Regulation

The year 2021 seems to be a big year for the blockchain world as several projects, such as nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and centralized decentralized finance exchanges (CeDeFis), are taking the central stage. Also at the forefront is Facebook’s Libra. Not too long ago, the media was rife with the news that the world’s largest social

Bitmain, a Chinese manufacturer of cryptocurrency mining equipment, has been forced to stop its business in China from Oct. 11 following the crypto ban imposed by local authorities. In addition to China’s blanket ban on crypto operations, the company has attributed the move to stop shipping Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency mining rigs as a response

Sri Lanka joins the global crypto adoption drive after setting up a committee for exploring and implementing blockchain and crypto mining technologies. A letter shared on Oct. 8 by Sri Lanka’s Director General of Government Information, Mohan Samaranayake, shows that the authorities have approved a recent proposal that aims to attract investments in the country’s

Gary Gensler, the head of the U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission has confirmed that his agency does not have the authority or intention to ban cryptocurrency. While responding to questions during an Oct. 5 House Committee on Financial Services hearing, Gensler emphasized that prohibiting crypto does not fall within the SEC’s mandate, stating: “That

Dubai-based cryptocurrency trading platform BitOasis is expanding in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with another major funding round. BitOasis closed a $30-million Series B funding round led by Chicago-based venture capital firm Jump Capital and Dubai-based VC company Wamda Capital, according to a Tuesday announcement. Wamda previously invested in BitOasis back in 2016, leading

Financial services company, MoneyGram International, has partnered with the Stellar Development Foundation to enable consumers to send money using Circle’s popular stablecoin, USD Coin (USDC) and convert directly to and from fiat. Per a 6 Oct. announcement, MoneyGram has integrated support allowing crypto wallets connected to the Stellar Network to access its global retail platform.

Pat Toomey, a Republican member of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, is attempting to pressure the nominee to head the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) into handing over her 1989 university honors thesis about Karl Marx. The Biden administration formally nominated Kazakh-born attorney Saule Omarova — who has been characterized by critics

Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, argued that Russia needs to adopt new laws to protect retail investors from the potential losses of investing in crypto, local news agency Interfax reported Oct. 6.  To this end, lawmakers in the country’s parliament are reportedly considering new legislation to limit cryptocurrency

Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, has delayed the signing of the bill that would establish the nation’s regulatory framework around digital assets. The draft law, entitled “On virtual assets,” secured parliamentary approval on Sept. 8. However, according to an Oct. 5 statement issued by the presidential office, Zelensky remitted the legislation back to the parliament

An official from the Office of the Attorney General has said the United States government is going to take a more active role in enforcement action against actors using cryptocurrencies for money laundering and other cybercrimes. Speaking at the Aspen Institute Cyber Summit on Oct. 6, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the Justice Department

As cryptocurrency adoption continues apace in the United States,  lawmakers want to better understand how it’s used — for both legal and illegal purposes. The Ransom Disclosure Act, introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Deborah Ross, would require victims of ransomware attacks to disclose information about ransom payments to the Department of Homeland Security

North Carolina House Representative Patrick McHenry has proposed a bill which would amend one of the laws governing the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide a safe harbor for certain token projects. In a draft of the “Clarity for Digital Tokens Act of 2021” provided by the House Committee on Financial Services, McHenry suggested amending

International Monetary Fund, or IMF, managing director Kristalina Georgieva said more than half of all central banks in the world are exploring how to launch digital currencies. Speaking at a virtual conference hosted by Bocconi University on Oct. 5, Georgieva said the IMF was looking at central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and digital currencies

Link Global Technologies, a Bitcoin (BTC) mining company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, is facing major potential penalties for operating unauthorized power plants in the province of Alberta. The Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), the province’s power utility regulator, issued Sept. 24 another enforcement submission against Link Global, with enforcement staff recommending several penalties for

South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Upbit will soon halt services for unverified users. On Saturday, the company officially announced a set of changes to its customer verification system in compliance with South Korea’s mandatory Anti-Money Laundering (AML) requirements. According to the announcement, Upbit will start gradually limiting services for unverified users this week, restricting unverified customers from

This week, United States lawmakers and regulators have stolen much of the spotlight once more. The cryptocurrency-related provisions of the infrastructure bill, a tiny grain of sand in the grand scheme of the omnibus legislation, had all laser eyes glued to the fateful House of Representatives vote — which never happened. There is a sense,