New week, a new element of the crypto ecosystem is under attack. This time, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered Paxos Trust to stop issuing Binance USD (BUSD) — a dollar-pegged stablecoin. Paxos received a cease order from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). With no other choice, Paxos announced
Regulation
Financial Stability Board (FSB) chair Klaas Knot has outlined how the organization plans to address key threats to financial stability this year in a Feb. 20 letter sent to the G20’s finance ministers and central bank governors. Crypto assets and decentralized finance (DeFi) had a prominent place on the list of challenges the FSB saw.
Jesse Powell, CEO of crypto exchange Kraken, has called out United States financial regulators for letting “the bad guys” win to suit their agenda. In a Feb. 19 Twitter thread, Powell speculated that U.S. regulators — seemingly including the Securities and Exchange Commission — were allowing crypto firms to operate without enforcement actions as a
Consequences of the FTX scandal at the hands of its founder and former CEO, Sam Bankman Fried, continue to surface. On Feb. 17, it was reported that the bankrupt crypto lender BlockFi Inc. appealed to the United States Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, to strip the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections from SBF’s offshore investment vehicle.
Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) calls for public feedback on its newly proposed licensing regime for cryptocurrency exchanges set to take effect from June 2023. A key consideration of the public consultation window is whether to allow licensed exchanges to serve retail investors in the country and what measures should be implemented to
A recently introduced Illinois Senate Bill has been ridiculed by the crypto community over its “unworkable” plans to force blockchain miners and validators to do “impossible things” — such as reversing transactions if ordered to do so by a state court. The Senate Bill was quietly introduced into the Illinois legislature on Feb. 9 by
Bank of Zambia and the country’s securities regulator are “testing technology” to enable the regulation of cryptocurrencies, said Technology and Science minister Felix Mutati on the ministry’s website. The country’s move aims to “achieve an inclusive digital economy.” Speaking in the city of Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, the minister claimed that “cryptocurrency is the future that
Representatives for Voyager’s Unsecured Creditors have requested that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and a number of top-level executives from FTX and Alameda Research, provide documents and appear in court remotely next week for a deposition. A court filing on Feb. 18 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New
Non-custodial crypto platform ShapeShift refuted United States Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims of “illicit financing,” suggesting that she used the platform as a scapegoat to “push” her latest crypto bill, according to a recent statement. ShapeShift stated in a tweet on Feb. 19 that Warren made “mistakes” in her “analysis” of the platform, at a recent
The CEO of Custodia Bank Caitlin Long has slammed regulators and lawmakers in Washington D.C. for their “misguided crackdown” on the crypto sector, and also for ignoring her warnings of major “fraud” allegedly conducted by now-bankrupted entities. In a Feb. 17 blog post titled “Shame On Washington, DC For Shooting A Messenger Who Warned of
A complaint filed by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission said Terra co-founder Do Kwon and Terraform Labs laundered more than $100 million worth of Bitcoin from the platform following its collapse in May 2022. According to the SEC complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on
Nishad Singh, the co-founder and former chief engineer of bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, is working on a plea deal with prosecutors, Bloomberg reported on Feb. 17. The deal, which would see the 27-year-old Singh plead guilty to charges related to FTX’s collapse, has yet to be finalized, the report said. Singh would be following in the
Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) crackdown on crypto-staking services could lead to uncertain consequences for the DeFi ecosystem. Cybercriminals used various methods to siphon funds through
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has denied a report that the company is considering cutting ties with United States business partners. Binance has been the object of increasing scrutiny from U.S. regulators in recent weeks. Bloomberg reported on Feb. 17 that Binance Holdings “is looking at whether to sever ties with intermediary firms such as banks and
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a $1.4-million settlement with former NBA player Paul Pierce for allegedly promoting a token project on social media. In a Feb. 17 announcement, the SEC said Pierce touted EthereumMax (EMAX) tokens through social media channels without disclosing he had received payment for the promotion and made
In a year of crypto upheavals, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s settlement with crypto exchange Kraken, announced on Feb. 9, set off yet another tremor. Agency chief Gary Gensler took to mainstream media last week to explain the agency’s action, which seemed to be an attack on crypto staking — part of the
The Bank of Russia is preparing to roll out the first consumer pilot for the nation’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) on April 1, 2023. Russia’s central bank is set to soon debut the first real-world digital ruble transactions involving 13 local banks and several merchants, first deputy governor Olga Skorobogatova said. The official noted
Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon being in the sights of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have sparked various reactions from lawyers within the crypto community. On Feb. 16, the SEC accused and charged Kwon and Terraform Labs for allegedly selling a “suite of crypto asset securities.” While community members are
Japan, a nation where foreign stablecoins like USDT are prohibited, plans to begin its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot in April 2023. It will aim to include private businesses and test an ecosystem. On Feb. 17 the Bank of Japan (BoJ) released the opening speech of its executive director Shinichi Uchida at the CBDC
The Capital Market Authority (CMA), the regulator of Oman’s financial markets, looks to establish a new regulatory framework for the virtual asset industry in the Sultanate. According to a Feb. 14 press release, the new rules would include oversight of virtual asset activities, a licensing process for virtual asset service providers (VASPs), and a framework