Regulation

Ripple Labs’ split-decision victory against the United States securities regulator is being seen as a significant blow to the regulator’s “war on crypto,” however, crypto lawyers warn it isn’t a definitive victory for the industry. In a landmark ruling on July 13, Judge Torres determined that XRP (XRP) is not a security — at least

Steven Kinard, director of Bitcoin mining analytics at the Texas Blockchain Council, a crypto advocacy group, has announced that he will run for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. In a July 11 announcement, Kinard said he planned to seek the Republican Party nomination for Texas House District 70 in the Dallas-Fort Worth

OpenAI, maker of AI chatbot ChatGPT and related products, has received a criminal investigative demand (CID) from the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Washington Post reported on July 13. The CID is reproduced on the newspaper’s website without a date. A CID is similar to a subpoena, and recipients are legally obliged to

Ripple Labs scored a victory in the United States District Court in the Southern District of New York on July 13 as Judge Analisa Torres ruled in favor of the company in a case brought forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission dating back to 2020. According to documents filed on July 13, Judge Torres has

Argentina welcomed its first Bitcoin (BTC) futures contract on July 13, just three months after the country’s securities watchdog approved the underlying index as part of a strategic innovation agenda. According to Matba Rofex, the trading platform behind the investment vehicle, it is the first Bitcoin futures contract in Latin America. In a futures contract, buyers

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and Federal Bureau of Investigation have announced fraud charges against the former CEO of bankrupt crypto lender Celsius, Alex Mashinsky. In a July 13 announcement, the U.S. Justice Department said it had charged Mashinsky with securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud related to

The United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly taking action against Celsius Network, one of the cryptocurrency lending firms that collapsed in 2022. The securities regulator filed a lawsuit against Celsius’ former CEO Alex Mashinsky on July 13, according to a report by Bloomberg. Details of the complaint weren’t immediately available, the report

According to the legal team trying to return FTX investor funds through court actions, the failed crypto exchange spent nearly $400 million acquiring Swiss company Digital Assets AG (DAAG), which became FTX Europe. Now the plaintiffs are looking for a refund of the money spent on the acquisition by Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and his associates. 

The cryptocurrency payment industry continues to evolve with a new cryptocurrency payment option coming to crypto-friendly Telegram messenger. Wallet, a Telegram bot allowing users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), has launched a crypto payment solution based on The Open Network (TON) blockchain. Called Wallet Pay, the new service provides crypto payment transactions

Europe’s first spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is set to debut later this year after a year-long delay. The Bitcoin ETF by Jacobi Asset Management, a London-based multi-asset investment platform, was set to debut on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange under the ticker BCOIN in July 2022.  However, unprecedented market conditions aided by the collapse

An alliance of industry watchdogs based in the United States has united to express opposition to a proposed draft bill on the crypto market structure by the United States House Financial Services Committee. In detailed correspondence addressed to the committee, groups, including Americans for Financial Reform and the Center for Responsible Lending, claimed that stakeholders in

Prosecutors from the United States and agents from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are reportedly investigating wealthy crypto traders and fund managers suspected of illegally benefiting from Puerto Rico’s tax breaks.  According to a June 12 report from Bloomberg, investigators are currently building civil and criminal cases against a number of hedge fund managers, crypto

A pre-motion hearing set to take place on July 13 between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and crypto exchange Coinbase should provide a sense of the litigation tone and its potential impacts on the broader crypto industry, legal sources told Cointelegraph.  Previously scheduled for August, the conference is a typical request presented by any

United States Sens. Cynthia Lummis and Kirsten Gillibrand will reintroduce legislation aimed at establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets. The U.S. lawmakers said they would reintroduce the Responsible Financial Innovation Act to the Senate on July 12 after roughly a year of being tabled in the previous session of Congress. The bipartisan piece

A United States federal court has ordered Digitex CEO Adam Todd to pay roughly $16 million in disgorgement and penalties related to a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) case. In a June 12 announcement, the CFTC said a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued a default judgment against

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the European Union’s markets regulator, released a consultative paper on Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) mandates on July 12. It was the first of three consultative packages the agency expects to publish and concerns technical specifications for crypto asset service providers (CASPs). Entities that are already licensed are presumed under

The United States-based crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association has submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Inspector General calling for an investigation into crypto firm Prometheum. In a July 12 letter, the Blockchain Association requested SEC inspector general Deborah Jeffrey look into the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s approval of Prometheum’s

Cryptocurrency scams have fallen a massive 77% from $3.3 billion to $1.1 billion over the first six months of 2023, according to a recent report by blockchain intelligence firm Chainalysis. The catch, though, is that ransom attacks are back in trend, with perpetrators pocketing 62.4% more revenue than the first six months of 2022. On

The South Korean government is continuing to develop tighter regulations targeting the cryptocurrency industry with the introduction of new asset disclosure rules. On July 11, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced a new bill that will require all firms that issue or hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) to disclose their holdings. According to the

In advance of required regulations that are expected in a year, the banking watchdog for the European Union asked stablecoin issuers to voluntarily follow certain “guiding principles” on risk management and consumer protection. The European Banking Authority (EBA) released its first set of measures on Wednesday, July 12, for public comment in an effort to