committee J.W. Verret is calling for the government agency to open for public comment in regards to digital asset regulation. In a petition addressed to SEC Secretary Vanessa Countryman, Verret said opening the floor to comments on digital assets could function as

The percentage of the global Bitcoin mining industry running on renewable power increased by 1% to 58.5% in the fourth quarter of 2021 according to new data. The Bitcoin Mining Council (BMC) announced the findings of its fourth quarter survey on Jan. 18. The survey focused on three metrics: sustainable power mix, technological efficiency and

According to some estimates, as many as 20% of Americans were invested in cryptocurrencies as of August 2021. While the exact number can vary significantly from one poll to another, it is clear that cryptocurrencies are no longer just a niche passion project for tech enthusiasts or a tool for financial speculation. Rather, digital assets

As U.S. Congress is preparing to take a thorough look at the energy use of crypto mining, the list of witnesses for the Thursday hearing contains more proponents of blockchain technology than its outright critics. The House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee announced a hearing on “Cleaning Up Cryptocurrency: The Energy Impacts of Blockchains” last

Binance is looking to re-establish crypto exchange services and possibly open a new branch in Thailand after signing an agreement with Gulf Energy Development PCL. Gulf Energy Development PCL is a Thai holding company run by billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi that focuses on the energy sector. Gulf Energy reportedly made the agreement with the world’s largest

Last week saw an unlikely first move in the opening narrative battle around a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency: Congressperson Tom Emmer came forward with an initiative to legally restrict the Federal Reserve’s capacity to issue a retail CBDC and take on the role of a retail bank. This could be massively consequential as

Arif Alvi, currently serving as the president of Pakistan, called for additional training in emerging technologies including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity while meeting with a delegation of blockchain technology experts. In a Monday announcement, Alvi said Pakistan’s talent pool should be ready to meet the needs of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which included utilizing

A former deputy secretary-general of Thailand’s Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Tipsuda Thavaramara, has come out to question the legitimacy of crypto taxation in the country. According to a report by local newspaper The Nation, the comments from the former SEC chief come amid Thailand’s Revenue Department’s decision to discuss taxes for cryptocurrency trading.  While