Regulation

Lawyers for Andrew Vara, the United States Trustee representing the interests of the Department of Justice in crypto exchange FTX’s bankruptcy proceedings, has filed an appeal against a federal judge’s denial of a motion appointing an independent examiner in the case. In a March 6 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware,

American lawmakers and regulators continue to compete in their creative efforts to propose anything but comprehensive game rules for the crypto industry.  Senators Edward Markey and Richard Blumenthal have penned a letter asking Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to deny young adults access to the firm’s metaverse platform. According to the two lawmakers, allowing teenagers between

When Michael Corleone ordered hits on rival bosses in The Godfather, he had Don Cuneo locked inside a revolving door and shot. Getting whacked while trapped behind a barred door appears to be the treatment United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has in mind for U.S. crypto projects based on recent SEC

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has targeted an investment adviser and individual allegedly connected to a $100-million cryptocurrency fraud in its latest enforcement action. According to a March 6 announcement, the SEC filed an emergency action on Feb. 23 against investment adviser BKCoin and one of the principals, Kevin Kang, alleging the two

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled that the old 200, 500 and 1,000 naira notes remain in circulation until Dec. 31, 2023, effectively nullifying the naira redesign previously announced by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. The introduction of redesign sought to phase out the use of the old naira notes.  A seven-member panel of the

Babel Finance, one of cryptocurrency lending firms shaken by the bear market of 2022, is exploring new restructuring opportunities involving minting a new token. Babel co-founder Yang Zhou is planning to build a new decentralized finance (DeFi) project in order to generate revenue to repay debts owed to creditors, Bloomberg reported on March 5. Called

Local authorities in Singapore announced they had begun a probe that is connected to Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs. According to a Bloomberg report, Singaporean police sent an email on March 6, which said, “investigations have commenced in relation to Terraform Labs.” The email also added that the inquiries are “ongoing,” and Do Kwon is not

Binance has turned to a new set of stablecoins in the wake of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulatory action against its native stablecoin, Binance USD (BUSD). The SEC had sent a Wells notice, alleging BUSD violates U.S. securities law. Following the SEC’s notice, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS)

Iran is moving forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans, completing preliminary research for the launch of a potential digital rial. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has completed a pre-pilot phase in the development of Iran’s CBDC, according to an official statement by CBI’s research arm, the Monetary and Banking Research Institute

Crypto legislation in Australia could be dragged out past 2024 and beyond, with the government seemingly wanting to take its time in order to get a full picture of the industry — internal documents from the government have revealed.  The documents, obtained by The Australian Financial Review under Freedom of Information laws, reportedly reveal that the

Update (March 5, 9:22 p.m. UTC): This article has been updated to include Binance’s response.  Crypto exchange Binance sought to hire Gary Gensler as an advisor before he became chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), according to a Wall Street Journal report based on messages and documents from 2018 and 2020,

Co-founder of content studio Bankless David Hoffman apologized for spreading rumors about what he called a “Wells Notice Carpet Bombing” targeting crypto firms, including the decentralized finance protocol Lido Finance.  “Carpet bombing” was a reference to an allegedly flood of well notices sent to crypto firms last week, Hoffman was told by a source. He

With rising temperatures, melting ice caps and more frequent and intense extreme weather events, the effects of climate change are becoming more and more obvious. There is an urgent need to prevent climate change, and numerous technologies and methods are being investigated to do so. Blockchain technology is one of these possibilities, and it has

Ukraine temporarily suspended the use of its national currency, the hryvnia, via banking cards for fiat deposits and withdrawals on crypto exchanges. While the move immediately impacted how investors move funds to and from exchanges, Binance reminded users about how peer-to-peer (P2P) services come in handy when trading cryptocurrencies. Following the temporary suspension from Ukraine’s

The design choices, such as the level of privacy — i.e., anonymous or fully traceable transactions — implemented in the creation of a CBDC can have significant implications for monetary policy.  Continuing the privacy design choice example, let’s understand its impact on monetary policy in the following two scenarios. Scenario 1: Anonymous and untraceable transactions

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) regulation through “enforcement,” as opposed to “doing the work,” is not a “healthy way” to regulate an industry, and may result in the U.S. being a less attractive location for crypto firms, suggests Ripple’s CEO. In a Mar. 3 Bloomberg interview, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, a

Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao has denied a rumor that he had been “shot” by the U.S. federal law enforcement agency, which was “spread widely” across a Chinese messaging platform, in a recent tweet. In a Mar. 4 tweet, CZ addressed the false speculations that circulated on the Chinese messaging platform WeChat, claiming that he

Crypto bank Silvergate announced on March 3 that it is discontinuing its digital assets’ payment network, claiming the termination is a “risk-based decision”. The move comes after the bank’s stock fell over 59% in the past five days due to fears of a potential bankruptcy.  A disclaimer on Silvergate’s website stated: “Effective immediately Silvergate Bank

India’s recently launched in-house central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the digital rupee — is now being tested for offline functionality, revealed Ajay Kumar Choudhary, executive director of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI — India’s central bank and regulatory body — launched the wholesale segment pilot for the digital rupee on Nov. 1, 2022,

United States Senator Edward Markey and Representative Jared Huffman announced on March 3 that they would reintroduce the Crypto-Asset Environmental Transparency Act in Congress. The move comes ahead of a Senate hearing on the environmental impact of crypto mining, which Markey will chair on March 7. Markey and Huffman first introduced the bill in December,