In a recent interview, United States congressman and a known crypto skeptic Brad Sherman claimed that banning cryptocurrencies is not an option at this point. In a statement to LA Times, the Northridge-area Democrat said that the crypto industry has become quite powerful over the years. He added that the high capital donations to the politicians
Regulation
The Nigerian government has held a preliminary meeting with crypto exchange Binance to potentially establish a special economic zone aimed at supporting crypto and blockchain-related businesses. According to a Sept. 2 post from the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the authority has held preliminary talks with Binance and technology infrastructure company Talent City to
Governments across the globe see central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as a means to improve the existing fiat ecosystem. Cryptocurrency’s technical prowess supported by the central bank’s underlying trust is key to enabling a rich monetary ecosystem, suggests an International Monetary Fund (IMF) publication. “Digital technologies promise a bright future for the monetary system,” reads
The Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly pursuing changes in the country’s legal framework with regard to its regulation of cryptocurrencies. According to local media, one major concern is that the bill in question does not appear to consider tokens as digital assets or securities — and they therefore wouldn’t fall under SEC regulation.
South Korea continues its immersion in Web3 and the Metaverse. After investing almost $200 million in the creation of its own metaverse ecosystem and publishing the “Metaverse Ethical Principles,” the country’s government is now preparing the Metaverse Industry Promotion Ac. As reported by local media on Sept. 1, Heo Eun-ah, a member of the National
Members of the Germany-based Bundesblock, otherwise known as the German Blockchain Association, updated the community on the upcoming Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations in a virtual panel held on Thursday, Sep. 1. According to the panel, the final legal text for the long-awaited regulations is set to be released in the upcoming 4-6 weeks. However, nonfungible
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will implement stringent advertising rules for cryptocurrency firms operating in the country by October 2022. The Thai SEC informed cryptocurrency-related businesses operating in the country via email that adverts concerning digital currencies must have clear investment warnings to consumers on Sep. 1. The statement was later posted on the
Beleaguered crypto lender Celsius Network has filed a motion with the United States Bankruptcy Court yesterday to allow customers with digital assets held in certain accounts to be withdrawn. There’s a catch, however, as the motion will only apply to Custody and Withold Accounts and for custodied assets worth $7,575 or less in value. Celsius
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, have called for comments on a proposal which would require large advisers to certain hedge funds to report exposure to crypto. In a joint proposed rule published to the Federal Register on Sept. 1, the SEC and CFTC
Jill Sommers, who served as a commissioner at the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has joined the board of directors for FTX US Derivatives. In a Thursday announcement, crypto exchange FTX US’ derivatives arm said Sommers had become its latest board member in a move seeming to increase the company’s regulatory efforts. Sommers served
The government of Indonesia returned to its plan to set up a digital assets exchange, publicly announced first time back in 2021. A so-called “crypto bourse” is planned to be established by the end of 2022. According to DealStreetAsia, Indonesia’s deputy trade minister Jerry Sambuaga confirmed during the NXC International Summit 2022 in Bali that
Lawmakers in California State Assembly 71-0 passed the Digital Financial Assets Law, also known as AB 2269, on Tuesday, Aug. 30. The bill is now in the hands of the state’s governor Gavin Newsom, who will either set it into motion or veto it completely. This bill requires digital asset exchanges and crypto companies to
Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) announced Wednesday that it had devised a set of six licenses tailored to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) that are based on the model pioneered by Creative Commons. Like Creative Commons licenses, there is a range of rights available through a variety of the proposed NFT licenses, titled Can’t Be Evil
There are more than 1,400 DApps in operation and their number is growing rapidly, according to a United States Federal Reserve Board discussion paper dated in June but released on Aug. 30. Ethereum is their biggest host with 470, or 31%, of them. Those decentralized finance (DeFi) products represent a very small share of the
Authorities with South Korea’s customs service have reportedly arrested 16 people involved in illegal foreign exchange transactions connected to crypto assets worth roughly $2 billion. According to a Tuesday report from South Korean news agency Newsis, the country’s customs authorities plan to prosecute two unnamed individuals linked to the illicit transactions, impose fines on seven
Karl Racine, Attorney General for the District of Columbia in the United States, has announced that his office has sued business intelligence firm MicroStrategy and its co-founder Michael Saylor for charges related to tax evasion. In a Wednesday Twitter thread, Racine announced a lawsuit against MicroStrategy and its previous CEO Michael Saylor, claiming that he
Studies show that most people who attempt to wash trade nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are unprofitable. But that doesn’t stop them from trying, which makes it a glaring regulatory and enforcement issue for the industry. In wash trading, manipulators buy and sell an asset between themselves to create the appearance that the asset is in higher
Christopher Hamilton, a British national allegedly connected to Cryptoqueen’ Ruja Ignatova’s cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin, reportedly faces extradition to the United States on charges related to a scam going back to 2014. According to a Tuesday report from legal news outlet Law360, a judge in the United Kingdom will allow the process to move forward for
The Ethereum network will be able to withstand censorship risks both in the short and long term, according to Ethereum community member and investor, Ryan Berckmans. The ban of Ethereum-based privacy tool ornado Cash by U.S. authorities earlier this month left many wondering whether Ethereum transactions could be also at risk of censorship, especially after
Georgia, one of the world’s most cryptocurrency-friendly countries, is moving to introduce new crypto regulations to pursue its ambitions to become a global crypto hub. Georgian lawmakers have prepared a new regulatory framework targeting digital business and cryptocurrency trading in the country, Georgian Minister of Economy and Vice Prime Minister Levan Davitashvili announced. Davitashvili said