United States Congressman Tom Emmer believes the launch of programmable central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the country could strip American citizens of their financial privacy. Speaking at the Cato Institute, a Washington DC-based libertarian think tank on Mar. 9, Emmer explained that the programmable CBDC would be “easily weaponized” as a spying tool to
Regulation
Our weekly roundup of news from East Asia curates the industry’s most important developments. South Korea invests another $51M in metaverse tech South Korea’s plans for metaverse domination are gathering pace. A March 8 document prepared by the Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (ICT), the National IT Industry Promotion Agency and the
A phased-in 30% tax on cryptocurrency mining electricity costs has been proposed by United States president Joe Biden in his administration’s 2024 fiscal year budget. A Department of the Treasury supplementary budget explainer paper released Mar. 9 said any firm using resources — whether they be owned or rented — would be “subject to an
The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and other bearish events in the space were at the center of discussions among lawmakers and witnesses at the inaugural hearing of the United States House Committee on Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion. Addressing lawmakers at the March 9 hearing, BitGo co-founder and CEO
Statements from Republican lawmakers ahead of the inaugural hearing of the United States House of Representatives subcommittee focused on digital assets, financial technology and inclusion suggest partisan divides on crypto regulation. In a March 6 memo, House Financial Services Committee Republicans said the first hearing of the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology, and Inclusion
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) — a watchdog that oversees audits of public companies in the United States — recently issued an advisory that warned investors about proof-of-reserves (PoR) reports issued by auditing firms. Crypto entities may engage a service provider to issue “proof of reserve” reports. A new Investor Advisory from the
The United States Treasury has announced deputies of the multilateral Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs, or REPO, Task Force have targeted crypto in Russian entities’ attempts to evade sanctions. In a March 9 announcement, the U.S. Treasury said the task force had blocked or frozen more than $58 billion worth of assets subject to sanctions
According to a statement on Mar. 9, bank messaging platform Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, disclosed that the financial institution witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). During a 12-week testing period, SWIFT simulated nearly 5,000 transactions between two different blockchain networks and
Crypto tax software provider CoinTracker is integrating its software with H&R Block, a company that helps millions of customers prepare their income taxes across Canada, the United States and Australia. In an announcement seen by Cointelegraph, CoinTracker noted the partnership will allow American H&R Block customers to use CoinTracker and automatically fill in their Form 8949
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has expressed a mixed stance on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) after a year of war in the country. The central bank of Ukraine sees both good and bad in virtual assets, taking a more skeptical approach to crypto due to financial and economic issues caused by the invasion, according
The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) is not ready to classify nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as securities. The agency suggests classifying the NFTs on a case-by-case basis. On March 8, the BaFin journal published an explanatory note considering NFTs legal classification. At this point, the regulators don’t see how NFTs meet the criteria to
A federal judge has refused to consolidate several proposed class-action lawsuits against the FTX exchange by investors. According to the judge, the exchange and its defendants have not yet been heard. On March 8, United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley laid down the order that denied plaintiffs a request to consolidate five proposed class-action lawsuits
The voluntary liquidation of Silvergate Bank has sparked many to share their thoughts about the source of its troubles and the broader impact of the crypto-friendly bank’s collapse on crypto. From lawmakers to crypto analysts, crypto firm executives to commentators — nearly everyone’s had something to say regarding the recent announcement from Silvergate. Some United
U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal has a few surprises for crypto traders and investors, including a proposed doubling of capital gains and a crackdown on crypto wash sales. The Biden administration is set to release its fiscal 2024 budget plan on Mar. 9 which is reportedly aimed at reducing the deficit by almost
Six people involved in a cryptocurrency “Ponzi scheme” that raked in about $100 million over five years have pled guilty to a series of fraud and money laundering charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 to 30 years of prison. One of the founders of “AirBit Club,” Pablo Renato Rodriguez, was the latest to
Crypto exchange Gemini took to Twitter on March 8 to deny rumors about its banking relationship with United States financial conglomerate JPMorgan being terminated. In a brief and straightforward message, Gemini stated that “despite reporting to the contrary, Gemini’s banking relationship remains intact with JPMorgan.” The comments came in response to a previous report that claimed
Officials of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) appeared before the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee on March 8 to discuss the agency’s work. Among the issues raised was cryptocurrency regulation, which the officials approached with a clear lack of enthusiasm. FCA chair Ashley Alder, who took that position in February after serving as
According to United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a new draft of the bipartisan crypto bill pioneered by herself and Senator Cynthia Lummis will be released to the new Congress after being deferred in 2022. In a March 8 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Senator Gillibrand asked CFTC chair
The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, was a part of discussions on a regulatory framework for digital assets as well as use cases for blockchain technology. In a March 8 meeting of the CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee, commissioners, regulators, and industry representatives were scheduled to discuss “critical policy considerations” as part
The age-old question of “what happens after we die” is one humanity has grappled with for millennia. Religions, philosophers and thought leaders have put forth theories about each person’s fate beyond life on earth. Until now, no factual, science-based conclusion has provided a satisfying answer. Psychologists have understood that the fear of death — or