Recent political developments in the United States demonstrate the critical challenges that centralized technology platforms pose to democracy — in stark contrast to the powerful role social media played in pro-democracy movements in the Middle East and Hong Kong. U.S. election misinformation and disinformation, as well as white nationalism, spread throughout online groups, and prominent
Regulation
After settling charges of improper reporting of exchange volume and “self-trading” with the CFTC yesterday, reports have emerged that cryptocurrency exchange giant Coinbase is set to push back its stock listing to next month. The company had previously been expected to go public some time in March. Yesterday, March 19 the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The seventh session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development convened earlier this month with the theme “Building forward better: Towards a resilient and green Africa to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063” and to promote the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary-general of the United Nations,
According to Dan Held, growth lead at Kraken, Bitcoin is currently experiencing a supercycle that could propel it all the way to $1 million. In Held’s view, this market cycle is fundamentally different from previous ones. “This is one in a hundred year moment”, he said, mentioning the coronavirus crisis, growing distrust in financial institutions
Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin, has warned investors about the risks involved in cryptocurrency investments. In a consumer protection alert issued on its website on Friday, the regulator offered a cautionary tale about crypto involvement on the part of retail investors. As part of its statement, BaFin echoed similar admonitions espoused by several
The Bank of Thailand, or BoT, is upping its game on the stablecoin front. This week, the institution had warned citizens that Thai Baht Digital (THT), a baht-pegged stablecoin issued by the South Korean firm Terra, has no legal assurances or protection and violates the country’s currency act. According to a report published on March
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has announced charges against California resident James Roland Jones in the first-ever enforcement action from the commission to target securities fraud on the darknet. According to the March 18 complaint, Jones is accused of accessing a darknet-based insider trading forum in late 2016 to seek material non-public information, or
Irish lawmakers will impose an anti money laundering regime on crypto for the first time in April The Central Bank of Ireland has extended the nation’s anti-money laundering, or AML, and countering the financing of terrorism, or CTF, guidelines to apply to Bitcoin and crypto assets from April. Starting next month, Ireland’s crypto asset service
The Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, or KP, has formed a federal committee to create a new cryptocurrency policy including government-backed crypto mining. As part of the new policy, the KP Crypto Advisory Committee has already decided to pilot two hydroelectric-powered crypto mining farms, a minister overseeing the policy told Reuters. The committee held its
The Bank of Thailand has issued a stern warning against a privately issued stablecoin pegged to the national currency, the Thai Baht. According to a Bangkok Post report on March 18, the central bank has told citizens that Thai Baht Digital (THT) has no legal assurances or protection and that users could be at risk
Tax season is almost upon crypto users based in the United States, and even if they plan on keeping their assets digital, nonfungible token — or NFT — buyers might not get off scot-free. According to a CNBC report today, people who use the profits from their crypto holdings to purchase NFTs will likely still
Switzerland’s Financial Market Supervisory Authority — the country’s principal financial regulator — has denied Bitcoin Suisse’s application for a banking license. According to an official announcement on March 17, Bitcoin Suisse’s current application is ineligible for approval on the grounds that “various elements that are relevant under licensing law make it unlikely that a license
Robert Valentine, chairman of the Libertarian Party in the Netherlands, has erected a number of pro-crypto billboards in advance of an election later this week. In an image shared on Valentine’s Twitter account, the libertarian party leader appears with laser eyes atop a message which states “Bitcoin is the future.” The party is one of
XRP tokenholders’ attempt to insert themselves as third-party defendants in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission case against Ripple may have come to an end. According to court filings, federal judge Analisa Torres has denied a motion filed over the weekend on behalf of more than 6,000 XRP holders. The motion to intervene argues the
Texan regulators have, for some time now, viewed cryptocurrency investment schemes as a risk to Main Street investors, and have continued to issue public warnings against possible crypto-related scams during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest move from the Texas State Securities Board, or TSSB, is action not words — an emergency cease and desist order
After the U.S. Treasury Department extended the comment period for anyone to express their thoughts on a proposed crypto rule, non-profit crypto policy advocate group Coin Center has made another — and possibly final — argument to regulators. Coin Center directed its comment to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, over proposed rules that