Researchers from German crypto blockchain-based payments fintech etonec and other organizations have proposed using zero-knowledge proofs to ensure regulatory compliance and privacy in stablecoins. They have created a design that allows fiat-based stablecoins to be used like cash, within limits. The researchers’ design allows a number of limits, including on transactions, balances and turnover, and
Regulation
Crypto.com has received a Payment Institution License (EMI) from Banco Central do Brasil, the central bank of Brazil. The license will allow it to “continue offering regulated fiat wallet services for customers in Brazil,” according to an announcement on the company’s website. Crypto.com has offered a Visa card in Brazil for purchases in cryptocurrency or fiat
The New York state Department of Financial Services (DFS) released guidance on Dec. 15 for regulated banks seeking to engage in activities with virtual currency. The guidance, which took effect immediately, describes the application process and “summarizes the types of information the Department considers relevant” for obtaining the agency’s approval. The 11-page document consisted largely
A United States Trustee has announced nine creditors to the committee responsible for part of crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings. According to court documents filed Dec. 15, U.S. Trustee Andrew Vara named crypto market maker Wintermute Asia among those on the ‘Committee of Unsecured Creditors’. Other creditors included individual investors, crypto hedge fund Coincident Capital,
Following the global trend of tightening the crypto regulation in the aftermath of recent market failures, France may reassess its eased regime of licensing for digital asset providers. That would challenge the nation’s efforts to present itself as one of the most pro-crypto countries in Europe. According to the Financial Times, Hervé Maurey, a member
The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) recently appointed chair has presented an unfriendly attitude toward cryptocurrencies in a cross-party Treasury select committee meeting. Ashley Alder, who will assume control of the FCA in February, told Treasury members on Dec. 14 that cryptocurrency-related businesses were “deliberately evasive” and suggested the sector facilitated money laundering. According
Mike Belshe, the CEO of digital asset custodian BitGo has confirmed that Alameda Research attempted to redeem 3,000 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC) in the days before FTX’s bankruptcy filing on Nov. 11. During a Dec. 14 Twitter Spaces hosted by decentralized finance (DeFi) researcher Chris Blec, Belshe confirmed the firm knocked back the redemption request because
Crypto-friendly Congressman Tom Emmer is considering re-floating a bipartisan bill that would lift the requirement for certain crypto businesses and projects to register as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) in the wake of the FTX collapse. The bill titled “Blockchain Regulatory Certainty Act” was led by Republican Emmer and Democratic Congressman Darren Soto. It was
According to Bahamian court records filed on Dec. 14, Ryan Salame, the former co-CEO of FTX Digital Markets told the Securities Commission of the Bahamas (SCB) on Nov. 9 that FTX was sending customer funds to its sister trading firm Alameda Research. He also told the SCB only three people had the access required to
In the months following the announcement of my company’s first experimental title, Cyberstella, visits to my personal LinkedIn profile increased by an astonishing 300%. What does this tell us about the rising trend of anonymous developers popping up in every Web3 community to spam users with investment opportunities and then disappear from the face of
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) analyzed the crypto winter in a new policy paper titled “Lessons from the crypto winter: DeFi versus CeFi,” released Dec. 14. The authors examined the impact of the crypto winter on retail investors and the role of “financial engineering” in the industry’s current problems and found a
After being denied bail in a Bahamas Magistrate Court, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried could spend up to two months in the country’s Fox Hill Prison, a facility with reported cases of physical abuse against prisoners and “harsh” conditions. Authorities in the Bahamas reportedly remanded Bankman-Fried to the medical wing of Fox Hill following a
The collapse of FTX was triggered by Binance, claimed investor Kevin O’Leary on Dec. 14 speaking at the United States Senate committee hearing about the crypto exchange meltdown. O’Leary, who was a paid spokesperson for FTX, provided details about conversations with Sam Bankman-Fried in the days before FTX filed for bankruptcy. During his testimony, O’Leary
United States lawmakers with the Senate Banking Committee had their share of crypto proponents and skeptics in a hearing exploring the collapse of the FTX exchange. In a Dec. 14 hearing on ‘Crypto Crash: Why the FTX Bubble Burst and the Harm to Consumers’, many senators reiterated views on crypto they had held seemingly without
As the cryptoworld focused on the drama unfolding around FTX, United States Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Roger Marshall introduced the “Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022” on Dec. 14. The seven-page bill would expand the classification of money service business (MSB), prohibit financial institutions from using technology such as digital asset mixers and
Court filings continue to shed light on the dubious relationship between FTX and Alameda Research, in which the hedge fund was afforded an “unfair” trading advantage as well as unprecedented access to user holdings on the cryptocurrency exchange. The United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission filed a complaint in the Southern District Court in New York
The Securities Commission of Bahamas has slammed FTX’s new CEO for his statements regarding the ongoing investigation into the bankrupt crypto exchange. In a press release sent to Cointelegraph, the Bahaman regulator didn’t directly point to the exact statement of John J. Ray III it has issues with, but addressed recent reports that the Bahamas’
The arrest of former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried by the Bahamian authorities served as a cue for anti-crypto proponents to reignite discussions around the dangers of cryptocurrencies. While some political leaders blame the crypto ecosystem for SBF’s alleged fraud, others find no point in blaming an entire industry for one man’s action. During House Financial Services Committee hearing on FTX,
Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has revealed that the government will release a consultation paper in early 2023 as part of its token mapping initiative. The crypto sector has received greater attention from Australian regulatory and enforcement agencies since the FTX implosion, with the government emphasizing the importance of providing greater consumer protection laws as soon
White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, declined to answer questions from a reporter on whether United States president Joe Biden will return the $5.2 million in campaign donations previously given by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. “Will the president return that donation?” Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller asked in a Dec. 13 press briefing, “does he