The United States Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, has announced a settlement with crypto exchange Kraken for “apparent violations of sanctions against Iran.” In a Nov. 28 announcement, OFAC said Kraken had agreed to pay more than $362,000 as part of a deal “to settle its potential civil liability” related to
Regulation
The collapse of the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has put the Singapore prime minister and the ruling government in a hot seat. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong are set to face grilling questions for their failure to protect retail investors. The Members of Parliament (MP) from the opposition Workers’
Ripple’s APAC Policy Director has described the fall of FTX as “incredibly damaging” for the crypto space, but says the industry should stand the test of time if its focus shifts towards building “real utility.” In a statement sent to Cointelegraph, Ripple’s APAC policy lead Rahul Advani said he expects the FTX saga to lead
However, the crypto space is notoriously fickle, and the collapse of once-established companies such as Celsius and FTX are stark examples of how people can lose billions of dollars in crypto assets almost overnight. For this reason, celebrity influencers should be thoroughly educated on a crypto product before promoting it. With so much at stake,
Coming every Saturday, Hodler’s Digest will help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link. Top Stories This Week Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev to stay detained until next
While regulations are often aimed at protecting citizens from bad actors, the effectiveness of crypto regulations in the United States is in question owing to the colossal fall of major exchanges and ecosystems over the past year — FTX, Celsius, Voyager, and Terra (LUNA). Congressman Tom Emmer showed concerns about the oversight strategy implemented by
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 prolonged crypto winter aided by the collapse of FTX has kept investors from backing a new protocol that merges DeFi and the foreign exchange market. A new Cosmos
The crypto market is often referred to as the Wild West of the finance world. However, the events that have unfolded within this space recently would put to shame even the hardiest of cowboys from the day of yore. As a quick refresher, on Nov. 8, FTX, the second-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world till
Assets belonging to former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried have been seized by the country’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board, locally known as MASAK, following the collapse of his main business. An official announcement from Turkey’s MASAK outlined preliminary findings and actions taken against Bankman-Fried following bankruptcy proceedings of its core business. MASAK began investigations on Nov.
The bankruptcy proceedings of cryptocurrency exchange FTX have revealed many new aspects of its unethical practices. The latest revelation around its stake in one of the smallest United States banks from rural Washington has raised fresh concerns about its operations and alleged misuse of banking loopholes. Farmington State Bank in Washington State, now renamed Moonstone,
With the FTX contagion affecting various sectors of the global crypto ecosystem, Dubai-based industry leaders commented on how the debacle will affect the budding crypto hub within the United Arab Emirates (UAE). From stricter regulations to better projects leading the way, various professionals gave their perspectives on how Dubai and the UAE’s crypto landscape will
As Uzbekistan prepares to adopt a new cryptocurrency framework in 2023, the Uzbek regulators have started issuing regulatory approvals to local crypto service providers. The National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP), Uzbekistan’s major cryptocurrency market watchdog, has issued the nation’s first crypto licenses, according to an official announcement released on Nov. 17. The licenses officially
Belgium’s financial regulatory body has confirmed its position that Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other cryptocurrencies that are issued solely by computer code do not constitute securities. The explanation came from Belgium’s Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) in a Nov. 22 report, a draft of which was opened for comment in Jul. 2022. The
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling for increased regulation of Africa’s crypto markets, one of the fastest-growing markets in the world, the global institution blog reported on Nov. 22. Among the reasons why countries in the region should embrace regulation, the monetary fund cited the collapse of FTX and its ripple effect in cryptocurrencies
As the FTX debacle still creates waves in the crypto industry and beyond, the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has suspended the license which allows FTX to make preparations to service the local market. In an announcement posted on its official website, VARA mentioned that it has revoked the approval of FTX MENA’s Minimum
Singapore-based crypto lender Hodlnaut is reportedly facing a police probe over alleged offenses of cheating and fraud. According to reports published in local media, the police’s commercial affairs department has launched an investigation into the founders of the exchange based on multiple complaints against the platform between August and November 2022. The Singapore police noted
Russian lawmakers are working on amendments to launch a national crypto exchange. This effort is reportedly supported both by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Russia which have a long history of disagreement over crypto regulation in the country. As local media reported on Nov. 23, members of the lower chamber of the Russian
The CEO of fintech firm Block Earner has lashed out over the “lack of clarity” in Australia’s financial licensing regime after his company was sued by the country’s financial services regulator for providing unlicensed crypto-based investment products. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced on Nov. 23 local time that it started civil legal
Two Democratic members of the United States Senate have called on the Justice Department to investigate the collapse of FTX and potentially prosecute individuals involved in wrongdoing. In a Nov. 23 letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse requested the Justice Department launch
A research paper published at Harvard university highlighted how central banks can use Bitcoin (BTC) to hedge against financial sanctions from fiat reserve issuers. A working paper, titled “Hedging Sanctions Risk: Cryptocurrency in Central Bank Reserves,” released by Matthew Ferranti, a Ph.D. candidate at the university’s economics department, explored the potential of Bitcoin as an