Regulation

According to a statement on Mar. 9, bank messaging platform Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications, or SWIFT, disclosed that the financial institution witnessed positive results related to its pilot test of linking different central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). During a 12-week testing period, SWIFT simulated nearly 5,000 transactions between two different blockchain networks and

Crypto tax software provider CoinTracker is integrating its software with H&R Block, a company that helps millions of customers prepare their income taxes across Canada, the United States and Australia.  In an announcement seen by Cointelegraph, CoinTracker noted the partnership will allow American H&R Block customers to use CoinTracker and automatically fill in their Form 8949

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has expressed a mixed stance on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) after a year of war in the country. The central bank of Ukraine sees both good and bad in virtual assets, taking a more skeptical approach to crypto due to financial and economic issues caused by the invasion, according

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) — a watchdog that oversees audits of public companies in the United States — recently issued an advisory that warned investors about proof-of-reserves (PoR) reports issued by auditing firms. Crypto entities may engage a service provider to issue “proof of reserve” reports. A new Investor Advisory from the

The Federal Financial Supervisory Authority of Germany (BaFin) is not ready to classify nonfungible tokens (NFTs) as securities. The agency suggests classifying the NFTs on a case-by-case basis.  On March 8, the BaFin journal published an explanatory note considering NFTs legal classification. At this point, the regulators don’t see how NFTs meet the criteria to

A federal judge has refused to consolidate several proposed class-action lawsuits against the FTX exchange by investors. According to the judge, the exchange and its defendants have not yet been heard.  On March 8, United States District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley laid down the order that denied plaintiffs a request to consolidate five proposed class-action lawsuits

Amid the United States regulators increasingly scrutinizing stablecoins, the community continues to pitch new ideas of stablecoins independent from the U.S. dollar. Arthur Hayes, co-founder and former CEO of BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange, has proposed creating a new stablecoin with a value pegged to the sum of $1 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and one inverse perpetual

The voluntary liquidation of Silvergate Bank has sparked many to share their thoughts about the source of its troubles and the broader impact of the crypto-friendly bank’s collapse on crypto.  From lawmakers to crypto analysts, crypto firm executives to commentators — nearly everyone’s had something to say regarding the recent announcement from Silvergate. Some United

Stablecoins and Ether (ETH) are commodities and should come under the purview of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), its chairman has again asserted at a recent Senate hearing. At the Mar. 8 Senate Agricultural hearing, CFTC chair, Rostin Behnam, was asked by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand about the differing views held by the

U.S. President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal has a few surprises for crypto traders and investors, including a proposed doubling of capital gains and a crackdown on crypto wash sales.  The Biden administration is set to release its fiscal 2024 budget plan on Mar. 9 which is reportedly aimed at reducing the deficit by almost

Six people involved in a cryptocurrency “Ponzi scheme” that raked in about $100 million over five years have pled guilty to a series of fraud and money laundering charges, each carrying a maximum sentence of 20 to 30 years of prison. One of the founders of “AirBit Club,” Pablo Renato Rodriguez, was the latest to

Officials of the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) appeared before the House of Commons’ Treasury Committee on March 8 to discuss the agency’s work. Among the issues raised was cryptocurrency regulation, which the officials approached with a clear lack of enthusiasm. FCA chair Ashley Alder, who took that position in February after serving as

Crypto exchange Gemini took to Twitter on March 8 to deny rumors about its banking relationship with United States financial conglomerate JPMorgan being terminated. In a brief and straightforward message, Gemini stated that “despite reporting to the contrary, Gemini’s banking relationship remains intact with JPMorgan.” The comments came in response to a previous report that claimed

According to United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a new draft of the bipartisan crypto bill pioneered by herself and Senator Cynthia Lummis will be released to the new Congress after being deferred in 2022. In a March 8 Senate Agriculture Committee hearing on oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Senator Gillibrand asked CFTC chair

The United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, was a part of discussions on a regulatory framework for digital assets as well as use cases for blockchain technology. In a March 8 meeting of the CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee, commissioners, regulators, and industry representatives were scheduled to discuss “critical policy considerations” as part

The age-old question of “what happens after we die” is one humanity has grappled with for millennia. Religions, philosophers and thought leaders have put forth theories about each person’s fate beyond life on earth. Until now, no factual, science-based conclusion has provided a satisfying answer. Psychologists have understood that the fear of death — or

The ongoing cryptocurrency winter and massive collapses in the industry do not mean that digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) are doomed to fail, according to a major European asset manager. Despite BTC failing to protect investors against rising inflation in 2021 and 2022, Bitcoin’s limited supply may still attract more attention if inflation remains above

While there’s nothing new in imposing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards on crypto, it is only now that the Indian government has decided to notify all interested parties of the obligation to comply with the national AML law. On March 7, The Gazette of India published a notification from the Ministry of Finance, subjecting a range

Considering the regulatory struggle to keep up with ever-evolving innovations, Margrethe Vestager, the European commissioner for competition since 2014, recommended a headstart into brainstorming implications of technologies such as the metaverse and ChatGPT. Vestager highlighted how digital transition and the shift to a digital economy have brought about risk and opportunities for the masses while

The law firms, investment banks and consulting companies working with FTX on its bankruptcy case billed the crypto exchange a combined $34.18 million in January, court documents reveal. FTX’s chief restructuring officer and new CEO, John J. Ray III, also received a hefty pay package, charging $1,300 an hour to a total of $305,000 in