The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has set up requirements for entities considering a public offering of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to cryptocurrency futures. In an Oct. 31 circular, the SFC said that in addition to previously imposed requirements on unit trusts and mutual funds for authorization of a crypto futures ETF, management
Regulation
In a close race with outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, also known simply as “Lula,” won the country’s presidential election following a run-off race. According to data from Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Lula defeated Bolsonaro in an Oct. 30 run-off election with 50.9% of the vote — roughly 60.3 million people
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is on track to debut the central bank digital currency (CBDC) after announcing the digital rupee project in February this year. The central bank of India will launch the digital rupee pilot for the wholesale segment on Nov. 1, the RBI reportedly announced on Monday. The pilot will involve
The Monetary Exchange of Singapore (MAS), the country’s central bank and financial regulator, reminded all authorized cryptocurrency exchanges in the country to comply with financial sanctions in place toward Russia. This statement comes after research that revealed millions in crypto donations raised by pro-Russia groups in support of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and increased
Terrorist groups who have been excluded from the “formal financial system” have turned to crypto to fund their heinous activities, according to Svetlana Martynova, the Countering Financing of Terrorism Coordinator at the United Nations (UN). The UN official made the comments during a speech at a “Special Meeting” run by the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)
Despite the turbulence that broke out in the crypto market this summer, there is an important long-term marker that should be considered in any complex assessment — the combination of adoption and regulation. The latest report by EUBlockchain Observatory, named “EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments,” tries to measure this combination within the European Union, combining the
The co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Vitalik Buterin, believes that the crypto ecosystem needs to mature and be in tune with the regulatory policies that allow crypto projects to operate internally freely. Sharing his opinion around crypto regulations, Buterin spoke against the regulations that have an impact on the inner workings of a crypto ecosystem. Considering
Do Kwon, the co-founder of Terraform Labs who may be facing legal actions in South Korea and the United States, is the target of a lawsuit in Singapore along with the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) and Terra founding member Nicholas Platias. In a lawsuit filed in Singapore’s high court on Sept. 23, 359 individuals allege
Switzerland’s southern city of Lugano and El Salvador have signed an economic cooperation agreement based on crypto and blockchain. According to an Oct. 28 announcement from Lugano, the two pro-crypto jurisdictions signed a memorandum of understanding on economic cooperation at the city’s Plan B event. Lugano Mayor Michele Foletti cited El Salvador adopting Bitcoin (BTC)
In the weeks following new sanctions from the European Union, Binance has kept its doors open for non-sanctioned Russian nationals, but that does not mean that the firm isn’t complying with EU sanctions, according to Binance’s newly-appointed sanctions executive. Western sanctions against Russia have been a major challenge for Binance from day one, and the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Christy Goldsmith Romero has pointed to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and its flow-on effects as an example of how contagion risks within crypto markets are similar to those experienced by the traditional financial (TradFi) system during the global financial crisis (GFC) of 2008. Romero suggested in a speech
The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced Oct. 27 that it will create an Office of Financial Technology early next year. The new office will incorporate the Office of Innovation, which was set up in 2016. It will be led a by a chief financial technology officer, who will report
Is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) really hostile to crypto? Many in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space think so. In January, the fund asked El Salvador to drop Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender. In May, it reportedly pressured Argentina to curtail crypto trading as the price for an IMF loan extension, and it also recently
A Hong Kong-headquartered crypto investment platform, Q9 Capital, received provisional virtual asset approval from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The company announced its expansion to the UAE and applied for a full operating license as well. According to its press release from Oct. 27, Q9 will establish a regional hub in Dubai and start
Respected former decentralized finance (DeFi) project founder and developer Andre Cronje has resurfaced after a lengthy hiatus to call for tighter regulations on the crypto sector amid the implosion of multiple firms this year. The comments echo similar sentiments to that of FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who also called for more stringent digital asset
Arthur Hayes, the former CEO of crypto derivatives giant BitMEX, believes the next crypto bull run will start when China moves back into the market, and Hong Kong has a vital part to play in this process. In his Oct. 26 blog post titled “Comeback”, Hayes outlined why he thinks the Hong Kong government’s announcement
The first federal budget under the Anthony Albanese led-government has outlined that Bitcoin (BTC) will continue to be treated as a digital asset, and not taxed like a foreign currency. This clarification comes in response to El Salvador’s adoption of BTC as legal tender in September last year, with the Australian government essentially ruling out
The Sushi DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization behind crypto exchange SushiSwap, has approved a legal restructuring on Oct. 26 that creates three new decentralized entities, aiming to provide more flexibility to its operations. The proposal, which received 100% votes in favor, will create the DAO Foundation, the Panamanian Foundation, and the Panamanian Corporation, each serving
Prometheum Ember ATS announced the launch of its alternative trading system (ATS) on Oct. 26. The new ATS is registered by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Prometheum Ember ATS will offer digital asset securities trading, clearing, settlement and custody. The new ATS
In 2018, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wrote to the heads of the country’s biggest high street banks to emphasize the importance of due diligence when dealing with crypto businesses. That seems to have led to widespread high-risk ratings and bans on crypto-related banking, impacting both crypto businesses hoping to operate in the