Regulation

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong announced it will update its policies on virtual currency sales and requirements “in light of the latest market developments and enquiries from the industry”. In an Oct. 20 notice, the SFC said under the updated guidelines, certain virtual currency products will only be available to professional

The European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on Oct. 20 jointly released a consultation paper featuring two drafts. These drafts encompass the assessment of the suitability of management body members and shareholders or members holding qualifying stakes in issuers of asset-referenced tokens (ARTs) and crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). The

After a series of remarks about the potential benefits of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for the national economy, the Central Bank of Argentina said it has accelerated its work on the legislation to implement the CBDC workflow in the country.  On Oct. 18, during a public discussion on the Filo News channel, Argentina Central Bank

Tether Holdings, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization, Tether (USDT), is reportedly preparing to update the frequency of releasing its reserve data reports. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s chief technology officer and incoming CEO, disclosed that the firm plans to publish reserve data in real-time in 2024, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 20. Tether

The United States-based Chamber of Digital Commerce has aligned with various digital assets firms, associations, legal experts and legislators in a collective effort to challenge the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) vs. Binance lawsuit. According to a recently filed amicus brief, the advocacy group also seeks to thwart the SEC’s attempt to oversee the cryptocurrency

Thor Technologies, under the leadership of its founder David Chin, has faced a legal setback in an ongoing dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the unapproved sale of $2.6M in crypto asset securities. The SEC on Oct. 19 announced their victory after a de­fault judgment was issued against Chin and Thor

Ripple’s new win in the legal battle against the United States securities regulators has been marred for crypto enthusiasts by news of the blockchain platform LBRY shutting down operations, which has triggered the community to react. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced its intention to dismiss all claims against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse

On Oct. 18, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) issued a joint opinion statement on the regulation of “digital euro,” proposed by the European Commission in July 2023. The regulators made several recommendations to enhance the personal data protection standards for the European central bank digital currency (CBDC). 

Low-power wearable technology, including virtual and augmented reality devices crucial to the metaverse, will be permitted to tap into the 6 GHz frequency band following a rule change from the United States communications regulator. In an Oct. 19 press release, the Federal Communications Commission said it opened up the 6 GHz frequency band to “very

Crypto exchange Binance has announced it has onboarded new partners to handle euro deposits and withdrawals, months after losing its previous fiat partner PaySafe in September.  In an Oct. 19 statement, Binance announced that it had signed agreements with new fiat partners for euro payments, deposits, and withdrawals. The move follows regulatory and debanking woes

Over two dozen former employees of Ethereum infrastructure firm ConsenSys have filed a fresh lawsuit against the firm’s founder and CEO, Joseph Lubin, over claims he diluted employee equity shares against earlier promises. The former staff allege that Lubin — who is also a co-founder of Ethereum — breached this “no-dilution promise” made in 2015,

Lawyers representing the United States Securities and Exchange Commission announced they will seek to dismiss all claims against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen. In an Oct. 19 filing in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC notified the court that the parties involved in its case against

U.S. surveillance and facial recognition firm Clearview AI has won a court appeal in the United Kingdom after being accused of alleged infractions related to the U.K’s general data protection regulation (GDPR).  Originally, the company was fined nearly $10 million for breaches of the U.K.’s GDPR in May of 2022. The recent victory will see

The United States Treasury Department is reportedly planning to expand its sanctions to designate cryptocurrency mixers as money-laundering hubs following Hamas’ attack on Israel. According to an Oct. 19 report in The Wall Street Journal, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the addition of crypto mixers to entities sanctioned by the U.S. government was aimed

United States-based crypto advocacy organizations are calling out Senator Elizabeth Warren and other lawmakers for some of the claims made regarding connections between the terrorist group Hamas and financing through cryptocurrency. On Oct. 17, Sen. Warren and more than 100 lawmakers signed a letter calling for action to “meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity” used for

The United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), an independent bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department that supervises national commercial banks in the country, will host a symposium on tokenization in February 2024.  The upcoming symposium is set to ignite a public dialogue on the transformative potential of tokenizing real-world financial assets

Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, with others, have collaboratively submitted a shared amicus brief to the Supreme Court, wherein they raise concerns about the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) approach to conducting internal proceedings without the inclusion of juries. Mark Cuban, a billionaire crypto investor and DeFi advocate who actively engages in the cryptocurrency space, and Elon Musk,

The Bank of Finland (BOF) is coordinating the creation of a Finnish instant payment solution compatible with European standards. Tuomas Välimäki, BOF board member and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), made the announcement on Oct. 19.  Välimäki revealed that the Bank of Finland is actively promoting the development of

One of the largest European crypto exchanges, Vienna-based Bitpanda has become one of the first foreign entities to receive a virtual assert service provider license in Norway. The announcement came on the company’s official X (former Twitter) account on Oct. 19. Bitpanda holds a license in a number of European jurisdictions, such as Austria, Germany,

New York’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency firms Gemini, Genesis and Digital Currency Group for allegedly defrauding investors through the Gemini Earn investment program. An official statement from the office of attorney general Letitia James outlines the basis of the charges, claiming that the companies defrauded more than 23,000 investors, including 29,000 New